Drew turned away.
Cale lunged after him. He grabbed the guy’s arm. “How do you know so much about Cassidy?”
“Because I’ve been on guard duty with her a few times before.”
At those words, a stab of jealousy shot through Cale. Jealousy? Why would he be jealous of another agent doing his job?
But...that job was Cassidy, and he sure didn’t like the idea of Drew Lancaster being so close to her.
“On my last stint with Cassidy, I was on protection detail with her for three months. You can learn a lot about a person when you watch her 24/7.”
Cale’s back teeth clenched.
“You just met her, didn’t you? Known her only a few days...” Drew pulled away from him. “Take the advice that I’m giving, man. Don’t get close to her. Kissing her was probably the worst mistake you could’ve made.”
Cale forced a mocking smile. “Nah, I don’t think it even ranks in my top ten.”
A furrow appeared between Drew’s eyes. “I heard the rumors about you. That you’re not even supposed to be in the EOD. That you have—”
“Overly aggressive tendencies?” Cale quoted from what he knew was in an old case file—courtesy of a shrink who’d been out to punish him. “That I’m prone to extreme violence?” He’d sure gotten violent with those jerks in that basement.
Because they’d tried to come between him and Cassidy.
Drew studied him. “At first, I thought the rumors were B.S. Hell, show me a soldier who isn’t aggressive.”
Aggression was part of who they were.
“But I saw what you left behind in that basement, Hoss.” Drew’s Mississippi drawl roughened the words. “And now I know exactly how you like to play.”
Cale stared back at him. “I wasn’t playing.”
“Cassidy isn’t for you. She’s not supposed to wind up with a soldier who likes to kill.”
He didn’t flinch. Barely.
“There are other plans in place for her. You need to remember that before it’s too late.”
Then Drew turned his back on Cale and opened the door.
Cale didn’t follow him. He was too busy remembering the feel of broken glass in his hands.
He could still smell the blood. Still hear the grunts from the guards.
A soldier who likes to kill...
What chance did he have with a society princess?
He knew they were different, from two worlds that couldn’t have been farther apart.
Only... I want her.
She was the first thing he’d wanted for himself in longer than he could remember.
And Cale had no plans to walk away from her.
Chapter Six
The looming building that housed the EOD rose before Cassidy. She didn’t normally head into the main office because Mercer liked to keep her away from that area.
He’d always said that the fewer people who actually knew about her, the better.
She’d refused to let his words hurt her. No, she’d refused to act like they hurt.
Because they had.
The hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C., zoomed past her. Night had fallen again, and the city seemed to beat with a pulse of life. Tourists strolled on the sidewalks, impatient cabdrivers zipped through the traffic and that big building just waited.
It wasn’t like anyone could prance inside and see Elite Operations Division emblazoned on the windows and doors of the offices. The EOD operated below the radar—most civilians would never know of its existence.
Armed guards waited just inside the lobby, and no one got past those guards, not without some very good clearance. So any clueless tourists who wandered inside, looking for a bit of D.C. history, would quickly find themselves escorted elsewhere.
The SUV pulled to a slow stop near the EOD headquarters. Drew turned toward her. He’d been her companion for the past twelve hours. He...and Cale. Cale had been on the plane with her. Cale’s two teammates—Logan and the ever-quiet Gunner—had been there, too. Only now, Cale, Logan and Gunner were in the vehicle behind them.
They had all been asked to come to Mercer’s office. She knew Mercer must have plans to berate them for her capture, but she wasn’t going to let those men be punished. She’d left; she’d disobeyed his orders. Not them.
“Cassidy...” Drew’s sigh of her name had her glancing at him. At least he’d finally dropped the annoying “Ms. Sherridan” bit. When her focus landed on him, he said, “You...you need to be careful with Cale Lane.”
She actually liked Drew. Sure, she’d heard the whispers that the guy was supposed to bleed ice water, but she’d never found him particularly cold. He’d talked to her during his guard assignments. He hadn’t acted like she was an annoying piece of fluff that he had to deal with—the way most agents usually did. Heck, even the way that Cale had originally looked at her.
I see you now. Cale’s words rang through her mind. She couldn’t get the man out of her mind.
“There have been some rumors about him,” Drew continued. “I just... You’re not as strong as you think, Cass, and I know just how cosseted Mercer has made sure that you are.”
Cosseted... Was that his slang for guarded? Locked up? Kept away from the opposite sex? Because until she’d hit eighteen, she’d been in a boarding school—that was where she’d met Helen and Genevieve. And after she’d finished college, her father had made sure that her guard duty was in place. He’d amped up the protection when Helen had died—and when Cassidy had started her hunt for the Executioner.
“Just because he’s an agent, it doesn’t mean that you should trust him.”
His words floored Cassidy. You’re wrong. “Mercer trusts him. You know he wouldn’t have sent Cale if he didn’t believe—”
“Cale used you to get the Executioner.”
She shook her head. He had it so wrong.
But Drew was adamant. “He let you escape him. Do you really think a guy like Cale would have been caught off guard by a left hook?” Drew shook his head. He knew her signature move so well—mostly because he’d taught it to her. “I’ve seen him take down half a dozen guards in a matter of seconds. One blow—no matter how powerful—wouldn’t stop him.”
And she’d seen Cale go through all those men in that basement, slashing out brutally with that chunk of glass as his only weapon.
“He wanted to stop the Executioner.” Her words were soft, but they seemed too loud in the interior of that SUV.