Mercer needs to get his hands off her. And the guy had just dragged her into his office and slammed the door shut.
Mercer’s assistant, Judith Rogers, was standing up, eyes wide, seemingly frozen by the emotional display from her boss.
Cale stalked toward that closed office door.
Only to find his path blocked by Drew. “You might want to back off for a while,” Drew advised him.
He was tired of Drew’s warnings And tired of feeling like Drew knew Cassidy better than he did.
“Get out of my way,” Cale snarled.
Drew shook his head. “Things aren’t always the way they seem.”
“Yeah? Well, Mercer doesn’t get to intimidate Cassidy—an asset. That’s not what we do here.”
Cale pushed Drew aside.
The other agent whistled. “It’s your funeral.”
Cassidy had been afraid. She’d looked at Mercer with fear.
Cale didn’t want Cassidy afraid of anything or anyone.
“Wait!” Judith squeaked. She usually sounded confident, in charge—not scared. She was scared then. “You can’t go in there!”
Sure, he could. The guards were downstairs. He’d passed them all. There was no one to stop him now. His fingers curled around the doorknob, and he shoved the door open—
And found Cassidy in Mercer’s arms.
Fury flooded through him. “Get away from her!” His hands fisted. This? This was why Mercer had been so desperate to get Cassidy back? Because he was—
Not Cassidy. This wouldn’t happen. “I said, get away from her!”
Mercer’s head lifted. Cassidy had gasped and spun away from him.
“Cale, no,” Cassidy said quickly. “It’s not what you—”
“Shut the door,” Mercer snapped at the same time. “Now.”
Cale had shut the door even before Mercer finished speaking. He’d shut that door and crossed the room because he was going after Mercer. So what if the man was the director of the EOD? He wasn’t getting Cassidy.
Because I want her.
Cassidy pushed in front of Cale. Her hands lifted and flattened against his chest. “It’s not what you think. Cale...Bruce Mercer is my father.”
And everything in the room got real, real quiet.
Her father? Her father! His gaze swept over her face, then went to Mercer. The director looked like he could chew nails.
Cassidy didn’t bear any resemblance to the man. Nothing. No way was she his daughter. Mercer didn’t have a daughter. The man had no family. Just his job.
“That information doesn’t leave this room, Lane. Do you understand me?” Mercer said. Despite his fierce appearance, the man’s voice was...shaken.
When Mercer slanted a fast glance at Cassidy,
Cale saw a glimmer of fear in Mercer’s eyes.
She’s his daughter.