Untold (Alex and Cassidy Book 5)

by Nancy Ann Healy

  Alex chuckled at Cassidy’s good-natured sense of humor. She imagined that there were days Cassidy would love to drink an entire bottle of wine. She wandered the short way down the hall and around the corner to the family room.

  “No, Abby,” Connor scolded his sister. “You stay down.”

  “Why do you get to be on top?”

  “Cause, I’m the boy.”

  Uh-oh. Alex stood just outside the door to the family room. She was almost afraid to look inside and see what her children were doing. She edged carefully closer and peeked into the room.

  “So?” Abby replied indignantly.

  “Boys are bigger,” Connor explained.

  “You’re not taller than me.”

  “Am so.”

  “Not.”

  “Am too.”

  “Not.”

  “Boys are taller.”

  “Are not!”

  Alex felt herself beginning to get dizzy. I can’t believe Cass wanted another one. She thought for certain she would reveal herself with laughter when Abby stepped up onto the couch to stand beside Connor.

  Abby placed her hands on her hips and glared at her twin brother. “I’m bigger,” she said assuredly.

  Alex covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Abby was by far the most sensitive and reserved of her children, except when in the presence of her twin brother. Abby seldom backed down when it came to Connor. Thankfully, the two were generally the best of friends. Occasionally, like all siblings, the pair could become competitive. Today’s contest appeared to be about who got to stand on the couch in whatever game they had concocted. Alex was tempted to hover in the doorframe and let the scene play out. Unfortunately, Abby still had a cast on her wrist. Alex was confident if either of her children somehow left this scenario damaged, she would be the one in time-out the longest when Cassidy got hold of them.

  Alex swooped in and tucked a child under each arm. “Now, what is this about boys being bigger?” she teased.

  “Momma!” they cried out in tandem.

  Alex set them both on the floor. “Now, who says boys are bigger?”

  “D. is bigger than you,” Connor pointed out.

  “Oh, he’s got you there,” Cassidy’s voice whispered from behind.

  Alex huffed dramatically.

  Connor and Abby giggled. “And, Uncle Pip is taller than you too, Momma.”

  “Whose side are you on?” Alex playfully teased her daughter.

  “Mommy’s!” Abby laughed and pointed at Cassidy.

  “Yeah, well, I’m bigger than Mommy,” Alex defended herself.

  Cassidy snickered, moved beside Alex, and patted her on the stomach. “Yes, you are, honey.”

  Alex’s jaw dropped. Cassidy kissed her on the cheek. “Come on you two, time for tacos.”

  “Momma loves tacos,” Connor said.

  “Yes, I know,” Cassidy smirked and patted Alex’s stomach again.

  Alex pouted.

  Cassidy leaned into Alex’s ear. “Oh, honey, don’t worry. I’ll have you beat in a couple of months,” she teased as she offered a hand to each of the twins.

  Alex’s jaw fell slack. “I’m not fat.”

  “Not at all, love,” Cassidy called back.

  “Am I fat?” Alex looked down at her middle. She heard Cassidy and the twins laughing in the distance.

  “What are you doing?” Mackenzie asked.

  Alex turned to the sound. “Do I look fat, Kenz?”

  “Nope, just old,” Mackenzie shrugged and walked out of the room.

  “What is this; pick on Momma day?” Alex groaned.

  “Alex!” Cassidy called out. “Hurry up or Connor said he’s eating your tacos.”

  Alex headed toward the kitchen. “Maybe, I should let him,” she grumbled.

  Cassidy looked over at Alex as she entered the kitchen and smiled. She shook her head affectionately. Alex wasn’t only the most beautiful woman Cassidy had ever seen; she was the most beautiful person Cassidy had ever known. Cassidy loved teasing her wife. At times, a little teasing could cajole Alex out of a sour mood. And, while Alex had not been outwardly irritable, Cassidy did recognize the circles under her wife’s eyes and the slight slow in her gait. Alex needed a diversion. This was the first night she’d managed to make it home for dinner in over a week. A little playful banter seemed appropriate. She’d make it up to Alex later if given the chance. She sidled up to Alex and whispered in her ear. “Eat as much as you want. I’m sure we can work it off later.”

  Alex swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She sat down at her place, looked at her kids and then at Cassidy. “Load me up,” she grinned.

  ***

  Alex was finishing cleaning the table when Cassidy walked back into the kitchen.

  “I almost forgot,” Cassidy handed Alex an envelope. “This was in the mail today.”

  Alex looked at it curiously. Cassidy handled paying the bills. Actually, when Alex stopped to think about it, she seldom opened a piece of mail. She chuckled.

  “What?” Cassidy asked as she poured herself some iced tea.

  “I was just wondering if anyone knows I live here.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. It’s just rare that I get mail.”

  Cassidy smirked. “You get plenty of mail. It’s just that you prefer not to look at the bills, so I open them.”

  “Well, you are better with numbers.”

  “Says the woman with eidetic memory,” Cassidy teased as she took a seat back at the kitchen table.

  Alex looked at the envelope and shrugged. Now and again, something arrived with Alex’s name that Cassidy didn’t recognize. Whenever that happened, Cassidy passed it to Alex. Normally, it ended up in the circular file. Alex peeled the envelope open and slid out the contents. She stared at it for a moment before sinking into one of the kitchen chairs.

  “Alex?”

  Alex made no reply. Her eyes were riveted to the paper in her hand. Her face had gone pale.

  “Alex?” Cassidy called again.

  Alex looked up and took a shaky breath. “I need to call Claire and Bower.”

  Cassidy’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment. She felt her heart drop rapidly. “No…”

  Alex’s body had erupted in a wave of unpleasant tingles. They were the tingles of fear. She looked at the letter in her hand and shook her head. “I need to call Claire.”

  Cassidy looked at Alex for any sign of reassurance that she was gauging the situation incorrectly.

  “I don’t know,” Alex answered her unspoken question. “I don’t know if it’s from him or if it’s a prank,” Alex said. “I need to preserve it. I might have already contaminated evidence.”

  “Alex, are you saying this person might know where we live?”

  Alex caught the panic is Cassidy’s voice and immediately moved to kneel in front of her. “Cass, listen to me; it could be anyone. It could be a prank. After all the press coverage, that wouldn’t be surprising.”

  “But, you don’t think so,” Cassidy observed. “I saw your face, Alex. You don’t think it’s a prank.”

  “I never dismiss anything. You of all people know that.”

  “Alex…”

  “You listen to me; this is not Fisher, Cass. This is not the past. It’s not about you or about us. It’s not the same. You know that I will never let anyone hurt this family. I would die before…”

  Cassidy pressed her fingers to Alex’s lips to silence her. “I know,” she admitted. “I just…”

  Alex leaned in and kissed Cassidy’s lips softly. “Go upstairs,” she suggested. “Let me handle this.”

  Cassidy closed her eyes and released a nervous sigh. She’d thought she was prepared for Alex’s return to this life. A letter at their home was reminiscent of the past—of Carl Fisher and his obsession with her.

  “Cass,” Alex cupped Cassidy’s cheek. “Please, trust me.”

  “I do trust you, Alex.”

  “Then trust that you’re safe.�
��

  Cassidy nodded. “You’ll tell me if you have to leave?”

  “I promise.” Alex watched Cassidy head out of the kitchen. She sat back in the chair Cassidy had just occupied and rubbed her face vigorously. “Shit.” She placed the call she needed to make.

  “Missed me, huh?” Claire answered.

  “Seems the breadcrumbs I left worked.”

  “What? They find another girl?”

  “No,” Alex said. “I guess he was busy with something else.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Claire asked.

  “You need to come here, and we need forensics.”

  “What?”

  “I got some mail today,” Alex said.

  “Fuck….”

  ***

  Alex felt sick. She could hear Claire’s voice speaking behind her to the forensics team. Her mind was preoccupied with the words on the letter she’d received:

  She went a wandering in the forest deep, looking for a few little lost sheep.

  Shall we go hunting, Agent Toles?

  Very well. A hunting we will go.

  Where do we start?

  Let’s see:

  Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,

  How does your garden grow?

  With silver bells and cockle shells

  You will find all the pretty maidens in a row.

  “Toles,” Claire called for Alex’s attention.

  Alex looked at the words she had copied down. “Cockle shells…”

  “Alex,” Claire grabbed Alex’s shoulder. Alex finally looked up at Claire. “The team is leaving. We need to talk to Cass.”

  Alex shook her head.

  “I don’t want to either,” Claire said. “We have to. You know that.”

  Alex sighed. “She doesn’t need this now.”

  “Let me talk to her.”

  “Why you?”

  Claire smiled. “Because your need to protect her is going to get in the way.”

  “Oh? And, yours isn’t?”

  Cassidy had heard the front door close and had made her way downstairs. “Protect me from what?” she asked.

  Claire and Alex both turned.

  “Well?”

  Alex stood up and made her way to Cassidy. “Cass, it’s just routine.”

  Claire rolled her eyes. Cassidy caught the expression over Alex’s shoulder.

  “Nothing about that letter you got is routine,” Cassidy said. “We both know that. So, let’s have it. Is it from him or not?”

  “We don’t know,” Claire said.

  “What do you think?” Cassidy asked the pair. “Alex?”

  “I think it’s a strong possibility, but,” Alex rushed to clarify. “I don’t think it has anything to do with you or this family.”

  “Then why send it here and not to the FBI?” Cassidy asked.

  Claire crossed her arms and smiled at Alex as she waited.

  “Because he knew I would open it—me, probably alone without a team of agents here. That’s why.”

  “Why?” Cassidy asked.

  Alex led Cassidy to sit at the table and directed Claire to join them. “Look, Cass, this is a game to him. It is. I’ve seen it before. He knows we’re chasing him.”

  “So, he wants you to find him?” Cassidy asked.

  “No, he wants to prove we can’t. At the same time, he doesn’t want anyone else to get credit for his work—for his hunt.”

  “I didn’t see anything, Alex. I just picked up the mail like I do every day.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have seen anything,” Claire said. “The letter was postmarked from New Haven yesterday. He mailed it.”

  “So, then what do you need to ask me?”

  “You just need to keep watch,” Claire said. Cassidy’s alarm was immediate and evident. Claire smiled at her. “Cassidy, Alex isn’t a target and neither are you. She’s right. Neither of us will take any chances, though. Not when it comes to your family.”

  Alex smiled gratefully at Claire. “Trust me; please. Just be aware, not afraid.”

  Cassidy wanted to tell Alex that she could comply with the request. This might be the one instance when she could not, and she had no intention of lying to her wife or to Claire. “I can’t promise you that—either of you. I want to. I can’t.”

  Alex sighed. “Claire, can I have a minute with Cass?”

  Claire nodded and left the room.

  Cassidy took one look in Alex’s eyes and shook her head. “Don’t even think about quitting.”

  “I won’t put you through this. If you don’t feel safe—I’m out.”

  “Alex, you cannot quit because of my demons.”

  “What I can’t do is allow you or anyone in this house to be afraid. I won’t do it, Cass. Don’t ask me to.”

  “I love you, Alex. You can’t walk away from this. I’m not going to lie to you; the idea that this psychopath knows where we are and who we are scares me. I can’t help that. It feels like that night we came home and the picture was taped to the front door. I remember you walking around that house… Alex, I think that was the only time I was more frightened than when Carl Fisher had me. If you…”

  “That’s why I can’t continue.”

  “No, that’s why you need to. Alex, someone else will get hurt and…”

  “And, someone else can solve this case.”

  “No. Find another way.”

  Alex was growing frustrated. She groaned. “What other way?” she raised her voice. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “So, my telling you the truth means you quit? That’s not fair, Alex.”

  “Damnit, Cassidy! I won’t do that again.”

  “I’m not going to be the reason you quit again.”

  “Why do we have to keep fighting about this?”

  “We’re not—you are.”

  Alex threw her hands up. “I need some air.”

  “Where are you going?” Claire asked when Alex passed her in the hallway.

  “I need to clear my head.”

  Claire made her way back to the kitchen and found Cassidy sitting silently, face in her hands.

  “Cass?”

  Cassidy sighed. “I can’t lie to her about this. She can’t quit again. She can’t make me the reason she quits.”

  Claire leaned against the counter. “She’s scared.”

  Cassidy looked up.

  “Not that you’re in danger; that she’ll fail you somehow.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cassidy asked.

  “Alex,” Claire said. “I get it. She blames herself, you know? I mean, for everything that you’ve been through. Hell, I think she blames herself a little bit for me. She wants to make everything better. That’s Alex. Sometimes, you can’t. That’s hard for her to accept.”

  Cassidy smiled. “Sounds like you two have done some talking.”

  “Some. Thing is, we have one big thing in common.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You,” Claire said. “I get why she wants to walk away. She loves you, Cassidy. Even when we’re out on the road, she’s always thinking about you—always. It always comes back to you. I don’t know if you really get that.”

  “I know that,” Cassidy said. “But this is part of her, Claire.”

  “Yeah; it is. Cass... The thing is, Fisher—he haunts all of us because he hurt you. I see it. I feel it working this case. It’s not him. It could’ve been him,” Claire’s voice dropped to a whisper.

  “Claire,” Cassidy spoke. “I said that I was afraid. I can’t help that. I am. Some days… There are still days when I come home and no one is here and I feel a chill go up my spine as I head to this kitchen. It’s not the same place. It was ten years ago. I can’t help it. A letter here—to our home?” Cassidy looked upward. “My children are here. This is… It just feels…”

  “I know,” Claire said.

  “I know you do. I can’t lie to Alex, not about this. She’d see through it in a minute. I also know that safety is
an illusion. We’re as safe, maybe safer than anyone. Things happen. Alex can stop some of those things from happening, and she needs to.”

  Claire nodded.

  “Would I feel safer with her here all the time? Yes, I would,” Cassidy confessed. “But I wouldn’t feel happier and neither would she. And one day? One day, something will happen even if she is here around the clock. I know that too. Part of loving someone is letting them be who they are, even when that scares the hell out of you.”

  “I have an idea.”

  Cassidy was curious.

  “Any idea where your missus went?”

  Cassidy grinned. “She didn’t change, so chances are she’s down by the pond.”

  Claire nodded. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Promise,” Cassidy replied. “Where are you going?”

  Claire winked. “Hopefully, not for a swim.”

  ***

  “Did Cass send you out to look for me?”

  “Nope,” Claire said. She sat down on the log Alex occupied. “Looking to kiss some frogs?”

  Alex chuckled.

  “You need to talk to Cass.”

  Alex groaned. “We’ve been arguing about this since I left Carecom.”

  “Do you want to quit?”

  “It’s not about what I want, Brackett.”

  “What about what Cass wants?”

  Alex turned and glared at Claire through the darkness.

  “Just asking. You don’t want her to lie, but you want to use the truth as an excuse to quit.”

  “It’s not an excuse.”

  “Really?”

  “You know what, Brackett? Just mind your own business.”

  “It is my business.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Didn’t work for us,” Claire deadpanned.

  Alex chuckled again.

  Claire cast a stone at her feet into the pond. “That was from him.”

  “I know.”

  “And, you know as well as I do that he might just target Cass or anyone else if it gets his rocks off.”

  Alex sighed.

  “And, we both know that he’s going to get off on playing with us.”

  “You’re making my case for me,” Alex pointed out.

  “Am I?” Claire challenged. She threw another stone into the water. “Fuck it. You’re the best agent I know, Toles. Hell, that’s why my father wanted me to keep an eye on you all those years ago.”