“You don’t believe his shit, do you?” he asked.
“Not in the least.” As I thought about the man’s facial expressions during our conversation, my thoughts were interrupted by an incoming text, but not from my regular phone.
From the one I’d given Cassie.
I rarely had any reaction other than the initial hunger felt around a beautiful woman, but the small special sound I’d selected in case she called or texted slammed me full of electricity. When I pulled out the phone, I found myself holding my breath.
Yet when I read the text, I couldn’t help but growl. The audacity of the worthless senator to threaten us should be amusing. On this night, I was furious.
“What is it?” Brogan asked.
“Evidently our rebellious girl has been busy. I would say she’s been snooping on her father.”
“Meaning what?”
I showed him the text, my anger unfurling. “How interesting her father found the balls to threaten us.” I knew enough about our little bird to know she had a hidden meaning in sending me the text. She was trying to prevent me from killing an innocent man, only Rocco wasn’t innocent. I would never tell her the truth about the fact that he’d had Garrison killed.
“What do you want to do?” Brogan asked.
“For the first time in my life, I’m going to follow my heart instead of my gut. Steven, we’re going back to the estate.”
“You sure, boss?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. However, I do want to know if or when Rocco leaves the city.” I sat back, shaking my head.
“She has a way of getting under your skin, doesn’t she?”
“Not just under your skin, my friend. She snagged my heart.”
“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 scrolled through 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.