Forever Loved (Forever Lost Book 2)

by Laura Morgan

  “Go do a perimeter sweep, will you?” he ordered without looking away, and José stalked off without another word. “I’m going to fuck you now,” he murmured when they were alone, unbuttoning Cassie’s jeans. “And if you scream or fight me, the knife will go here next.” He rested his hand over the small round of her belly. Cassie said nothing. She simply screwed her eyes shut, waiting for him to proceed. Waiting for the pain and the anguish to hit her along with his disgusting violation. But nothing happened.

  She opened her eyes again just in time to watch as Eduardo’s brains splattered against the wall beside them. A misty cloud of blood settled on her face and chest, and Cassie could do nothing but stare up at the gory mess in shock and disbelief. She turned to where the shot had come from, and saw the blood-covered face of a man she knew all too well on the other side of a shattered windowpane. Roger was standing there, albeit with a significant sway. He had a pistol in one hand and a cell phone in the other.

  He grinned as though pleased with what he’d just done, but Cassie couldn’t believe her eyes or feel gladness for what had just happened. She guessed she had to be hallucinating, and did nothing but scream until she eventually passed out.

  Chapter Twenty

  They were bumping along when Cassie started to come around. Something stung at her side, the pain eventually forcing her awake. She groaned and coughed.

  “Try not to move.” Roger’s voice was in her ear, and the sound shocked her back to full awareness. She blinked awake and turned her face toward it. He was really there, not dead like Grayson had let her believe. Roger had clearly been injured, but he was okay. Her protector was back by her side, and he was pressing down on her stab wound with a wad of bloody cloth. The bumping she’d felt was because they were in the back of a car, and Cassie quickly realized they were driving off, away from both Grayson and Eduardo’s corpses.

  “How did you find me? Where’s José? Who’s driving? You’re alive?” She mumbled question after question, and eventually fell silent. Cassie lifted her hand to touch Roger’s cheek and sighed. “Tell Leo I love him, and I’m sorry,” she said, fretting that she might not make it after she saw just how much blood was soaking through the gauze in Roger’s hands.

  “You’ll be telling him yourself in a matter of minutes, Cassie. Trust me,” Roger replied with a scowl. He was trying not to show how worried he was, but his expression said it all. She was in a bad way.

  “You always were a bad liar,” Cassie groaned as the world started to spin. Roger sighed, and rather than respond, he turned his head to glance over his shoulder at their driver.

  “I hope you’ve got your foot to the floor, José?” he asked. Cassie’s breath hitched. Her eyes widened in fear, but Roger shushed her. “It’s okay. He’s with us, Cassie. He’s on our side.”

  “Well in that case, I want a fucking word with you, José,” she managed.

  “Sí, Inglés aumentó, you may have as many as you desire.” His voice filtered over to the backseat, and Cassie smiled. Whoever he was, trusted ally or cartel scumbag, Roger seemed at ease with him there, and so would she be.

  Pain spurred from her chest again and Cassie sucked in a hissed breath. The car was spinning, so she closed her eyes and prayed that she’d at least get to see Leo one more time. While she hoped the baby was okay, all she could think about was him, and when the darkness dragged her under again, it was his face she saw in her mind’s eye.

  ***

  Leo paced, pounding the floor hard with his size elevens in an attempt to leave holes in the linoleum. Being powerless and without any information at all wasn’t his idea of fun, and he glowered at the man sitting behind a steel table opposite him.

  “Tell me again why I’m here?” he demanded, coming to a stop before him.

  “For your protection,” the man answered, crossing thickly muscled arms across his chest. Leo sized the guy up, trying to determine if he could take him, but then figured it wasn’t the best idea, seeing as he’d declared himself as a Secret Service agent and all.

  He thought back to a few hours earlier when a couple of mean looking behemoths had stormed into his office unannounced and asked him and Brian to go with them. They’d barely said a word, and yet the underlying message had been abundantly clear—there hadn’t really been any choice in the matter. The men had told him how they knew that Cassie had been taken and who by, and how they’d put measures in place that’d ensure she was extracted and safe by the end of that day. However, Leo had been offered no proof of their claims, and had spent the past few hours demanding answers from the men whose lips were annoyingly sealed.

  “Where is she? What’s going on? Who the ever-loving fuck are you guys?” he tried again, but his stoic companion said nothing—again.

  Leo slumped against the wall, holding his head in his hands. He felt broken, and so desperate for the answers his tight-lipped companion seemed either unwilling or unable to give him, and it was making him angry. “I need something, man,” he murmured, but his heartfelt plea was met with nothing but silence.

  After an age, the door opened and in walked another man Leo had never seen before. Unlike his gargantuan comrades and their all-black getup, he was dressed in a suit and tie. He seemed different to the others, and Leo tensed. This guy was clearly someone, and his otherwise indifferent guard jumped to attention and then took his leave without being given a word of order.

  Leo mirrored the new man’s movements, and quickly took the seat opposite him at the table, while silence descended that was so thick he was sure he could taste it.

  “Mr. Solomon, my name’s Colton, but people call me ‘The Boss.’ I’m the director of this particular branch of the Secret Service.”

  “Funny, that’s what people call me too,” Leo replied with a smirk. “Looks like we’re either gonna get on like a house on fire—or not.”

  “I’m hoping the former,” Colton answered, and Leo fixed him with a serious look.

  “Well, that depends on how long you’re planning on keeping me locked up…”

  “Only as long as necessary. I trust you’ve been well taken care of?” he asked, and Leo shrugged. He fixed Colton with a hard stare, trying to read him, but it was no use. The man opposite was more than a closed book, he was a bound and sealed bag of cold and calculated nothingness. Leo shuddered. In many ways, it was like looking in a mirror.

  “I was told to go with your boys out there, taken halfway across the city to where I’d hoped to find my girlfriend safe and well, only to be shoved in here without so much as an idea of her whereabouts or condition. I’ve been given nothing. I’ve been told nothing…I need answers, Colton, and I hope to bloody God that you’re here to give me some.”

  Colton awarded Leo a flicker of a smile, but otherwise didn’t react to his ramblings, as though having expected every single word of Leo’s anxious response. He crossed his knees and linked his hands over the top, evidently going with the more casual approach.

  “She’s in our custody, and you can see her shortly.” He paused while Leo let out a sigh of relief. “While she’s being taken care of, I thought we might have a little chat. Do you know who we are and what we do here, Mr. Solomon?”

  “With all due respect, Colton, I don’t give a shit,” Leo snapped, thinking how this was not the time for a game of “guess the special branch while having a pissing contest with the Big Boss.”

  “Don’t you want to know why we found and rescued Ms. Philips, or how? Aren’t you at least the slightest bit intrigued as to how we knew where to find you, or why we chose to intervene?” Colton pressed. Leo guessed he wasn’t leaving their small room until he at least showed his willingness to play along, so he shrugged.

  “I was warned I’d be being watched, so can’t say it’s a huge surprise old Big Brother has been keeping tabs on me,” he answered. “Let me guess, MI6?”

  Colton gripped the hem of each sleeve in turn, straightening himself while sitting taller in his seat.

  “We don
’t work for the government, but we are affiliated with the Secret Intelligence Service, yes,” he agreed. “Organized Crime Unit, specifically drug related.”

  “Specifically, cartels and highly organized drug rings?”

  “Specifically, yes.”

  “Then what, pray tell, do you want from me? I won’t go back inside.” Leo had transformed. He was no longer the man trembling with anxiety, fearing the worst. He was Mr. Big, Bad Solomon, and when he felt backed into a corner, his alter ego certainly wasn’t one to back down. Colton seemed hesitant to answer, so Leo leaned over the table towards him, and added, “You might want to get to the goddamn point, and quick.”

  ***

  Cassie stirred, feeling ready to throw up. She turned her body and retched, and was surprised when the rim of a cold metal bowl touched just below her lips.

  “We’ve got you, Cassie.” Roger’s voice filled her ears, and the wondrous sound immediately eased her nausea. She turned her face toward him and let her eyes flutter open. It was so bright it took her a few blinks to come around, but when she did, she saw the loveliest sight.

  “You look like an idiot with that bandage on your head,” she teased, and smiled. He’d been patched up, as had she, going by the gurney she was laid out on and the thick gauze now wrapped around her ribs. It was tight, but she felt no pain, and guessed she’d been doped up pretty good. “The baby?” she mumbled in question, and her heart fluttered wildly when Roger grinned.

  “Fine,” he answered quickly. “Everything’s fine.” He lifted up a sheet of black and white images, and Cassie took them from him with a gasp. It was a set of sonogram pictures. She stared at the little blob in shock while Roger helped sit her up against the thick cushions.

  “What’s going on, Rog? And where the hell are we?” He pulled up his chair so he could sit beside her and hold her hand.

  “I hope you’re ready for this?” he asked with a smile, and she nodded.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “So, José’s a Secret Service agent and not a cartel goon?” Cassie double-checked, trying to piece it all together in her mind again. Roger nodded.

  “He was working undercover in Mexico while you were there with Victor. His branch of the Secret Service knew you’d been held there against your will and his team was assessing their potential extraction options when Leo lured you both back into the States with the help of the FBI. The case then went cold until recently.”

  “When Leo returned to the UK?”

  “Yeah, because two known members of the Sanchez cartel were identified as having followed him into the country. José came to speak with me not long after he came back into Siobhan’s life—and their backstory is true, by the way. She really did grow up with him and knew him years ago before he was recruited. Their relationship is real, and he’s recently told her the truth about his job, but she couldn’t tell you. I know it ate her up to have to hold something back, and I was the same.”

  “She was mad as hell, but understood my reasons.” José carried on Roger’s story, joining them at Cassie’s bedside. “I’m sorry I lied to you and made you distrustful, but I had to have Eduardo and the others fooled. I needed to be the one ordered to meet him at that derelict house, so I made sure I was given the task of being Grayson’s liaison in London. I passed information back and forth between him and the Cartel, and was the person he called before you managed to get away,” he told her, and Cassie had to look away from his questioning gaze. Even thinking of how that’d panned out made her want to either cry or retch again, probably both.

  “Grayson had no idea José was working both sides, so when I caught him tailing me back home, I warned José that your old foe was making his move at last. Grayson caught up with me, knocked me out, and put me in the trunk of his car, and I was just coming around when José popped the lock and sprung me loose. I was ready to go covert ops right by his side, but he shushed me and handed me a weapon. As soon as I saw what was going on between you and Eduardo in that stairwell, I knew what had to be done, and took his life before he could take anything else from you.” Roger seemed to choke on those last words, and Cassie knew it must’ve been awful finding her there under Eduardo’s command.

  Not that she’d ever even doubted it, but she knew now just how much Roger truly cared for her. He’d taken the life of the man who’d threatened her future. He’d rid her of a demon she’d been forced to cower before, and Cassie knew she’d be eternally grateful for both his and José’s actions earlier that day.

  “I love you too, Rog. Thank you,” she mumbled, taking his hand in hers. He smiled and kissed the back of her palm.

  “The mission was to do the handover and then take Grayson and Eduardo into custody, but a monster like him had to be put down, so I let Roger be the one to do it rather than get in trouble for not completing the assignment. He was well within his rights as your bodyguard to act accordingly,” José carried on, and Cassie nodded in understanding. She guessed the official statement might say something along the lines of Roger having acted alone while José’s back was turned, and didn’t care that things had needed to go that way.

  Another cartel boss was dead, and Cassie was glad, even if the memory of his brains splattering against the wall of that stairwell would haunt her for a while. It was just another one to add to her collection, and one she’d gladly live with if it meant she was free from another of her tormentors.

  “Grayson wanted me to be free in the end. He handed me the weapon and forced me to take his life,” Cassie told them, and neither seemed surprised to hear it.

  “Some people simply can’t come back from the edge, no matter how hard they try,” Roger muttered. “But at least he showed you one final kindness by letting you go. He’d struggled with his order to kidnap you for months, and we wondered if he’d even manage it at all.”

  “GG and I had a special friendship while I was in Mexico, and I hate how different he became after I left him behind to rot in prison so I could be free. He was himself at the very end, though, so I can’t hate him. He did the right thing by me and the baby when it counted.” Cassie groaned as she repositioned herself in a bid to get more comfortable.

  “He loved you, no matter what. I saw that myself during his darker days. I want you to know, I had no idea Eduardo was planning on using the knife, otherwise I’d have gotten it off him. I’m sorry you were injured,” José told her, seeming earnest, and Cassie nodded.

  “I know. The main thing is the baby’s not hurt,” she replied, staring at the sonogram pictures again. “When did they take these?” she asked, watching as Roger pointed to the small blur, showing Cassie which parts were which.

  “While you were out cold. That’s one strong little bugger you’ve got there, by the way. I refused to leave your side while they were working on you, so got to see when they gave you the scan. It was wriggling around like mad.”

  “I’m glad it’s safe. Any baby Solomon was always going to be a stubborn little thing, like its father,” she replied with a grin. “Speaking of, where’s Leo?”

  “He’s…um,” Roger began, and Cassie scowled, feeling instantly fretful. He noticed her panic and shook his head. “Nothing bad, it’s just he’s currently under lock and key. Talking with The Boss,” he added.

  “About what?” she demanded.

  “Goddam Secret Service tried offering me a job, but I told them to go fuck themselves,” Leo answered from the doorway with a huge grin, and he bounded over to join the others at Cassie’s side. He touched her with care, remaining delicate and careful, but she grabbed him and yanked him down to meet her embrace. She needed to feel him against her. When her tears returned, she didn’t fight them, nor did he make a fuss. The pair simply held one another while Roger and José chatted quietly between themselves for a minute.

  “Leo, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have stormed off after Suzie without a chaperone. I should’ve been honest about her message,” she told him, but he shushed her.

  “The bad g
uys had us surrounded regardless. No matter how, no matter when—they were on their way to get you. All that matters is that when it came to it, we had these guys on our side,” he replied. Leo climbed up and offered José his outstretched hand. “I’m forever in your debt.”

  “Don’t mention it, I’m just glad she got away in one piece,” he answered with a smile, but then frowned. “You know that if I could’ve helped it, she wouldn’t have been injured at all.”

  “She’s back here with me, José. And, that’s all any of us could’ve prayed for.” He patted José on the shoulder and grinned again. “So, Secret Service, hey? Didn’t feel like sharing that little truth with me at any point?”

  “Sorry, man. It was classified,” José answered.

  “Nah, I get it. I just can’t figure out why they’d try and get me to join. As if I’d ever say yes…”

  “I did,” Roger interjected, and they all stared at him in shock.

  Cassie reached out and took his hand again.

  “When?” she asked.

  “This afternoon while you were still asleep. Leo wasn’t the only one who was offered a new job.”

  “You know you can’t leave me, right?” Cassie demanded, and she wanted him to know she was deadly serious. Roger laughed and lifted her hand so he could kiss the back of it.

  “Oh, you sweet thing. You’re the widow of one of Mexico’s most high profile cartel bosses, and you just took down his successor. I don’t think you realize just how much you’ll be seeing of me during your time in witness protection,” he told her.

  “Witness protection? Are you serious?” she groaned, and Roger simply shrugged. She looked up at Leo, hoping he might be able to offer a different option, but he gave her the same look as Roger.

  “Looks like we need to disappear again, baby. For good this time,” Leo said, perching beside her on the gurney. “They’ll keep us safe, all three of us.”