After a few more shots fired by Jared’s parents’ lawyer, the judge dismissed them and said he’d come to his decision the next day. Kate wondered if Jared would attempt to speak to his parents, but when they left the courtroom immediately, it was apparent they weren’t interested in speaking with him. It saddened her that he had such a tense relationship with his parents. Although if she were honest, her relationship with her own father had been strained most of her adult life. Only now she didn’t have a chance to make things right with him.
As they walked down the stairs Jared grabbed her hand and stopped her from taking the next step. Surprised Kate glanced up at him. While they had developed a physical closeness in the bedroom, outside of it they rarely touched.
"I was so proud of you today, Katie." Kate’s stomach quivered at his use of her nickname. "I think this calls for a celebration. Shall we go out for lunch before heading home?"
"But we haven’t won yet," Kate pointed out.
"I know, but we did our best. We were honest and up front with the judge, and I believe the Lord will honor that." Jared tugged her hand and they started down the steps again. "I’ll call Mrs. Harris from the car and tell her we’re stopping for lunch."
They ended up at a small Italian restaurant where the hostess sat them at a secluded table. The waitress came and took their order, and then left them alone.
"I guess once we hear the results of this case I’m going to have to make some decisions about my next career," Jared said as he settled back in the winged armchair.
"What are you planning to do?" Kate realized they hadn’t looked much beyond getting permanent custody of the children.
"When I was here last July I spoke with a man who owns a security firm in the Twin Cities."
"You mean like a security guard?"
Jared laughed. Kate’s breath caught in her throat as a wide grin spread across his face. Smile lines deepened on either side of his cheeks, and Kate lost what little of her heart she had been trying to hang on to. That this man was her husband still amazed her.
"I won’t be a security guard. This firm specializes in security for the wealthy, either in their homes or as they travel. I would be a consultant working with people who are concerned about security as they travel abroad as well as companies who have business projects in areas that are considered hot."
"What exactly did you do before?" Kate asked curiously. She had only heard his career referred to in very vague terms.
Jared didn’t answer right away. "A lot of what I did was highly classified government work, infiltrating different drug organizations and such. I have to say that I’m not particularly comfortable talking about some of the things I’ve done. If possible, I’m hoping to leave the past in the past."
Kate shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry."
Jared gave her a gentle smile. "If anyone has the right to pry, it’s you. You’re my wife after all but if it’s okay with you, I’d rather not get into the details right now."
The uneasiness faded and Kate relaxed. "I understand."
Their meal progressed without further tension, and when Kate left the restaurant she felt closer to Jared than she had before. Communication was going to be the key to their marriage, Kate realized. Since love wasn’t what would hold them together, communication would.
They picked Dani up before going on to the school to pick up the kids. At Jared’s insistence, they ate out again. Kate wondered how long they could avoid her having to actually cook a meal. It was kind of funny, but it also hurt a little. It was a clear reminder of an area in which she was severely lacking. She was going to have to try and remedy that. Once they had settled the custody issue Kate planned to concentrate on all the areas that were lacking in her life.
*****
They were in front of the judge at two o’clock the next day. Within fifteen minutes, the judge had declared them permanent guardians of the kids, clearing the way for them to pursue adoption. They had a big celebratory dinner that night at the restaurant of the kids’ choice. Jared gave her a rather rueful grin as they walked into McDonald’s, but it had been out of their hands.
Kate felt as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from her shoulders. As long as uncertainty of custody had hung over them, it had stopped them from moving forward with their lives. Now the way was clear and Kate could finally envision a long-term future for them as a family.
Despite the upbeat mood of the restaurant, their evening took a solemn turn when the topic changed to adoption. Kate and Jared wanted to start the proceedings immediately but when they mentioned it, the three older kids fell silent. Amelia and Bry exchanged glances and looked uneasy.
"What’s wrong, kids?" Jared asked.
The two oldest looked at each other again and then down at the table.
"Amelia?" Jared prompted. "Do you have a problem with us adopting you? Don’t be afraid to tell us. We only want what makes you happy."
Amelia shifted in her seat, her face serious. "It’s not that we don’t want you to adopt us but maybe not right now. Mom and Dad haven’t been...gone that long. Could we wait a while?"
Jared looked at Kate, an uncertain look on his face. Kate reached across the table and covered Amelia’s hand. "That’s fine, sweetheart. We don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about this so why don’t you guys decide when it feels right and then tell us. No matter what, your uncle and I will be here for you and we’ll still be a family. Okay?"
There were nods from the three older children whose faces also showed great relief. Within minutes they were off to play in the large structure that had been set up for the kids.
"Guess I didn’t see that one coming," Jared commented when it was just them and Dani.
Kate nodded. "Me either. But it’s understandable. We’ll just have to be patient for a while. At least we all have the same last name so the connection will be there."
It was late by the time they arrived back home and got the kids settled into bed. It had been a long exciting day for them all. Disappointment filled Kate when Jared disappeared into the library and closed the door. She'd hoped to share the excitement of the day with him.
She hung around the kitchen straightening things but after half an hour, Kate gave up waiting. She turned off the lights in the kitchen and headed upstairs.
At the top of the stairs she paused, looking towards her bedroom and then the master suite. This was the first night she’d gone to bed before Jared. Should she go to her old room where all her stuff still was or go ahead to the master bedroom?
In the end she went to her bedroom to get her pajamas and then went to master suite. They were married now and married people slept in the same bed, especially newlyweds. Kate would just have to trust Jared to let her know if he wanted things differently.
After taking off her clothes, Kate once again paused. Nightgown or sweats? She went to the door and opened it a crack to see if she could hear any movement. Nothing. She went back to the bed and pulled on her sweats. She left her hair braided from earlier and crawled under the covers. She turned her light off, but left the lamp on Jared’s side on.
The room was slightly chilly so Kate burrowed under the blankets, wishing for Jared’s warmth next to her. These early days of spring were hard to adjust to. The days could be warm enough to have all the windows open, but the nights still dropped into the cool range.
Kate thought she might try and stay awake until Jared came upstairs, but in the end she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.
*****
Jared tapped the end of the pen on the desk, impatiently waiting for the phone to ring. He’d called over half an hour ago. Surely Garth Davis checked that phone line or at least had an alert forwarded to him when a call came in. He hadn’t met with Garth at the end of this mission. His former supervisor had gotten a promotion and a new guy had stepped into the role to debrief him after everything was done. The switch had happened while he was in the field, so it had been
the first time he’d met Keith Donovan.
Because he’d made contact in January as planned, there was no alarm sounded when the helicopter accident occurred. As far as Keith Donovan had been concerned, Jared was still on the job carrying out the mission directive. He’d been shocked to hear of what had transpired in the final two months before Jared had come in. Which left him with one question…who had phoned Kate and told her he was dead? She couldn’t recall a name and certainly, with the way this looked, the person wouldn’t have given a real one regardless.
Well, ok, he had one other question…who wanted him dead? More and more it appeared that the helicopter crash had been planned specifically to get rid of him.
While waiting, Jared switched on his laptop. Once it was up and connected to the internet, he checked out the email addresses he’d set up for contact with people who might have tips or warnings for him. He’d put off dealing with any of this while the more pressing issues of the children, the marriage and the finances had needed his attention. Now that he had time to think about it though, he was becoming concerned that should the wrong person hear that he was still alive, he—and now Kate and the kids—could be in danger. He just couldn’t take that chance.
There were no significant messages at the one email address, but the next one had several different ones. He found a couple of pieces of junk mail, but one message was very serious.
“J-man: Something is going on…I think an attempt was made on my life. I’ve gone to ground to try and figure this out, but I’m worried that you may be at risk too. Cutting all ties for now, but be careful. I’m not sure who to trust…you need to be on alert. I will try again to contact you later. As I’m sure you know, not all is as it appears. Stay safe. P”
Philip. Jared tried to ignore the shiver of alarm that coursed through him. He quickly hit the reply button and sent a brief message back to him. He hoped Philip was on-line and checking his mail and would reply right away…and he hoped that one of the ties his former colleague had cut wasn’t shutting down his email address.
Minutes ticked by. The phone didn’t ring and there was no new message in his inbox. Then a message appeared, but it wasn’t the one he hoped for.
"Mail undeliverable. Address not valid."
Jared didn’t like the feel of this. He was tempted to close his two email accounts since clearly Philip thought that they could be accessed by someone. His friend wouldn’t have shut down his email if he didn’t think it could be, or had been, compromised. He decided to just leave his in place for now, but went to another web site and set up a completely new address. He was just finishing the registration process when the phone rang.
Jared grabbed it. "Hello?"
"Jared! Good to hear from you, man!" Garth’s familiar voice came over the line. “How did the last mission go?
"Not quite as planned," he replied. “You haven’t read the report on it yet?”
“I was waiting for Keith to finalize it and pass it on.” Garth chuckled. “He hates paperwork even more than you do.”
"Is this line secure?" Jared asked.
"Yes it is, so feel free to talk," Garth assured him.
Jared hesitated, wishing he’d read Philip’s message before he’d contacted Garth. He, Garth and Philip had worked together for over ten years. As the more experienced agent, Garth had trained him and Philip, had shown them how to be the best they could be. They’d been to hell and back together before Garth had moved on to the supervisor position. And now he had moved up the ladder even further. He had no reason to not trust the man, but Philip’s email had put him on edge.
He had no choice though. He needed answers and Garth might be the only one who had them.
"Okay, first things first, I got an email from Philip."
"You got a message from Philip?" Garth asked.
"Yes, I haven’t checked my mail in a while but it was dated two weeks ago. I sent a reply to him but his mail account is closed."
"He’s dead, Jared."
"Dead?" Jared felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach. Philip had been the only other person besides Steve whom Jared trusted completely. They had started with the company at the same time and had gone on several missions together. "How did he die?"
"A car accident."
"A car accident?" Jared laughed without mirth. "Are you aware that someone phoned here and told Kate—my brother’s sister-in-law—that I had been killed in a car accident as well?"
“What? Why would someone do that?”
“I’m trying to figure that out. And I’d also like some explanation as to why—when Kate phoned to have someone alert me to the deaths of my brother and his wife—the message wasn’t passed on.”
“I have no idea…had no idea that Steven and Jen were dead. What happened?” Concern laced Garth’s words.
“Plane accident last September. No one passed the message on to me, not even when I checked in in January.”
“I’m sorry, Jared. I don’t understand how that could have happened. What number did Kate call?”
“I’m not sure. She couldn’t find the paper.” He had been disappointed when he’d asked her for it earlier in the day and she’d been unable to locate it. “But why would no one have passed that message on to me?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to look into it and see who was manning the call lines around that time, since it was likely one of those numbers she called. What numbers had you left with Steve?”
Jared thought back. “Usually I took the time to write out a whole bunch of information for Steve, but this time was supposed to be my last time out so I confess that I wasn’t as careful about it as I had been. I think I just left him with what he had previously…which I think would have been your number, the main call number and maybe Everett’s?”
Garth sighed. “Those numbers have all been switched around with the promotions that have gone out over the past year, year and a half. I’m not sure who she might have spoken to.”
“You’d think there would be better organization, Garth.” Jared sighed. “How on earth can I track this down?”
“Listen, I’ll do what I can on this end to see if I can figure out where the call might have gone. Not making any promises, but I’ll give it a try.”
"Thanks." Jared paused, then asked, “Hey, what type of car accident was it that Philip died in?”
“Type of car accident? Oh, it was a car bomb.”
“Here in the States?” He still couldn’t believe that his friend was gone. But he did find it interesting that they’d both been in “accidents”, only Philip hadn’t been as fortunate as he had been.
“No, he was in India…though we have no idea why.”
“He wasn’t on a job?
“Nope. I hadn’t heard from him since he’d finished off his last assignment. It honestly seemed like he’d dropped off the grid.”
“How did you know it was him in the car bomb?”
“We had a witness that identified him. While he wasn’t over there on a job, he had made contact with someone who has ties to the agency. They had just finished having lunch together. Philip got into his car, the guy said, and it exploded. Not much left to identify him any other way.”
Interesting. Had there not been a witness, it would have been unlikely that Philip would have been identified. Cutting all ties. Was it possible…could it be possible that Philip had faked his death? There was no way he’d pose that question to Garth however. Not until he had a better idea of what was going on.
He also decided against mentioning the helicopter accident. He’d read about it in the report and would no doubt contact him if he had more questions.
“You back at Steve and Jen’s now?” Garth asked.
“Yes, staying put here because of the kids.”
“That’s a good idea. How are they dealing with things?”
“As well as can be expected.” Jared was suddenly eager to get off the phone. “Listen, I’m gonna go here, but let me know if you dig up anythin
g on the phone calls.”
“I definitely will. Take care of yourself.” Garth said and then disconnected the call.
Jared hung up his end with mixed feelings. He wanted to be able to trust Garth, but just something about Philip’s email made him feel like he really couldn’t trust anyone. But somehow he needed to keep his family safe. If he’d made a mistake in trusting someone he shouldn’t have, he needed to know that his family wouldn’t suffer for his mistake.
He’d have to call Drake in the morning to talk about work and getting security set up. The house had an alarm but nothing an expert, like himself, couldn’t bypass. Jared double checked all the locks on the doors and windows and made sure the alarm was set properly before heading up to bed.
The house was quiet so he knew that Kate had gone up already. As he climbed the stairs he wondered if he’d find her in the master suite or if she’d be in the guest room. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she’d moved none of her own things into the large walk-in closet in the master suite. They were still on shaky ground, feeling their way along. Jared hoped it wouldn’t be that way forever. He felt comfortable with Kate. She had a calming effect on him and the kids, and he was grateful for that.
Jared pushed open the door to the suite and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the lump under the bedcovers. She had decided to stay in their bed.
Walking silently across the carpet, Jared approached the bed and stared down at her. Her dark lashes fanned out across pale skin and her hair was braided, not loose like she’d left it the past couple of nights. She looked peaceful as she slept, barely taking up a quarter of the big bed. Jared hoped she’d gain a little weight. It worried him that she was so thin and fragile looking.
Kate shifted slightly in her sleep, and Jared turned away, not wanting to be caught staring if she opened those big gray eyes of hers. He changed into a pair of sweats and crawled into his side of the bed and extinguished the light. The room plunged into darkness, lightened only barely by the moonlight that peeked through the spaces in the vertical blinds.
Jared lay on his back for a while, his thoughts still a jumble. No matter what else happened, he needed to protect his family. They were depending on him now, Kate and the kids. He couldn’t fail them.
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