At least three men. All centered on Cassidy? It certainly seemed that way.
He’d get to her, but first, he’d have to separate Cassidy from her circle of protectors.
Or he’d have to simply kill those protectors. Payback, for the lives of his men.
He’d always believed in the value of an eye for an eye.
* * *
CALE WASN’T A FOOL. Cassidy might think he was misled by a wide smile and flirting eyes—and a very short robe—but this wasn’t his first case. He wasn’t some green soldier who’d be distracted by a pretty face. Or long legs.
So when Cassidy came shimmying down the lattice outside of her hotel, he was waiting for her.
The shadows hid him. All of the agents in his team knew how to use the shadows. So he stood in the darkness, watching her jump from the lattice and touch down gracefully on the cement. She was almost bouncing with excitement.
You thought you got away from me?
Not even close.
She glanced back up at the open bathroom window as she eased away from the building. She still hadn’t seen him.
Time to change that.
He stepped forward, moving soundlessly, the way he’d learned to hunt when Uncle Sam had first trained him to be an army ranger.
She still didn’t hear him.
And she was an EOD agent? Doubt gnawed at him. Cassidy sure didn’t act like an agent.
He reached out and curled his fingers around her shoulder.
Cassidy screamed.
Not like an agent.
An agent would attack first, not scream.
But Cassidy’s attack came seconds after her scream. She whirled around, striking out at him with a strong left hook. It would have been a good blow, if it had connected to his face.
It didn’t.
He caught her fist in his hand, freezing the blow. “Did you need some air?” Cale murmured, trying to sound mildly curious.
A shaft of streetlight fell on her face, and he saw her surprise as her jaw dropped open.
“Because, if you needed some air—” Cale shrugged “—I would have been happy to go for a walk with you. You should have just asked me.”
She tried to jerk back her fist. Because there was no place for her to run in that narrow alleyway, he let her go.
Cassidy was caged between him and the side of the hotel. Freedom wasn’t in sight.
He crossed his arms over his chest and waited, sure that whatever lie was about to spill from her full lips would be interesting.
“I didn’t expect you to be waiting.” She cocked her head as she studied him. Cassidy rocked forward onto the balls of her feet. “You must have come down here the minute I shut the bathroom door.”
Yes, he had. Cale wondered why she wasn’t trying to lie to him.
“How did you know?” Cassidy asked. “You shouldn’t have known.”