Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

February 2 nd

9:18 A.M.

She was still so giddy with excitement that Cassie hadn't stopped smiling since Luis had thrown Violet out of his bed and his life yesterday afternoon.

It didn't matter that they still hadn't done more than a little kissing, or that she'd slept in his bed, surrounded by his scent, while he took the spare bedroom at the top of the stairs. It was for security reasons he'd told her, so he was between her and a threat if anyone managed to break into his house.

Although she thought there was nowhere safer to have him than curled up beside her, but that was probably just her newly discovered libido talking.

All that mattered was that Luis hadn't picked the sexy siren who already knew how to pleasure a man, he'd chosen her. With all her inexperience and issues, he'd still chosen her and that was why she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"So, got any ideas on decoding this next sentence?" she asked as Luis set two mugs of steaming coffee on the kitchen table where they'd set up their laptops and notes.

"You're the genius," he said, deflecting as he always seemed to do when it was implied that he had something of value to offer that wasn't in regard to his physical strength and skill.

"Yet you're the one who managed to figure out where the last two bombs were located," she reminded him. If it took time and patience to convince him that he was a whole lot smarter than he gave himself credit for that was okay. She had the time and patience to give, and the payoff would be so amazing. When Luis finally saw all of himself, she'd be so proud of him for overcoming his difficulties and still seeing all his strengths.

"Just bouncing ideas around," he said, once again brushing off her praise.

Maybe she had to show him that changing was scary, but could still be done if you wanted it enough. She was trying to make a conscious effort to spend time each day going forward on the things she enjoyed, even though the pressure of her job weighed heavily on her shoulders.

Start small.

That's what she was determined to do.

One little thing each day. Even if it was only five minutes, she deserved that bit of time to do something that brought her joy just for the sake of having joy in her life.

"I'll show you what I drew this morning if you sit down and help me rather than pretending all you're good for is making coffee and ‘bouncing ideas around'," she told him.

"Bribery, princess?" he asked with an amused smirk.

"I prefer to think of it as motivation," she corrected.

"Well, regardless of what we're calling it, I can't say I'm not curious. You show me your drawing, and I'll listen to the audio while you read the transcripts," he suggested.

"Deal." Rifling through the piles of paper, she pulled out the sheet that had the drawing she'd made first thing this morning before she got up and showered and officially started her day.

There was a time, just a couple of days ago, that she would have been mortified for anyone to see one of her pictures. They'd always just been for her, a way to express all the things she wouldn't even allow herself to acknowledge.

But funnily enough, considering she wanted him to take her to bed, there was no embarrassment as she held out the sketch. Since she hadn't spent long on it there weren't as many details as most of her other paintings, and there was no color. It was just a simple line drawing done in pencil, but of all her pieces, this was the one she was most proud of.

Maybe because her attitude had been different when drawing it. She hadn't been hiding this part of herself, and the subject matter was pure perfection. Okay, maybe she was a little biased since she was crushing hard, but she truly thought there was no better man out there than the one she'd drawn.

"You drew me, huh?" Luis asked, a sexy grin spreading across his face as he took the sheet of paper and studied the picture.

"I had to take a few liberties since I haven't seen … umm … all of you yet," she said, cheeks flaming but more from desire than embarrassment. Since she didn't know what Luis looked like naked, she'd drawn him as she saw him in her head.

"Yet? I like the sound of that."

"Thought you didn't want me to make a mistake and give away my virginity to someone who thought he had nothing much to offer." Her words weren't to make him feel bad, she just had to know that she wasn't the only one feeling this connection between them. Wasn't the only one wanting there to be more. Sometimes, everyone needed a little reassurance, and while Luis throwing Violet out of his house was something, she needed to hear him say that she wasn't holding out hope for something that was never going to happen.

"Guess I'm not as incapable of change as I thought I was," he said softly as though he were shocked by the revelation.

That was enough for now.

Soon, she'd need him to prove he did find her attractive, and it wasn't just his body responding the way it was designed to. She'd never had an orgasm and she wanted to know what all the fuss was about. But she only wanted it with this man. She hadn't tried touching herself again, that wasn't enough, she wanted it all, and she wanted Luis to be the one to give it to her.

"You can keep it, I have a feeling that I'm going to be drawing a whole lot more pictures of you," she said shyly.

"Maybe the next one will have a certain woman in it," he said, eyes burning with a desire that left her trembling as need surged through her body. "I can think of at least a dozen different poses that would make great paintings."

So could she.

Enough to fill up every second of her day drawing and painting.

A million story ideas, too, of romantic moments shared between a man who didn't think he was good enough, and a woman who didn't know how to be normal.

But they would have to wait.

A few minutes of indulgence was one thing, but they did have an important job to do, one that now needed their attention.

While Luis began to play the video recording on his laptop, she read over the transcript. Already, she'd read it at least a hundred times, but each time she did she tried to focus on a different aspect, a different word, running through ideas in her mind as she did so, and trying to look for anything that stood out to her.

If there had originally been seven bombs and one had gone off, almost killing her in the lab, and another two had been found, that still left four, and one of those was the big one that would be detonated in just a few days.

She had to focus.

What was the point of being a genius if you couldn't use your brain to save lives?

Forcing herself to stay calm was hard, but getting frustrated would only hamper her ability to think clearly. She wanted this to be over, the drug to be used for its intended purpose, the mole caught and in custody, and to know that she and her team were safe. She wanted a chance to explore this thing with Luis.

"You don't get to coast through life, deciding who lives and who dies."

The words echoed through the voice recording at the same time she read them on the paper.

Coast?

Could it be that simple?

They'd been looking into ideas that a bomb could be planted somewhere near the coast, or that it was in reference to a vehicle of some sort, something you could "coast" along in. But that was a lot of places to look, and even with all of Prey's resources it would take too long to search everything.

But what if it meant Prey's boat?

It was called the MS Coast.

"Luis, I think I know where the next bomb is," she said, sure that this was a viable option and one worth going and checking out. "Prey has one of their boats moored nearby, and it's called Coast. I think that's what it could be referring to."

"Let's go," he agreed, already closing his laptop and pushing back from the table.

While she'd been lonely growing up, she'd been working for Prey a long time and was used to having a team at her back, being surrounded by people who believed in her and trusted her. But there was nothing quite like the feeling she got just now when Luis moved without hesitation, ready to follow her where she wanted to go, confident that she knew what she was talking about.

Was this what it was like to have a partner?

Someone who would always be there, whose presence made you feel strong and confident, who made you feel safe just by being there.

If this was what it felt like to fall in love, it made her even more determined to find the mole and end their reign of terror because nobody was going to steal away this feeling.

February 2 nd

10:58 A.M.

"Remember the rules."

"Rules? What rules?" Cassie asked as she glanced over at him from the passenger seat of his car.

"That when it comes to your safety, I'm in charge. You do what I say when I say it. No discussion, no arguments. If I ask you to do something, it's because there's something wrong and I need to know you're safe so I can do what I need to do."

As far as Luis was concerned, this was non-negotiable, and if Cassie wasn't willing to play by the rules so he could keep her alive then he'd drive her somewhere safe and come back with someone else.

Given the vastness of the area the mole could have planted the bombs, it wasn't feasible to have only one group searching for them. That meant all of Prey had to be involved, that they had to take risks he wasn't comfortable taking. If it was up to him, Cassie would be locked up in a fortress where nobody could possibly get to her until this whole mess was sorted out.

But she took her role at Prey seriously, and he knew she felt responsible for everything happening because the Reactivator had originally been her idea. So he'd gone along with her coming with him to check out another location even if he didn't like it, as long as he was confident that she would do what he asked of her if it turned out the mole was following them.

"I promise the only words you'll get out of me are, ‘Yes, sir' as I hurry to follow all orders," Cassie told him, clearly fighting a smile.

"Princess," he groaned. "You can't be throwing around words like that without understanding the consequences."

It took a moment, but he knew the exact second his words registered because her cheeks turned bright red. "Oh … umm … do you … like that kind of thing?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

Truth was, he wasn't sure how to answer that question. Did he love a woman in the bedroom who bowed to his every demand? Sure, it could be fun, and he never took advantage, never made it just about him. He always made sure it was good for her. But with Cassie, everything was different because she was different. All he wanted to give her was whatever she wanted, but yeah, if she was willing, he'd definitely teach her the things he liked.

"Not the time or place for that discussion if I want to keep you alive, princess," he told her.

Her face grew serious, and she nodded. "I won't do anything stupid. Promise. If you tell me you need me to do something I'll do it right away and won't argue with you."

Scanning the area, when he didn't see anything that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his gut churn, he climbed out of the vehicle, rounded it, and opened Cassie's door. Making sure he kept her tucked close, his body angled so it was between her and where he figured a likely attack would come from if the mole was here and decided to make a move, he walked her toward Prey's boat.

The marina was on the smaller side and not one they'd gotten to the other day when they were checking them out. There were a few people about, but nobody seemed to pay them any attention and nothing set his gut off.

Once they reached the boat, he helped her onto it and then turned to her and pressed the keys to his truck into her hand. "You let me clear it first, then we check for the bomb. If I tell you to run, you go back to the car, get in, lock the doors, and drive yourself straight to Prey's office where you stay with one of the guys you know you can trust."

While he could see in her eyes her desire to argue, she nodded her agreement, and he turned and began to clear the boat. It wasn't large, and he knew Prey didn't use it all that often, so it was an odd choice for the mole to use.

Unless they wanted the clues to be discovered.

This could all be an elaborate trap to get them on board with the purpose of killing them. It was unclear what the mole's motivations were besides trying to sell the Reactivator. Was there a personal grudge against Athena Team? The bomb at the lab should have killed Cassie. If she hadn't figured out what was going to happen a split second before it did, she wouldn't have gotten to the table and instead been killed when debris crashed to the ground.

There was every chance that the mole actually wanted to kill Cassie and her friends.

Uneasiness settling over him, he hurried back to join Cassie, finding her right where he'd left her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sensing his anxiety even though he was sure he wasn't broadcasting any.

"Don't know," he replied truthfully. "Something feels off now that we're here."

"Because the only people that would be on this boat would be Prey people, and it's not a place anyone comes very often," she said, echoing his own fears. "It's almost like they wanted us to figure out the clues, like this is all some big game to them. They wanted us here, but why? There was supposed to be a bomb a day. One on the twenty-ninth that almost killed me, we found one on the thirtieth, but none on the thirty-first, and there were no reports of one. Then we found the one at the restaurant, but it didn't go off. The only one that did was the one from the marina and it wasn't powerful enough to cause much damage. What game are they playing?"

"Don't know, princess, and I don't like it." It was hard to fight against an enemy who you didn't completely understand. Without knowing someone's motivation it was hard to predict what they would do in any given situation. Harder to predict meant more dangerous. If the mole was purely after money, they were less physically dangerous, but if they wanted something more then it only amped up that danger to Athena Team.

"Well, we're here now. We may as well check for a bomb," Cassie said. "No use trying to figure out if the mole is trying to motivate us to give up the formula or actually trying to kill us. Either way, we still need to find those bombs so no innocent people are hurt."

That selfless streak was going to wind up backfiring.

Sooner or later, Cassie was going to get hurt if she kept prioritizing other people over and above herself. It wasn't that he wanted her to be selfish, he loved that she was so motivated to use her gifts to help others, but she was important, too, and he didn't want to lose her to her sense of right and wrong.

They both began to search the boat, and just as he was about to call the exercise a bust and suggest they head back to his place and regroup, Cassie called out his name.

Following the sound of her voice, he found her bent over the controls, a grim look on her face.

"It's here," she told him grimly. "And it's wired into the boat's control panel."

"What does that mean for us?"

A jerk sent them both flying sideways. The panel suddenly lit up as the engine roared to life, and the boat lurched forward as it began to drive seemingly on its own.

"I don't think it means anything good for us," Cassie replied. "The mole must have hacked into the system and set up a way to take control of the boat. They know we're here."

Picking up speed the boat drove off, jerking them violently when the rope that had been used to moor it must have broken from the force.

"Uh … Luis?"

"What?" From her tone, it wasn't good news.

"The bomb just activated, and it has less than a minute on the timer."

They were already at least a hundred yards from the shore and the boat was picking up speed, careening across the ocean as it headed out to sea. That didn't leave them with many options.

Only one as far as he could tell.

"Can you disarm it?" he asked.

"Not in less than sixty seconds with the boat going this fast," Cassie replied.

"Then we need to jump," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back out onto the deck.

"Umm … you should probably know something," Cassie said, pulling back against his grip on her hand.

"Later, princess."

"No, Luis, now. I can't swim." Panic flared in her eyes as she looked out at the ocean around them. "I don't like the water. My parents used to get annoyed with me because they expected me to be automatically good at everything, and I wouldn't even give swimming a try. They said everybody had to know how to swim, but the water, especially the ocean, freaks me out."

Much as he might like to soothe her fears, promise her that he wouldn't let her drown, there was no time to coddle. Already they had to be down to less than thirty seconds, not a lot of time to put any distance between them and the boat, and they had no idea how big the explosion was going to be.

They might not be able to get far enough away.

"Trust me, princess," he said as he picked her up.

"I want to, Luis, but?—"

"No buts," he told her as he moved to the edge of the boat.

They had to do this, and they had to do it now.

Just as he jumped and was sailing through the air with his girl in his arms, it happened.

The boat exploded.

The force threw them forward, ripping Cassie from his arms as they hit the water with enough speed to shove them down deep beneath the surface into the inky darkness of the wild ocean.