Secrets (11 page)

Kenton swallowed hard, his pain obvious to
those looking. “I missed a lot. I didn’t get to see you as babies,
or read you stories. No hugs or kisses, no playing or anything. I
didn’t teach you how to fight or play football. We don’t know each
other and that hurts. I want to know my kids.”

“Yeah, well, she apologized about that,”
Micah said. “We can show you some pictures and a DVD from
Christmas. Will that help?” His hand in his mom’s making it clear
who had his allegiance.

Kenton nodded. “I’d like that.”

Chastity smiled as the boys ran to their
rooms to get the photo albums and DVD. “Mariah honey, did you hear
me?” Her lips brushed her youngest’s forehead. “I said Kenton is
your daddy.” Mariah turned and looked up at him. They stared for a
moment, and then she lifted her arms toward him. He reached forward
and picked her up.

Kenton’s heart had pounded fast and hard
from the moment he entered the family room, which was really a
large playroom. All sorts of video games and frilly girl things
graced the area. The boys apologized again for hitting him. After
accepting their backhanded apology, he warned them never to do it
again. They agreed, but he didn’t believe it for a minute.

Mariah squeezed his neck and kissed his
cheek. His heart melted like goo, he inhaled her sweet scent. So
fragile, so perfect, and she looked just like his mother. No wonder
Uncle David said he knew she was his. Mariah was a darker version
of Maude Stone’s childhood pictures. He kissed her cheeks and
silently vowed to keep her safe from all harm, especially his
mother.

They sat in the family room looking at
pictures and watching DVD’s of family events. Mariah wouldn’t leave
his lap and finally fell asleep. He laid her on a cot in the corner
set up for her.

At first Micah and Jonah sat at a distance
from him, talking over one another, explaining each picture. After
the first DVD, they sat next to him, and by the third, both boys
had their heads in his lap and he stroked their hair. Pride filled
his chest as he looked at all three tiny Stones. For the time being
he’d allow Sven’s adoption to stand, as much as it hurt. His mother
was a real threat and his job was dangerous. He’d make plans to
change both situations. As long as his kids knew who he was and
made room for him in their lives, he’d continue the masquerade for
their safety.

He glanced at Chastity, who’d fallen asleep
during the first DVD. Light snores escaped through her lips. The
boys covered their mouths and laughed each time she snorted. He
smiled. Glad to see her sleeping, if they knew the demons that
chased that strong, beautiful woman, they’d cheer that she was able
to sleep at all.

Chapter
9

The tension in the office had thickened to
the point Chastity would swear she could see smoke curling in the
air. Tentacles of aggravation squeezed her head as she explained
for the umpteenth time.

“No, I don’t know anything other than what
I’ve already told you. I don’t know anything about Mr. Baxter’s
security clearance, other than he had one. He simply said you’d be
contacting me to wrap that up.” She spoke through clenched teeth,
tired of saying the same thing over and over.

“I understand, Ms. March. We appreciate you
seeing us. But a lot of the information Mr. Baxter provided on his
last job is incomplete. If you could—”

“I can’t,” she snapped. Sven and Kenton had
come in at her request after the first thirty minutes. They leaned
forward in their seats while she struggled to pull it together.
“Look, you’ve been here two hours,” she said, “asking the same
questions over and over. That’s two hours of my life I’ll never get
back. If the information you received is incomplete, maybe that’s
the way it’s supposed to be. Maybe he expects you to figure out the
rest of it. Maybe he just gave you a pointer, a heads up, something
to get you going in the right direction.” She threw her hands up.
“I sure as hell don’t know.”

Standing up from the desk, she cut off the
computer. “I’m done, gentlemen.”

“Ms. March, I have one more question. Do you
know Matthew Griffin?”

“No. And that’s the last question.” She
glanced at Sven and Kenton. “I’m gone.”

Sven nodded and stood. “Gentlemen, that’s
it.”

Chastity headed for the kitchen. Kenton
followed. Grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, she
gulped it down, hoping it would cool her off. Head throbbing, she
reached for the pain meds in the cabinet and popped a pill. Kenton
sat quietly on one of the stools, fiddling with a fork on the
countertop.

“Assholes.” She threw the empty bottle
toward the trash can, it teetered on the rim before hitting the
floor.

Sven walked in and looked at her. “They want
another meeting.”

“No.” Picking up the plastic bottle, she
tossed it into the waste bin.

“I told them you'd say that.” He sat on the
stool next to Kenton.

Turning to face them, she noticed the frown
on Sven's face. “What?”

“Something was off about the whole thing,”
Sven said. “They never mentioned any specific jobs or security
questions. Actually, they seemed more interested in you than the
jobs Mr. B worked on.”

“I noticed that too,” Kenton said, setting
the fork aside. “They wanted to know who provided the information
to Uncle David instead of focusing on his terminated security
clearance. I know they need to check all angles, but they were
stuck on you.”

As their words sunk in, she asked,
“Why?”

“Huh?” Sven looked at her.

“Why would they care about me at all? I was
an administrative assistant to Mr. Baxter. Why would they ask me if
I know these people?” A shiver of dread crawled down her back.
Maybe they knew more than they let on.

“Did you see pictures of the men when you
vetted them?” Kenton stared at her and then looked at Sven.

“Just one of them, Spice. There wasn't one
on Walker.”

“He's the one that did most of the talking,
right?”

“Yeah, he did.” Sven stood and pulled out
his radio. “Check the perimeter; I want to know when our guests
leave the property.” Lips pursed, he paced the floor waiting for a
reply.

“I saw the car pull out of the driveway,
but...hold on; I see it on monitor now. It's leaving through the
west gate.” The voice said with a tinge of surprise.

“Damn it,” Sven shouted, “what’s out there?”
She and Kenton looked at each other and then watched Sven pace.
There was no reason for the agents to be on that side of the
property, they’d made a deliberate detour. The question remained,
why?

The voice on the radio spoke after a few
moments. “Everything appears in order.”

A collective sigh rose in the room. “Good,
eyes alert. I want to know if a frog farts, got that?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Farts?” Chastity snorted while sitting on a
stool near Kenton. Fear, her old companion, had latched onto her
throat the moment Sven made the call. Although she knew there was
no reason to be afraid, her breaths were rapid and shallow. Ms.
Cook had the kids in the family room, and everyone else that she
cared about was in this room. Still, an acrid taste of despair
clung to the back of her throat like a parasite refusing to leave.
One day, she vowed in silence, she'd no longer be under fear's
thumb. One day she'd be free of this quagmire of guilt and shame
from her childhood.

Sven waved off her comment and sat down
frowning. Lost in their own thoughts, they didn't notice Micah limp
into the kitchen until he spoke.

“Mr. Kenton, I need you to tell Jonah to
stop hiding. I told him he'd won but he won't give up.” He stood
shame-faced in front of his parents, gazing at the floor.

Chastity took in his scuffed sneakers,
sweaty, dirt-stained tee shirt and jeans as his words sank into her
conscious. “What?” she whispered as her heart thundered in her
chest. “What'd you say?”

Micah's face crumbled, tears leaked from his
lids. “We were playing hide and seek outside and he won.” Chastity
closed her eyes. Fright eclipsed her view. Darkness thundered in
the distant edges of her mind.

“I thought we told all of you to stay in the
family room with Ms. Cook.” She heard Kenton’s comment and gripped
the countertop, determined fight off the rising panic to hear the
conversation.

“Ms. Cook said we were too loud and told us
to go outside while she took a nap with Mariah.” A cramp gripped
Chastity’s stomach, followed by roiling nausea. Words refused to
form, her hand reached out, found Kenton’s and squeezed.

“How long were you outside?” Sven asked, his
voice low.

“I dunno. Mr. Kenton, are you going to tell
him?” Micah pleaded.

“Nooooooo,” the wail burst through her lips
as she shot up and ran toward the back door. They had her baby; she
knew it like she knew her name. “Those assholes took my baby,” she
screamed.

“What?” Micah asked, his voice shaky.

Fear recognized fear. She forced herself to
calm down. Tears ran unchecked as she faced the knowledge that her
innocent son was now a victim because of her dark past. They'd hurt
him because of her. The name. The FBI guy asked about a name. She
couldn't remember but somehow it was all connected, it had to
be.

“Oh God, please don't let them hurt him,”
she prayed as arms wrapped around her from behind. Her legs
weakened and she collapsed.

“Micah, I need you to go wake up Ms. Cook
and help her with Mariah,” Kenton said as she burrowed her head
into his chest. Feelings of inadequacy swamped her. She needed to
pull it together, be strong.

“Who's going to hurt my brother?” Micah’s
voice squeaked.

“No one, son. Let me take care of your mama
and then, we'll get Jonah.”

“You promise?”

Chastity trembled at the fear in her son's
voice.
Lord please help us
. Strong hands rubbed her back,
easing the tension.

“I promise,” Kenton said, the strength of
his conviction soothed her nerves.

The light shuffling of feet stopped.
“Thanks, Daddy.”

She felt Kenton's nod and the racing of his
heart. Damn, she hadn't thought of how this affected him. Jonah was
his son as well.

“Sven, do we have the information on that
car yet?” Kenton asked, his voice harder, more determined.

“Yeah. It belongs to Spice. I'm sending them
a surprise on the road.”

Chastity stole a look around Kenton at Sven.
Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she pushed away and
watched him work his hand-held gadget. “What're you doing? What
about Jonah?”

“Tracking.” He glanced at her. “You don't
think we'd let a strange car on the ranch without making sure we
could find it, especially since I couldn't identify Walker?” He
winked at her. “My men should be intercepting them right about
now.” He stared a moment longer and smiled as his phone beeped.

“I guess the frog farted,” she whispered
aside to Kenton, trying hard not to think about Jonah with
kidnappers.

“On my way.” Sven walked toward the
door.

“I'm going.” Kenton released her hand and
followed Sven.

“You have to stay here with Chastity and the
kids.” Sven reminded him.

“I promised my son I'd find his brother and
bring him home.” The two men stared at each other and then looked
at her.

Each second Jonah was away from her, she
died a little inside. “Please, just bring him home. I'll get my
gun, and anybody that breaks in will get a bullet in their ass for
their trouble.”

“I know Annie Oakley, but I can't leave you
here alone.” He handed the tracking device to Kenton, gave him the
instructions and called his team. “ Lt. Cmdr. Ken Stone is on his
way to the point to pick up the package, make sure he leaves
unharmed.”

Kenton nodded and left the room.

When the sound of the front door slammed,
Sven made another call. “After the package is retrieved, make sure
the car is picked cleaned. Take care of the bones.”

Chastity's eyes widened as he clicked off.
“Plan B?”

“Nope, that was Plan A. They lied. Nothing
pissed Mr. B off more than criminals masquerading as the good
guys.”

****

Kenton reached the intersection just outside
the ranch in minutes. He pulled out Sven’s Sig and met a bald giant
standing nearby. The giant wore a small tattoo he recognized.
Sven’s security team was a group of professional mercenaries. They
nodded and walked off a distance.

The man introduced himself as Levi. “They
don't realize we’re aware the package is missing. Right now they're
blustering about being Feds and all that bullshit.” The giant spit
in the direction of the car.

“I want them out of the car. Make sure they
aren't wired. No matter what it takes, get them away from the boy,”
Kenton demanded as he took in the scene. All thought of protocol
vanished the moment he promised to bring back his boy. Those
involved would pay a price for causing Chastity a moment’s worry.
And in the spirit of full disclosure, he’d been terrified
himself.

The giant nodded and returned to the car, a
collective sound of clicks filled the air as he reached for the
door handle. “Exit the car.”

Kenton listened. His gut burned with anger
and the need to act now, but years of training made him wait.
Perhaps he’d gain some information or evidence that’d help Sven
track the bastards after Chastity. His left hand tightened on his
gun, familiar and yet not. Gently, he wiggled his fingers on his
right hand, pleased at the moderate pain. Adrenaline pumped through
him as the men in the car argued, refusing to leave what they
believed was their safe haven. Fools.

The giant snatched Walker out of the car.
With one hand he patted the man down, took his phone and something
else from one of his pockets. Another man placed a gun on Spice's
forehead and opened the door. Silently, Kenton congratulated Spice
for having the sense to stand down and leave the car on his
own.