“Cass?”
“I’m here.”
“I’m sorry.”
Cassidy took a deep breath. “No need to be sorry, love. I told you; I will be here.”
“I’d rather be there.”
“I know,” Cassidy said. “Someone else needs you more right now.”
Alex closed her eyes. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything I can.”
“Call Claire.”
“Why?” Cassidy asked.
“I just dropped her off at the car rental place. Hawk’s on her way here.”
“Was she upset?”
“Worried, I think,” Alex said.
“I’ll call her.”
“If she doesn’t call you first,” Alex chuckled.
“If she doesn’t call me first,” Cassidy agreed. “She’s growing on you.”
“Like a fungus.”
Cassidy laughed.
“And, don’t get any ideas. I’m not adopting her too,” Alex said.
“I’ll tell the lawyer to rip up the papers,” Cassidy deadpanned.
“Funny.”
“I know. I’ll miss you.”
“Me too,” Alex said.
“I’m sorry for the reason, but I’m glad you are going to see Pip.”
“Me too,” Alex confessed. “I’ll call you later.”
“I hope so.”
“I love you, Cass.”
“I love you too, Alfred.”
Alex laughed. “I get it. I have clean up duty when I get home.”
“Just get home,” Cassidy said.
“I will.”
Cassidy put her phone on the table beside her and put her face in her hand. I’ll never get used to it.
“Mommy?” Abby put her hand on Cassidy’s knees.
Cassidy picked up her head and smiled at her daughter. “Hi, sweetie.”
“Why ah you cwying?”
“I’m not,” Cassidy promised. “Just a little sleepy, I think.”
Abby considered her mother thoughtfully. “You sad?”
“No, honey; I’m not sad,” Cassidy said, taking the opportunity to lift Abby onto her lap. Abby snuggled against her. “Where is Connor?” Cassidy asked.
“With Grandma.”
“Oh, what are Grandma and Connor doing?”
“Readin’,” Abby said.
“You didn’t want to read?”
“Wif you.”
Cassidy smiled and kissed Abby’s head. “I love to read with you.”
“Mommy?” Abby addressed Cassidy. Cassidy waited, knowing the question would follow. “D. went away.”
“Dylan will be back, sweetheart.”
“Not forevah.”
Cassidy smiled. “No, honey; not forever. But, he will always come back to see you, even if he has to stay away for a while.”
“How come?”
“How come, what?” Cassidy asked.
“How come he has to weave?”
Cassidy closed her eyes and held Abby close. “Well, sometimes we all have to leave for a little while. Sometimes for a long time,” Cassidy said.
“Why?”
“To meet new people,” Cassidy said. “To try new things,” she told her daughter. “Like Grandpa. He was away for a very long time.”
“Did you miss him?”
“Very much. And, sometimes Mama has to go away for a few days too.”
“She comes back.”
“Yes, she does. And, Grandma and YaYa go away once in a while.”
“We get presents.”
Cassidy laughed. “Yes, you do.”
“I want D. to stay.”
Cassidy bit her lip gently. So, do I. “Well, in a way he will,” Cassidy said. “Whenever you think about him, he will be right here with you. Like right now. Close your eyes,” she told Abby. Abby shut her eyes tightly. “Now, think about Dylan. Can you see him?” Abby nodded. “Now, tell him something,” Cassidy said. She watched as Abby began to smile. “What did he say?” Cassidy asked.
“He says I am silly.”
“Now, tell him you love him. What did he say?”
“He misses me.”
“Open your eyes,” Cassidy said. Abby looked at her. “See? Dylan is right here,” she pointed to Abby’s heart. “So, even when he isn’t sleeping upstairs, he will always be with you.”
Abby sighed. She looked at Cassidy seriously. Cassidy raised a brow. “I don’t want him to go,” Abby said flatly.
Cassidy suppressed a chuckle. She pulled Abby close again. “I know, sweetheart,” she said. “I know.”
***
Alex walked down a corridor toward a door at its end. It was a walk she had made many times over the years. It was a walk she had hoped she would never have to make in any official capacity again. She concentrated on steadying her breathing, hoping to banish the memories this place conjured at times.
“Ms. Toles!” an excited woman hurried toward her.
Alex smiled genuinely at the animated woman. “Marta,” she took her former secretary into a hug. “Keeping Jonathan in line, I hope.”
Marta nodded. “I try. It’s not the same without you, though.”
“Ah, you just miss Cassidy’s goodies,” Alex joked. “And, maybe having weekends off.”
Marta laughed. She had worked for Alex’s father for years before his death, and had remained in her position when Alex took over at Carecom. Alex Toles had differed as a boss from her father in countless ways. Alex shared his dedication, his intelligence, and his thoroughness; she also possessed deep compassion and an ability to connect to people. Marta had marveled at Alex’s ability to address complicated issues and reduce stress for the staff at Carecom. The company had been through multiple transitions over the last decade. Alex had made the decision to move operations closer to her home in Connecticut. Marta had followed. When Alex opted to leave Carecom, her older brother, Jonathan had stepped in and set up his office in the original space their father had once occupied. Marta had agreed to move again. She had come to adore her new boss. She had seen evidence of Jonathan’s desire to connect with the man he had never known as his father, but she still missed Alex.
Marta’s eyes twinkled. She put her arm around Alex. “How is Mrs. Toles?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Marta,” Alex laughed. “After all these years, can’t you just call us Alex and Cassidy?”
Marta winked. “In my eyes, you are still the boss,” she said.
Alex shook her head. “Well, whatever you do, don’t tell Jonathan that.”
“Don’t tell me what?”
Alex looked up and met a similar pair of eyes to hers. She hadn’t seen her older brother in a month. He had been traveling. She had been busy with work and the kids’ activities. Looking at him now, Alex realized how much she’d missed him. “Marta and her formalities,” Alex said.
“Ah. She is a bit of a—what is it the twins call it?”
“Stickler,” Marta answered the question. “And, those kids are smart,” she told him. “You should pay attention to what your sister and Mrs. Toles have taught them.”
Alex snickered. “Is he misbehaving?” she teased Jonathan.
“I keep telling him to get used to leaving a little earlier,” Marta said.
Alex nodded. Jonathan and his wife were expecting their first child. “Take my advice,” Alex said. She looked at her brother, pointed to Marta and issued him a playful warning. “You’ll take hers if you know what’s good for you.”
Marta gloated and headed back to her desk. Jonathan rolled his eyes and beckoned Alex into his office. “And, here I thought we were done with conspiracy theories,” he joked.
Alex shrugged. “Little ones, big ones, one thing I know, there is always one.”
“That was a mouthful.”
Alex sighed.
“What’s going on?” Jonathan wondered. “You know that I am glad you’re here. I know you. You avoid this place like it’s the plague. What gives?”
&n
bsp; Alex flopped into a chair. Jonathan offered her a smile. She had been vague about the reason for her visit on the phone. He suspected that her reason for visiting had deeper roots than just the case she was working on.
“Should I get that bottle of scotch now?” he tried to pull Alex from her mood.
Alex chuckled. She had never been much of a drinker. Scotch? Just the smell made her nauseous. The truth was, given a chance just about anyone could drink her under the table including Cassidy. “No thanks,” she replied.
“What do you need?” Jonathan asked more directly.
“I was hoping you could help speed things up on this case,” she told him.
“What kind of things?”
“Red tape kind of things.”
Jonathan nodded. “Hitting roadblocks already?”
“Not roadblocks, just slow-downs,” Alex commented. “I don’t have time for slow- downs—not now. This young woman we found,” Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them and looked back at her brother. “He’s not done,” she said. “And, his taste buds are tingling.”
Jonathan Krause understood. In the world of espionage, murderers were called assassins; as if that term somehow cleaned up the act itself, made it more palatable, even distinguished. He had taken life. He had been ordered to take life. He had never enjoyed that task. It was one of the reasons, Jonathan Krause had become an orchestrator rather than an interrogator or an assassin. He would live with the demons of his past for the rest of his life. His years in the underbelly of the spy game had acquainted him with the kind of person Alex was seeking. Assassin, murderer, henchman, serial killer—all words to describe a sadistic human being who enjoyed hunting human prey. He had little doubt that without the structure and expectation that existed in covert operations, many assassins would’ve become prolific serial killers. They craved the hunt. They relished the kill, and in more cases than he cared to recall, this kind of hunter enjoyed the taste of fear and pain of his prey.
“Alex,” Jonathan began thoughtfully. “Look, you don’t need me on this.”
“Need? Maybe not. You and I both know that you have access to anything I might need without the red tape to cut through.”
“How about we drop the bullshit and you tell me what is really going on?”
Alex rubbed her face for a minute and then looked back at her brother. “Cass is pregnant.”
“Congratulations.” He studied his sister closely. Alex’s smile was dim. “Is that not a good thing?”
“It is.”
“What gives, Alex? Are you worried something might happen?”
“It did once.”
“Lots of things happen once,” Jonathan replied. “What does Cassie think?”
Alex smiled. “You know her. She sees the best in everything.”
“And, you don’t?”
“I see reality.”
Jonathan nodded. “Sometimes, maybe you project possibilities and not realities.”
“Maybe I do.”
“This isn’t about Cassidy’s pregnancy,” Jonathan surmised. “Have you talked to him?”
“What?”
“Dylan. Have you talked to him since he left?”
Alex shook her head. “Why do I think you have?”
“He called this morning,” Jonathan admitted. “He’s just excited, Alex.”
“I know.”
“Let’s have it,” he said.
Alex sighed heavily. “Jonathan, what if… We both know there are risks.”
“There’s always risks.”
“You know what I am talking about.”
“I suppose, I do,” he confessed. “Look, we don’t even know if O’Brien managed to fulfill his objective.”
“His objective? You mean planting something in my son’s subconscious? That objective?” Alex snapped.
Jonathan remained steady. He understood Alex’s concerns. They had spent several years working to uncover an international conspiracy. Neither of them could have predicted where the trail would lead them. It had led them home. Despite what they had uncovered, Jonathan remained grateful for the twists in the path. He had found Alex, and he had found family—so, had she. But, they had also discovered a web of secrets and lies that still confounded them both. The spy game and the political arena were both games of perception. In the end, every objective came down to controlling perception. Whoever mastered that ability was likely to be successful in their endeavors.
During their investigation, Krause had discovered a top-secret project called Lynx, given its name for the lynx’s mystical ability to possess second sight. Lynx was the ultimate perception program. It went far beyond any of its sister initiatives. There had been many projects developed after World War II that delved into the area of mind control utilizing everything from hypnosis and subliminal programming to exploring electroshock therapy and sensory deprivation. Programs like MK-Ultra had utilized military personnel and unwitting citizens. Lynx took all the trappings of MK-Ultra a step further. The objective in Lynx had been to implant memory, belief, and directives in the minds of children to create sleeper agents. Lynx had begun as a program of the CIA. It had been co-opted early on, twisted, and used for undetermined purposes by a group known as The Collaborative.
The Collaborative was comprised of intelligence operatives, business and political leaders, and military personnel from The United States, Russia, France, The United Kingdom, and various other countries across the globe. Its initial purpose had been to prop up the Cold War narrative, ensuring economic growth for its partners, and stemming the possibility of another world war. As with all agencies, governments, and organizations, power had corrupted The Collaborative. Over time, individuals had begun to redefine objectives. The group had grown to epic proportions and competing ideas and initiatives had resulted in a splinter.
Alex and Jonathan’s determination to infiltrate the organization and undermine its newest objectives had propelled them on a collision course with destiny. They had uncovered the secrets of their fathers. It had led them to learn of their relationship as brother and sister. It had uncovered the lie that Cassidy’s father had built. He had been the father of Lynx, developing the program’s foundations. The project he had developed had been his codename. Fearing its implications for his family, James McCollum had taken pains to fake a believable death and disappear for over twenty years. He was not the only father who possessed dark secrets.
The truth about Claire’s mother’s death had also been unearthed, shattering her father’s vicious effort to control Claire’s thinking for most of her life. And, another dark secret had been unearthed. Cassidy’s former husband was one of the first products of Lynx. His loyalty lay not with his family nor the United States government that he had been elected to. It was not even to wealth nor power. Congressman Christopher O’Brien had sworn fealty to Russia. It had been ingrained in him since childhood. He had one objective: infiltrate The Collaborative via Lynx’s family, and change the narrative. His marriage to Cassidy had been an order, not an act of love. His mission had been to produce a child with Lynx’s daughter. Whether O’Brien had succeeded in implanting any latent directives in Dylan’s mind was unknown. That possibility continued to haunt Alex.
“Alex,” Jonathan reached across and placed his hands on Alex’s knees. “Stop this.”
“I can’t. It’s my responsibility to protect him.”
“Have you talked to Jim?”
“You know what he will say—let it lie.”
“He is the expert, Alex.”
Alex closed her eyes. Cassidy’s father, Jim McCollum was an expert on mind control. Lynx had not only been his project; it had also been his codename. Alex still struggled with the man. She’d managed to cultivate a friendship with him, although she would never deny that she kept a close eye on him. She hated to admit it, but Alex did know that Jim McCollum loved his family. That truth was written in his eyes whenever he looked at Rose, Cassidy, or any of his grandchildren. Al
ex was confident that he would never knowingly endanger Dylan. She had not approached the issue with her father-in-law in years.
“Talk to Jim,” Jonathan suggested.
“Pip,” Alex looked her brother. “If Dylan goes into the military it exposes him.”
“And, if he doesn’t? Alex, no matter what path Dylan takes that risk exists. Look at all of us. Cassidy’s a teacher. That didn’t prevent her from getting sucked into all our parents’ insanity. Besides, it’s in his blood.”
Alex groaned.
“It is,” Jonathan said.
“Don’t remind me.”
“Dylan is a smart kid,” Jonathan said. “He’s had a different beginning than any of us had.”
“Oh? Look at what he had to go through with O’Brien.”
“Yes, but he has had you and Cassidy. He’s had an army behind him most of his life. He has all of us. That is something you and I did not have—none of us did.”
Alex sighed. That was true. That is why she had come here, for the truth. Jonathan would always be frank with Alex. He would never seek to sugar-coat difficult or precarious situations. “I just want him to be safe.”
“So, do I.”
“I know you do,” Alex replied.
“This is what he wants, Alex.” Krause snickered.
“What?”
“I was just thinking about our father.”
“What about him?”
“Well, Helen has always said that he would have walked through fire to keep you from going to West Point. We both know he pulled every string he could to keep me out of the game.”
“Yeah, well…”
“Oh, come on,” Jonathan looked at her. “It’s what you had to do. It’s where I wanted to go. For all the shit, Alex, I think it ended up working out pretty well for both of us.”
Untold (Alex and Cassidy Book 5) Page 14