Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) (22 page)

“
Is that a problem?
”

“
Kind of. I only represent you for the purposes of the rights termination hearing.
”

Silence on the line.

“
Can I retain you to contest the will?
”

“
You could, but to be candid, you shouldn
’
t.
”

“
Why
’
s that?
”

“
It
’
s not what I do.
”

“
Are you a big gun or not?
”
Bricker barked.

Despite himself, Andy snapped to attention.

“
Yes, sir.
”

“
Then act like it. I want Sasha McCandless and the federal government out of my children
’
s lives. Period.
”

“
Who do you want to take care of them?
”
Andy asked, mainly out of curiosity.

“
I don
’
t care. Just as long as it
’
s not the feds or that whore lawyer.
”

“
Ooooo-kay. Well, I should get you a retainer agreement, and we need to discuss my fee
—”

“
I don
’
t care about the minutiae. Do what I say and you
’
ll be compensated.
”

Andy wasn
’
t inclined to argue. He glanced down at his phone
’
s display.
Private caller.

“
How do I get in touch with you?
”

“
You don
’
t.
”

More silence.

Andy listened to his watch ticking and the building
’
s rattling HVAC system for half a minute, then he said,
“
Are you going to want to know what
’
s going on in the case?
”

“
When did the judge set the hearing for the rights termination?
”

“
Day after tomorrow. Ten a.m.
”

“
Friday? That
’
s awfully short notice, isn
’
t it?
”

Andy barked out a bitter laugh.
“
I
’
ll say. But since you
’
re in the wind, the judge used her discretion to determine that making McCandless comply with the notice provision would be futile.
”

“
Can she do that?
”

“
The judge? She can do anything she wants.
”

Bricker grunted.
“
I
’
ll call you at noon after the hearing.
”

Before he could respond, a loud click sounded in his ear.

Andy dropped the earpiece back into its cradle, wheeled his chair around, and contemplated his non-view once more. A slow smile spread across his face.

If this went well, his next window would look out on the city skyline not the trash bins.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“
What
’
s she doing?
”
Brianna asked, threading her fingers through the wire diamond pattern covering the fence that enclosed the basketball court, separating it from the playground. She nodded toward the court.

“
Who? Sasha?
”
Leo asked.

“
Duh.
”

What she was
trying
to do was tire out the Bennett family so they
’
d sleep soundly.

After a dinner of tacos that had left a mess on the floor that really called for a wet/dry vac rather than a broom, she
’
d suggested they all walk down to the neighborhood playground. The Bennetts, however, appeared to be indefatigable.

He turned his attention away from Mark, who was trying to give him a heart attack by racing Hal and Calla around on an old metal merry-go-round with all his might. As the little ones swung wildly, they shrieked with joy. Leo
’
s reflexive shout of
‘
hold on!
’
with every orbit they made only increased their enjoyment.

He followed the girl
’
s gaze to the blacktop, where Leah and Cole had been playing one-on-one the last time he
’
d looked. Now they were standing on the midcourt line watching Sasha gesture from one end of the court to the other. Leah balanced the basketball on her hip and wore a skeptical look. Cole was grinning broadly.

“
I
’
m not sure,
”
Leo admitted.

Sasha crouched and touched the line with her fingertips then resumed her vigorous pointing.

“
Oh. Wait, I know. She
’
s teaching them how to do suicides.
”

The girl turned and faced him full-on, her eyes enormous in her freckled face.
“
Suicides?
”

“
Suicide sprints,
”
he assured her.
“
It
’
s a conditioning drill for runners.
”

“
Why are they called suicides?
”

“
I guess because you feel like you
’
re dying when you
’
re done. Some people also call them ladders or blood and guts. But suicides is pretty accurate.
”

She wrinkled her nose.
“
Then why do them?
”

“
They help you build speed. It looks like your brother and sister are going to give it a try. Wanna join them?
”

“
No. Way.
”
She stretched her two-word response into two sentences.

Sasha jogged to the far out of bounds line, trailed by Cole and Leah. The three dropped into a runner
’
s stance and toed the line.

“
She
’
s going to run, too?
”
Brianna asked.

“
Looks like it.
”

“
Weird.
”

“
Bet she wins.
”

“
No. Chance.
”
Briana bugged her eyes out at him as if she couldn
’
t believe her ears.

“
Sasha
’
s pretty fast.
”

“
Cole is super fast. Plus, she
’
s old
…
and a girl.
”

Leo sent a silent message of gratitude up to the heavens that Sasha hadn
’
t been close enough to hear the comment. He wasn
’
t sure which part would irritate her more
—
the knock on her age or the one on her gender
—
but he was certain the remark would not have passed unnoticed.

“
Yeah? I think she
’
s faster.
”

The girl gaped at him.
“
You
’
re banana cakes.
”

He assumed banana cakes meant crazy.

“
Want to wager?
”

“
Like bet on them?
”

“
Exactly. If Cole wins, I
’
ll take you all out for ice cream.
”

“
What if Sasha wins?
”

He flashed her a grin.
“
She
’
ll
take you all out for ice cream. You in?
”

“
Well, duh!
”

On the court, Sasha held up her hand to indicate they were about to start. The instant she dropped her hand, brother and sister burst off the line, running at full speed. Cole quickly pulled ahead by a stride, and Sasha trailed Leah by an equal measure.

“
See?
”
Brianna gloated.

“
Just wait.
”

The kids were running flat out. They would have nothing left in reserve when Sasha poured it on. They hit the first line, and Sasha caught up with Cole. At the second line, she was a half-step ahead of him. Before the third, Leah was flagging well behind and panting hard.

Mark abandoned the merry-go-round. He and the youngest two joined Leo and Brianna at the fence.

“
Run, Cole! You can catch her!
”
Brianna shouted.

“
Go, Cole, go!
”
Hal and Calla chanted, bouncing up and down in their excitement.

The commotion caught Sasha
’
s attention. She glanced over and winked.

Then Leo watched as she dug in and found a final pocket of speed somewhere within. She rocketed forward. Her long hair streamed behind her. Her arms and legs were a blur of motion.

Cole didn
’
t let up, but there was no catching her.

She hit the final line and touched it two-handed then waited for Cole and Leah to cross it. She high-fived each of them.

They headed toward the fence. Sasha had her arms over her head, trying to catch her breath.

“
I feel like I
’
m gonna barf,
”
Leah announced as they approached.

Leo shot Brianna a look that said
‘
see?
’

Brianna nodded sagely.
“
Suicides.
”

“
Your wife is tough,
”
Cole informed him.

You don
’
t know the half of it
, Leo thought.

“
Tell me about it,
”
he said.

Sasha beamed.
“
I had some stiff competition.
”

“
And you get to buy us all ice cream now!
”
Brianna exclaimed.

“
I do?
”

“
You do,
”
Leo confirmed.
“
I won a bet.
”

“
Well lucky you. Tell you what, since I
’
m paying, we
’
ll get frozen yogurt.
”

A series of muffled groans sounded among the siblings. Sasha waved them off.

“
Trust me. You
’
re going to love it. There
’
s a topping bar the length of the store. You can get every kind of candy imaginable to put on top.
”

“
Even gummi worms?
”
Calla asked, narrowing her eyes.

“
Especially gummi worms,
”
Sasha promised.

“
Yay!
”

The girl leapt at Sasha, who just managed to catch her.

Over the top of Calla
’
s mop of hair, Sasha caught Leo
’
s eyes and grinned.

She looked so happy and so natural holding the small girl in her arms that his breath caught in his throat.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Thursday

Sasha moaned and tried to turn onto her side, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that streamed through the slatted blinds.

“
Youch.
”