Well, wasn’t that an interesting thought? They had a side, and all three of them were working to figure out what the hell was going on. Her first instinct had been to call her boss and let him know what was happening, but she’d been efficiently and immediately pushed from that path very quickly. She could still hear Severus’s words, all growly and commanding. She was not to tell anyone until they figured out who’d placed Victor in this building and what the hell they wanted. Her life could be in danger and if anyone could protect her, it was him. Well, all-righty then. Far be it for her to get in his way. He carried a look that spoke of no deviation and severe punishment if she ignored him. She blushed when thinking about the way Drusus punished Lina for being a bad girl. Would Severus bend her over his knee and spank her ass like that if she misbehaved? She quickly squashed that thought before her mind went off on a tangent.
Fine, he could protect all he wanted, but it was still her proverbial ass in the sling if this got out of hand and she hadn’t reported what she knew. She would just have to trust them, to trust that Severus would, in reality, protect her.
Severus had stuck to her like glue through the rest of the weekend. They had sat in the back office of Seekers and not once did Cato get a blip that Victor was playing around with his new toys. They had eaten a lot of pizza and watched some crazy YouTube videos but not one peep from the master spy. Guess he took Sundays off, which pissed her off even more since he had wasted theirs. Well, in truth, it wasn’t a total waste. She had loved watching Cato and Severus interact. She could tell they were close and had similar humor. It always cracked her up watching men posturing and teasing the hell out of each other.
Despite the Sunday no-show, Cato had found that starting two days ago the creep had started intercepting her and Jacqueline’s emails. The only files of significance from her had been the Cadmium Case. He wasn’t going to find much there since the case was so new. She had received one email from Sturdivant and it just mentioned a whistleblower and that an FBI investigation was underway. Sturdivant kept the meat of the case with him at all times. However, Drexler had gotten some juicy tidbits on the Petrocana account since Scofell was personally handling the wine import process. Cato had assured her that from this point on, he was able to intercept any other captured information and would manipulate it into something innocuous before allowing it to reach Victor’s hands. She didn’t even bother asking how he could do something that invasive. She struggled to keep from giggling at the thought of Victor’s face when he started getting Aunt Flo’s chocolate cookie recipe or “how to get stains out of your carpet” advice from Cousin Amy.
She had crashed on Cato’s couch and was completely surprised when she woke up to find herself being carried through her front door. Cato was in stealth mode checking windows and locks while Severus set her on the couch. They made her double-lock behind them when they left. Paranoid, but still sweet.
Taking a deep breath in and out helped to calm her enough to log into the computer. She just didn’t know if she could remain calm not if but when she encountered Victor. How in the hell was she supposed to keep her face from revealing that she was on to him? “Well shit. I guess I’ll know soon enough,” she murmured as she saw Drexler walking up the hallway.
“Good morning, Cassie. Did you enjoy yourself the other night?”
Cassie looked up into Drexler’s handsome face and internally patted herself on the back when her voice came out smooth despite the trembles shaking in her gut.
“Thanks, Victor. I did enjoy myself. It was very nice. I wish our offices weren’t stuck in the middle of the building. That view was outstanding.”
Victor leaned in closely, giving her an award-winning smile before lowering his voice. “Yes. It was definitely a beautiful view. I could have stared at it all night.” Glancing around, Victor leaned in further, so close she caught a hint of his expensive cologne. “Cassie, you have to know that I find you breathtakingly beautiful. On top of that, I think you’re extremely intelligent, which is a lethal combination to me. Would you be offended if I asked you to lunch? I’d like to get to know you better.”
Cassie stared into his rich, chocolate eyes and tried to discern how someone could seem this casual in their deception. He appeared believable and had she not seen what he’d done, she would have probably fallen for his charisma and charm. Deep in his core, he was no better than her father. A lying, deceitful bastard and he deserved to go down. She felt resolve harden in her belly, giving her a strength she hadn’t felt for years.
“Sure, Victor. Why not?” She almost laughed as his eyes widened for a fraction, then slid back into the seductive pose he had perfected. Yep, threw him off there for a second, hadn’t she? Good.
“That’s great, Cassie. I’ll come to get you at noon.”
She glanced down at her computer, effectively dismissing him. “Sure, sounds good. See you then, Victor.”
“Okay. Noon it is.”
She felt him move away and glanced up briefly to make sure he was truly gone before she slowly released her breath. “Okay, Mr. Spy. Two can play at this game. You’re hunting for something. Well. I can do some hunting of my own as well.” She jumped when her cell broke the quietness of the room. Shit! Severus. He was so not going to be happy when she told him what she’d just done. She hesitated before she answered. Maybe she wouldn’t tell him. It was just lunch, after all. They were going to be in a public place, no harm, no foul. Maybe she could learn something significant that would help Cato get the goods on this scumbag. Resolute in her decision, she answered.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“What the hell do you think you are doing, Cassie?”
Cassie pulled the cell away from her ear, stunned at the ferocity of his tone. “What are you talking about, crazy man? I’m at work. What do you think I’m doing?” She felt a shiver run up her spine when his words lowered to a husky command.
“Try that again, Cassie. This time I expect the truth.”
Uh-oh. This wasn’t going good. “You’re losing your mind, Severus. What the hell are you talking about?”
“I heard everything. You are not going to go to lunch with that asshole. Do you hear me? He is dangerous and I will not tolerate you putting yourself in danger. Do you understand me?”
Her mind was still too stuck on “heard everything” to even begin to feel anger at his commanding tone.
“What the hell do you mean you heard everything? How could you have possibly known that I was going to lunch with Victor? He just now walked away from my desk.” Her spine straightened just as realization slammed into her gray matter. “You sorry son of a bitch! You bugged me!” Several heartbeats of silence went by before she heard his voice slip around her senses.
“Of course I bugged your desk, female. You are in danger. I need to know that you are okay.”
“Damn it, Severus! You’re taking this too far. Where the hell is it?” Eyes searching frantically around her desk, she saw nothing sinister or unfamiliar. “Tell me where it is or I’m hanging up right now.”
“I will tell you, but you have to promise that you will not destroy it and you will keep it with you at all times. Agree to that and you will know.”
She tried appeasing him. “Severus, come on now. You’re not endearing yourself to me at the moment. Think about it. Do you really want me mad at you?”
“Baby, if you stay safe, you can be mad at me all you want.”
For some reason, those few, simple words squeezed something in her chest. No one had ever cared that much for her welfare. Of course, Lina had always cared, so the truth was no man had ever shown that level of concern. It did something to her. Something she never thought she’d allow to happen. Her guard dropped. The sixteen-inch steel wall cranked down a sliver and she could see light filtering in. It gave her a glimpse of hope that the brightness wouldn’t burn her retinas and blind her to the truth of things. She latched onto that thread of light and it reflected in her words.
“Okay, you
’re right. That was a little impetuous of me. I just wanted to help catch this bastard. I’m sorry.” She could almost see his shoulders dropping when his breath released in a long sigh over the phone.
“Good. That’s good. Thank you. Look at your pencil holder. The black pen.”
“Got it. Nice.”
“Yes, and it can track you up to ten miles, too. Keep it with you at all times. That slimy bastard got to you this morning before I could tell you about it. Cato dropped in last night and stashed it so you would have it first thing. You looked tired when we brought you home and I did not want to call and wake you.”
Geez. There he went again. Was he for real? “Thank you. Thank Cato for me.”
“No problem. Now, about that lunch. Go cancel it.”
Damn he could flame her up fast. She took a couple of deep breaths and replied as sweetly as she could muster. Pissing him off would get her nowhere. “Severus, you have to know this is a good opportunity to figure this guy out. You got me wired and tagged. Just hang back and listen. I’ll be careful. What’s the worst that could happen? I seriously doubt he has plans to kidnap or kill me. What purpose would that serve? He wants something from the company, not me.”
“Oh, he wants something from you all right. He wants to get you under him.”
“Well hell, where’s the fun in that? I like it on top.”
“I am serious, Cassie! Something bigger than you is in play here. The more you insert yourself in the situation, the more vulnerable you become. You need to back off and stay away from the man. He is smooth and crafty. He will use you if he can, and if not, discard you like trash.”
“But you won’t let that happen, will you, Severus? You know as well as I do that if we don’t figure out fast what he’s after, then he could get it and be gone before Cato changes the tip color on his hair.”
Cassie smiled at the bark of masculine laughter coming through her phone.
“Ah, damn you, female. I had my anger perfected and you had to go and ruin it. Fine. I will hang back and listen. However, if I get any hint that he intends to harm you, all bets are off and I will crack his skull.
She purred into the phone, “Oh, Severus, you say the sweetest things.” She hung up before he could respond.
* * * *
Severus shoved his phone back into his pocket and cut his eyes over to Cato. The big behemoth was hovering over his keyboard, fingers flying like a concert pianist. As the glowing monitor cast light across his hair tips, Severus promptly burst out laughing.
Cato’s eyebrows lifted on his forehead, gaze never veering from the desktop. “What the hell are you laughing at, fool?”
“Nothing, my friend. That female is just full of surprises.”
Cato grinned and nodded. “She’s a little spitfire isn’t she? Damn fine-looking, too. Is she single?”
Severus sat up straight and growled out his response. “Do not even go there, Cato. Do not even think of her in that manner.”
Severus knew he’d been had the second Cato’s deep chuckle drifted across the room.
“Ah, amici, you are so easy. Just checking the pulse of things. Feel me?”
Severus fell back in his chair and scrubbed his tired eyes. “Shit, I’m in so much trouble and sinking fast.”
Cato finally looked over, his face serious. “And as you should be, my friend. Now, come see this. Drexler 007 went external and started pulling up all kinds of goodies on your female. I let it run for a few seconds before I started feeding him junk. We can’t be too obvious that he has a watchdog.”
“Fuck me! What did he get?”
“No worries, just the bare stats. Let’s see. Mom’s dead. Unsure about father, in foster care at six, couple attempts at college, and now taking online paralegal courses. I started pushing the bogus crap at the request for bank records and medical.”
“That asshole! I’m going to break his knees as soon as we nail him to the wall.” Severus felt his teeth grinding and ordered himself to chill. “You got anything on his outgoing calls yet?”
“Nope. I wasn’t expecting to stream-capture words associated with corporate espionage. I’m trying to get a signal on a cell device since he isn’t using his computer to send anything out. It’d be easier if I knew his gods damn name but the HR stuff I retrieved leads me directly to a guy from San Francisco that died two years ago, so that’s a bust. I think he may have an encrypted sat phone ’cause he sure isn’t sporting a T-Mobile, that’s for sure.”
Severus’s felt his cell vibrate in his pocket. “Shit! I have to meet Drusus. Call me if you hear anything strange. I should be back within the hour.”
“Will do. Oh, almost forgot. Do you want me to hang with you when she heads out to lunch? If so, I’ll need to get some things ready.”
“Yeah, I was hoping you could come along. Watch my back while I watch hers.”
“There for you, brother.” Cato bumped knuckles with him and focused back on the monitor.
Chapter 16
“Sure. Petrus can take over guard for a bit. What’s going on, Severus? You seem agitated.”
Severus stared at Drusus for a long moment, unsure where to start. Even running the words through his head sounded insane.
Drusus motioned for him to sit on the couch before dropping down on a chair across from him. “Spill it, my brother.”
With a deep sigh, he perched on the edge of the couch, elbows on knees, fingers rubbing his temples. “I have a very bad feeling that Cassie may be in danger.”
When Drusus quickly leaned forward, Severus cut off his words. “Nothing to do with the war, so don’t worry about that. This is local. We have a scumbag bugging her office, hacking into systems, swiping confidential emails, and just basically being a pain in the ass.” He could see the relief in Drusus’s eyes as he leaned back into the chair.
“Good, we can deal with local. It’s too damn soon to be reliving that damn nightmare with Basilius. What would make you think she may be in danger if they are only hacking computers?”
“He seems to be focusing on Cassie now. We know who it is. We caught him the night I took her to her office party. He was not aware that we found his devices. I brought in Cato and he’s riding him like a black stain. That’s how I found out he started pulling Cassie’s personal information. Plus, he asked her to lunch this morning and the stupid, crazy, albeit brave woman agreed to go with him. She thinks she can cajole some information out of him. Cato and I are going to shadow them.”
“You got a tracker on her?”
“Yup. Up to ten miles. She just thinks that we will be somewhere close by since she knows the pen is wired for sound. Of course, I’m going to be misting right up close and personal with the smarmy bastard.”
“Good. I’m glad that Cato is helping. Keep me apprised of the situation. I’ll post extra guards on Avelina. Do you want a few at Cassie’s house?”
“No, Trejani, I will be staying close by her as much as possible. If it looks to be escalating, I will let you know.” They stared at each other for several moments. Nothing left to say. Just two guys mulling over another fucked-up life situation while playing out ten scenarios in ten seconds until their heads felt like bursting. His gut churned from the need to finalize the damn thing. Punch it, kill it, and eradicate it, anything to make the day go back to a semblance of normal. Boring was even acceptable.
Unable to keep his butt attached to the cushion any longer, he stood and turned toward the elevator. “Thanks for understanding. I’m going to need this time. I just hope he gets his shit and gets the hell out of her life. Yesterday isn’t fast enough.”
Drusus called his name before he could punch the button. Turning, he saw Drusus still slouched back in his chair, head now tilted slightly to the side and hard green eyes narrowed. Uh-oh. He knew that look. That was the “I’m going to poke at a tender spot and you tell me if I nailed it” look. He wondered if Drusus would let him have a drink before the jabbing started.
Drusus let him stand
there and fidget for a few moments before pursing his lips and cocking one brow. “You know what I’m going to ask, don’t you, my friend?” It was a statement, not a request to think about it, so he didn’t.
“Yes, I certainly do.”
“Then go ahead and answer it then.”
He knew he could just turn and go and Drusus wouldn’t pull the “I’m your Trejani, get your ass back and bow before me” shit. He didn’t have to, never would have to. He knew that he loved him like a brother and the feeling was mutual. There were too many years and too much knowledge between the two of them to ever attempt deceit. As an added benefit, Drusus was good at flipping weights from his shoulders as if they were tiny pebbles of nothing.
“I love her.”
Drusus simply nodded.
Whatever he needed and the level he needed it done to get this guy out of Cassie’s life, Severus read it clearly in his Trejani’s emerald eyes.
* * * *
“I can’t see what he’s doing. Did he just touch her?” At the sound of a husky chuckle, Severus shot his eyes over to Cato. “What do you find so damn funny?”
“You, amici. We’re not thirty yards from them. It’s not like he’s going to lip-lock her and throw down right on the sidewalk. Damn, look at you. Gettin’ all jelly.”
Severus eyeballed Cato hard. “What in the hell are you talking about? What the fuck does jelly have anything to do with this?”
Cato grunted, rubbing the gunmetal-gray balls running up the length of his right ear. “Shit. I’ve been listening to the audio capture equipment for way too long. I’m starting to sound like them. It means jealous. You’re showing all the signs of a male that has marked his female, and marked hard. Feel me?”
Fueled by Lust: Severus (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 12