Authors: Lynette Eason
He took her hand and led her through the door. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
The three of then entered the office. Leather and expensive cologne mixed together to give an enticing scent of wealth and power.
The receptionist looked up and smiled her cool professional smile. “Hello, Ms. McKnight. How can I help you today?”
Cassidy took over since she’d been the one addressed. “We’re here to talk to Mr. Morgan, if he has a moment.”
Gabe stepped up. “Actually, we’re here to talk to him whether he has one or not.”
The woman’s lips tightened, but she didn’t argue; she simply picked up the phone and dialed an extension. “Mr. Morgan, you have some visitors in the lobby. Would you mind stepping out here for a moment?”
After she set the phone on the hook, she turned her icy gaze back on the trio. “He’ll join you in a moment. Please, have a seat.”
Gabe flashed his toe-curling smile. “Thank you so much.”
Cassidy picked up a magazine and flipped through it without really seeing it. Gabe settled into the chair beside her, and Craig took the one on the opposite side facing them.
Fifteen minutes later, the inner door finally opened behind the receptionist’s desk and Mr. Morgan appeared. “Well, this is a surprise.”
A vein throbbed in his forehead, and his smile was forced, telling Cassidy that he wasn’t pleased by the unannounced visit. She smiled as charmingly as possible and said, “Thank you so much for seeing us.”
Mr. Morgan adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. But his smile relaxed and he gestured down the hall. “Right this way.”
The three followed Mr. Morgan to the same conference room Cassidy had been in for the reading of the will. Once they were all settled around the table, Mr. Morgan got right to it. “What can I do for you?”
Craig took this moment to break his silence. “Mr. Morgan, someone broke in to Cassidy’s home this past Friday and tried to kill her.”
The man’s jaw dropped and he stuttered, “Th-th-that’s terrible. Who? Why?”
Craig and Gabe exchanged a look. “That’s what we’re hoping you could tell us. You see, we’re investigating everyone who’s had close contact with Cassidy over the last few months and who would have the most to gain should she disappear.”
Confusion glittered in Mr. Morgan’s eyes, “What exactly are you accusing me of?”
The detective spoke in a quiet voice. “We’re not accusing you of anything—yet.”
“You’ve had some rather large deposits made to your checking account lately—and some large withdrawals,” Gabe said mildly. “Care to explain those?”
Mr. Morgan narrowed his beady eyes and said, “Look, I’m telling you. I don’t have a clue as to why someone would attack Ms. McKnight.” He shrugged. “As for the money, I’ve sold a lot of stock lately. I made some good investments and cashed in on them.” Then he sucked in a deep breath and admitted, “I also like the horses. I was at the track with those withdrawals. Feel free to check it out. I’ll have Sheila give you my stockbroker’s number. Now, you people are wasting your time—and mine. I’ll see you out.”
On the way out, they waited for Sheila to look up the number.
The three stepped onto the porch, grateful for the covering, as the rain still fell. Lightning split a jagged path in the sky to the west and thunder rumbled. Gabe and Craig dwarfed her small frame as they huddled together, but for once Cassidy didn’t really mind.
“Anyone think to bring an umbrella?” Cassidy asked. Both men shook their heads. “And I left mine in the car. Brilliant, huh?”
Craig laughed. “Well, I’ve got to get back to the station. I’ll be honest with you, though. I think the man’s telling the truth. No doubt, I think he has the potential to be slimy, but I didn’t get the impression he was lying about this.” Craig shrugged. “I could be wrong, though.”
Cassidy didn’t think so. She had the same impression. Another crack of thunder made her jump. Movement to her left caught her eye and she turned to see her bodyguard step under the cover of the porch next door. He stumbled and grabbed the railing with his left hand. His right hand flew up to clutch his chest. He fell to his knees.
A heart attack?
“Joseph!” Cassidy called. She dashed through the downpour.
“Cassidy!” She heard Gabe follow.
It only took a few seconds to reach the man’s side, but it seemed as if she moved in slow motion. She dropped beside him. “Joseph, what’s wrong?”
Something sounded above her and splinters dropped from the ceiling. Gabe tackled her to the floor of the porch. “Get inside! He’s been shot. Craig, call for backup!” Cassidy scrambled to open the door to the building.
Once inside, she turned to help Gabe pull the wounded man through the opening. Gabe slammed the door shut, locked it and pulled out his cell phone.
Drenched, shivers and adrenaline racked her as she leaned over Joseph to grasp his chilled hand. “Joseph, please open your eyes.” Fingers felt for a pulse. It beat, but was faint and slow. “Please, please don’t die.” Her tears mingled with the rain on her face.
Through a foggy haze, she heard Gabe barking orders to the emergency medical team on the way, telling them about Joseph. She offered up a string of prayers, for Joseph, for their safety, for the shooter to be caught.
Finally, the sound of sirens screamed through the air.
“How is he?” Gabe demanded as he shook the rain from his head.
She looked up through the sheen of tears. “Not good. He needs an ambulance.”
“Let me look at him.”
With relief, Cassidy complied. Gabe was a doctor. He’d help him. Gabe stripped off his outer shirt and made a pad to press against the wound. “Here. Hold this. Lots of pressure.”
Cassidy obeyed and pressed down on Joseph’s chest while continuing her prayers. “Please, Joseph, look at me.” His eyes flickered. Cassidy applied more pressure. “Joseph?” Water from her hair dripped down on his face. His eyes opened briefly then shut again.
“Keep fighting, Joseph,” Gabe whispered as he held the man’s wrist. “Come on, people, come on. Where are you?”
As if in answer to his question, Craig’s voice called out, “Sinclair, you okay in there?”
“I’ve got a man who needs a hospital, now!” Gabe reached up to unlock the door. Cassidy continued the pressure until the emergency personnel rushed in and took over.
The room spun and she felt faint. She swallowed hard and concentrated on staying upright. As they loaded Joseph into the ambulance, she whispered a silent prayer.
Please, Lord, let the madness stop.
“Why shoot Joseph?” Cassidy demanded as she paced the den area of her house later that evening. “I was standing right there. Why not me? And why didn’t we hear the shots? Never mind, dumb question. We did hear them. I just thought it was thunder.”
Anguish worked its way across her face and Gabe wanted to grab her in his arms and keep her there. Protect her. They’d just received word from the hospital that Joseph was out of surgery and doing well. His wife was with him.
The police were heavily involved now and after taking Gabe and Cassidy’s statements, they’d released the two of them. Craig would take care of the final details. Cassidy had wanted to go to the hospital, but Gabe convinced her she couldn’t do anything productive there and besides, she needed to pick up Alexis.
The ambassador had been notified. Extra security had been ordered for him and his wife and now Cassidy would be covered even more heavily. The six o’clock news ran the story.
Cassidy stood in front of him. Gabe watched Alexis stack blocks while he thought. “It looks to me like the shooter’s sending you a message.”
Wrinkles creased her forehead as she offered Gabe a frown. “What do you mean? What kind of message?”
“If he can’t get to you, he’ll get to the ones you care about.”
“But…but…no attempts have been made on my parents. No one’s tried to hurt Alexis or you.”
Gabe’s heart stilled and he even wondered if she realized what she’d just admitted. She cared about him. He knew it, but it was nice to hear.
“So, what do we do? How do I keep him from getting close to those I love?” Cassidy sat on the floor next to Alexis and started stacking the blocks so the child could gleefully knock them down again.
Gabe watched them play and wasn’t even shocked when the desire for this to be the real thing swept over him. He wanted Cassidy and Alexis. He wanted them to be a family; someone he could come home to every day. Going home to his empty lake house left him aching for something more. This.
“There’s nothing else you can do. Everyone’s got bodyguards. And you’re doing everything right short of shutting yourself up inside and becoming a hermit.”
“There’s no way I can do that.” She shuddered at the thought. “Besides, I have that speech to make on behalf of Dad at that dinner in two weeks. It’s been on the calendar for six months.”
“Well, you’ll have to cancel it. It’s too dangerous.”
Cassidy frowned. “I can’t cancel. It’s too late. I’ll just have to be extra careful.”
“Cass…” Gabe warned.
“Seriously, I can’t back out now. This event is too important. And besides, security is top-notch. The word needs to get out about this problem of human trafficking and the only way to do that is to have as much communication as possible with people who have the power and the money to do something about it. And that’s where I come in. Passing bills to force harsher punishments and raising money to help the hurting families is my cause, my calling right now. There’s no way I can miss this dinner.”
Gabe noticed the fire in her eyes and heard the passion in her voice. She cared deeply for those less fortunate and had made it her goal in life to help change lives for the better. She had become such an incredible woman. Gabe didn’t feel worthy to be in her presence knowing what he’d done.
Like getting Micah into the jungle and then leaving him to die.
He shook off the thought and said, “I understand. You’ve convinced me. I had no idea how involved you are in your father’s politics. We’ll just have to make sure that you’re protected.”
“Security will be extremely tight anyway simply because of the high-profile people who’ll be in attendance.”
Gabe stood. “Okay. I’m going to make some calls. Rafael’s behind bars, which means whoever wants you out of the way has already hired someone else to do his dirty work. I think it’s too big a coincidence that we confront Oliver Morgan with our questions, and then on the way out of the office Joseph gets shot. I’ll call Craig to see if he’s got any new information.” Gabe needed to do something productive before he did something stupid like pull Cassidy into his arms, spill his guts and beg for forgiveness.
Cassidy was still thinking about the dinner long after Gabe left. Maybe she should back out. Get someone else to give the speech for her. Cassidy made a mental note to double-check with Craig about the safety of the other people that would be in attendance. There was no way making her speech was worth putting lives in danger.
As she was pondering what to do, she heard the security buzzer sound and stepped into the kitchen to press the button. “Yes?”
Frederick said, “Miss Cassidy, there’s a lady here to see you. Says her name’s Susan Cooper.”
Cassidy flinched and looked over at Alexis. She sat in the middle of a pool of toys, playing contentedly. Should she let the woman in? Her last words had not been nice. And she had threatened to sue.
“Miss Cassidy?” Frederick asked.
Lord, what do I do?
And yet, the woman was the child’s aunt. “All right, you can send her on.”
“Will do.”
Cassidy clicked the intercom off and stood by the window. Approximately two minutes later, Susan Cooper’s silver Mercedes pulled into the driveway.
Taking a deep breath, Cassidy opened the door before the woman had a chance to ring the bell. “Hello, Susan.”
Susan slipped the sunglasses from her eyes to the top of her head, pushing her blond hair back behind her ears. Cassidy noticed the dark circles underneath the flawlessly made-up eyes. She’d used makeup concealer, but that hadn’t helped much. Clearly, the woman was under stress, suffering. Cassidy’s heart softened.
“Come on in. Would you like to see Alexis?”
Susan bit her lip and nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate this.”
Cassidy led the way into the den area where Alexis still played. The little girl looked up when the two women entered the room.
Susan sucked in an audible gasp and said, “She looks just like Kara at that age. I still look at pictures every once in a while…”
Cassidy nodded and said, “Alexis, this is your aunt Susan.”
Alexis looked up and grinned. “Hi.”
Cassidy heard Susan give a choked laugh and respond to the child, “Hi there. You’re a very pretty little girl.”
Alexis nodded and said, “Yep. Pretty.” Then she held up a wooden puzzle piece and asked, “Play?”
Susan seemed to forget Cassidy was in the room as she dropped to her knees and helped the child put the puzzle together. Cassidy just watched, her heart going out to the woman who obviously loved her niece. If only Brian wasn’t in the picture.