Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) (8 page)

“
I
’
m on my way to the airport now. I
’
ll be there as soon as I can,
”
Leo said. He couldn
’
t remember ever hearing Hank so agitated.

“
That
’
s not soon enough.
”
Hank
’
s voice boomed through the Bluetooth connection.

Leo checked his speed. Seventy miles an hour was about as fast as he was willing to drive through Downtown Pittsburgh, even if it was deserted at this hour.

“
Why don
’
t you fill me in while I
’
m en route?
”
he suggested.

“
I
’
m a little busy at the moment. There are six of them, remember? They were eating dinner when I got here, but now they
’
re all wound up and they won
’
t go to bed.
”

Despite himself, Leo grinned
—
Hank
’
s sense of urgency was beginning to make sense. Here was a man who had walked right into a rumored al Qaeda safe house without waiting for backup, but leave him alone with six kids for a couple of hours and he was already cracking.

“
I could have brought Sasha. Then we
’
d only have been outnumbered two to one.
”

Hank
’
s voice grew serious.
“
You didn
’
t tell her. Tell me you didn
’
t tell her.
”

“
Relax. I didn
’
t tell her. I still don
’
t agree with the decision, but we can fight it out later
—
after the half-dozen criminal masterminds wear down your defenses.
”

In the background, he could hear a girl squealing.
“
Piggyback, Uncle Hank!
”

“
I have to go,
”
Hank said.
“
Just hurry.
”

“
Sure thing, Uncle Hank.
”

Hank disconnected the call, and Leo laughed aloud at the image of Hank cavorting around in a dark suit and a tie with a freckle-faced kid clinging to his neck.

The laughter was short-lived, though, because Hank and the Bennett kids were in a dangerous situation. If the local police were as an inept as Hank had claimed when he
’
d ordered Leo to fly down, then Hank really was an army of one. Which was fine if Bricker had slunk back into the ooze, content to have gotten his revenge on the woman who helped convict him.

But trying to tease out the motivation of a madman was, itself, an exercise in madness. Bricker could be lurking somewhere nearby, preparing to strike again.

Hank
’
s decision to sit on the kids himself was valiant, but it was no kind of plan.

And Leo was a man who liked to have a plan.

He switched on the classic rock station, turning the volume way up to drown out his thoughts. He pressed his foot against the gas pedal and rocketed across the Fort Pitt Bridge, leaving the city behind.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was close to eleven o
’
clock when Leo nosed his rental vehicle into the Bennetts
’
driveway. Every other house on the block was dark, the blinds drawn and the exterior lights extinguished for the night. The Bennett house was the sole exception. Lights blazed from every window.

As he neared the front door, he could hear the babble of kids
’
voices.

He gave the doorbell a short jab and waited.

After a moment, Hank
’
s silhouette filled the doorway. A porch light flickered to life, and Leo shielded his eyes with his hand.

The door swung open.

“
Took you long enough.
”

“
My trip was fine. Thanks for asking,
”
Leo said, edging past Hank and into the hallway.

Hank pushed the door shut and secured the deadbolt.

Leo started toward the back of the house, where he could hear kids jabbering and laughing. Hank put out a hand and yanked him back by his arm.

“
Wait. Let me fill you in on the situation,
”
Hank said in a low rumbling voice.

Leo stopped.
“
Okay.
”

“
When I got here, they seemed to be holding up pretty well. But I think the shock
’
s wearing off and they
’
re starting to really understand that Mom
’
s not coming home, ever. The little ones get worked up off and on. One of them will start to cry for mommy, and it has a domino effect. The oldest two are pretty good at calming everyone down, but I see in their faces that the reality is hitting them now, too. And the middle ones are scared, just straight-up terrified. I rented some Pixar movie online and let them eat a bag of chocolate chips, but I
’
m out of ideas.
”

“
They probably need to talk to someone
—
a counselor or something.
”

“
I guess so. If there even are any in this weak excuse for a town.
”
Hank jerked his hands through his short hair.

“
Why are we staying here, anyway?
”

Hank stared at him.

“
Where else do you want to go?
”

“
Anywhere. Look, if WITSEC has a leak, this place is compromised. If there
’
s no leak, it
’
s still best practice to leave because, well, it
’
s compromised anyway.
”

Hank nodded.
“
Procedure would be to move them.
”

“
Right. And I had time to think about it on the plane. We have the luxury of not following strict procedure. We don
’
t have to relocate them for good. We just need to get them out of here.
”

“
Tomorrow. Or the next day. At least let them get a good night
’
s sleep. They just lost their mom, they don
’
t need any more trauma right now.
”

“
You
’
re the one who said the locals are useless. Why stay here? We
’
re sitting ducks.
”

“
I hear you. We
’
ll move out in the morning.
”
Hank
’
s tone was final.

A wail
—
either of sorrow or fury
—
rose from the kitchen, followed by an explosion of kids shouting over one another. Leo bit back his futile retort and headed for the kitchen.

Hank trailed him.

At the sight of two large men hulking in the doorway, the furor in the kitchen stopped, as if someone had hit pause.

Hank hung back and let Leo go first.

He squinted as he entered the large, bright kitchen. Every overhead light was switched on. In contrast, the family room just to the right, where their mother
’
s body had been found, was dark and silent. It didn
’
t take a degree in child psychology to figure out what was going on.

The Bennetts were crowded around the kitchen island. The oldest boy and girl each held a little one on a lap. The middle two kids had pulled their stools close and were sitting shoulder to shoulder. All six faces reflected varying degrees of worry, confusion, grief, shock, sorrow, fear
—
emotions that had no business haunting children.

Especially not these children, who
’
d already been uprooted from their lives and betrayed by their father.

Leo
’
s chest squeezed. He knew that feeling. Not like the Bennett kids, to be sure, but he knew the heavy loneliness of being fatherless in a strange place.

He cleared his throat.

“
Hi, I
’
m Leo.
”
He smiled encouragingly at the littlest boy, who popped a thumb into his mouth and looked back at Leo with serious eyes.

The girl who was holding the boy answered.
“
I
’
m Be
—
Brianna.
”

“
I remember you,
”
Leo told her. She and the boy, now known as Cole, had kept it together long enough to hustle their siblings out of harm
’
s way before Sasha and Leo had stormed her father
’
s armed compound.

She smiled uncertainly.

The little girl looked up from Cole
’
s lap.
“
You
’
re Cousin Leo?
”

Sure, why not? If they could have an African-American Uncle Hank, they may as well have a half-Vietnamese Cousin Leo.

“
Yep, that
’
s me, Cousin Leo.
”
He winked at her and was rewarded with a giggle.

Her laughter faded quickly.

“
So what
’
s the plan?
”
Cole asked in a dull, tired voice.

“
I know you all have had a heck of a day. And I want you to know we
’
re all really sorry about your mom. But Hank and I are going to take you somewhere safe in the morning, okay? Let
’
s try to get some sleep.
”
He kept his voice soft.

Tears welled up in the middle boy
’
s eyes, who wiped them away with the back of his hand.

“
We have to leave?
”
Leah, the one who used to be named Lacey, asked. Her lip trembled.

“
Just for a little while.
”

“
Where?
”
the middle boy, Mark, asked.

“
Back up North,
”
Leo said, which was about as much detail as he could provide, seeing as how he had no idea where they were going.

He turned toward Brianna and Cole and tried to decide how to broach the subject of go-bags. He assumed their mother hadn
’
t shed all of her old habits.
“
Do you have bags packed already? You know
—
just in case?
”

Brianna shook her head.
“
Mom said we didn
’
t need to do that anymore.
”
Her voice dropped and she stared down at her feet.

“
Oh. Well, in the morning you should each grab a backpack and fill it with a couple outfits, a pair of pajamas, and your toiletries. And, uh, everyone go ahead and think about a special toy or book or something you want to bring. Okay?
”

He looked around the island and was met by six nodding heads.

“
Great. Now, it
’
s really late. Let
’
s make it a race against the clock to get ready for bed. See how fast you can do it.
”

They jumped off the stools and started running for the stairs.

“
Wait,
”
Brianna said, skidding to a stop near the refrigerator.

Cole stopped beside her.
“
What
’
s up?
”

“
The ice envelope.
”

“
Ice envelope?
”
Leo parroted.

Cole shook his head in self-disgust.
“
How could we forget?
”

The girl pulled open the freezer door and shifted bags of frozen vegetables and packages of meat until she a located a letter-sized manila envelope.