“Okay. Maybe I misspoke. Let’s just call her invisible, then. But that’s really stretching the bounds of reality, man. She’s invisible, and everything she touches is invisible while she’s touching it. Then, the moment she lets it go…poof! Visible again. Want me to fast-forward to the hall scene? That’s when it gets really interesting. As if everything in the feeds decided to have fog issues. Look. I’ll show you. Maybe you need more light.”
“Aren’t you fired, Sam?” Jake asked.
“Still waiting for the pink slip. Told you. Oh. And the severance pay. You did promise us a generous package.”
“Just let me access my program. I’ll show you.” Jake moved to a table and pulled one of the sides off. It instantly became an active internet pad. A moment later, he was selecting face shapes to begin. He did his own storyboards. Designed his avatars. Sketched everything. She was going to be the frosting to this cake. And he was really going to love drawing that hair.
“You? You’re going to find the invisible woman when Ryan’s used every code and trick up his sleeve to locate her? He even tried adding a heat signature when one wasn’t in the program to begin with. The guy’s a genius and you slur him. Good thing he’s gone for your meal. I’d help him hit you. The doctor will even help.”
“It’s Malcolm, jackass.”
“All right—Malcolm. You tell me how he’s going to do it, then. We all saw just a bunch of shadow and a hint of electronic fuzz in every single hall shot. There isn’t much to be seen because Jake’s imaginary woman just happens to be invisible, too. And she casts some weird sort of fog that camouflages everything she touches. Just our luck.”
“Oh. There’s plenty to be seen. And…stop! Freeze it. There! See? There it is. Two little, black lace gloves just appeared. Like magic. On the tile floor.”
Jake looked up at the monitor. Yep. There were two little gloves, although on that screen they were about a foot high. He went back to his drawing.
“Start it up again. And…yes. Wait for it. Wait. Wait. There! There’s our Jake’s swim trunks getting kicked free ’cause they’re no longer needed. You sure that wasn’t a cigarette gone crazy making all that smoke? Spontaneous combustion? Something physical? Or maybe she’s metaphysical…like a ghost?”
“A ghost?” Grant asked.
“Yeah. Ectoplasm might have this effect on technology. At least, in theory. And we don’t have much else here. Doctor?”
“I’m warning you, Sam. One more time with the doctor crap and I’m spilling your secrets on the ’net.”
“Just be sure and put ‘for a good time, just call’ at the end. Or better yet, we could run an online ad. Just warn me first. I’ll be swamped with calls.”
“A ghost. That would be so rad. Impossible…but rad.” Grant mused, completely ignoring the rest of the conversation.
Jake continued working as they bandied words. He ignored them for the most part, chuckling occasionally, and when he finally added the ultra blue shade to the eyes on his drawing, he sent the image to the screen, overriding everything already there.
He should have played a drum-roll for the reaction he got the moment Cassandra’s drawn image filled the screen. Exclamations and choked words and more than a few expletives filled the area. It wasn’t her exactly, but it was pretty damned close. The mass of red hair. The cobalt blue eyes. The perfect, pristine skin. Lush lashes. That mouth. Bosom. The itty-bitty waist.
“Somebody hit me!” Sam swore. “
That’s
your invisible woman?”
“You got to be kidding. No. I don’t believe it. No.” That was Grant.
“We put an avatar like that in a game, and I’m going to need a lot more funding for the lobbyists just to keep our mature rating,” Malcolm joked.
“What’s going on?”
Ryan appeared from around the side of the screen, carrying a platter with Jake’s steak on it.
“Jake drew his invisible dream girl. To prove a point or something. I guess he didn’t think we believed him. Look for yourself. We’re incapable of speech at the moment.”
“What am I supposed to—? Wow! I mean…super wow! She’s electrifying. Paint me neon, somebody. I’m about to light up a sign.”
Ryan turned, started speaking, and almost dropped the platter. Jake was in for the save. And then he had his steak supper atop his keyboard pad, and was slicing bites and shoving them in and swallowing. He ignored the cooked portion of his steak. He just wanted the blood. And raw meat. He should be shuddering. Gagging. He wasn’t. He was getting an infusion of vitality and strength with every bite. Better than any energy drink. He couldn’t shake the sensation. It was odd. Strange. Weird.
“Neon. You’re funny. That’s probably why he pays you, since you’re a crap techno wizard.”
“You telling me Jake just drew that?” Ryan asked.
“Why do you think we’re all open-mouthed and drooling?” Sam asked.
“
That’s
his imaginary woman?”
“You think he’s capable of imaging her?”
“She can’t be real.”
“Well, I want to know why you can’t find that vision of woman on the video feed. I thought you were the best. You can find anything anywhere, encrypted or not. But not her? I think you better try again,” Sam said.
“And try harder,” Grant added.
“She can’t possibly be invisible. It’s too unfair to contemplate. Are those breasts real?” Ryan asked.
“Careful boys. I’m the jealous type,” Jake said, just before shoving in another bite. He was getting warm. Too warm. Making him wonder why he’d donned a turtleneck sweater in the first place. He had passive heat radiating from floors and walls and here he was, wearing a turtleneck. Even knit from Marino wool in the finest gauge imaginable, it was too hot. He yanked it over his head, chucked it across the top of the sofa, and went back to eating.
“You are not.”
Jake swallowed and stood, hiked his pants back to just below his waist, and then gestured at the screen behind him. “About her? Guys. Please. Just try me.”
“All right. No hitting on Jake’s invisible woman. Everyone got that? Now, get me a fresh download of that video feed. Or give me the IP address. I’ll work on a board. Move over.”
Ryan dropped into a spot beside Daniel, and started shoving a finger along the surface of another mini-screen.
“You get a fresh dose of inspiration, did you?” Malcolm sent the jibe.
Ryan flipped him off with a raised middle finger. Left hand. His right hand was busy moving items on the screen. “If that woman is in this feed, I’m finding her. And maybe…just maybe…if I’m really lucky…she’ll have a twin sister.”
“Screw that. Find triplets,” Sam replied.
The floor trembled beneath Jake then, sending a murmur of it through him. And then a whisper of sound touched his ear. It was his name. Spoken softly. With that killer accent.
“Jacob.”
Jake steadied himself by opening his stance, riding out the sway until it ebbed and then ceased. He sent a glance at his companions. Nothing had altered. They were gathered about Ryan. Watching his machinations on the little screen or looking at Jake’s rendition of Cassandra. Another tremor scored the floor, making it feel like it buckled. He rode out the motion. This was impossible. That didn’t mean it wasn’t happening.
“Jacob?”
The whisper got more definitive as if she’d gotten closer. It also carried a worried note, as if he wasn’t standing rooted to the spot, every hair on his body rising to alert status. That’s when he started wondering if she really was a ghost. Or some other metaphysical manifestation that only the weak-minded experienced. And if she was, he started wondering what the hell he’d do about it.
“Jacob?”
“Waiting, Babe. Right where you left me.”
He whispered it, turned slightly, and watched as from the same exact place Ryan came from around the television, Cassandra did. Just like that. Soundlessly. Gliding along the floor toward him, her eyes locked with his as she neared. His heart was like a caged thing, hammering at his chest for escape. His blood was flying through his veins, filling his ears with a high pitched note.
She was wearing a different outfit, but not by much. The corset-thing strapped to her upper torso was fashioned from jade green satin, the jagged-edged mini skirt from several layers of black lace. She wore thigh-high embroidered stockings this time, and another pair of little ankle boots with buttons up the outsides that looked like they’d been carved from real jade. It closely resembling last night’s ensemble, only with this one she wore a wide-brim hat, complete with black veil. She was breathtaking. She took every bit of his air.
And then one of his friends finally saw her.
CHAPTER SIX
This assignment was dealing out firsts. Always before, she’d hunt the target down, lift her veil, crook a finger, and once he came near, he was a dead man. Most of them died with a smile on their lips, because draining a man of his life fluid had a pleasurable side if done right. And Cassie liked seeing them experience that. Complete pleasure followed by death. It was payback for what the young viscount had done to her. Yet this Jacob Walsh assignment? Everything about it was a first. She felt renewed. Everywhere. Deliciously so. Fresh. Vibrant. Pure. She knew why.
She’d found her mate.
It was still unbelievable. And she’d been so fixated on getting back to him she hadn’t even noticed he had other humans with him. Lots of other humans. That sort of mistake doomed a mission, even an easy one like this one. All she’d had to do was find the person behind a certain video game. Terminate if necessary. Report. The league hadn’t known Jacob Walsh was her mate, though. Nobody could have foreseen that.
She scanned the area of the cavernous room where they were sequestered. She had four potential targets to deal with – four. At least they were grouped together. And then she ignored them again. All she noted and felt was Jacob! Her mate. She’d actually found him. Just like that.
The thought brought such happiness, she probably radiated it. Cassandra took in every facet of his chiseled frame as she approached. He wore loosely-fitting workout pants, riding low on his hips, showing off a good section of him. And his near-nakedness. She licked her lower lip. Her mate was certainly masculine. Handsome. Well-formed. Muscled. Hard. Impressive. Everything about him seemed fashioned to draw a glance of interest. He knew it, too. Why else was he forever putting so much of it on display?
“Uh…Jake?”
One of the other men spoke. Cassandra glanced back at the group. The fellow who’d spoken was big, much taller and broader than her mate. He was standing and looking at her with his mouth open. She usually garnered that kind of response. That’s why she clung to shadows and hid her face. The stunned expression was mirrored in the three men facing her. There was one fellow sitting on the sofa, his fingers rapidly sliding all about a little drawing pad thing. It resembled the little boards she’d used in learning her letters a century and more ago, but no stylus, chalk, or writing implement was needed. Just fingers.
The world was changing too fast. She should probably keep up.
“I’m out of words, man. Totally. Even if I blink, she’s still there.”
“By-the-way, you’re a crap artist, Walsh. Complete crap. You should give it up. She’s much better looking than her picture.”
“And just how the hell did she get in? I’ve got the entire place on lock-down. Anybody hear an alarm? Anyone?”
The guy on the sofa made an exclamation of disgust. “Will you guys shut up? I’m trying to concentrate here! I think I’m onto something. There’s a weird sort of electrical pulse thing in the images. It’s faint, but I think I can segment and highlight it. I mean, it’s weird. Like something out of science fiction weird.”
“Ryan.”
The over-dressed gentleman in the suit jostled the sitting one in the shoulder without once taking his eyes from her.
“Give me a minute. Guys, I’m serious. I think I can find her. I do. Maybe if I add a color wash—”
“Ryan.”
This time it was a young, freckle-faced fellow tapping the busy fellow’s shoulder. He shrugged it off.
“Crap. You guys expect the world, and don’t even give a guy time to find dirt. There! All I needed was a few seconds and you all have to mess with me. I want you to know I just did the impossible. There isn’t anyone else who could’ve found that. I’m telling you guys…I’m good. I’m better than good. And I’m not blowing smoke when I tell you if this outline is correct, she’s even more spectacular than our man Jake portrayed.”
“Uh, Ryan. Will you pull your head out of your ass and look up?”
The big fellow shoved on the sitting guy, knocking the pad off his knee and that had the man jerking his head up and that’s when he finally saw her. She watched his eyes widen to the same circle shape his mouth was.
“Holy shit.” The man finally said.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to say,” one of them answered.
Jake stepped to her, his essence reaching out and enwrapping her even before he put an arm about her and pulled her against bare skin. The instant he did, the fantastic sense of awareness rippled through her. Again. Even stronger than last night. It was incredible. Wonderful. His voice seemed to echo through his chest and into her. She had to force herself to listen to what he said.
“If you’re finished, Ryan, I’ll do intro’s. Gentlemen? I’d like you to meet Cassandra…uh. What a jerk I am. What’s your last name babe?”
“Braun.”
“Cassandra Braun. From London…and not my imagination, as you can see for yourself.”
“You suck, man. Totally.”
“The fellow speaking is Sam. He’s head of security when he isn’t giving his mouth a workout with wise-cracks. The clueless guy on the sofa is Ryan. He’s a techno wizard. The best. Unless you include me, of course. The large guy in the back is Grant. He makes a great bodyguard when needed. That’s Daniel at his side. My other security guy. And lastly, the fellow dressed for a wedding is Malcolm. You might note he’s the same size and build as me. Stands in for me with the paparazzi, and other undesirable avenues where I don’t want to be seen.”
“Like fundraising events,” the man inserted.