Failsafe

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “Thank you, Terrance,” Jake said, anxious to change the subject. “Any chance you have a table available? I’m sorry. I didn’t think to call for a reservation.”

  “I think I can squeeze you in.” He picked up two leather-bound menus and motioned for them to follow.

  From the number of people already seated inside, Jake guessed a special event must be scheduled. “What’s going on here tonight?”

  “We have a band setting up in the ballroom. The spring dance will start in a few minutes. You two should go.”

  “Maybe we will.”

  Jake waited until Hannah was seated before lowering himself into the chair across from her. His eyes swept the room, immediately drawn to the windows. Like in the main lobby, the view was of the golf course, but from the upper story, members were able to enjoy one of the best perspectives of the Appalachians.

  He turned his attention to his menu, noting that several of his favorite dishes were still listed. He was a little surprised that he was craving the familiar and mentally selected the chicken cordon bleu.

  When he looked up, he saw Hannah had already closed her menu and set it aside. “Did you already decide?”

  “I think I’m going to have the ravioli. That’s something I don’t know how to make myself.”

  “Not many people make their own pasta.”

  “We always did, but ravioli is beyond me.”

  Not for the first time, Jake thought Hannah seemed a little out of place in the same way his main character did when she’d fallen out of the 1800s into the present century.

  After the waiter took their order, Jake said, “Tell me about the article you found.”

  “It’s about a young couple, their three-year-old daughter, and an older woman dying in a car accident. Another article I found said the police suspected another car may have been involved and even mentioned the possibility that it could have been deliberate.”

  “Whoa. Do you know who they are or why your mom would have kept the article?”

  “No. I don’t know anything about them. It makes me wonder why my mom kept it all these years, especially in an emergency kit.”

  “An emergency kit?”

  She hesitated for a brief moment, just long enough to make Jake wonder if she regretted telling him so much. When she spoke, however, her voice was casual, and he thought maybe he’d imagined it.

  “Yeah. I grabbed it when I started out on this trek. I didn’t realize the article was inside until I was already on the trail.”

  “I still can’t believe you were riding horseback through the countryside.”

  “It seemed like the thing to do.”

  Not satisfied with her answer, Jake pressed with more questions. “What did you do before? Work? School? What?”

  Again she hesitated, making Jake question if the words that followed would be true. “I worked on the farm with my dad. After he died, I couldn’t stay there anymore.”

  “You lost your home?”

  Her shoulders lifted, and the glimmer of tears in her eyes showed he’d hit a nerve.

  “I’m so sorry.” Jake reached across the table and took her hand. “Were you left with anything?”

  She fell silent.

  “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “It’s okay.” Her hand gave his a squeeze. “I know it must look odd to someone like you to find a woman traveling alone.”

  When she fell silent, he asked, “Who is this person you’re supposed to meet next month?”

  “An old family friend. He’ll help me try to pick up the pieces and put my affairs in order.”

  “Would it help if I took you to meet him sooner?” Jake asked, and then added hastily, “Not that I want you to leave anytime soon.”

  “That’s okay. We already have the date set,” Hannah said. “It’s actually been wonderful being able to work at the farm with your grandma.”

  “Everyone doesn’t think that about older people. I’m glad you do.”

  Hannah’s eyes lit up. “You should have seen her helping me with the roses earlier today. She has quite a talent with arranging flowers.”

  Jake smiled in response. “I never thought about it before, but growing up, we always had fresh flowers in the house, at least during the spring and summer.”

  “Miss Abigail certainly has an eye for it. It amazes me that she can do things like that without any problems, yet we’re afraid to leave her alone in the kitchen.”

  “I think she just loses track of the time. Most of the time—” Jake stopped midsentence when he looked up and saw Toby across the room. He looked the same, like a walking Ken doll in cowboy boots, an arrogant air carried on his broad shoulders.

  Part of Jake hoped Toby wouldn’t notice him, but he wasn’t that lucky. Their eyes met, and the other man immediately changed direction and headed toward him.

  “I’ll be darned. Jake Bradford.”

  “Toby.” Jake stood but didn’t offer to shake his old adversary’s hand.

  “What in the world are you doing here? I thought you were still living the good life in New York.”

  “I’m staying at the house now. At least for the time being.”

  Toby shifted his attention to Hannah. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  Trapped by manners, Jake introduced them. “Hannah Thomas, this is Toby Howell.”

  Hannah simply nodded a greeting.

  Toby offered a swarthy smile and looked back at Jake. “I have to say, Jake, you still have a good eye for the ladies.”

  Jake didn’t dignify the comment with a response, but Toby pressed on with the one-sided conversation. “How’s my stallion doing?”

  “I wasn’t aware you owned a stallion.”

  Toby’s voice turned cold. “You know perfectly well what I mean.”

  “You know, I found out something interesting the other day,” Jake said.

  “And what’s that?”

  “I never knew Dennis Bellingsworth had agreed to sell Shadow to my dad before you came along.” Jake remained standing and kept his gaze on his old rival. “Made me start to wonder why Bellingsworth changed his mind.”

  “I guess you could say I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

  “And what offer would that be?”

  Toby’s only answer was a cocky grin. “You all enjoy your dinner.” He shifted his gaze to Hannah and added, “Good to meet you, Hannah. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

  Chapter 23

  Ken Holtz studied his counterpart across the conference table. He wasn’t ignorant to the fact that his status as the newest member in the circle of intelligence about the guardians made him a likely suspect. “Does the CIA have any idea who is behind Dwight Martin’s death?”

  “I have some suspicions but nothing that explains how anyone could have learned about the program,” José Perez said, an unspoken accusation hanging in the air.

  “If you haven’t already, feel free to run my background. I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  The tone in the other man’s voice spoke volumes. “You already did run my background.”

  “We both know that’s the FBI’s job.”

  “And we both know we don’t want to involve the FBI in this matter, not when it could compromise the integrity of the guardians.” Ken placed both hands palms down on the table. “I assume you didn’t find anything on me, or you wouldn’t be here right now. You said you have suspicions. Who?”

  José fell silent for a moment. Then he opened his briefcase and withdrew a file. In a smooth movement, he slid it across the table into Ken’s waiting hands. “One of our assets in Hong Kong alerted us to a possible intelligence breach.”

  Ken flipped open the file to see the photo of a man of Asian descent. “I’ve seen this guy before. He was caught on a traffic camera in Pennsylvania the day of the murder. Who is he?”

  “His name is Xi Cheng. He’s been living in the U.S. for the past two decad
es, supposedly working for a telecommunications company.”

  “Supposedly? Do you think that’s a cover?”

  “It’s possible. The company is Chinese owned, and Xi travels frequently to Asia.”

  Ken scanned through the file. “He would certainly fit the profile, but what’s the connection? How could he have found out about the guardians?”

  “That’s the multimillion-dollar question.” José leaned back in his seat. “Have you heard from any of the guardians since the shootings?”

  “Not a peep. I got the failsafe message, and from that point on, everyone went dark. For all we know, Martin and Dorsey might not be the only casualties.”

  “They’re still operating out there,” José told him. “One of the guardians bailed an agent out of a jam in Singapore just this morning.”

  “What can we do to help them? They can’t operate for long without access to the database and their funding stream.”

  “For now, we join forces and find out all we can about Xi Cheng. If we can find out who he’s working for, we may solve the puzzle of who leaked the information about the guardians.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about getting a court order so we can run some phone taps.”

  “It’s already in there.” José motioned at the file and stood up. “Let me know if you find anything. I have a lot of agents in the field right now. I don’t want them to find out the hard way that the support they’re used to depending on got yanked out from under them.”

  “I’ll get right on it.” Ken stood as well. “I appreciate you taking the time to make the trip out here.”

  “It’s time we break this case open and control the damage.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  * * *

  Jake had to fight to keep his attention away from Toby and on Hannah. She must have sensed his distraction, because she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “If you want to leave, I’ll understand.”

  “No, it’s okay.” He glanced over his shoulder briefly. “I shouldn’t let him get to me. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to apologize.”

  His attention truly on her now, he stared as though seeing her for the first time. She really was beautiful, her hair flowing halfway down her back, the slightly-too-big dress belted at her waist. He searched for a topic of conversation that could put them back on common ground. “You know, you’re working a lot more hours than you probably should.”

  “I could say the same about you,” she said with a smile.

  He shrugged. “The life of a writer.”

  “Do you always work so many hours?”

  “It goes in spurts,” he said. “When I’m first starting a story, I’m always afraid to stop until I’m sure I know where it’s going.”

  “When does that happen?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. After the first hundred pages or so. Maybe two hundred.”

  “What page are you on right now?”

  “Two hundred forty-two.”

  “Does that mean you know where the story is going?”

  “Actually, no. I thought I did, but this one keeps changing on me,” Jake said. “What I started to say was that maybe we should set more regular hours so you can have more time to yourself.”

  “I’m fine the way things are. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but this job hardly feels like work. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with your grandma.”

  “You have been amazing with her.”

  Humility sat easily on Hannah. “She’s an amazing lady. I’ve learned so much from her.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, yeah. She talks about the stuff we read in history books like they happened yesterday. She actually remembers World War II and everything that happened after it, and, of course, she loves to talk about your ancestors.” The wistfulness was back in Hannah’s voice, but Jake suspected she didn’t want to think about unpleasantries right now.

  He chose a safer topic. “She does like to tell her stories. I’ve heard them so many times I could probably repeat them myself.”

  “Have you ever written them down?”

  “Actually, no. I never really thought about it.”

  “You are a writer. Maybe this is something you should make some time for.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” Jake considered her suggestion. “Would you be up for going on a ride with me tomorrow?”

  “I’d like that,” she said with a smile. “But what about your grandmother?”

  “We can go when she takes her afternoon nap, and I can ask Stella to look in on her.”

  They continued to chat over dinner, and again Jake was struck by how easy Hannah was to talk to, easy enough that he nearly forgot Toby was dining in the corner.

  When they finished eating and he heard a slow song come on in the next room, he stood and offered her his hand. “Would you care to dance?”

  Even though Terrance had mentioned the dance, Hannah seemed surprised by the question. “Sure.”

  “Come on.” He led her through a wide doorway into the adjoining room. The lights were dim, the music vibrating through the room. Several couples already occupied the dance floor, more rising to join them as Jake and Hannah entered.

  Jake caught sight of Toby dancing with Desiree and thought for a moment they might make a good couple.

  When he pulled Hannah into his arms, all thoughts of anyone else ceased. His heart ached a little when he thought of how many times his parents had danced in this very spot.

  Although he and his dad didn’t always see eye to eye, he never had any doubt that his father cherished his mother. Of everything his father had done and all the goals he’d set, his wife’s happiness always mattered most.

  Jake hoped he had it in him to love that way someday. As a teenager, he hadn’t realized Desiree didn’t feel that way about him until they had been together for more than a year. He had enjoyed her company, and they had shared a common interest in horses and riding. Over time, though, he had come to realize her needs were always first. Admittedly, he’d had to spend some time away from her to see clearly and realize they didn’t have a future together. She was always kind, but she never measured up to the selfless service his mother had always given.

  As he held Hannah close, he thought of how she was constantly helping out around the house and doing things for others. He might be paying her a salary at the moment, but it hadn’t started out that way. Her kindness went well beyond a few gestures. She was like his mother in that way. She gave of herself because she truly cared about those around her, even those she barely knew.

  They moved with the music, and he caught the scent of raspberries and roses on her skin. He suspected the first of those came from her shampoo and the second from the time spent in the garden.

  He still couldn’t believe she had just dropped into his life the way she had, as though she was an answer to his prayers. She was giving him time to consider what came next, although now he could admit he hadn’t been thinking that far ahead.

  He had always assumed he would go back to New York, but then what? Was it possible Hannah might consider staying on long term? Somehow he felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of her at the house without him. He didn’t know if it was a protective instinct or the expectation of how much he would miss his grandma now that he had gotten used to seeing her every day. A month ago, he wouldn’t have thought an eighty-six-year-old woman would influence his decisions, but somehow it had happened. Now, holding Hannah close, he realized his grandmother wasn’t the only woman he was considering. Already he knew he wanted more from her than just one date.

  He shook those thoughts out of his head as one song ended and another began. He drew Hannah closer and leaned down so he could be heard over the music. “Thank you for coming out with me tonight.”

  She tipped her chin up so their eyes met. “Thank you for bringing me.”

  She must have noticed Desiree and Toby staring at them. “Do you want to tell me why Toby d
oesn’t like you?”

  “He made a bet he couldn’t afford to lose, and he’s blamed me ever since.”

  “I gather you won?”

  “Yeah, I won,” Jake said. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just jealous that I’m dancing with the prettiest girl here.”

  Even in the dim light, he could see the blush rise to her cheeks. He found her sudden flash of insecurity endearing. “You are beautiful, you know.”

  “Thank you.”

  The song ended, and the band announced it was taking a break.

  Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and Jake turned to see one of his father’s friends standing behind him. “Jake, good to see you.”

  Jake shook the man’s hand and prepared to put on his best party manners and pretend he didn’t mind sharing Hannah for the next little while.

  Chapter 24

  Charlotte’s thoughts continued to replay the night before—the contrasting sense of anticipation she felt while dancing with Jake and the unexpected feeling of normalcy. Now that the sun was out and the dreams had faded, she felt guilty for enjoying herself when she should still be mourning the loss of her dad. She wondered if Jake felt the same way about his own parents.

  She had seen him briefly that morning for breakfast, but he had disappeared into his apartment right after that. She hadn’t seen him since, not even at lunchtime. He also hadn’t said anything further about going riding with her today.

  With Abigail settled in the living room with her knitting, Charlotte felt restless. Deciding she could use some fresh air, she headed onto the front porch and was surprised to find Jake standing outside talking to Stella, two horses already saddled and tethered to the porch railing.

  “Where’s Miss Abigail?” Stella asked.

  “She’s in the living room.”

  “I’ll see myself inside.”

  “Thanks, Stella,” Jake said. He watched her go inside and turned his attention to Charlotte. “Are you ready to go for a ride?”

  Charlotte motioned to the house. “You hired me to take care of Mis Abigail. I feel guilty that you keep having Stella come over so I can go do whatever I want.”