Chapter Seven
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T ristan stopped cleaning his weapon as Cassie came through the door of the indoor shooting range. Her short black hair was wispy around her face, a long-sleeved black shirt and cargo pants molded to her long, lean build.
His day was made already, and it was barely eight a.m. “Morning. What’d you get up to last night?”
She set her bag down next to him and unzipped it. “Watched a true crime documentary while eating the most awesome piece of pie Bristol brought me. You?”
He was ridiculously pleased that she’d been home watching TV instead of out with someone. “I went back-to-school shopping with Carly and Gavin.” His only niece started at her new school tomorrow.
“How’d that go?”
“It was incredibly expensive. For Gavin.”
She laughed. “I’ll bet. But eighth grade is a big deal. It’s tough enough for girls that age, let alone for someone starting middle school in a new town. She needs all the confidence she can get when she walks into that building.”
“I agree. Which is why I convinced Gav to allow a full makeover while we were at it.”
She stopped digging out her gear to look at him, interest gleaming in her stunning silver eyes. With her dark hair and pale complexion, they almost seemed to glow. “What’s that entail, exactly?”
“New haircut and style, manicure, some light, age-appropriate makeup, perfume, new clothes and shoes. The works.”
Cassie gave a low whistle. “And what did your totally chill twin think of that?”
“Funnily enough, it was the perfume that put him over the edge. He was all, ‘I don’t want her to smell good on top of looking like that .’ He thinks she’s growing up too fast and wants her to stay twelve forever. Which is hilarious, since he’s only been a dad for three months.”
Neither Gavin nor Autumn had known the truth until recently, due to DNA results for Carly’s family genealogy project for school of all things. It was wild that no one had ever seen the similarities between her and Gavin before that.
“And what about you?”
He shrugged. “I’m the funcle. I’m for whatever makes her happy. Because I’m fun.”
“Gavin’s not fun?”
“Come on. I’m way funner than he is.”
“Nice English. How did Autumn react to the transformation?”
“She saw the smile on Carly’s face and thought it was great. We kept things subtle, nothing overboard. But they said I spoil her too much. You believe that?”
“No,” she gasped, widening those pretty eyes in fake astonishment for a moment before a smirk took hold. “She has all three of you firmly wound around her little finger, and you know it.”
“Yeah, that’s fair.” He was good with it.
Growing up, he and his siblings had been the opposite of spoiled. After their parents had died, too often they’d gone to school or to bed with empty stomachs, their sister and older brother scrambling to make ends meet and put food on their table. So yeah, he was just happy that Carly would never know that kind of life.
“There are worse things for a teenage girl than being adored and spoiled by her dad and uncle.” He didn’t miss the almost wistful edge to her tone as she took out her sidearm and began taking it apart.
He picked up his own to finish cleaning it, dying to know more about her background but knowing he had to be careful not to pry. For all her friendliness, Cassie was private. She tended to keep to herself and never talked about anything personal.
It made him want to know about her even more. “Bet you’ve got your parents wrapped around your finger too.”
“Maybe once upon a time. But not anymore.” She got busy cleaning the pistol.
And that was it. Nothing else, and her closed reaction told him he’d hit a nerve.
He curbed his impatience. But it seriously bothered him that after months of working together she still didn’t seem to trust him. She was professional and a good teammate but continued to hold herself a little aloof from him and the others and didn’t socialize with them much outside of work.
He’d realized a while ago that if he wanted to win her trust, he was going to have to earn it. He just wasn’t sure how.
It was a new experience for him, and he didn’t like it. None of the women he’d been interested in before were like Cassie. Most of them were the exact opposite with talking about personal stuff, to the point of oversharing.
He racked his brain, searching for something to get her talking again.
Food. She loved food. Ironic, since he had issues with sharing it. “So what’s so great about this pie you had?”
Her face brightened as she wiped down the barrel of her pistol. “Best lemon sour cream pie ever. Made from scratch, with a graham crust, then the lemon sour cream layer, and whipped cream with grated zest on top. It’s incredible.”
“Is it from a place in town?” He would have to find it and bring her a piece.
“No, there’s a diner on the highway between here and Portland. Bristol stopped on her way back.”
“She went back again already?” She and Cassie had just gone there the other day.
Cassie made a frustrated sound. “She— Never mind.”
He set his weapon down to watch her, sensing she’d been on the verge of opening up a bit. He wanted her to. “No, what?” Something was bothering her. It was just the two of them here. If she was ever going to talk to him, really talk to him, this was as good a moment as any.
She hesitated, seemed to battle with herself, then sighed. “She decided to go back there yesterday to track down that TJ guy across the worst parts of the city—alone, as it was getting dark.”
“Why?”
“She’s on another crusade. Won’t listen to anything I say.” Her tone was loaded with annoyance.
“I got a twin like that.”
She gave a grudging chuckle, and it warmed him inside. “This isn’t the same thing. But it’s all good. Although, apparently, I’m not allowed to be mad, because she had pepper spray with her.” She rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“What did you mean by ‘another crusade?’”
She paused, seemed to weigh her words carefully before answering. “She did this once before. Granted, she managed to pull it off that time. This time, not so much.”
Sounded to him like she was worried about Bristol and wanted to protect her from being disappointed or hurt. “You guys are pretty close,” he said to keep her talking. This was the most she’d ever told him about anything personal, and he didn’t want her to stop.
“We are now, yeah.”
“You weren’t before?”
She shook her head. “Didn’t get off on the best foot when we met. She didn’t trust my mom and me in the beginning, but then eventually she saw we weren’t so bad.” She looked at him. “Is this what it’s like to have a sibling? Feeling exasperated half the time?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Awesome.” She straightened, checked the chamber of her weapon, and took a full magazine out of her bag. “Ready to put some rounds downrange? Callum asked me to drop off some weapons at the office after.”
One of CPS’s owners. “I’ll do it.”
Cassie stopped and looked at him in surprise, her safety glasses dangling from one hand. “Really?”
He hid a frown. It was like no one had ever offered to do her a favor before. “Sure, it’s no big deal. I’m headed that way anyway.” He lived just up the hill from the office.
He got up and followed her to the doors that led to the firing lanes, trying not to notice the way her cargo pants hugged her ass. He made it a point not to look at his coworker’s asses, male or female. But with her he couldn’t help sneak a peek.
“If you’re sure, then thanks. By the way, you get an update on the upcoming detail yet?” She handed him a pair of bright yellow earmuffs marked with the CPS logo. The C was a curling blue wave topped with a whitecap.
“Yeah. You?” He slid on his own safety glasses.
“This morning.” She had been tapped as personal security and driver for famous actress Becca Sandoza.
He was the same for Becca’s husband, Chase Davenport, Hollywood stuntman and CPS founder’s best friend from back in North Carolina. They were coming to town to visit Ryder and scout several locations for an upcoming movie. Chase and his crew might also film some stunt scenes in the area. Which meant Tristan would be working closely with Cassie during that week.
He couldn’t wait. “No pressure.”
She shot him a grin that made his insides tighten. “None whatsoever.”
“You must’ve been on security details for celebs in Vegas from time to time.”
“No. I did security for various events when celebs were present, but not personal protection details. They usually came with their own bodyguards.” She went quiet as she stepped into her own firing lane, all business. Squaring her body to the target, she raised her weapon before firing six shots, each one hitting center mass.
He’d be lying if he didn’t admit that was hot as hell. Even if they were coworkers.
He was always respectful of her and mindful that she was a woman in a male-dominated career and likely felt she had to prove herself to the others constantly to maintain their respect. Currently, she was the only female personal security agent at CPS.
But he was definitely into her. She was already under his skin without even trying, and every time he saw her, she burrowed deeper in there. Even though the attraction might be one-sided. And even though his brain told him that anything between them couldn’t go anywhere even if it wasn’t.
He stepped into the lane beside hers, adjusted the target, and took aim.
Thirty minutes later, they were both out of ammo.
Cassie lowered her weapon, checked the chamber to ensure it was empty, and set it aside on the small ledge as she tugged off her earmuffs and safety glasses. “You want to keep going? Or are you done?”
“I’m done.” He set his safety glasses on his own shelf. “Wanna go grab something to eat on the way back to town? Or we could go check out that diner you mentioned.”
It was well out of their way, but he was all for an excuse to spend more time alone with her on the drive there and back. He might even share a bite or two of his, because it was her.
“I’m good, thanks.”
The rebuff was polite but firm and took him off guard. Just when he thought he was making progress, she shut down and pulled back again.
“Some other time,” he said with a nonchalance that felt a little forced.
“Sounds good.” She strode for the doors without looking back.
Tristan stood there for a moment, letting the silence surround him. It was time to be honest with himself.
This was about way more than earning her trust. He didn’t want to break through or pull down the walls she kept around herself.
He wanted her to open the gates for him.
And only for him.