CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MARIANNE
Now is the very time we must act!” Kincaid’s impatient tone carried through his closed door. “Now, while they believe we are in disarray. The Path will be taken off guard.”
Kincaid had summoned me. I perched on one of the chairs in the small waiting area outside his office and tried to look as if I wasn’t listening. I couldn’t help meeting Betina’s eyes, though, and raising my eyebrows in question. She shrugged. She either didn’t know what action Kinkaid was talking about or wasn’t going to share. My money was on the latter.
“He’ll be with you in a minute. Would you like some coffee? Water?”
“No, thanks.” I was peeing often enough, these days.
It had been only a week since Mr. Foxworth had died, but there hadn’t been much time to mourn. Mr. Kincaid had initiated several new assignments, which had increased the workload of the research department. Dan had come home after ten every night, including the weekend. He wouldn’t say much about what he was doing, except that the Trust was keeping very close tabs on several major players in the Path. There was plenty of work for me as well, but Kincaid had insisted I continue going home at the usual time. My health and that of the baby was the Trust’s highest priority, he’d said. I didn’t argue. For once, we were in agreement. Dan insisted on driving me home, then going back to work after a quick dinner. The commute gave us a few minutes together each day, since I was usually asleep by the time he got home.
The only significant time Dan and I had spent together in the last week had been the afternoon of the San Diego memorial for Mr. Foxworth, and then we’d been in a crowd of dozens of the local movers and shakers who had come to pay their respects. The Trust’s public face was that of a philanthropic organization, and there were many who had benefitted from Mr. Foxworth’s charity. Aside from that, the only time we’d seen each other was in the mirror when we were brushing our teeth in the morning. I hoped this heavy workload Dan was carrying would ease up soon. I missed him.
“Yes, now!” Kincaid said sharply from the other side of the door, then he dropped his voice to a more normal tone that was unintelligible from where I sat waiting.
A minute later, Dan stepped onto the landing that doubled as Kincaid’s reception area.
“You, too, huh?” I observed. We both lifted a brow at Betina, who had issued the actual invitations.
She lifted her hands. “Don’t look at me.”
Her intercom beeped, and Mr. Kincaid’s tinny voice said, “Please send in Mr. and Mrs. Collier.”
Apparently he had no doubt that we had responded promptly to his summons.
Kincaid was leaning against the front of his desk in an unusually casual stance. He straightened and shook Dan’s hand, then gestured to the leather chairs. “Have a seat, both of you.” He perched again on the edge of his desk.
I sat, which left me looking up at our boss. I had a feeling he’d planned it that way. Dan remained standing beside me.
Kincaid shot him an irritated glance, then straightened. He was still much shorter than Dan, so he walked around his desk where his disadvantage in height was less apparent. “As you know, the Vancouver police believe Mr. Foxworth’s death was from natural causes. The Trust believes it was murder, but has had no success in finding the person responsible. The Chicago and Harrisburg offices have continued the examination of the events at TMI four months ago. They are more convinced than ever that what happened at Three Mile Island was influenced by the Golden Path.” He paused to let that sink in.
A chill rippled down my spine. The assassination of Foxworth was bad enough, but the idea that Altesse and the Path could engineer a nuclear accident on that scale was terrifying. Operator error was commonly believed to be the cause of the near meltdown at TMI. But if the Path had a hand in that, their reach had grown significantly.
“Did they infiltrate the staff, or did they use magic?” Dan asked.
“Chicago thinks it was magic, directed at one or more of the operators. They’re still investigating, however. There’s still a great deal they don’t know. That’s why I’ve called you here. I’m concerned for you, Marianne.” Kincaid assumed a gentle tone that sounded unnatural coming from him. “TMI was too close a call. I don’t believe it was a coincidence that it occurred when you were there, either. The child you carry is our best hope of disrupting the power of the Path. I want to move you into a secure facility for the remainder of your pregnancy.”
“No.” Dan’s response was swift and firm.
I shot him a surprised glance before returning my attention to our boss. Dan had expressed similar concerns himself. Had he changed his mind?
“The enmity between Altesse and Mr. Foxworth went beyond professional opposition. I never knew the whole story, but whatever was between them was personal, for both of them. Since the attempt on Altesse’s life, it won’t be enough for him to assassinate the Trust’s Chairman. Mr. Foxworth had no family to go after, so Altesse will want to destroy everything Foxworth tried to build, especially if it means protecting the Path’s power base at the same time.” Kincaid’s voice took on an avuncular tone. “You were Mr. Foxworth’s last project, Marianne. His legacy, if you will. We have to protect you, and the best way to do that is to hide you somewhere safe.”
“No.” Dan repeated. “That’s not what Foxworth planned. That’s not what we’re going to do.”
Kincaid’s lips tightened for an instant, betraying his irritation, before he resumed a more neutral expression. “Don’t you think that’s Marianne’s decision to make?”
If the Path could reach out to influence an operator at a nuclear power plant, they could easily do the same to a neighbor. How easy would it be for them to cause what appeared on the surface to be an accident?
Dan knelt beside me, and put his strong hands over mine, where I’d unconsciously spread my fingers over my belly. The warmth of his touch was reassuring, as was his steady gaze.
“I’ve been a soldier, and I know that sometimes battle plans need to be changed on the fly to suit changing circumstances. But I don’t think this is one of those times. I believe Foxworth’s original plan is still your best bet. Our marriage is your refuge, Marianne. The very ordinariness of our life, of living in a neighborhood, makes you unremarkable. You said it yourself, no one in the Path even knows they should be looking for you.”
“Can you be sure of that?” Kincaid asked. “Conrad showed an unusual interest in her afterward.”
“He’s shown no more interest since that one invitation, and he doesn’t know she’s pregnant. Even if he suspected that he’d fathered a child, he’d be looking for Mary Potter, not Marianne Benton, and definitely not Marianne Collier. Changing our living arrangements now would only draw attention to Marianne, not protect her.”
“No one will know where she is.”
A frisson of alarm skittered over my scalp. “What do you mean, no one will know where I am? My parents will worry. Mom expects to be at the birth. We can’t just disappear. People will ask questions.”
“You both don’t need to go into hiding. Yours will just be another hasty marriage that didn’t make it. Dan can explain to everyone here that you moved back to be near your parents. And you’ll stay in touch with your folks by phone. It’s only natural that you’d need time to yourself to get over your divorce. And your mother will understand why you don’t want her to attend the birth, since you’ve decided to give up the child for adoption.”
I stared, shocked speechless for a moment that Kincaid could even suggest such a thing. Then I shot to my feet as well as I could with my increased weight, and took a step forward. Dan stood behind me, his solid strength at my back. “Never! My mother would not understand, and she’d never forgive me. Nor will I ruin Dan’s reputation by painting him as a someone who’d abandon his pregnant wife. Dan and I are a family now.”
Kincaid looked nonplussed. “But the child will be well cared for. A ward of the Trust. He’ll want for n
othing. You can both resume the lives you gave up for this mission.”
“We will never give up our child. Never.” I was so angry I was shaking.
“Collier, are you going to let her decide your life for you? It’s not even your child.”
“It is my child, in every way that’s important,” Dan said in a voice like granite.
Dan’s words filled my heart with an unexpected joy and I blinked back tears. Neither man noticed, because their eyes were locked in a duel for dominance.
“Very well.” Kincaid frowned, clearly not pleased. “This offer will remain open to you, however, if you decide circumstances warrant. I only want to keep you and the child safe.”
I couldn’t fault him for that, even if his approach was heartless. “Thank you. I appreciate that, but I won’t ever accept.”
“We’ll be taking the rest of the day off,” Dan said rather curtly, guiding me to the door with a hand on my back. I could feel the tension radiating off him, so I didn’t argue. I couldn’t imagine going back to logging invoices after fielding an offer like that.
Neither one of us spoke as we left the building. I could feel Dan almost glowing with anger, but his actions were careful and controlled as he handed me into the car and began the drive home.
My mind kept revolving around Kincaid’s suggestion that I could be in danger. I didn’t want to put my baby at risk. Was I being selfish? But I couldn’t believe that. No one would fight harder than I would to keep our baby safe, except maybe for Dan. I had no doubt whatsoever that even though this child wasn’t his flesh and blood, he’d do anything and everything to protect the two of us as long as we were in his care.
Was that why he was angry? Because I’d made a decision that affected his future without consulting him? He’d volunteered for this massive, life-changing duty. He’d been quick to say no to Kincaid’s plan. He’d even said he thought of the baby as his, but maybe he was having second thoughts. Now that he’d had time to change his mind, maybe Kincaid’s offer to return to his old life appealed to him. I hadn’t given him a chance to choose for himself what he wanted.
We were almost halfway home when Dan finally broke his silence. “Do you want to stop at Benny’s?”
It was a little early for dinner, but I wouldn’t mind getting a strawberry shake. “Sure.”
Dan changed course, and a few minutes later we were sliding into a red vinyl upholstered booth. Black and white tiles covered the floor, and ridged aluminum edged the Formica tables and counters in the Fifties style diner. Dan took out a quarter and dropped it into the table’s miniature jukebox, then selected a couple of oldies. A waitress in an old-fashioned uniform took our order and left us staring at each other.
“I’m sorry—” I started.
At the same time Dan said, “It meant a lot—”
We both stopped, then said, “Go ahead,” at the same time.
“Ladies first,” Dan said, gesturing for me to speak.
I didn’t know exactly what to say. Dan had told me that he was in for the duration. He was even a little testy about it, so I’d avoided any mention that the beginning of our relationship had been unconventional, to say the least. And there’d been no reason to bring it up. He’d been so loving that I hadn’t thought about it for months. It seemed impossible now that I’d considered marrying Barry instead. But it was possible Kincaid’s offer had caused Dan to reconsider his options. “I didn’t give you much of a chance to say anything back there.”
“You said everything that needed saying.”
“Are you sure? This affects you, too.”
His jaw muscles jumped. “Don’t. Don’t start doubting me again.”
“I don’t! I just—”
“You made me really happy back there, when you called us a family, when you called it our baby. You kept me from grabbing Kincaid and punching him in the nose. Don’t spoil it.”
I bit my lips, but I couldn’t keep from grinning. “Really? You wanted to punch him?”
His fingers flexed. “Oh, yeah.”
“’Cause I wanted to punch him, too.” My mother would be horrified, but it was true.
He grinned back. “I would have paid to see that.”
“Punching your boss is generally not a good idea.”
“What’s he going to do? Fire you from being pregnant?”
Good point. I shrugged. “Damn. Another missed opportunity.”
The waitress brought our order. I hadn’t been hungry earlier, but now I stole one of Dan’s onion rings. He shoved them to the center of the table with a frown on his face.
“I only want a taste,” I said.
Dan’s brows drew down. “What?”
I gestured with the remains of my theft. “You look rather fierce.” Then I ate the evidence.
“I’m a little worried by Kincaid’s ‘offer.’ We had a plan. But now that Mr. Foxworth is gone, there’s a lot of new activity. I think there’s a power struggle going on in the upper levels of the Trust, and I suspect Kincaid is trying to consolidate his position.”
“You think he wants to use me as a bargaining chip?”
He nodded. “Or the baby.”
I plucked the cherry from the top of my shake and popped it into my mouth. Sweetness burst on my tongue but I didn’t enjoy it. “What can he do? It doesn’t matter how I met Conrad, this baby is mine. Ours. Kincaid has no claim on him.”
“No. He doesn’t.” Dan shoved an onion ring into his mouth and chewed savagely. “The problem is, Kincaid thinks he does.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MARIANNE
Three months later, late October
We need a taller stepstool,” I muttered, dragging ours to the front door. It was light enough for even an eight months pregnant shrimp like me to carry, but awkward given my girth. I waited for the usual rejoinder from Dan. It had become a joke between us in the early days of our marriage. No stepstool in the world could be tall enough for me to reach what I needed. That’s why we kept everything I normally used on the lower shelves.
“Where do you think you’re going with that?” Dan went off-script as he took the little ladder away from me.
I lifted the garland of paper spiders in my other hand. “It’s almost Halloween. We need to get these up.”
Dan glared at me. “I’ll do it.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“Yesterday I was putting the crib together, and carving the pumpkin.”
I looked over at our lopsided gourd. It wore a pirate’s eye patch, because the knife had slipped and there was a gaping hole where a glaring eye was supposed to be. Fortunately, Dan had done a much better job with the crib. “Fair enough. But I’m not an invalid. I can do this.”
“Not while I’m around.” Dan snatched the spiders out of my hand and stalked to the front door.
He returned a few minutes later, sans spiders. “Done. And for the sake of my nerves, no more climbing until after the baby comes. Okay?”
I made a show of sighing heavily. “All right.”
Dan leaned the stepstool against the wall so he could put his arms around my shoulders from behind. He rested his chin on the top of my head. “It won’t be too much longer. Then Evan will be here and I can help carry him around.”
The next morning dawned gray and foggy, and Dan and I drove to work with dark shadows looming suddenly out of the mist and disappearing just as quickly behind us. It was an appropriate day to be inside an old Victorian mansion turned office building. Despite the fact that the Trust investigated real events where things went bump in the night, or maybe because of it, the staff loved to decorate for Halloween. The building was strewn with orange crepe paper streamers, pasteboard black cats, plastic spiders, and fake cobwebs. I loved it.
This was my last week before taking maternity leave, and I wanted to get as much squared away as possible so Nancy could pick up without confusion where I’d left off. I was a little behind since the women in the office had thrown me a Halloween the
med baby shower last week. Even some of the guys had shown up briefly. Barry had dropped off a gift of baby monitors, but hadn’t stayed, much to my relief. The two of us had taken the easy way out by avoiding one another, instead of trying to become friends again. Not that we’d ever really been friends. Not the way Dan and I were.
By mid-day I’d only made my way through a quarter of the paperwork that had greeted me that morning. I examined the next piece of paper, then frowned at the inter-departmental invoice on my desk. The bill was for the monitoring of something called an XKSD 3000 system, but what had me confused was that the address for the equipment installation was ours. I called the tech department, but they’d all left for lunch, so I left a message and went downstairs to Dan’s office.
He smiled as I waddled in. “Hey, beautiful! What’s up?”
“I’ve got something here I thought you might be able to figure out for me.” I waved the invoice.
“I would have come up to you.”
“I need the exercise,” I said rubbing my lower back. It ached nearly all the time, now. “Do you know what this is for?” I handed him the invoice.
As Dan studied the paper, his brows drew down and his jaw muscles started jumping as if he were trying to contain his temper.
“What’s it for?”
His lips tightened and a feeling of dread crept over me when he didn’t respond.
“Tell me!”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Let’s go to lunch.” He put on his jacket, then carefully folded the invoice and slipped it inside.
I waited until we were in the car on the way to Benny’s before I said, “Okay, give. What’s the invoice for?”
He patted his breast pocket. “It’s for monitoring equipment.”
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