Conspiracy (Alex and Cassidy Book 4) Read online

  “Alex?” Eleana caught hold of Alex’s arm as she was leaving.

  “Trust me, Eleana. This is for the best right now, for Claire too.”

  “I know,” Eleana admitted sadly. “What about Cassidy?” Krause had brought some clean towels and some food down for Eleana and apprised her of the situation upstairs.

  Alex shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “Seems I don’t know much right now. I promise you I am going to find out.”

  “I don’t know what to believe about him,” Eleana referenced Cassidy’s father. “But, I do believe her,” Eleana admitted. Alex tipped her head in confusion. “Claire,” Eleana said with a nod toward the sofa. “That she was trying to shoot Kargen.”

  Alex looked over at Claire and nodded. “I know. So do I.”

  ***

  “So? What’s the verdict on the patient?” Krause asked Alex as she entered the kitchen.

  “She’ll live.”

  “You believe her?” Krause asked.

  “That she was trying to shoot Kargen to keep him from killing me?” Alex asked. Krause lifted a brow. “Yeah. I believe her. That doesn’t explain why she was there, and I can’t help but wonder who she was with.”

  “Did you ask her?” Krause wondered.

  Alex ignored the question. “Did you talk to Brady?”

  “Change the subject much?” Krause challenged.

  “No, I didn’t ask her. In case you hadn’t noticed, she’s loopier than usual,” Alex said. “So? Brady?”

  “They’re secure. Still not sure how anyone wiped the server in security,” he said.

  “There are plenty of people with that ability,” McCollum commented absently.

  Alex let out a disgusted chuckle. “That begs the question who was with Claire.”

  “What makes you think anyone was with Claire? This is Brackett we are talking about,” Krause reminded her.

  “I know. Brackett is impulsive, Pip, not stupid.”

  A small smile tugged at Krause’s lips when Alex used his nickname. Her anger had not escaped him. He could hardly blame her. Krause was confronting a host of emotions himself. He still had no idea what to believe about the man sitting across from him. He understood that this was Cassidy’s father, but a part of him still wanted to doubt that fact. He had expected to find Nicolaus Toles, or perhaps no one. James McCollum had not even been a thought. He looked at the older man. “You owe us all some explanations.”

  McCollum nodded and looked at Alex. “There was no other way. I had to…”

  “Not now,” Alex stopped him.

  “Alex,” Krause urged her.

  “Not now, Pip,” Alex repeated herself. She looked directly into the older man’s eyes. “I have someone else that needs me right now,” she said. “It has held for over twenty years. It will hold a while longer,” she said. “Find out all you can from Brady,” she told Krause. “Have him get whatever Jen needs for Claire,” she instructed.

  “You’re going to keep her here?” he asked.

  “You have a better idea?”

  “No,” he confessed. Alex nodded and turned away. “Where are you going?”

  “Where I’m needed,” Alex replied.

  ***

  Alex left Krause with Cassidy’s father in the kitchen. She was frustrated and sickened by the appearance of James McCollum. There were more than a few reasons to act with caution where her long-dead father-in-law was concerned. Right now, the most important of those was upstairs. Enough time had passed. Alex needed to search out Cassidy. She climbed the stairs and made her way into the bedroom her parents had once shared. Cassidy was looking out of the window. Alex stopped just inside the door and struggled to take in a full breath. Before she could muster a thought, Cassidy spoke.

  “Tell me it’s not real,” Cassidy said without turning to face her wife.

  Alex exhaled slowly. “Cass…” Cassidy shook her head and looked at the ceiling, never turning to look at the woman who shared her life. “Cassidy…”

  Cassidy turned slowly and looked at Alex helplessly. “What kind of person does that?” she asked sharply.

  “I don’t know,” Alex confessed.

  Cassidy closed her eyes and ran her tongue over her bottom lip. As her eyes opened, she looked upward reflectively. “I remember my mother, so many nights, Alex….So many nights she called for him. Her voice was always hollow when she would call his name… ‘Jim…Why?’ Over and over.”

  “Cass,” Alex started. Cassidy shook her head. She felt as if her heart had been wrenched in a vice grip. “Cassidy,” Alex called gently. “I don’t know why. Maybe, he loved you and just saw no other way out—for any of you,” Alex said honestly. “I don’t know what that means or who that means he is. He is, after it is all said and done—he is your father.”

  “And, what kind of person does that make me?” Cassidy asked desperately.

  Alex’s heart broke at the sight before her. The betrayal, the fear, the disbelief she saw in Cassidy’s eyes was an unfamiliar sight. Cassidy was lost. “You? You are the best person I know, Cass.”

  Cassidy shook her head in self-loathing. “No.”

  “Yes, Cass.”

  Cassidy looked at Alex. “Do you know how many nights I have laid awake, some small part of me wishing for this day? Do you have any idea? Any idea how many times I wished that he would walk through that door? That he would tell me it was all a mistake, pick me up and kiss my cheek like he always did?”

  “Cassidy….”

  “Alex….Now…Now here he is, the man I have worshiped my entire life. The man I mourned in some small way at the happiest moments in my life. Now, here he is and I can’t even look at him—my own father. That look, I see it in his eyes, Alex, like it was yesterday that he said goodbye for the last time… ‘See you at the castle, my Cassie,” that’s what he said. That’s what he always said. I can’t even look at him. My own father. What kind of person does that make me?”

  Alex stepped forward and closed the distance between them. She brushed her hand across Cassidy’s cheek and then tilted Cassidy’s chin upward. “You,” Alex said. “You are the most compassionate, forgiving woman I have ever known, Cass,” Alex told her wife.

  Cassidy’s eyes finally welled with tears. “Why?” Cassidy asked as she collapsed into Alex’s arms, sobs racking her body.

  Alex held Cassidy close. She felt utterly helpless as she supported Cassidy’s weight and caressed her back tenderly. What could she say? There were no words for this. Alex had tried to prepare herself to come face to face with her own father. This was beyond any possibility in her imagination. She kissed the top of Cassidy’s head as Cassidy clung to her and spoke the only words she could summon. “Vous êtes ma vie, Cassidy. Je t'aime ... Toujours, Cass. Toujours. (You are my life, Cassidy. I love you...always, Cass. Always).”

  ***

  “You’re sure it’s done?” Daniels asked.

  “It’s done. The distraction worked perfectly,” a young Army Lieutenant assured the ambassador.

  “I hope you are right,” Daniels commented.

  “Relax,” Admiral Brackett piped up. “It went better than we had hoped,” he said as he pocketed his phone.

  “Come again?” Daniels asked.

  The Admiral smiled at the young lieutenant in front of him. “You are dismissed Lieutenant,” he said. Admiral Brackett waited for the young man to disappear from his sight and turned back to the ambassador. “Dmitri, I understand, will be out of our hair.”

  “And that is a good thing?” Daniels was beginning to question Admiral Brackett’s sanity.

  “He was an annoying fly.”

  “Yes, who happens to be Viktor’s nephew,” Daniels observed.

  Admiral Brackett scoffed at Daniels’ concern. “Kargen was stupid and irresponsible,” he said flatly. “He knew too much that could compromise us, and our hands are clean.”

  “Really?” Daniels challenged the older man. “Just how did Kargen meet his maker?”
>
  “Unclear at this point. It appears Alexis may have taken care of that particular problem for us,” Admiral Brackett gloated.

  “You seem pretty sure of that. Something you would like to share?” Daniels wondered.

  “Not particularly, no. It isn’t important one way or the other. I don’t answer to Viktor Ivanov and neither do you.”

  “No,” Daniels agreed. “I know that and you know that, but Viktor does not share that opinion. You and I both know that. He needs to be controlled. We don’t need him as our adversary, Bill. And, I for one do not want him in possession of Lynx,” Daniels said. Admiral Brackett smiled broadly. “What aren’t you telling me?” Daniels asked the Admiral.

  “All in good time, Ambassador.”

  ***

  “What did Steven have to say?” McCollum asked Krause.

  Krause sat down and leaned back in his chair. “Casual,” he observed. “Your familiarity with Agent Brady is curious.”

  “Not so curious,” McCollum replied. “Spend a year with someone in the confines of the hell hole you found me in—you get ‘familiar,' as you put it.”

  “Enlighten me, Mr. McCollum.”

  “I think we’ve covered that,” McCollum responded. Eleana chose that moment to enter the kitchen with Jennifer Garrison. “How is Claire?” McCollum asked with genuine concern.

  Eleana looked at him in disgust. “You almost sound like you care.”

  “I do care, Eleana,” McCollum said genuinely. “A great deal more than you realize.”

  “She’s sleeping right now,” Jennifer Garrison replied. She turned her attention to Krause. “Where is Alex?” she asked.

  “With Cassidy,” he said. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

  Jennifer nodded. A corpse could feel the emotional tension in the house. “She’ll need an actual bed,” Jennifer told him. “She needs rest—a lot of it.”

  “That could be a challenge,” Eleana said honestly

  Jennifer grinned. She had no doubt that her patient could be a handful. Even in severe pain, with a fair amount of disorientation, Claire Brackett was a handful. She reminded the surgeon a bit of a young Army Lieutenant she had treated years ago. “I’ve no doubt,” she said. “You need to watch her for infection. Make sure her fever does not spike suddenly, look for redness—you know the drill,” she said. Eleana and Krause both nodded their understanding. “I took the liberty,” she said as she handed Eleana a prescription. “It’s made out for Alex. No one would question the script with her back injury. It will help with Claire’s pain, and help to keep her quiet. Although, that sprained ankle will likely be the thing that forces her off her feet for a few days. If she does move, it will be slowly.”

  “Anything else?” Krause asked.

  Jennifer considered her response for a moment. “I want to check on her in a couple days. Tell Alex that is non-negotiable. I’ll stop by Tuesday sometime. Alex knows how to reach me if anything changes.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Eleana offered. She started from the room with Jennifer keeping pace. “Major?” Eleana began as they reached the door. “Is Claire honestly all right?”

  Jennifer Garrison released a slow breath. “She means a great deal to you,” she observed.

  “Yes,” Eleana replied.

  Jennifer nodded. “Physically she will recover fully. I expect she’ll be wanting to move by the time I come back.”

  “But?”

  “Eleana, what do you know about Claire’s background?”

  “Probably more than anyone,” Eleana said.

  “I had a feeling. Your presence calms her.”

  “Did she say something when I left the room?” Eleana wondered.

  “No,” Jennifer said. “Nothing discernable anyway. There are some signs…When she was fading out, she grabbed onto me as if I were a lifeline, as if something had terrified her. In another situation, I might chalk that up to trauma over today’s incident—whatever led to her being shot. This,” Jennifer looked over Eleana’s shoulder. “Well, I think I can safely guess that the majority of that trauma will be felt in that shoulder.”

  “I don’t understand,” Eleana said. “Was she dreaming?”

  “Maybe. Eleana?”

  “It’s nothing. It’s just that was common when we were kids.”

  Jennifer nodded. “It’s a symptom of PTSD,” she said. “Sometimes, latent memory can cause it—the dreaming, I mean.”

  “I don’t know….”

  “It’s okay,” Jennifer said. “Just watch her, Eleana. The shock, the medication, whatever stress is occurring here…Those things might conspire to surface her emotions or if it is something she has repressed…”

  “I think I understand.”

  “Call me if you need me or if anything changes,” Jennifer said as she opened the door. “And, tell Alex she owes me—big time.”

  Eleana chuckled. “I’ll remind her.” She closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. Oh, Claire, what haven’t you told me?

  ***

  Alex had been gone for well over an hour. Cassidy had cried in Alex’s arms for much of that time. Alex could not remember a time when she had felt so helpless. Finally, Cassidy had calmed and slept for a short time, overwhelmed by emotional exhaustion. When Cassidy awoke, she had encouraged Alex to go and let her take a shower.

  Alex suspected that on some level, Cassidy hoped to wash away the anger, questions, and sadness that were encompassing her. Alex also understood that it would take a great deal more than a hot shower to accomplish that endeavor. She wasn’t even certain time could heal this. Alex took a deep breath and steadied her nerves as she made her way down the stairs.

  “How is she?” McCollum asked as Alex entered the kitchen.

  Alex looked directly at the older man as she addressed Krause and Eleana. “I need to speak with Mr. McCollum privately,” she said.

  Eleana took Krause’s hand. She sensed his reluctance and pulled on him slightly to lead him from the room. “Alex,” Krause began to protest her request.

  “It’s fine,” she assured her brother. “I promise, I won’t kill him,” she said. She waited for the pair to make their exit, her eyes burrowing into the man a few paces away.

  “How is Cassie?” he repeated his question.

  “Confused. Angry. Hurt. How do you think she is?” Alex replied. She desperately wanted to tear the older man limb from limb.

  “You don’t understand, Alexis. There was no other way to protect them.”

  Alex shrugged. “Could have offed yourself for real,” she said honestly.

  McCollum nodded. “There were things that needed to be addressed. Your father….”

  “My father is not the issue.”

  “Your father is the only reason any of us have made it this far,” he said pointedly. “He did exactly as you suggest.”

  “Brave,” Alex commented sarcastically. “Check out when the shitstorm you created blows home.”

  “None of us wanted this,” McCollum said. “By the time we realized how deep things had gotten, there was no other answer. They would have killed Rose and Cassie to get to me—maybe worse. They would have killed you if they had any idea Nicolaus knew I was alive. If they knew who he really was…What he had become privy to, what he was doing from the inside—they would have killed all of you, Alex. That doesn’t begin to cover what they would have made of you all back then. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices…”

  Alex chuckled bitterly. “Sacrifice? What is it with you? How fucking selfish are you? If you wanted to protect her, you should have stayed dead.”

  “If it were Dylan and Mackenzie? If it were you, Alexis? If it were you that put Cassidy at risk? You would have done whatever you had to do, even what I did.”

  Alex shook her head in disgust. “No. I would never leave them, not by choice,” she said assuredly. “Not ever. I promised Cass that a long time ago. I committed that to her when I married her. I promised Dylan,” she said. “I promised my
self.” McCollum listened silently. “Don’t compare me to you. And, don’t compare me to my father. You both took the coward’s way out. You left your children. You left them to wonder and to mourn. And, for what? To protect us? Protect us from who? You?”

  “It’s not that simple, Alexis. You know that much,” McCollum said. “Sometimes, there is no good choice to make. Family is…”

  “Everything,” Alex finished his sentence. “I know. Cass taught me that,” she said. Alex sighed. She looked at the older man and rubbed her temples. “You don’t owe me any explanation,” she said. “Don’t expect me to trust you,” she said honestly. “Not with my children, and not with Cass.”

  McCollum nodded. “Fair enough.”

  “None of this is fair,” Alex said honestly. “None of it.”

  Cassidy walked into the kitchen to find her wife facing off with her father. James McCollum stood with his back to his daughter. Cassidy looked at Alex. “Alex, could I have a moment—please?”

  McCollum turned deliberately to face his daughter. Alex remained still. She regarded Cassidy silently and frowned. Nothing within Alex compelled her to want to leave her wife alone with the man in the kitchen. Lineage, parentage, history aside, he was a stranger. He might have been Cassidy’s father, but that did little to bolster Alex’s trust in the man. She exhaled a ragged breath and remained in place.

  “Alex,” Cassidy called gently. “Please,” she implored her wife. Alex closed her eyes, shook her head and made her way to Cassidy. Cassidy looked at her lovingly. “I’ll be all right,” Cassidy promised.

  Alex remained unconvinced. She glanced back at the older man with a gaze that communicated her silent warning. He met her challenge without expression. Alex kissed her wife on the forehead. “I’m going to go check on Kenzie. If you need me…”

  Cassidy smiled warmly at Alex. “I know,” she said honestly. Alex looked back at James McCollum one last time, bent down, kissed Cassidy on the lips and hesitantly took her leave.

  Cassidy stood in place and looked at the man a few paces away. She had played her questions and her words over and over again like a broken record. Now, she seemed to lose all conscious thought in a violent undertow of emotion.