“You too. When are we going to do something about it?” he asked.
I envisioned her face and smiled, my cock aching. “As I said, I have a plan.”
Brogan laughed as Steven pulled away from the curb. “Why does that not surprise me?”
* * *
Daniel
One week later
The week-long trip had been arduous, but even though it was almost three in the morning, I remained wired. Maybe the four cups of coffee on the plane were to blame.
The several-hour flight had given me far too much time to think. And wish. As I unlocked the door to my condo, I tipped my head toward the stars, thinking of Cassie one more time. Getting her off my mind was next to impossible.
I dropped my bag and laptop case on the floor, heading into the kitchen and grabbing a beer. Then I walked into my combination den and office and eyed the computer. I had paperwork to do to finish out the recent mission, something I could have handled on the plane, but instead I’d spent the entire time daydreaming.
Groaning, I eased into the chair, flipping on the computer. Then I closed my eyes, swinging back and forth in the chair as I took several gulps of beer.
Goddamn it. All I could think about was the night on the beach. I’d almost contacted her five different times, maybe more. I’d gathered all her information, from where she lived to who she worked for, acting as if it was because of my CIA training, but I knew better.
At least I knew she was safely tucked away in an unassuming little house on the outskirts of Chicago. Laughing, I finally opened my eyes, glancing at the computer. As usual, I scrolledthrough the online news source mindlessly, not interested in the latest skirmishes or Wall Street numbers. I sighed, rolling the bottle across my forehead as I moved from page to page. It was part of my job to keep up with current affairs. You never knew when a coup could be avoided.
I was ready to move onto my email when an article caught my eye.
“What the hell?” I scanned the short piece, taking and holding a deep breath as I sat back in my seat.
Senator Walter Fields had retired unexpectedly. The man was only sixty-one and I knew his kind. He was in it for the long haul.
My gut told me this had something to do with Cassie. The little spitfire needed to keep out of politics and other dangerous business, but I had a bad feeling she wouldn’t follow our instructions. As I moved to my email, I noticed one from Alexander. The words were simple but in bold and all caps.
CALL ME.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll call you.” I hadn’t felt like talking to him since leaving the island. What did we have to say to each other? I scrolled through the other emails, finding nothing that mattered.
Until…
Then another shock.
She’d emailed me.
Cassie.
The woman I’d fallen madly in love with.
I’d given her my private email address since I never carried my phone while on a job. My mouth was dry, my pulse quickening. I took a deep breath before I opened it. I wasn’t certain what I was expecting, but what she’d sent me made my blood boil.
“What. The. Fuck?”
As I read through the information, including various documents, I remained floored. If even half of what she’d sent regarding her father was true, the man could spend one hell of a long time behind bars. Her accusations were disturbing, especially her indication that her father had been funded by the Durante family. Did Alexander fucking know about this? Had he condoned it?
That wasn’t possible. Couldn’t be. This had to be all about his father.
Jesus Christ.
My gut continued churning. I’d been an agent for long enough to know that when an amateur when sleuthing, no matter how careful they’d been, they would leave a trail a mile wide. I shifted immediately to my secure account, trying to calm my nerves as I searched for any sign of mob activity. While we handled international cases, that didn’t mean we didn’t keep watch on every crime syndicate and cartel, especially given most had business in another country.
When I found nothing conclusive on any activity surrounding the Durantes, I sat back, nursing on my beer.
