Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) (23 page)

“
Are you okay?
”
Connelly whispered.

She uncovered one eye to look at him.
“
No.
”

She raised her head to plump up her pillow, but every part of her body was stiff. She collapsed back onto the bed and her unplumped pillow.

“
What
’
s wrong? Are you sore from your race last night?
”
he teased.

“
Something like that.
”

Sore from the race and the twelve sets of suicides Daniel had made her run earlier in the day.

“
Well it was worth it. You have a whole fan club now.
”

He reached across the bed and pulled her close.

“
I think that
’
s due more to the eighty-seven pounds of frozen yogurt than my sprinting prowess.
”

“
I think it
’
s both.
”

She grinned into his chest.

She
’
d had a lot of fun with him and the kids the night before. More fun than she
’
d had in a long time, her screaming muscles notwithstanding.

She snuggled in closer for an early morning cuddle and felt his body yielding to hers. And then cabinet doors banged downstairs.

She hauled her aching body to an upright position.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
he asked, switching from languid to alert in an instant.

“
We have to go down there and parent
—
or at least supervise,
”
she informed him, pulling on a sweatshirt over her thin t-shirt and shorts.

“
What? They
’
re fine.
”

He tried to pull her back into bed, but she shook him off.

“
You don
’
t know that. Hal could be trying to cook eggs. Or Leah could be standing on top of the island again trying to reach the granola bars. Come on.
”

He groaned but swung his legs over the edge of the bed and raised his arms in a stretch.

“
Fine.
”

She stopped in the doorway and looked back.

“
Hey, before we walk into the circus, I wanted to ask you something.
”

“
Yeah? I wanted to ask you something, too,
”
he said.

“
Oh. Okay. You first,
”
she said. She leaned against the door frame.

Connelly sat up straighter and pierced her with his almond-shaped eyes, which were suddenly alert and devoid of any sleepiness.

“
Come here.
”
He patted the bed.

She walked over uncertainly.

“
What
’
s up?
”
she asked as she perched beside him.

“
What are your current thoughts about having kids?
”

She blinked.

“
Um
…”

Before she could formulate an answer, he pressed on.
“
Not a baby. Kids. Those kids downstairs tearing the kitchen apart.
”

Her head felt cloudy, full of cotton.
“
You mean adopt them?
”

“
Yes.
”
His voice was clear and strong, full of conviction.

“
Uh
—”
she cast around for a response.
“
To be completely honest, Connelly, the thought never crossed my mind.
”

“
That
’
s okay. Will you think about it, though?
”
He smiled widely at her, his eyes shining with excitement at the idea.

“
Sure. Yes. I
’
ll give it a lot of thought.
”

He kissed the top of her head.

“
Thank you. Now what did you want to talk about?
”

“
What? Oh. Nothing really. I was just wondering
…”

“
Yeah?
”

She winced at the sharp change in subjects as she posed her question.
“
I was just wondering how long it would take you to get off two accurate shots with your Glock.
”

He blinked.

“
Why?
”

A crash sounded from the kitchen.

“
That sounded like glass breaking. We can talk about it later.
”

She sprinted out of the room and down the stairs.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Sasha looked around the cramped breakfast nook, which Hank had commandeered as a conference room. Will was sitting ramrod straight with his hands suspended inches above the table, as though he were a marionette awaiting his puppet master.

She swiped one of the napkins from the Jake
’
s takeout tray that Naya had balanced on top of a half-constructed Lego village and moped up the sticky puddle of orange juice pooling in front of him.

He smiled gratefully.

“
Sorry for the ambiance, guys, but Hank insisted we meet here and not at the office. So it
’
s your party,
”
Sasha said, turning the meeting over to Hank, who was squeezed into a kid-sized chair that Connelly had dragged in from the playroom.

She sipped her to-go coffee and waited.

“
Right. In light of yesterday
’
s visitor, it
’
s time to go to the mattresses.
”
Hank imbued the sentence with a grave undertone.

Naya caught her eye and threw her a quizzical look.

Sasha shrugged.
No idea
, she mouthed.

Connelly watched the exchange with a grin.

He leaned forward and stage whispered,
“
You two are pathetic. Pick up some Godfather DVDs already. It means we
’
re at war. When mafia families are about to start a war, they send their foot soldiers to safe houses. They sleep on mattresses on the floor.
”

Sasha rolled her eyes. Hank and Connelly and their love for Godfather quotes would never cease to baffle her.

Naya seemed similarly unimpressed.
“
How dramatic. Aren
’
t we already in a safe house?
”

“
No. If Sasha
’
s right, Bricker
’
s lawyer managed to find this place without much difficulty. We have to assume anyone who
’
s been properly motivated could do the same. Not to mention, I still don
’
t know how Bricker found them down in North Carolina. I was as careful as possible in making this move, but there
’
s no guarantee one of my men isn
’
t a leaker.
”

Connelly
’
s eyebrow nearly shot off his forehead.

“
I doubt that very much, Hank.
”

“
I doubt it, too. But I
’
m not willing to gamble six lives on being right. Are you?
”

Hank looked around the table. No one else spoke for a long moment.

Finally, Will cleared his throat.
“
Surely you can get WITSEC to assign around-the-clock protection. If you hand-pick the team and the five of us take turns supervising the marshals, we can be fairly certain that there are no more leaks and the children are safe. It seems like it would be an unnecessary stressor to uproot them again.
”

Sasha kept her face a neutral mask. She never would have expected Will to volunteer for babysitting duty. He was just full of surprises.

“
It may be a stressor,
”
Hank agreed,
“
but I
’
m afraid it
’
s very necessary. My meeting here and the follow-up session in D.C. did not go well.
”

Will sat up straighter.
“
Oh? How so?
”

Hank squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose for several seconds before answering.
“
To make a very long and infuriating story short, the Bennett children have been terminated from the witness protection program, effective immediately. In fact, in reliance on a legal opinion provided by counsel to Homeland Security, their termination is retroactively backdated to the day Allison died.
”

“
What?
”
Will sputtered.
“
That
’
s outrageous.
”

“
Agreed,
”
Hank said flatly.

Connelly frowned.
“
Why was Homeland Security weighing in? Isn
’
t this a Justice issue?
”

“
One would think. The Department of Justice attorneys shared your view
—
until some middle manager realized that letting ICE and Homeland Security take the lead would make Allison Bennett
’
s death a national security issue. As a result, the investigation would be shrouded in secrecy and the results never made public.
”

“
So?
”
Naya asked.

“
So WITSEC can continue to claim they
’
ve never lost a witness who followed the rules.
”

Sasha felt her neck snap back in surprise.
“
They
’
re saying Allison Bennett broke the rules?
”

Hank answered in a mechanical voice.
“
There is currently no evidence that Allison Bennett
’
s killer knew her or, more important, knew that she was the former Anna Bricker. The official viewpoint is that she was the unfortunate victim of a home invasion.
”

“
A home invasion in Sunnyvale, North Carolina?
”

“
Correct.
”
Hank either didn
’
t notice or had no answer for the disbelief dripping from Naya
’
s voice.
“
And, given the fact that her minor children were not themselves witnesses in the federal case against their father, said minor children are neither entitled nor required to remain in the program after her untimely death. To compound the situation, WITSEC is viewing their contact with me
—
and our subsequent involvement in their care
—
as evidence that the children have failed to abide by the rules.
”

Sasha suddenly felt cold. The outcome was no surprise, given Connelly
’
s report of their initial meeting with WITSEC, but the government
’
s dispassionate ability to throw six innocent children out on their ears was chilling all the same.

“
And Homeland Security figures into this how, exactly?
”
Will wanted to know.

Hank managed a bitter laugh.
“
Although there
’
s no evidence Jeffrey Bricker played a role in his estranged wife
’
s death, he
is
a would-be terrorist, a convicted murderer, and an escaped felon. Any battle involving custody of his children would obviously be viewed through the lens on its impact on national security.
”

“
Obviously,
”
Sasha echoed, even though that convoluted reasoning was anything but obvious.

“
And if Bricker finds his kids and murders them?
”
Connelly whispered furiously.