Alicia looked up from the puzzle that she was working on with Meredith. After they’d finished eating, Meredith had moved over to a small table next to the glass walls that gave them a spectacular view of the backyard. The sunroom hadn’t been there when Eric and Staci had gotten married, and it was a wonderful addition even without the sun shining. The day had started out sunny, but the sky had gradually filled with gray clouds, and she figured that rain would probably fall before the day was over.
“Who?” Alicia asked as she looked back down at the puzzle, searching for the colors that matched the piece she held in her hand.
When Meredith didn’t reply right away, Alicia looked over at her. The woman had sat back, her legs drawn up with her heels hooked on the edge of the chair. She was staring out at the backyard, but then she shifted her gaze back to Alicia.
“Derek. Don’t you think he’s cute?”
For the first time since Alicia had met the woman, she observed that she looked older. Meredith’s gaze was more thoughtful and mature as she waited for Alicia to respond to her comment. Alicia hesitated because she wasn’t sure if Marcus would necessarily want her to encourage his sister’s fascination with a man that Alicia assumed was a bodyguard.
“He is attractive if that’s the sort of look you’re into.” Alicia pushed the puzzle piece into place and picked up another one. She had been pleasantly surprised to find that Meredith liked puzzles too. And this puzzle was a beautiful Thomas Kinkade one of a lighthouse which she loved.
“So that’s not the sort of look you’re into?” Meredith asked, apparently having lost all interest in the puzzle since she wasn’t shifting position to get closer again.
Alicia was a little nervous to have this sort of conversation with Meredith considering she had a little bit of a crush on the woman’s brother. She knew she was just asking for trouble letting her thoughts even consider the type of man Marcus was and why she was attracted to him. But there it was. She’d been attracted to him when they’d first met at Eric and Staci’s wedding.
There had been something about the way he’d taken everything in stride and made sure that whatever Staci and Eric wanted with regards to his home was granted to them. He’d been reserved, but no one could doubt who was in charge. Considering she’d been controlled throughout most her life, Alicia had figured she’d be attracted to a more laid back guy who wouldn’t need to be in control all the time. Instead, it seemed that that was exactly the type of guy she was attracted to. At the time of the wedding, she’d known that he was well out of her league. And now he was even more out of reach since he was her boss.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend,” Alicia said, hoping that was enough of a redirect.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend either.” Her tone was contemplative. “I don’t think Marcus would let me have one.”
Alicia could believe that. She was surprised that Marcus even allowed someone like Derek around Meredith. Maybe he hadn’t considered that Meredith might end up with a crush on the man. From the way he’d reacted earlier to her phone call, there was no doubt that he did his best to shelter and protect his sister.
Alicia sat back in her chair, abandoning the puzzle like Meredith had. She wondered again what it would be like to have someone so devoted to her care and wellbeing. “You didn’t have a boyfriend in high school?”
“I wasn’t in school past grade nine. Marcus had a tutor for me.” Meredith wrapped her arms around her knees. “I couldn’t cope with it all after my family was murdered.”
Alicia stared in shock. She’d wondered about Marcus and Meredith’s situation, but she’d never imagined it would be something so horrific. “I’m sorry.”
Meredith nodded but didn’t say anything. Her feet began to jerk slightly, and Bond got up from where he’d been laying on the floor next to Meredith’s chair and bumped against her toes, lifting his face toward where one of her hands gripped the elbow of her other arm. It was then Alicia realized what Bond was. Not just a pet, but a support dog for Meredith.
It seemed as if Meredith was sliding back into the younger version of herself, and Alicia didn’t know what to do. She understood so much more of Marcus’s protectiveness now.
“I think I’d just like to go to my room now,” Meredith said, getting to her feet as she slid her fingers into Bond’s thick fur.
Alicia watched the woman go, uncertain what she should do at this point. Alone in the sunroom, she sat for a moment before deciding that she needed to let Marcus know. He had entrusted his sister to her, and now Meredith had slipped away. Alicia wouldn’t know where to find her even if she wanted to, and she wasn’t sure she did want to. Not because she didn’t care about the woman, but because she felt that if Meredith wanted to be alone, she had that right.
Ignoring the knot of tension in her stomach that made her want to stay put and not seek Marcus out, Alicia got to her feet and headed out of the sunroom. It didn’t take her long to find the office since it was just retracing her steps from earlier. From the doorway, she could see a group of men clustered around the desk. There were a few more there than had been earlier.
Derek stood apart from the men, his arms crossed as he watched them. Her movement must have caught his attention because his intense gaze swung toward her. Without saying anything, he moved in her direction.
“I need to speak to Marcus,” Alicia told him, her voice low.
7
Derek gave one nod before heading to where the men were gathered around something. When he laid a hand on Marcus’s shoulder, the man turned slightly toward him while still looking at whatever was on the desk. After Derek said something to him, Marcus turned back toward the desk for a moment then left his spot to come to where Alicia waited.
His gaze went beyond her for a moment. “Where’s Meredith?”
“She went upstairs to her room.” Alicia paused as he rested his hand on her back and guided her from the room, trying to remind herself that now was not the right time to relish the feel of his touch. “I think she was upset.”
Marcus tilted his head down toward her. “Upset?” Though he questioned her, he didn’t seem angry about it.
“We were talking about high school and boys, then she mentioned that she left high school in ninth grade.” Alicia glanced at Marcus. “When your family was murdered.”
Marcus sighed. “Okay. She’ll be fine up in her room for now. I’ll just have Derek keep an eye out for her. You can take the rest of the day off.”
Alicia wanted to ask more questions, wanted to know more about what had happened that had created the person Meredith was today. And, most likely, the person Marcus had become as well. But she didn’t ask questions because she didn’t want to open the door for questions to be asked of her.
“I’ll need to go back to the office to get my car,” Alicia said.
“That’s fine, but don’t feel like you need to go back to work.” Marcus paused. “Actually, call Fulton in Washington and let them know I won’t be at the meeting. Then you can leave for the day.”
Alicia nodded even though she knew that once she got to her desk to make that call, she would probably stay until the end of the day. There were still plenty of other things to work on. Although some of the things Marcus had asked her to follow up on would likely be delayed because most the men on the team were there at the house.
He walked with her to the front door, his hand still on her back. As soon as they stepped through the door to the brick porch, the driver got out from behind the wheel and came around to the rear passenger door. He opened it as they approached.
“Take her back to the office,” Marcus said brusquely as he walked her to the open door.
Alicia slid into the car and sat back in the seat. Some of the tension that had built up when Meredith had walked out began to ease when Marcus shut the door, encasing her in the car. He moved back up the stairs to the porch as the car began to move and when Alicia looked back as they headed for the gates, he was still there.
Marcus watched the car with Alicia drive away. Part of him had wanted to insist that she stay at the house where he could keep her safe, but there was no reason to think that she was at risk. Plus, Art was driving her straight from the mansion to the safety of the BlackThorpe compound.
Even though the car had disappeared from view, Marcus still lingered on the porch. He needed a moment to gather his thoughts. The revelation that Kelsey’s boyfriend had been a part of something involving the company—they still don’t know for sure what that was—had been disconcerting, and he couldn’t imagine how Kelsey was going to react to all of this. But most difficult of all to comprehend, was that the guy was claiming to be his brother.
He had often wondered what had prompted his dad to do what he had and now Marcus couldn’t help but speculate that perhaps this might have played a role. Had his dad known about the guy’s claims? Or perhaps it had been Jeff’s mother’s claims since the guy looked like he might be the same age as Meredith which would have put him in his teens when everything happened.
“Marcus?”
Marcus turned toward the door to see Alex standing there, one hand braced on the door frame. Without saying anything, Marcus walked back into the house and followed Alex to the office.
When Marcus went to stand behind Trent’s chair, the man gestured to a piece of paper on the desk.
We believe that he has accessed the video and microphone on the laptop.
Marcus looked at the screen and saw that Jeff looked to be in much the same position as he’d been when Marcus had left to deal with Alicia. For the first time in a long time, Marcus felt helpless. He didn’t know what to do, but he really just wanted about five minutes of peace and quiet to collect his thoughts. He didn’t like the feeling of having no control, but right then, even if Jeff really was his brother, there was nothing he could do to help him. To free him from wherever he was.
Thankfully, he’d had years of practice to make sure that what he felt inside rarely showed outwardly. Never let them see you flinch. That had been his motto since he’d been in his teens. Now almost twenty years later, it was still what he embraced the strongest. It had held him in good stead as he’d had to be strong for Meredith when their world had fallen apart. He’d had to be able to continue to function and provide emotional support for her. There had been no room for weakness or emotion.
And now he was faced with another sibling who needed his help. Who needed him to be strong.
Marcus pulled his phone from his pocket and began to type a message. He hit send then waited for Trent’s phone to alert him to an incoming message. If they couldn’t talk, they didn’t have many options for communicating.
Are you tracing this?
Trent picked his phone up from where it lay on the desk then set it back down without typing a message back but gave a barely noticeable nod. He got up from his seat and motioned for Eric to take his place. He moved out of view of the webcam and began to work on his own laptop on the other side of the desk. Seeing Trent doing something proactive helped settle something in Marcus. He had no idea if he would actually be able to do anything, but just the fact that he was trying helped Marcus. Now if he could just give the other guys standing there something productive to do. Unfortunately, until they had a direction in which to move, there was nothing more they could do but watch.
Marcus’s phone rang, and he glanced at it to see Kelsey’s name on his display. He stared at it for a moment, not sure he wanted to answer it, but he couldn’t ignore her. Letting out a quick breath, Marcus tapped the screen as he moved away from the group at the desk. He didn’t want her to hear anything, or for the person to hear his conversation with her if, in fact, he had accessed the microphone on the laptop.
“Marcus?” Kelsey said when he answered. “There’s a delivery here for you. It says it’s time sensitive. Should I open it?”
“No!” The word came out more forcefully than he had planned. He took a moment to calm himself then said, “No, thank you, Kelsey. Is Alicia there?”
“Yes. She came in just a minute ago.” Kelsey hesitated. “Is everything okay?”
“Can you give the envelope to Alicia and then tell her to call me?” Marcus purposely ignored her question, hoping she wouldn’t ask it again.
“Okay. I’ll do that right away.”
“Thank you, Kelsey.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “There really is something up if you’re thanking me.”
“Goodbye, Kelsey.”
A couple of minutes later, when Alicia’s name appeared on his screen, he didn’t hesitate to take her call.
“Do you want me to open this?” Alicia asked.
“Yes, but go into my office and close the door before you do it,” Marcus instructed her as he ran a hand through his hair. He hoped that whatever was inside the envelope didn’t end up terrifying Alicia. At this point, he figured that it could be anything. “Then you need to scan it all and upload it securely to the server.”
“Marcus, it’s a bunch of papers, like a report.” Alicia fell silent for a moment. “It looks like some sort of DNA test results.”
Thankful it wasn’t something worse, Marcus realized that this was his proof. This would validate the claims made by the crazy person who was holding Jeff captive. Holding his brother captive. He couldn’t fail him. Jeff was his responsibility now. Meredith and Jeff. He had to keep them safe.
And Alicia.
Marcus blinked as he listened to Alicia tell him it was scanned and on its way to him. When had he started to think of Alicia as part of the group of people who he personally cared enough to protect?
“Did you get it?” Alicia asked, bringing him back to their conversation.
“Actually, can you shoot a copy of the scan to Trent as well?”
“Sure, I’ll do that right away. How is everything over there?”
“About the same as when you left. Trent is working on his laptop here, and the info might help him as well.”
“Okay. I’ve also contacted Fulton and let them know of your change in plans.”
“Did you reschedule?” Marcus paced into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge.
“No. I told them we would have to leave it open-ended at this point. Hope that was okay.”
Marcus grabbed several bottles of water. “That was perfect. I have no idea how long this is going to drag on, but I’m hoping it won’t be too much longer.”
“Is Meredith okay?” Alicia asked, concern evident in her voice.
“I think she’s fine. She has episodes like this and will usually snap out of them fairly quickly.”
There was a moment of silence before Alicia said, “If there’s anything else you need me to do, just let me know.”
“Will do.” Marcus ended the call without saying the niceties that were on the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t allow himself to soften toward Alicia. She was his assistant. Nothing more.
Before he could leave the kitchen, Trent walked in. “I wanted to speak to you out of earshot of the webcam.”
Marcus nodded as he handed him a bottle of water. “Did you get the email from Alicia?”
“Yes. It doesn’t give us anything to go on with regards to where Jeff currently is, but it seems to validate what the man was saying.” Trent tilted his head. “Have you read through it?”
“No. I just got off the phone with Alicia, so I haven’t had a chance to look it over yet. Why?”
“It seems that some of the information goes back a couple of decades.” Trent paused. “I’ll let you read through that yourself. It doesn’t seem to hold any bearing on this situation except to confirm that Jeff is, indeed, your half-brother. I have guys working on tracing the signal that the guy is using to access Meredith’s computer. He’s bouncing all over the place, but he’s keeping the signal open, so we’ll find him eventually. I think Eric has men on standby to go as soon as we have narrowed down a location.”
“Do you reall
y think the guy will let us catch him?” Marcus asked. “If he’s been behind all the attacks, he’s not stupid.”
Trent nodded in agreement. “He’s definitely not stupid enough to let us catch him. I have a feeling he’s tracking us tracking him, so he’ll know when it’s time to cut things off. If I had to venture a guess, I’m going to say he’s still not working alone. Someone is helping him with this whole setup. Jeff might have played a role of some nature—I’m still not sure what that was—but he’s got someone else working with him now.”
Marcus didn’t like the sound of that. How many more people were going to be dragged into this awful situation? How many more were going to get hurt or—worse yet—killed? This mastermind—whoever he was—preyed on the vulnerable. At least one person had been killed in the course of it all. That was one person too many, even if he had been the bad guy who had come into the BlackThorpe building with guns blazing.
“Marcus!” Alex called to him from the office, an urgent tone to his voice.
Trent spun around and led the way back into the office.
“Marcus. Oh, Marcus.” The man’s singsongy tone was at odds with the image on the screen. “Where are you?”
The men moved so that Marcus could take a seat in front of the laptop. To give the man the attention he was obviously pleading for.
“Oh! There you are.” Marcus wished that the man would put his face in front of the camera. He just needed one look, and they’d have something to work with. “So, tell me, big brother Marcus…what would you do to save your brother?”
“What do you want?” Marcus asked. He was certain the man wasn’t going to tell him, but at least they finally had an open line of communication with him.
“What do I want? Oh no, Marcus Black, this is about what you are willing to do. So, tell me…what are you willing to do to save your brother?”
“What would you be willing to do to save a sibling? What would any of us do to save a sibling?”
“Would you do as much to save Jeff here as you would to save darling Meredith? Or is Jeff going to be treated as badly as he always has been by your family?”
A Sense of Security: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 6) Page 9