Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) (24 page)

“
Officially not WITSEC
’
s problem.
”

She could tell from the expressions on the faces around the table that this turn of events was making everyone feel the way she felt
—
unsettled, slightly nauseous, and jittery.

“
Okay,
”
she said slowly.
“
Hank
’
s right. We
’
ve got to move them.
”

“
No way,
”
said a firm voice from the doorway.

Five heads turned toward the sound. And there stood Cole, red-faced, his hands balled into fists, and his back ramrod straight.

“
We
’
re not going anywhere,
”
he said.

Great.

They
’
d been so focused on Hank
’
s news, no one had noticed the boy creep into the room.

Sasha and Connelly exchanged a look. Someone had to diffuse the situation. Judging by the encouraging nod Connelly gave her, she was that someone.

Even better.

“
How long have you been standing there?
”
she asked.

“
Long enough.
”
He stiffened even more.

She walked over to join him near the hallway. She didn
’
t dare reach out and touch him. He was shaking with rage.

“
Listen,
”
she said in a low voice,
“
I understand. I really do.
”

It was the exactly wrong thing to say.

He stared at her with dark, warning eyes and hissed,
“
No, you don
’
t. None of you know what it
’
s like for us!
”

He turned and ran toward the front of the house.

“
Cole, no! Wait!
”
Connelly shouted.

Sasha threw him an apologetic look and sprinted after the boy.

By the time she hit the front porch, he was already halfway down the block.

She ran down the stairs with ease, thankful both for her running workouts on Pittsburgh
’
s various sets of crumbling city-owned steps and for the fact that for once she was wearing flats instead of stilettos. The fleeting thought crossed her mind that, given the frequency with which she found herself sprinting, it might be time to retire high heels from her wardrobe for good.

Bite your tongue,
she told herself.

She ran harder, closing the distance between her and the boy.

He reached the corner and hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at her, then spun wildly and ran to his left, toward the small community garden and park that anchored the neighborhood.

She had to catch him before he reached the edge of the park. It backed up to acres of undeveloped woods, filled with junk, poison ivy, and who knew what else.

She dug in and increased her speed.

Cole slowed to a jog and then a walk. He stopped beside the raised box holding tidy rows of cornstalks and leaned on the chicken wire that protected it from the local rabbits.

She came to a stop and stood a few feet away, trying to decide if she should move closer or give him his space.

His narrow shoulders heaved. Even though his back was to her, she could tell he was sobbing.

She walked over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She had to stretch on her toes to reach him. He was so tall, half boy and half man.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand but didn
’
t shake her off. She hugged him tighter.

“
Hey, it
’
s okay to cry, you know.
”

“
No, it
’
s not. I have to be strong. We
’
re all alone now. And I
’
m in charge.
”
His voice was thick with tears and muffled by his hands.

“
That
’
s not true. Look at me, Cole.
”

He swallowed hard and raised his red-rimmed eyes to meet her gaze.

“
Yeah?
”
he sniffed.

“
Yeah. I guess you heard that the government is kicking you guys out of witness protection. I can
’
t defend that action. But I promise you this, those people sitting around the table, they
’
re not going to abandon you. And neither am I. Okay?
”

He nodded slowly.
“
Okay.
”

“
Okay. So, you don
’
t need to be strong. What you need to be is a kid.
”

“
No, I need a seat at the table. It
’
s only fair. You
’
re making decisions that impact my family.
”
He jutted out his chin and stared at her defiantly, waiting for her to object.

She studied him and considered her response.

“
I
’
ll make it happen. In return, you
’
ll be mindful of the danger you
’
re in. No more running off. Deal?
”

She stuck out her hand.

He smiled and pumped it.

“
Deal.
”

“
Good,
”
she said, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
“
Especially since you should know by now, you
’
re never going to outrun me, kid. I
’
m like the wind.
”

He laughed reluctantly.
“
Right.
”

“
Come on. We need to get back before Hank pulls a brain muscle worrying.
”

His chuckle turned into a real laugh as they headed back toward the house.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sasha returned with Cole, and the group reassembled at the table.

This time, Naya bowed out to fix sandwiches for the kids
’
lunch.

Cole took her seat.

To Leo
’
s eternal amusement, Hank stayed sandwiched in the kid-sized chair. His arms and legs jack-knifed and folded.

Leo leaned back, stretching his legs in his luxurious adult-sized chair, and watched as the teenager set out the reasons why he thought they should stay in the house. He was articulate and passionate, but Leo could tell that Will and Hank were unmoved by his argument.

“
Son,
”
Will finally interrupted,
“
I understand what you
’
re saying. Your brothers and sisters have been through a great deal, no one disputes that. And you have, too. But if you want to be treated as an adult, you need to hear the very adult reality: there
’
s a good chance your father
’
s going to come after you. And, if not you, then Sasha and Leo. If he learns where you are, and where they are, your entire family will be in danger. If WITSEC were in the picture, staying put might be a risk worth taking. But they aren
’
t, so it
’
s not.
”

Leo was impressed by Will
’
s cool logic, but the kid wasn
’
t swayed.

“
Am I supposed to run from that dirtbag for the rest of my life?
”
he countered.

“
No, you
’
re not. I
’
m going to stop him and put him back where he belongs: behind bars,
”
Hank intoned.
“
But until I do, I need to know that you
’
re all safe.
”

Cole said nothing but set his mouth in a hard line.

Leo glanced over at Sasha, but she was distracted by her phone on her lap. It looked like she was texting or emailing someone. She wasn
’
t going to be any help.

“
Listen,
”
he interjected,
“
what if you help find a new place? I mean, Hank got this house because it was the first thing he could find, he had access to it through his sources, and it
’
s better than nothing. But why don
’
t you talk to your brothers and sisters and come up with a wish list
—
for instance, Leah would probably like a nice, level backyard where she can garden. I know she still has some more of your mom
’
s seeds left. Anyway, you guys can come up with some ideas about location, size, features, whatever. And then we can work together to find something that truly fits your needs. How
’
s that sound?
”

The boy
’
s jaw softened.
“
That would be good, yeah.
”

It was Hank
’
s turn to frown.
“
Fine. But time
’
s of the essence here. We can
’
t dilly-dally. Go ahead and talk to them and start packing up. We need to move out by tomorrow evening at the absolute latest. If we have to stay in motels short term while you
’
re looking for a new place, we will. But we can
’
t stay here.
”

“
Understood. And thanks.
”
Cole nodded seriously and went off in search of his siblings.

“
He
’
s being forced to grow up too fast,
”
Leo said as he watched the boy disappear.

Beside him, Sasha made a soft
hmm
noise but didn
’
t look up from her Blackberry.

Irritation pricked at his neck. Couldn
’
t she put down her stupid phone and stop messing around with work emails for one day? Caroline was at the office covering all the phones.

He huffed out a loud, dramatic sigh intended to draw her attention.

When she looked up, her eyes were wide with fear, and his annoyance vanished instantly.

“
Sorry, were you saying something?
”

She tried to cover up her concern, but he knew her too well. Sasha was afraid.

He reached over to take her hand. Just then, Naya appeared in the doorway with a tray of turkey sandwiches in one hand and a triumphant smile plastered on her face.

“
I think I know how Bricker found Allison,
”
she said.

At the exact same moment, Sasha blurted,
“
Someone broke into the condo.
”

After a heavy silence, everyone started talking at once.

Will held up a hand and took control of the chaos.

“
Hang on. Let
’
s do one thing at a time.
”
He turned to Sasha.
“
What happened at your condo?
”

She took a long, centering breath.
“
Maisy was getting ready to head out for a lunch date. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed that the door to my place
…
I mean, our place
…
was ajar. She peeked her head in to say hi and she said the place is trashed.
”
She glanced at Leo with an unreadable expression.

“
Anything missing?
”
he asked.

“
She wouldn
’
t know. She called 9-1-1 and canceled on her date to wait until the cops get there. I
’
d like to be there when they arrive.
”

She blanched, and he knew she was thinking of her client files.

Hank cleared his throat.
“
Is your gun secure?
”