Well, we have come to the end of the road. This is the last part of Lead Me To Love. I got my start on this website with this story & can honestly say that I have grown fond of both Aiden and Cassie over these past few months. I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for their saga. To say good-bye to these two is really a bittersweet moment for myself.
That said, there is a certain element in this story that might "jump the shark" just a little bit and the sexy parts don't show up until the end. In addition to that, this is also the shortest entry in the series.
And while this is the last chapter in Aiden and Cassie's story, this might not be the last time you will necessarily see them. In any case, thank you all for your support and feedback.
I strongly encourage those new to this series to start with the first part, as it will help contextualize the later chapters of this tale.
With that said, enjoy the story.
- Alexandra
******
It had been nearly 9 months since Aiden had popped the question to Cassie and the wedding was just a couple of weeks away. Cassie sat on the couch on her laptop as she typed up some emails for work. Aiden was on the back deck grilling up some ribs for them and had just stepped out to place the meat on the grill after applying some dry rub.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door, which drew Cassie's attention. She placed her laptop on the coffee table and walked to the door wearing a pair of navy blue cloth shorts and a red ASU tanktop.
She opened the door and saw a woman with bobbed blonde hair and hazel eyes wearing a black pantsuit with a white blouse underneath. The woman stood a few inches shorter than Cassie and looked like her in almost every way.
"Tiff?" Cassie's eyes became wide.
Tiffany gave her an uneasy smile. "Hey there, Cassie."
The two stood and looked at each other for a moment before Cassie's face soured. "What are you doing here, Tiff? Here to tell me about how I'm going to hell again?"
She held up her hand to her sister. "No, that's not why I'm here. You have every right to be angry and upset with me, but I can explain it all. May I please come in?"
Cassie frowned down at her sister. The last time they had spoken, Tiffany had cussed out her sister for living with Gabriel before getting married. She wanted to tell her to rightfully fuck off... but something told her not to do so.
"Fine." Cassie opened up the door all the way. "I'm willing to hear you out." She said coldly to her as Tiffany stepped into the house.
She kicked off her black pumps and walked around the living room. "You have a beautiful home, Cass."
Cassie scoffed at her sister. "Yeah, not bad for a place where you can live freely in sin."
"Okay, I deserve that. However, I want you to hear me out Cass. Really I do." Tiffany looked at Cassie.
Suddenly, the back porch opened up and Aiden called out. "Hey Cass, I just fired up the grill. Did you want them medium or medium-well?"
"We have a visitor, babe!" She called back to him.
"Ah, hang on just a moment!"
Aiden turned off the grill and walked back into the house and entered the living room. He was wearing a pair of red gym shorts and a black "I'm in Miami, Bitch" tanktop with a pair of flip flops. In other words, ideal clothing to wear when you're working with an open flame to cook your food.
"So who's paying us a... Tiffany?" He looked at his cousin he had not seen in close to 8 years.
"Aiden?" Tiffany stared at him before turning her attention back to her sister. "What's going on here?"
"We have a lot to talk about, Tiff." Cassie said to her sister in a faux-delighted voice. "Why don't you join us for lunch?"
-
The three sat down at the dining room table as a fresh platter of ribs sat in the center. Aiden and Cassie were already biting into their food while Tiffany took a sip of water. "I feel like I have a lot of explaining to do and I don't know where to begin."
Cassie, still not trusting her sister, gave her another cold stare. "Why not just spit it out? The only way you have to go from here is up."
With that, Tiffany reached into her pocket and produced a black leather bill fold. She opened it, set it face up on the table and pushed it towards to the two. "Well, I think this might be a good place to start."
They both looked down at the leather wallet, except it wasn't actually a wallet. It was a badge.
On the bottom was an ID card with the words "Federal Bureau of Investigation" in bold blue letters up top with Tiffany's picture below it. The top fold contained a golden badge with an eagle with it's wings spread on top.
"Holy shit, Tiff's an FBI Agent?" Aiden said with a bewildered look.
"Special Agent Tiffany Novak to be precise." Cassie's sister said with pride.
Cassie was at a loss of words. "I... I don't understand any of this. None of this makes any sense."
Tiffany folded "When I was an undergraduate at UVA, there was a job fair that I attended one afternoon before my classes. On a dare from one of my friends, I went to the FBI booth mainly as a joke and really not thinking anything of it. While I'm talking with them, I mention that I'm a sociology major and they took an interest into that. Two weeks after graduation, I'm accepted into the program and start my training out at Quantico."
"Cool!" Aiden excitedly chimed in, which was met with looks of slight disapproval from the two sisters.
She continued "In any case, after I completed my training, I was assigned to Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating religious sects & hate groups across the country with not-so-good intentions. In order to play the part of undercover agent, I immerse myself in the role."
"Wait Tiff, are you saying...?" Cassie started to put together the pieces in her head.
Her sister gently nodded at her. "In order to pass myself off as a member of some strict religious group, I had to play the part to the T. My CO told me that it wouldn't be easy but I accepted it knowing full well the risks and sacrifices involved."
"Then why not just tell us? We're your fucking family and we missed you!" Cassie yelled at her as she slammed her fist onto the table.
Tiffany reached out and grabbed her hand. "Cass, I really wanted to tell you. Really, I did. However I couldn't risk giving away what I was doing. These groups were being led by some truly awful people and I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. If nobody did anything, many people could've died."
She started to cry.
"I know how much I missed out on because of my work. I missed so many birthdays and family gatherings. I missed the birth of my first niece. I have no regrets about the work I did because it saved so many but I sure as shit regret not being there for all of these important events."
Tiffany placed her hands on the table. "I don't hold it against you for wanting to hate my guts, but I'm done with that life and I'm sorry that I treated you and the rest of the family like shit. I don't want to miss out on anything else, Cass."
Cassie looked at her sister on the verge of tears. Her voice croaked. "Tell me Tiff... Why now? What compelled you to give it up and try to seek forgiveness?"
"About two years ago, I met someone after an assignment. We fell in love & got married a year later." Tiffany held up her left hand and showed off a white diamond ring with a gold band.
"Tiff... why didn't you tell us?"
