Commitment (30 page)

Alex shook her head and erupted in an unusual animated guffaw when she felt Cassidy give over entirely to her laughter. “I don’t care what anyone says,” Cassidy continued to laugh. “He is
your
son.”

Jane approached Dylan and gave him a hug. “So, you are going to have a little brother or sister, huh?”

“A sidekick!” he exclaimed happily.

“Of course, a sidekick,” she agreed.

Stephanie Merrow pointed to her younger sister and whispered in Dylan’s ear. “Welcome to the club, little man!”

“So?” Jane said as she made her way to Alex and Cassidy. “Holding out on me, huh?”

“Never,” Alex said as Cassidy continued to laugh.

Jane pried Cassidy away from Alex and took her into an embrace. “Oh, Cassidy. You must be on cloud nine.”

“More like on the bathroom floor,” Cassidy whispered with a chuckle.

“Oh boy,” Jane giggled. “Alex driving you crazy yet?”

“No, but you know…”

“Hey,” Alex interrupted. “What are you two whispering about over here?”

“Oh, Alex….please,” Jane dismissed her. “This is girl talk.”

“Umm…last time I checked,” Alex began.

“Go on,” Jane waved her hand. “Go play with Jonathan for a while,” she ordered.

Alex stood with her mouth agape as she watched Cassidy happily allow Jane to lead her away. “I give up,” she chuckled. She returned her focus to the center of the room where Dylan was engaged in telling an animated story to the captive audience of the Merrow sisters. Rose and Helen were sitting on the sofa; both sipping wine and talking quietly. She smiled at the display. “Who said things never change?” she said to herself.

“Alex?” Krause made his way quietly toward his friend.

“Hey,” she said. “Listen, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I mean…I just wanted to tell you in person.”

“Alex, don’t worry about it,” he said.

Alex looked at him and immediately noticed the worry that was creasing Krause’s forehead and how his thumb was absently scratching his chin. “What is it?” she asked.

“Fallon just left me a message. Can we….”

Alex nodded. “Follow me,” she said, leading him toward the kitchen. “All right. What is it?”

Krause sighed heavily. “You know that Cheryl Stephens walked into the FBI right before Christmas.”

“Yeah?” she prodded him.

“Tate assigned an agent to follow her. Last night they found that agent in his car. He was shot at point blank range,” Krause told her. He watched Alex’s eyes harden and her jaw tighten.

“Who was the agent?” Alex asked. Krause hesitated. “Krause…who was the agent assigned?”

“Rolands,” Krause answered.

“Shit,” Alex exhaled forcefully. “Shit. Rolands has two kids. Jesus.”

“Alex, there’s more. It sent up red flags…this morning they….”

“Oh for Christ’s sake, Krause! You’ve engineered assassinations. Just tell me,” Alex finally exploded.

“She’s dead, Alex. They found Cheryl in Douglas Park,” Krause finally told her.

Alex lifted her hands to her temples and began to knead forcefully. Cassidy and Jane who were making their way back down the hallway heard Alex’s voice rising steadily and had made their way to the room. Immediately, Cassidy noticed the tell-tale signs of stress in her wife. She took a deep breath, praying that her stomach would not revolt. “Alex?” Cassidy called. “What is going on?”

Alex looked up and across the room to her wife and friend. “Not here,” Alex said. “Let’s go into the family room.”

“Alex, I am okay,” Cassidy began.

“I know. It’s not that,” Alex said as she wrapped her arm around Cassidy’s waist. “Please, trust me. Come on, Jane. You might as well hear it now too,” she said, leading the group down the hall. Alex directed Cassidy and Jane to sit and took a seat beside her wife.

“All right, what is going on?” Cassidy repeated her earlier question.

“Cass…remember I told you that Cheryl walked into the FBI?” Alex asked. “She…Cassidy, they found her body this morning…”

“What are you saying?” Cassidy questioned. “Someone killed Cheryl? Why? Who?”

“I don’t know,” Alex said softly. “We were just getting to that when…”

Cassidy immediately looked to Krause. “Pip?” she implored him.

Krause glanced at Alex to ensure he wanted her to proceed. Her assent was clear, and he took a deep breath to continue. “I don’t have all of the details. Only what Fallon left on my voice-mail,” he told them. “They found her in the park without any identification. Fallon identified her. She,” Krause struggled under Cassidy’s gaze. “She was brutally beaten and strangled.” He heard Cassidy’s gasp and watched as Alex pulled her closer. He looked at Jane, who had covered her face with her hands in disbelief. “There’s more,” he said cautiously. Alex looked at him fearfully.

“Go on,” Cassidy said quietly, still holding onto Alex.

“Cassie….she left Chris on Christmas Eve…she filed a complaint….they’re bringing him in for questioning,” he said as gently as he could.

Cassidy covered her mouth with her hand. “Excuse me,” she said, fleeing the room.

“Shit,” Alex groaned. “I’ll be back,” she said.

“Jonathan,” Jane looked to her friend. “You don’t think he really did this; do you? I mean I have no use for the man, but…”

Krause took a deep breath. “No, but I wouldn’t shed any tears if he went down for it,” he said flatly. Jane looked at him suspiciously. “That son of a bitch threatened Cassidy. Raised a hand to her…once.”

“How do you know that?” Jane asked.

“It’s why she went to France,” he said.

“She told you?” Jane gasped slightly. “You don’t think he ever hit her again…I mean…”

“No. She got away from him the first time. I promise you he never did it again.”

“You threatened him, didn’t you?” Jane asked. His lack of response was the only answer she required. “Is it possible?” she wondered aloud.

Krause considered his response for a moment. “I think someone leveraged the situation. O’Brien’s been moving money, outside of Collaborative directives. He opened accounts
in her name. That’s what finally drove her into the FBI. That and his continued philandering…but, from what Fallon told me…well, he’d left his mark on her more than once. He might not have been the one to strangle her Jane, but he certainly killed her.”

Cassidy entered the room with Alex close behind just as Krause finished his explanation. She closed her eyes to steady herself. “All right. What do you and Alex need to do?” she asked Krause. He looked at her in confusion. “Do you need to leave?” Cassidy asked pointedly.

“No,” he answered. “I didn’t want you to turn on the television expecting a New Year’s celebration or cartoons and see the congressman in handcuffs, or details about Cheryl,” he explained.

Cassidy nodded and squeezed Alex’s hand. “Then let’s put this aside for the rest of the evening,” she said firmly. Krause nodded and took Jane’s hand to lead her from the room. Alex felt Cassidy’s sharp intake of breath as they left.

“Cass, I know that you are upset….”

Cassidy turned to face Alex. She looked steadily into her wife’s eyes and nodded her agreement. “I am upset. Not for him,” she said pointedly. “Too many people have paid the price for his mistakes. This…this is the happiest New Year of my life, Alex. We are in our home with our family and friends. Our son is happier than I have ever seen him, and I am having a baby with the person I love more than anyone in this world. I will be damned if that asshole is going to spoil anything else for me. I may not be able to withstand or avoid garlic, but Christopher O’Brien is not getting one ounce of my time or energy for the rest of this evening.” Alex quirked a playful smile at Cassidy’s candid diatribe. “What?” Cassidy asked, unable to hide the growing smirk on her face.

“
Tu es belle
(You are beautiful),” Alex complimented.

“French?” Cassidy asked. She offered her wife a cockeyed grin. It had been a while since Alex had spoken French to
her unprompted. “
Êtes-vous en état d’ébriété
(Are you drunk)?” Cassidy arched her brow.

“No,” Alex chuckled. “Are you sure you are okay?”

Cassidy patted Alex’s chest in reassurance. “Yes. No more work talk. No more ex-husband talk. No more garlic,” she said as seriously as she could manage. “You, me...kissing at midnight…” Before she could finish, Alex had captured her lips in a gentle but passionate kiss. “Mmm…Not midnight yet, Agent Toles.”

“It’s midnight somewhere,” Alex answered. She offered Cassidy her hand and turned off the light in the family room.

“You know, there are a lot of time zones, Alex,” Cassidy observed.

“I thought you taught English, not geography,” Alex poked.

“I am well-traveled,” Cassidy replied evenly.

“Well then, Mrs. Toles, I eagerly await my geography lesson,” Alex countered.

“Don’t expect to get much rest. It will be a long lesson. It’s a
big
world,” Cassidy whispered as they re-entered the room filled with their guests.

“No worries,” Alex whispered back. “I was always an attentive student,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Cassidy winked.

Saturday, January 3
^rd

hat are you talking about?” Claire Brackett seethed.

“There’s no movement,” Agent Anderson answered. “There is absolutely no record of any departure to or near Moscow, Claire. You’ve been duped.”

“Eleana would never betray me,” Claire defended her lover.

“Maybe you are too close to see things for what they are,” her partner suggested.

“No. You should keep your mouth shut about things you have no knowledge of.”

Anderson studied his partner’s expression carefully. “Fine. You are that certain you can trust this woman? I’ve never seen you like this, Claire. Are you certain your feelings for this woman aren’t clouding your judgment?”

“My what?” Brackett turned on her heel. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re quick to defend,” he said.

Brackett painted an insincere smile on her face and began to circle her partner slowly, reaching out to graze his shirt seductively with her hand. “You are so perceptive, Marcus. That must be why he chose you. What? To find my weakness?” she cooed in his ear. “You think that Eleana is my weakness,” she continued. “No. No. Marcus,” she pressed herself up against him and nipped his ear. He stood resolute, his posture straight and unwavering. “Ohhhh….so strong,” she teased him. She moved to turn and swiftly pivoted, lifting her
knee to his chest and driving him backward forcefully into the wall. She heard the sound of the breath involuntarily escaping his lungs and smiled with satisfaction at her small victory. “You listen. Listen now, no speaking,” she laughed, knowing he could not muster speech at the moment. “Eleana is not my weakness. She, she is my strength. You think…everyone thinks they know who Eleana is, who I am; who we are not. They think they know where we will move, how we will move,” she shook her head and leaned back into him. “Someone is playing a game, Marcus, and you just got moved across the board….so did I. Time to turn the table,” she asserted. She pounded his chest with the palms of her hands and turned away. “No more waiting for someone else’s move,” she said. “Checkmate…time is up.”