Betrayal (19 page)

“I caught it Uncle Nick!” he proclaimed.

“I guess you did,” Nick tried not to laugh.

“You’re not supposed to catch it with your face,” Cat said plainly.

“I still caught it,” Dylan insisted as Alex swept him up and headed swiftly for the house. The agent’s heart was racing faster than she could remember. Cassidy shook her head as a pale faced Alex stepped into the kitchen. “I caught it Mom!”

“I can see that,” Cassidy said calmly.

“Good Lord, Alexis,” Helen Toles began. “What did you do to that boy?”

“What? I didn’t….Nick…..”

“Hey, he caught it,” Nick shrugged.

“Honestly, Alexis. He is just a boy.” Alex sat Dylan in a chair and Cassidy accepted a wet rag and some ice from Alex’s mother.

“I told you we’d win,” Dylan winced at Alex through a few silent tears, determined to stay tough.

“Dylan,” Alex began when her mother cut her off.

“Alexis, let the mothers take care of this. You two have caused enough grief for one day,” she pointed to her children.

Alex looked at Cassidy sheepishly and was met with a reassuring smile. She felt Nick’s hand leading her away and shook her head. “What happened?” Nicolaus Toles asked as his children entered the living room.

“Casualty,” Nick explained, flopping back onto the couch.

Alex sat in a chair close to the doorway, trying to listen to the conversation a few rooms away. “Alexis,” her father began, prompting her to meet his gaze. “Boys will be boys. If you
had
children you would know that.”

Nick looked at his sister and bit his lip. “It was my fault,” he admitted in an attempt to change the subject. “I threw it too hard.”

“Just toughening him up,” Nicolaus Toles said firmly. “Cat can handle it. He’s a Toles.”

“It wasn’t Cat that got hurt,” Alex said.

“Oh?” her father inquired.

“No,” she said.

“Your
friend’s
son, then?” he asked as he continued to peruse the magazine in front of him.

Alex felt his words cut through her. “My
friend?
”

“Well, yes, what else would you call her?”

Nick scratched his eyebrow and looked to his sister in hopes of calming what he knew was a rising storm. “She’s my partner.”

“I don’t understand, Alexis. She’s a teacher, isn’t she?” her father answered.

“You know perfectly well what I mean,” Alex responded sharply.

“I don’t know why you are getting so upset,” her father said coolly. “I’m sure the young man is fine.”

“The young man has a name.”

“Alex?” a voice called from the door. The agent turned to see a small, slowly bruising face approaching.

“Hey, Speed; you all right?” Alex asked as Dylan reached her.

He nodded and looked at Nick. “Sorry, Uncle Nick.”

“What do you mean Dylan? You caught the ball,” Nick praised.

“Yeah, but I didn’t make the touchdown.”

“Not your fault, Dylan,” Nick assured him. “It was a bad throw.”

Dylan smiled as Alex’s finger made its way to his lip. The agent sighed and gave the boy a crooked smile. “Mom wants you in the kitchen,” Dylan said taking hold of the agent’s hand.

“Uh-oh, am I in trouble?” Alex asked quietly.

“Not with Mom,” he said. “Maybe with your mom,” he tried to whisper.

Nick snickered as he watched his sister nervously move to her feet. “Good luck,” he smirked.

Dylan pulled at Alex’s hand. “I’ll be right there,” she said, encouraging him to continue onward. Alex stopped in the doorway and looked at her father. “That young man?” Alex looked squarely at her father as he dropped the magazine slightly to meet her gaze. “His name is Dylan…and he
is
my son.”

“Brackett. What are you doing?” Brian Fallon ran through possibilities in his mind as he watched the young woman enter a small building on L Street. The gate rolled up and the redheaded agent walked in. “What the hell are you doing in this neighborhood?” Fallon mused. He was frustrated with keeping his surveillance at a distance. All of the younger agent’s actions clearly indicated that she was engaged in something below the radar; possibly even from whomever she was working for. He pulled the sedan over into a small adjacent alley and made his decision. Somehow he would gain entrance to that building. Claire Brackett had information. Time was not always an ally. That was a fact that Brian Fallon understood clearly. He needed to get closer. There was no other option.

Alex sat at the dinner table listening to her brother and father talk about business. Her mother and Rose talked about children, and Cassidy and Barb occasionally broke in with their
own tales about the two boys. Cat and Dylan were laughing at the far end of the table. Alex found herself wishing she could shrink somehow and be part of their conversation. She felt completely alone and her father’s words and tone kept pouring through her mind. It reminded her of when she was younger. Why didn’t she play with the other girls? Nicolaus Toles sought to correct that with a paddle and a thick stick. When she announced her acceptance to West Point her father rolled his eyes and left the room. The only time she had ever introduced her parents to a lover, her father refused to call the woman by her name. It was Ms. Johnson. She felt the tension building in her back as she played with the food on her plate mindlessly.

“So we have some interesting news,” Nick’s voice broke the agent’s silent memories.

“Oh?” Helen Toles smiled.

“Well, it seems we’ll need another chair at the table soon,” Nick smiled.

“Why?” his father inquired. “You make a new
friend
?” Alex felt the words like a knife in her back, knowing they were directed at her.

Barb responded. “Not exactly, Dad.”

“Oh…You’re pregnant!” Helen Toles erupted with delight, receiving a confirming nod from her daughter-in-law.

“Well, about time we added some more grandchildren,” Alex’s father said bluntly.

Barb caught sight of Alex’s forced smile as Nicolaus Toles stared at his daughter harshly. “It will be quite the full table this time next year,” Barb offered. “Seems like everyone’s family is growing,” she smiled at Alex.

“Umm…always thought Alexis would be the one. When you have a daughter you just expect…” Alex’s father began.

“It’s wonderful news, Barb,” Rose interjected, pretending she had no prior knowledge.

“Alex might surprise you yet,” Barb looked at her father-in-law.

The agent nearly choked on her water and Cassidy gasped slightly at Barb’s assertion. “I don’t think Alexis…” he began.

Barb was growing tired of Nicolaus Toles and his hurtful rhetoric. She was well aware of the way it affected both Alex and her husband at times. Alex and Cassidy were family, her family. Cassidy had quickly become the sister Barb had always wished for and she regarded Dylan every bit as much Alex’s son now as she did Cat her own. The Toles family had a way of avoiding honest conversation and talking in circles. In the few instances that Alex had joined the family in the last few years; she had always been the target of her parent’s veiled insults. After the last get together, two years earlier, the agent had deliberately stayed away. Barb recalled that evening well. Helen Toles had admonished Alex for not taking a stronger role in the family. She should be married by now and raising her own family. The agent’s father had bluntly stated his disappointment in Alex’s choices. She could have had everything. He’d worked his whole life to make sure she would have everything and she had spit in his face. At least Nick was normal, he explained. Alex had calmly risen from her seat and excused herself. She had not returned since, not even at the holidays. “Well, we are all lucky to have Dylan,” Barb continued without missing a beat. “But frankly, I hope Cassidy talks Alex into at least one more,” she winked at the teacher.

“One more?” Alex’s father looked at his daughter-in-law.

Nick looked at his wife to caution her but she had reached her limit. “Yes, you know, a baby.” Cassidy learned her forehead on her hand as Alex’s jaw flew open.

“Mom? Are you having a baby?” Dylan lisped through his split lip.

“No,” Alex and Cassidy answered simultaneously.

“Awww,” he huffed and turned back to Cat. “How come you get one?”

Nick and Rose both started laughing. “Time for dessert, I’d say,” Nick interjected.

“Yes, it is,” Alex said looking for any means of escape. “I’ll take care of that.”

“You?” Helen Toles questioned.

“Yes, Mother. I do know how to get plates and cut pie,” Alex responded offering her hand to Cassidy who accepted willingly and followed Alex to the kitchen.

“I’ll help,” Barb offered.

“Yeah, thanks,” Alex whispered to her sister-in-law. “Think you’ve
helped
enough.”

“I know,” Barb giggled with some satisfaction as they entered the kitchen. “I thought he was going to hemorrhage right there!”

“You do know Dylan is not going to forget that?” Cassidy raised her eyebrow at Barb. Barb just shrugged.

“Yeah she knows,” a man’s voice called from the doorway. “It’s part of her master plan,” Nick laughed.

Alex remained silent, retrieving small plates and forks and placing them on the counter. Cassidy looked at the agent who had begun to pinch the bridge of her nose with some force. “Let me take those,” Barb said reaching in front of Alex as Nick grabbed the pie and motioned to his wife to follow.

“Alex,” Cassidy said softly. “I’m sorry if…” Alex smiled and looked at woman she loved standing just a few inches away. Helen Toles was making her way toward them and stopped just shy of the kitchen to see her daughter lean forward toward Cassidy. She watched and listened curiously in the distance.

Alex sighed and kissed Cassidy’s forehead. “What was that for?” Cassidy asked.

Alex shrugged. “I don’t care what they think.”

Cassidy’s eyebrows lifted and she pursed her lips. “Yes, you do care.”

“Maybe,” Alex smiled earnestly. “I just want to get this over with, Cass, and go home.”

Cassidy nodded and rubbed the agent’s arm. “I know that made you uncomfortable.”

“Cass, I am
always
uncomfortable here.”

“I’m sorry,” Cassidy looked down sadly.

“I am sorry if they made you feel like…”

“Alex, I am fine. Dylan is having a great time with Cat, bloody lip and all. Don’t worry about us.”

“I do worry, Cass.
You
are my family. I just wish they could…”

“Come on,” Cassidy prompted the agent.

Alex pulled the teacher back gently. “For the record?” she began. “What Barb said did not make me uncomfortable. My father, well…” Cassidy smiled and Alex sighed. “After this, I wouldn’t blame you if you ran back to New York.”

Cassidy laughed and planted a soft kiss on the agent’s lips. “Sorry, Agent, you are stuck with us.”

“Hum. You know this means we will have to come back here, right?”

“I think I can handle that,” Cassidy said.

“You might want to rethink that when it’s my turn to make that announcement.”

“You can’t change who they are, Alex.”

“I know. I just wish they would stop trying to change me.”

“Come on,” Cassidy encouraged.

“Cass?”

Cassidy turned around. “Hum?”

“Thanks.”

The teacher winked. “Enough stalling, Alfred. You got out of cutting that pie. It’s not going to eat itself.”

Helen Toles stood straight and walked into the doorway, stopping the pair in their tracks. “Could I have a moment with Alexis?”

Cassidy looked up into the agent’s eyes, witnessing the insecurity in them. She squeezed Alex’s hand and smiled at the agent’s mother. “Of course,” she said, leaving the Toles women alone in the kitchen for the first time in more than two years.