Irrevocable Trust (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller Book 6) (4 page)

“
I haven
’
t spoken to anyone at WITSEC yet. As far as I know, they don
’
t even know she
’
s dead yet.
”

“
What?
”
Leo yelped.

Hank glared at him, and he lowered his voice.
“
Sorry. What?
”

“
Well, standard operating procedure would be for the inspector who placed them to get a call from either the family or local law enforcement
—
if they even know who she was. Some of these marshals can be pretty sloppy about the details
—
it
’
s not unheard of for them to fail to notify the locals when they relocate a witness, especially one like Anna Bricker, who wasn
’
t a criminal herself. The kid didn
’
t call WITSEC, and I highly doubt Fornier did.
”

“
Based on what?
”

“
Based on the fact that he spoke to me. WITSEC would have told him not to.
”

Leo nodded. He had a point there. WITSEC, with its great love for secrecy, never would have let some local cop call up Hank and discuss the murder of a witness.
”

“
Okay, well, why haven
’
t
you called them? Isn
’
t it also SOP to move the kids once a threat
’
s been identified?
”

Leo was stunned that Hank was playing so loose with the rules. Sure, that
’
s what they did, but these were
kids.

“
I don
’
t know whether that procedure would apply. Those kids weren
’
t witnesses. They were only in the program because their mom testified. She
’
s gone. Six minors? What
’
s their legal status? Who
’
s supposed to take over as guardian? Some WITSEC inspector back in D.C.? It
’
s going to be a mess. It
’
ll take ages to get it all ironed out. And in the meantime, Bricker
’
s out there, and there
’
s a chance he got to Allison through either the negligence or the malfeasance of a marshal assigned to WITSEC.
”

“
So, what? You
’
re an army of one?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
I
’
m coming with you,
”

“
No, you
’
re not. Don
’
t worry, I
’
m not going to let anything happen to those kids.
”

Leo gave Hank a long look.

“
You know if Bricker wanted those kids dead, they
’
d already be dead, right? He
’
s probably trying to lure us into a trap.
”

“
I know. That
’
s why you
’
re staying put. For now, you need to keep Sasha and Will as far away from this as you can.
”

“
Sure, give me the hard job.
”

Hank cracked a weak smile and signaled the bartender for another round.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“
Mac, truthfully, I have no idea what Leo
’
s up to.
”
Naya looked up from her Contracts outline and eyed Sasha with visible exasperation.

Usually, Naya prided herself on being the heartbeat of McCandless & Volmer, Attorneys at Law
—
a status that extended to its attorneys
’
business
and
personal lives. She knew the names of all their clients, could rattle off who was behind on invoices and who just moved to new office space. She had friends all over town, at other firms, within the court system, at private investigators
’
offices. She also knew their birthdays, their secret fears, and what they wanted for their birthdays. Under ordinary circumstances, yes, if Connelly was keeping secrets from Sasha, Naya would have known about it.

But these were not ordinary circumstances. It was May. Final exam time at Duquesne University School of Law. And Naya was not only the firm
’
s legal assistant, administrator, and jack of all trades. She was a first-year law student. And, by definition, currently a crazy person.

Sasha and Will had taken to calling her the
‘
lawbie
’
behind her back, because she
’
d become a dead-eyed legal-element-spouting zombie.

They could both remember their first year exams, so they weren
’
t overly worried about her hair-trigger temper, lack of attention to personal appearance, or the mumbling of doctrines of law under her breath. It was a temporary condition. They treated her like a caged lion, only instead of feeding her raw steaks, they tossed takeout containers and mugs of coffee into her office and then retreated.

In fact, as she recalled her own first year exams, a wave of guilt crashed over Sasha.

“
You
’
re right. I
’
m sorry to bother you during exams.
”

Naya waved her hand in a
don
’
t worry about it
gesture. As she did so, the pink highlighter she was holding hit her cheek and left a thick line down the side of her face.

“
You have
—”
Sasha stopped herself mid-sentence. There was no point in mentioning it. Naya
’
s Contracts final was in three hours. She was unlikely to stop studying long enough to go to the bathroom let alone to scrub the bright pink mark off her face.

Naya stared up at her, waiting.

“
Anyway, good luck. Let me know if you need a refill.
”
Sasha pointed toward the coffee teetering precariously on a stack of horn books.

“
Thanks.
”

Naya turned back to her review of offer and acceptance and shut out all distractions, namely Sasha.

Sasha tiptoed out of the office and pulled the door shut silently.

She
’
d just have to use her powers of persuasion to convince Connelly to open up to her. That approach didn
’
t sound all bad. She grinned to herself.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cole Bennett narrowed his eyes at Mrs. Stokes, who was hovering uncertainly, half on the front porch, half in the doorway. She was nervous. He could tell by the way she kept twirling her wiry gray hair around her finger. All of his sisters did that same thing when they were anxious. Funny thing was, his mom had never done that.

Mom.

His heart squeezed in his chest.

“
We
’
re not leaving.
”
He planted his feet in a wide stance and puffed out his chest.

She tried to peer around him to get a glimpse of Calla and Hal, the youngest of his siblings and the only two who didn
’
t have the sense to make themselves scarce when the doorbell rang. Instead they were peeking out from the hallway and giggling.

“
Honey, I understand you
’
re all probably in shock right now. It
’
s a terrible thing, what happened to your mother, but you
’
re only seventeen, right?
”
She crossed herself at the mention of his mom.

Technically, he wouldn
’
t be seventeen for another five months, but he figured older was better in this situation.

“
That
’
s right.
”

“
How are you going to take care of all your brothers and sisters all by yourself?
”

“
We
’
ll manage.
”

She smiled hesitantly.
“
But you don
’
t have to do it by yourself. There are programs
—”

He held up a hand to stop her. Despite himself, he flashed back to his father and recalled the way he squared his shoulders and jutted his chin when he was asserting his authority. Cole adopted the mannerisms that had worked so well for his dad.

“
Listen. We don
’
t want your help. We
’
re fine.
”

“
You need an adult to take care of you, son.
”

“
Our
…
uh, Uncle Hank is on his way,
”
Cole said. He figured a partial truth was good enough for Mrs. Stokes.

“
Uncle? What about your father? Is he in the picture?
”

“
That
’
s none of your business, you old snoop.
”

She opened and closed her mouth, like a fish flailing on the bank after it had been landed.

He closed the door before she could find her voice. Then he engaged the deadbolt and turned to lean against the door. He reached inside his waistband to confirm his mom
’
s old gun was still there. He
’
d dug it out of the trunk while the others were still wandering around the house in shock. He hoped he wouldn
’
t have to use it, but if that old bat showed up with a social worker, he
’
d do whatever it took to keep his family together.

You
’
re just like him
. The thought buzzed across his mind like a gnat. He swatted it away. He was nothing like his dad. If anything, he was the opposite: if he resorted to violence, it would be to keep his family together, not to tear it apart.

He steadied his breathing and looked up. Calla and Hal were sitting cross-legged in the doorway to the kitchen, staring at him. Brianna, Leah, and Mark emerged from the upstairs hallway and peered down over the railing at him.

For a moment, all six of them were quiet.

His eyes met Brianna
’
s.

She looked back at him for a second before she nodded.

“
Family meeting,
”
she said.

They all filed into the dining room and took a seat around the long oak table. It was where they ate, prayed, learned, and played. And where their mother had always convened family meetings.

Cole
’
s throat felt tight when he looked at her empty chair, but he pushed thoughts of her out of his mind. Right now, he had to figure out a way to keep them together. That was his job. He could cry later, in the shower
—
the only truly private space in a house of six people. Now, he had to lead.

Brianna tapped his arm.

He turned to face her. Her green eyes were clouded with worry and sadness. She looked way older than fourteen suddenly.

“
They don
’
t remember,
”
she whispered.

“
Neither of them?
”

“
Neither,
”
she confirmed.

They hadn
’
t been sure whether Calla and Hal had any memories of their previous life
—
their old names, the compound, their dad. They knew Leah and Mark remembered, but none of them ever talked about it. Now, with their mom gone, he wasn
’
t sure how much to tell the others. Brianna said she
’
d find out what the little ones knew. Apparently nothing.

That was good and bad. Good because it was safer that way, but bad because they wouldn
’
t be able to understand how much danger they were really in.

They were at war with their dad. And the government hadn
’
t yet shown up to protect them.