“I started to come out of my fog. Roberta had a lot of power…power I’d given her. I began to question things. Owen’s mom had died the same year as Mom. Nick Tremaine always questioned his wife’s death. The coroner said she died of anaphylactic shock from a bee sting. Nick said she wasn’t allergic to bees.” Dean leaned back in his seat, his gaze lost in memories.
“Nick warned me about Roberta, about how coincidental her appearance in my life was, coming just when it did. We even had a falling out over it. Roberta made me feel alive again. I didn’t think she could have done anything wrong.” He looked at Jax. “So when I began to be suspicious, I confronted her. She denied it. That gave me plausible reason to doubt my fears, but they never went away.
“When she invited the Whiddons over for dinner, I was concerned again. Everyone knew Senator Whiddon was dirty. I didn’t want him in my home. Nor did I want anyone thinking I had an association with him. Roberta brokered a deal on some legislation I’d been wanting to bring to the floor. After that deal, there were others. When I told her it had to stop, she fought back, saying if I exposed her now, not only would my career be over, but all the legislation I’d fought so hard for would become suspect. Everything in my life would be undone. And it wasn’t like we could dig Mom’s body up and redo an autopsy. She’d been cremated.” Dean sighed. “I had a circle of close friends, ones I trusted with my life and had since Vietnam. Nick Tremaine and Henry Myers.”
Jax knew this part of the story. Those two men had been frequent visitors to their house when he was a kid. It was through Nick that Jax met Owen. Even then the adults had been prepping him and Owen for a fight against an enemy neither of them fully understood.
Only one of his dad’s trio had turned out to have any kind of conscience at all. But his dad didn’t know that he knew, so Jax let him spill. There were ears listening. He’d told his FBI contact about this meeting. They were out there now, in a moving van across the street, waiting to make a run on the house when Jax gave the go-ahead.
First, though, Jax wanted everything on record. All of it. The lies. The justifications. The connections.
“I asked Nick and Henry for help,” Dean continued. “We couldn’t find anything connecting Roberta to the Omnis, but we knew Whiddon was under their influence. We agreed that I’d become compromised. They thought we could use it in our favor, that I could be an agent for the fight against the Omnis. I could use her as she used me. That’s when Nick faked his death. Henry, too, developed a secret identity that he used in the tunnels where the Omnis were building a fortress hidden from the world above.”
“You sent me to Henry when Addy was taken.”
Dean nodded. “He decided to make his part-time gig in the tunnels a full-time thing. He thought he could break the Omnis from within if he taught the tunnel residents to fight. Men and women, even kids.”
“Did you know that Henry’s granddaughter was in the tunnels?”
“I knew the Omnis took her.”
“The Omnis didn’t take her. He did. He stuck her like a pig. She bled out so profusely, it’s a wonder that she, a toddler at the time, lived. He gave her over to the monsters.”
“The Omnis sent an assassin to his house. They fought. It wasn’t Henry who hurt Ace. It was the assassin.”
“He let it happen.”
Dean sighed. “Nothing is black and white in this. Henry had to choose between losing his entire family or making a tithe of one member. It was the lesser of two evils. He couldn’t get her out without putting the rest of his family in jeopardy. He went in after her, developed his Santo persona so he could watch over her.”
“Bullshit. The Omnis forced her into prostitution and he did nothing.”
“Women are made for sex.”
Jax felt sick. “She was fourteen.”
Dean waved that away. “He taught her to fight. She’s the warrior she is today because of him.”
Jax had to take a breath. This meeting wasn’t about him…he had to remember his goals, had to keep his dad talking. If he didn’t get it on tape, who would believe such a crazy story? Besides, he didn’t want to say anything that would get Ace into trouble.
“So, go on,” Jax prompted. “You figured out Roberta was an Omni plant, that she’d killed Mom. The three of you decided to fight back, leaving her in place.”
“Yes. While you and Owen were at West Point, we laid the groundwork for the Red Team. It was supposed to be completely dark, but Roberta found out about it.”
“How’d that happen?”
“I don’t know. We suspected Whiddon. He was chair of the subcommittee responsible for the funds. Anyway, he redirected the original intent of the Red Team to focus on terror threats outside the U.S. I went along with it, because at the time, we didn’t yet know if the Omnis were being organized by foreign interests.”
“Whiddon knew everything we did.”
“Yeah. Which was why I got with Owen to organize Tremaine Industries.”
“And still Roberta was along for the ride, watching everything.”
“I tried to break free of her when your sister graduated college. Addy was an adult. She was ready to stand on her own, even if my career imploded. It was time to cut myself loose. But she acted first.”
“She took Addy.”
“Yeah. She gave Addy to the Omnis. I couldn’t come clean then, because I knew I’d never see her again if I did.”
“You left Addy with them for almost eight years,” Jax said.
“Seven. I told Edwards to back off. I finally got the balls to make him do it when I saw how desperate Addy was to get away. They took Augie from her because of me. I didn’t do anything on her behalf for months out of fear. That’s when I called you.”
“You told me Owen was King.”
“You knew so much by then, but not everything. I wanted to keep you off-kilter.” Dean sighed and looked down at his desk. “This isn’t a conversation I ever wanted to have with you.”
“Why didn’t you call on your friends, Nick and Henry?”
“I’d already sent Henry to her, through her nanny. He set up a safe house for her, provided her a means of escaping, but she was too broken then to chance it. She didn’t want to risk losing Troy. That’s when I got you involved.”
“Henry knew where she was after she was first taken.” His dad had no comment to offer him. As chatty as he’d been to this point, Jax found that curious. He took his silence for confirmation, the fucking bastard. “You had me chasing my tail for years. I believed you when you said Owen was King. There were times on missions where I almost set him up to die. I thought he was behind what happened to Addy.”
“I had to do that.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t let you get too close to the truth. I couldn’t risk losing you like I’d lost your mom and Addy.”
“You couldn’t because you were a coward.”
Dean nodded.
“Where’s Roberta?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me where she was going.”
Jax set a document on his dad’s desk. It was a marriage certificate from almost forty years ago. “Did you know you were a bigamist? Roberta was already married when she married you.”
Dean stared at the document a long time. Jax had the names on it memorized. Cecil Edwards King and Annie Roberts. “She married King. You gave your daughter in marriage to the very devil I’ve been chasing. You married her off to your wife’s lawful husband. How fucked up is that? I’m gonna ask you again, where’s Roberta?”
Dean sat back in his chair and stared at Jax. “She didn’t tell me. For the last three years, we’ve lived separate lives. I let her stay in the guest house, but we never do anything together in public or private. I don’t know where she is.”
“Did you know that we identified the girl Roberta had killed in the train wreck?”
“How? She was cremated, too.”
“I took a sample of her blood while she was still in the mo
rgue. Your silence about her death and Mom’s makes you an accessory to both murders.”
“I wish that was all I was guilty of.”
Jax wanted to unscramble that cryptic statement, but he sensed his dad was at an end of his confessions. The FBI could try to get more out of him. There was just one more thing Jax wanted to know. “Tell me where Augie is.”
Dean shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t know.”
“Goddammit, Dad. Do one good thing. One. Where is my nephew?”
“King took him. That’s all I know.”
“I’m done. I’m out.” After those words, mere seconds passed before the house was overtaken by the FBI. Jax never saw his dad reach for a gun, but he suddenly had it in his hand. The FBI agents were shouting at him, shouting for him to put his weapon down. He didn’t.
He put it up to his head and pulled the trigger.
Owen was with the team in the billiards room when Jax’s call came through. Max motioned everyone to silence, then fed the call through the speaker system.
“Owen.”
“Jax.”
“I know who King is.”
“Who’s fucking King?” Owen asked quietly.
“It’s Edwards. They fed Addy to King. Roberta is Edwards’ legal wife. That’s why she kept telling Addy to shut up and put up and keep Edwards happy.”
Owen sat down. He didn’t talk. He was glad Addy was upstairs. He’d been just about to go get her when Jax’s call had come in.
“My dad’s dead, O. But I got a lengthy confession from him before he shot himself. The FBI was listening in. They came in to take him, but he took himself out first.”
“Tell me, did you know your dad was dirty all this time?”
“Not until I got Addy out. She told me my dad and Roberta had visited her several times. She said the same day that Augie was taken, our parents visited. She begged them to take her and the boys away, but they didn’t. That’s when I knew. My dad played me. He played everybody. My dad confirmed that Roberta had murdered my mom, then wiggled her way into my dad’s life. By the time he figured it out, he was in too deep. I think he did start the Red Team for the right reasons, but he couldn’t toe the line for us. When you told me you were starting your own gig, and that my dad was a silent partner, I thought again that you were on the side of the Omnis. It didn’t help that Val was also a silent partner, given who his dad was. I couldn’t come to you, Owen, because I didn’t trust you any longer. That’s the real reason I sent Ace your way. She was always an excellent judge of character.”
“Santo kidnapped her, his own granddaughter,” Owen said.
“He had a choice to surrender her as a tithe or have his entire family slaughtered. He and the Omni assassin they sent fought. It was that guy who cut her up. The threat hung over the Dawsons the entire time Ace was inside. It’s why he eventually went in full-time himself. He could only teach her to fight; he couldn’t change her path. I don’t know if the threat still exists, but she and Greer seemed to have backed them off. And now that the tide is turning against the Omnis, their focus has moved elsewhere.”
The line went silent, but Owen knew Jax hadn’t hung up.
“I told Addy you were bad. I kept her from you.” There was a pause on the line. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t mean jack shit, but I needed to say it.”
Owen held his cell phone to his forehead briefly, then said. “I’m just glad you finally got her out. Let’s just focus on that.”
“The FBI found the girl’s family. Addy’s doppelgänger. They found her family.”
“Good. So where is Roberta now that she doesn’t have the senator to manipulate?”
“Not here. My dad said he didn’t know where she was, but your dad said everyone’s heading to Wyoming, including him. Everyone’s heading to the WKB compound. I gotta tell you they aren’t coming in to negotiate a peace plan with you guys. They’re going so they can draw you there and take you out. The game’s over.”
“No, it’s not. We have the Ratcliffs. The human modifications the Omnis were developing have multiple uses and have been widely distributed. We didn’t figure it out or shut it down in time. It has the potential to change the world order and even become a mass-extinction event.”
“Like the Georgia Guidestones talk about.”
“Yeah. That and a hundred other conspiracy theories about the end of modern civilization. We found reference to their desires for a mass kill-off of the human population in some of the papers we’ve uncovered. This technology makes that possible. Did your dad say where my son was?”
“No. I don’t think he knew. I’m on my way out there.”
“Right. Then we’ll see you in hell.” Owen dropped the connection. The room was quiet. At last, they knew who King was.
“We can’t make the mistake of thinking we’re only dealing with meathead gang-bangers,” Kit said. “Angel has already encountered their altered warriors.”
“They’re strong and certainly focused, but they seem separated from their instincts,” Angel said. “It’s like they’re hopped up on crack. We fight smarter than they do. I’m not worried about them.”
“Why converge on the WKB compound?” Blade asked.
“Because they’ve been cultivating the bikers as their soldiers,” Max said. “It’s remote. It’s defensible. And there are multiple ways out if a retreat becomes necessary.”
“We’ve been monitoring the compound since I refreshed our eyes out there,” Max said. “Nothing’s been going on other than it’s slowly emptying out. I warned Pete to get his guys outta there. The fewer there are, the fewer we’ll have to kill. Lion’s been out there with the boys. He’s checked in, but hasn’t had anything to report.”
“Are we sure what’s going to happen is going down there?” Rocco asked. “You certain we can trust Jax?”
“No, I’m not,” Owen said.
“We need a battle plan,” Blade said. “We have to get ourselves in position before this shit goes down.”
“And we need coverage here,” Kit said.
Owen agreed. “Let’s take this discussion to the bunker. Blade, get your dad over here. I want him brought up to speed.”
26
Owen took a detour to his wing before heading down to the bunker. He hoped Addy was still awake. He wasn’t sure how she would take the news—about her dad or about Edwards being King.
A light was on in the sitting room. She was on the couch, reading. When she saw him, she smiled. He didn’t return it.
“What is it?” she asked.
He knelt in front of her. “I have some news. About your dad. And about King.”
“Okay. What about my dad?”
“Jax went to question him about a few things. Turns out Roberta did in fact murder your mother so she could take her place.”
“Oh, my God. Did my dad know?”
“Not at first, but he did eventually. He knew before you were married. Your brother told us he’d been working with the FBI to identify the girl who was killed in the train wreck. They found her family.”
“Those poor people. At least they have closure now. They must have always wondered.”
“It appears Roberta was a bigamist. She was already married when she married your father.”
Addy’s eyes got big. Owen wished there was an easy way to say what he had to, but there wasn’t. “Honey, she was married to Edwards.”
“The whole time?”
Owen nodded. “Only her name wasn’t Roberta, it was Annie Roberts. And her husband’s name is Cecil Edwards King.”
Addy gasped, then covered her mouth. “Cecil’s King?”
“Yeah. It’s a motherfucking miracle you survived those two.”
She reached out and hugged him. He stood, bringing her to her feet so he could hold her.
“So what’s going to happen to my dad?”
“Jax had coordinated his meeting with your dad with the FBI. When they came in to arrest him—honey
, your dad killed himself.”
Addy buried her face in his chest. She didn’t cry, though—she had no tears for her dad. She just leaned on him. Owen rubbed her back. “I know it’s no excuse for his behavior, but they completely owned him. His only choice, most of your life, was to do their bidding.”
She looked up at him, her eyes shifting from blue to orange. “So I was in the Omni world my whole life, wasn’t I?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“And Jax? Do you know more about which side he was on?”
“I’m leaning toward him being on our side now. We think this whole thing is going to break loose really soon. I need to go talk to the guys.”
“I understand.”
“I hope I’ll find you in my bed when I get back.”
She smiled. “That’s where I’ll be.”
Owen’s room was dark when he returned a few hours later. He hoped Addy was where he’d asked her to be. Tonight of all nights, he needed to be with her. The curtains were open. Moonlight filtered in through the sheers, spilling over her slight form in his big bed.
Owen stripped and slipped under the covers, already hard for her. He rolled to his side behind her, but stopped himself from reaching for her. He didn’t want to spook her.
“Laidy. Wake up.”
She smiled but didn’t stir.
He put his hand on her hip and kissed her shoulder, the nape of her neck, her cheek.
She rolled onto her back. His hand settled on her soft—naked—belly. She touched his face. “Are you all right?”
“I’m the one who should be asking you that question, given what happened earlier.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t you or Jax who had to take my father out.”
Owen didn’t share that sentiment, but didn’t feel the need to point that out. He moved over her, settling himself between her legs, holding himself up on his elbows. The silver moonlight made her look magical. The feel of her soft body under his was divine. He kissed her again, letting his tongue stroke hers. He kissed the side of her mouth, then let his lips explore hers, the upper, the lower, then both together as his tongue stroked the seam they made.
Forsaken Duty, The Red Team Series, Book 9 Page 25