Authors: Lynette Eason
Christina McKnight entered on the arm of her husband and her posture would make her finishing-school madam proud. Cassidy waved to her parents. They waved and smiled, but Cassidy noticed her father appeared to have aged a few years over the past couple of weeks. Cassidy avoided thinking about the cause. Senators, congressmen and women handed over their tickets and joined the crowd at the buffet to chat and socialize.
Cindy Patterson, dressed in a simple black dress and matching black purse, entered alone. Cassidy waved and smiled. Cindy bit her lip, but offered a small smile in return. She seemed nervous and out of place and Cassidy hoped she’d find someone to talk to. In fact, Cassidy decided, she’d just go welcome the woman personally.
She felt a hand on her arm and turned to speak to Congresswoman Shelton. By the time she spoke and turned back, Cindy had disappeared. She’d have to catch her later.
A band played off to the right and a few couples swayed on the dance floor. The buffet held roast beef, ham, turkey, caviar, an assortment of vegetables and a tower of fruit. The dessert table tempted even the strongest-willed dieter. The staff had done an excellent job.
Then Gabe entered the room and Cassidy felt her heart quiver. Oh, my.
Lord, is he the one You want for me? Because I’m with You a hundred percent.
Amy came up beside her and said, “He cleans up real good, doesn’t he?”
“I’m speechless,” Cassidy admitted.
“That’s a first.” Amy’s laughter drew the eyes of a few, and Cassidy smiled in spite of herself. Secretly she agreed with Amy’s assessment. The man looked good. She watched him scan the room until his gaze came to rest on her.
Wow,
he mouthed.
Cassidy grinned.
Ditto,
she mouthed back.
Gabe began moving toward her. He’d offered to pick her up in the foyer and escort her down to the ballroom, but she’d insisted that she needed to be there early and didn’t want him to have to wait around on her.
“You look stunning,” Gabe murmured as he leaned over to place what was probably supposed to be a chaste kiss on her cheek. However, the combination of the kiss and his spicy cologne caused her senses to spin.
She focused on his words. Stunning, huh? Cassidy
felt
stunning in her strapless green straight gown. Modest and classy, she knew she looked her best. Her curls had cooperated and had allowed her to tame them into an elegant pile on top of her head with a large pearl clasp. Several loose ringlets curled around her ears. Matching pearl earrings and bracelet completed her ensemble of jewelry. She almost felt ashamed to wear such nice things knowing the reason for the gathering, but appearances often did matter and the end result would be worth it.
Cassidy shoved aside the butterflies doing laps around her stomach and looped her arm through his. She smiled up at him. “Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself.”
Amy spoke up. “Since I’m obviously not needed here—or noticed, for that matter—I’ll just meander over to the buffet.”
Cassidy flushed. “Amy…”
Amy grinned and slipped away before Cassidy could finish her warning.
“Cassidy, darling, what a lovely party.”
Cassidy turned to find Cecelia Graham beside her.
“Senator Graham, Mrs. Graham. Thank you so much for coming. I’m so glad you popped in early. It was nice visiting with you.” Cassidy grinned at Amy’s mother and leaned over to give the woman a gentle hug.
“And you, dear,” Mrs. Graham answered. “That Alexis is so precious. It was good to see her, too. We had such fun that day I kept her.”
Cassidy gestured toward Gabe and said, “You remember Gabriel Sinclair, I’m sure.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Gabe took the woman’s proffered hand and gave a slight bow over it, charming her into an almost girlish giggle. “My goodness, you are a smooth one, aren’t you?”
Gabe quirked a smile. “I try, ma’am, I try.”
Cecelia winked at Cassidy and said, “You’d better keep this one.”
Cassidy mentally rolled her eyes. What was it with the Graham family and Gabe? Then he gave her a wicked cute smile and she decided that was about the dumbest question she’d ever asked herself. She grinned back and said, “I’m working on it.”
Cassidy noticed one of the supporters trying to get her attention. She acknowledged the man with a smile and said, “Excuse me, please. I need to get this thing going here.” She stepped away and up to the podium. Leaning into the microphone, she said, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.”
Gradually the room quieted and focused on Cassidy. She continued, “Good evening. I hope you all have enjoyed the scrumptious feast provided by our local caterers, Food To Die For.” A round of applause greeted this statement. Cassidy grinned. She’d loved the name and wanted to help the friend who was in her Bible-study group get her new business off the ground. Cassidy decided it was definitely airborne.
When the cheering stopped, she said, “And now, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for coming. I feel so blessed to be able to stand before you today and ask for your help in a project that has become near and dear to my heart. The Stop the Traffic Foundation has raised millions of dollars to help those victimized by human trafficking in Brazil. I know other countries are also affected by this evil. However, as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And the atrocities committed through modern-day slavery won’t be eliminated in a day. But we can strive to make a difference—one day at a time.”
Cassidy took a deep breath and continued. As she spoke, she scanned the crowd before her. All lightheartedness had long since faded from their faces. Serious expressions replaced the previous gaiety.
She went on, “As you know, my father, Ambassador McKnight, is a huge voice in the fight against human trafficking in Brazil. Each year, close to one million people are trafficked against their will. And close to twenty thousand of those victims end up right here in the United States of America—the land of the free.”
Cassidy watched several shake their heads and frown at one another. Good, they were listening, absorbing it, processing it, ugliness and all. Cassidy spoke for several more minutes and then said, “There’s so much information, it’s impossible to give it all to you tonight. So, in closing, I just want to say. This is the twenty-first century. We cannot let this go on. Please, give from your heart to the Stop the Traffic Foundation that is dedicated to helping victims of human trafficking. We can change lives—one day at a time. Thank you.”
Thunderous applause greeted Cassidy as she smiled out at the audience. A sudden movement to her left captured her attention. What? Was that a…
“Gun!” someone yelled.
“Cassidy, duck!” Cassidy heard Gabe’s yell but felt frozen to her spot on the stage.
The ski-masked figure holding the weapon stepped from behind the curtain and approached Cassidy, swinging the gun back and forth. “Stay back,” the attacker ordered. A woman. Small, petite.
Security had guns drawn but stayed back as ordered. Cassidy stood on the stage, the perfect target. “Why?” Her voice shook. “What have I done to you?”
The gun shook; the trigger finger jerked spasmodically. Cassidy flinched, expecting to feel the impact of a bullet any moment now.
Cassidy sucked in air. “Who are you?”
The figure steadied the gun with one hand and reached for the mask with the other. A slight tug pulled it off and Cassidy gasped. Reddish blond hair spilled out onto black-clad shoulders. Green eyes glared up at Cassidy.
“Cindy Patterson?” Cassidy stared in disbelief. “What…how…why?”
“Because he’s my father. Mine. But he didn’t want me. He left me and my mother to struggle on our own. He never called, never cared. Just sent the money that was never enough.”
And Cassidy knew. Her father’s child from his affair. Her half sister.
Cindy was on a roll now. “And then…that person called. Told me about all of you. Told me how to get revenge. And I agreed.”
People gasped and stared. Her father groaned and closed his eyes. Cassidy focused on the woman in front of her. “Oh, Cindy. So, you set up my kidnapping?” She took a few steps in her direction.
“Cassidy, stop,” her mother pleaded.
Cassidy ignored her but glanced again at her father’s white face and strained features. His eyes, open now, begged her forgiveness, his sorrow over the situation clearly displayed by his slumped shoulders and clenched fists.
Cindy laughed, a bitter sound. “No, that wasn’t me. I don’t know who it was. But I’m going to finish it.”
“Cindy, give me the gun. We can work this out. We can.” Cassidy approached, but Cindy raised the weapon.
“No, we can’t. I shot a man.” Tears leaked down her ashen cheeks.
“Joseph. Outside the law office. Those clothes belonged to you,” Cassidy whispered.
Cindy nodded and shrugged. “He saw me on the roof. He would have warned you. I didn’t really want to shoot him, but I couldn’t let him catch me.” Tears watered her eyes, her attention focused on Cassidy, not the detective moving in behind her. Craig gave her a warning shake of his head not to let on that she saw him. Cassidy didn’t even blink.
“Cindy, put the gun down. You don’t want to kill me.”
Craig chose that moment to rush Cindy. The gunshot sounded loud in the silenced room. Cassidy flinched and felt the hand on her wrist a second before her world tilted upside down. Then she was on the floor and under the table. Her elbow banged the leg of a chair and pain shot up her arm. Gabe pulled her close and covered her with his body.
Cassidy heard a grunt and the sounds of a struggle, then Cindy crying and saying she didn’t mean it. Cassidy’s heart ached for the woman, but right now she had to concentrate on sucking air into her squashed lungs. She pushed against Gabe.
“Move, Gabe, I can’t breathe.”
Through a fog of fear and fury, Gabe heard Cassidy’s voice telling him to move. Reluctantly, he complied and pulled away. Cassidy scrambled up from the safety of his sheltering body. He wanted to pull her back.
Cassidy was brushing herself off and Gabe was just starting to breathe a little easier when he noticed a small stain spreading across Cassidy’s shoulder. Before he could figure out what it was, Cassidy looked up with a startled expression, closed her eyes and dropped to the floor, the small stain becoming larger by the second. Gabe felt his world screech to a halt.
“Cassidy!” he whispered.
Chaos reigned for the next sixty seconds as security finally broke from their shocked stupor and sprang into action. Gabe dropped to Cassidy’s side and pressed his hand against the wound. Cassidy’s parents rushed forward, still surrounded by security, and Cassidy’s mother dropped beside him. “Cassidy, darling, don’t move.”
Desperately, he struggled to shift into doctor mode, but it was a difficult thing to do when the woman he loved lay bleeding all over his hands. Cassidy’s mother pushed the red curls back from Cassidy’s forehead and Gabe saw her hand tremble.
Amy rushed up to him. “I called 9-1-1. Please tell me she’s going to be okay.” Tears dripped down her pale cheeks. “Tell me what to do to help.”
Gabe shifted. “Grab that cloth napkin. Fold it into fourths and press it where my hand is. Keep the pressure on it.” Joseph’s shooting just a few days ago kept flashing through his mind. Grimly he thought to himself, it seemed his specialty was turning into gunshot wounds.
Amy obeyed. Gabe looked up at the ambassador and motioned for him to get his wife out of the way. The man nodded and reached down to pull Christina to her feet. She protested, but the man said, “Christina, they can’t do anything for her if you’re in the way. Gabe’s a doctor. Let him work.”
Reluctantly, she acquiesced.
Cassidy’s eyes fluttered closed and Gabe leaned over her. “Cassidy, stay with me, honey.” He pressed his now-bloody fingers against Cassidy’s neck and felt relief sweep through him. Her pulse felt slow and faint, but at least it was there. She’d just passed out.
Sirens sounded in the distance and Gabe sent a thank you heavenward. When the paramedics shot through the door, Gabe reeled off all the information he had and moved out of the way. Amy, too, let go and moved.
Finally, Cassidy was loaded into the ambulance and on her way to the hospital with her mother in attendance. Gabe would follow in his own car—and do some heavy praying on the way.
G
abe paced the hospital waiting room. Cassidy had been in surgery for three hours. He’d been in close contact with Craig, who told him that Cindy wasn’t talking. He felt helpless, unused to being on this side of the situation. He’d have a lot more empathy for future patients. He rubbed his eyes, wishing for news. As though from his lips to God’s ear, the doctor pushed through the double swinging O.R. doors and headed his way. He recognized him and called, “Max?”
“Gabe.”
Cassidy’s mother asked, “Well?”
Gabe tensed, trying to read Max’s face. Sympathy oozed from him and Gabe thought his heart would give out. He croaked, “She’s not…”
Max startled. “No, Gabe, no. It was a bit of touch-and-go there for a while. We almost lost her once, but she made it.”
They’d almost lost her. He felt like he’d been punched in the kidney, the pain so intense it nearly knocked him out.
Max was saying, “Right now she’s hanging in there. She’s not out of the woods yet, but I’ve done all I can do. I’ll be back with more information shortly.”
Cassidy’s mother pressed the young doctor’s hand and said, “Thank you so much.”
Max left and Jonathan paced from one end of the room to the other, his lips moving silently, praying. Amy sat as still as stone, her gaze fixed on the plastic green plant someone had tried to use to liven up the waiting room. Cecelia went to visit the son of a good friend who’d had hernia surgery. Amy’s father vowed to make sure law enforcement caught the person responsible.
No one brought up the scene with Cindy.
Frustration clawed through him. He plopped into the nearest chair and dropped his head in his hands. How had the woman gotten a gun in?
What else, God? I need Your reassurance here. I need Your help. What do I do? I can’t live without this woman and I need Your guidance about how to tell her about Micah even if it means losing her. Plus, how do we find this person that wants Cassidy dead so bad? And why? Why is this killer so determined to get rid of Cassidy? What has she done to make this person so mad at her? And, most of all, how did top-notch security fail?
Gabe’s prayers ran nonstop. He knew God was listening, he wouldn’t doubt that again. Unfortunately, Gabe couldn’t seem to shut up long enough to listen. He needed a Bible.
Be anxious for nothing.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Be still, and know that I am God.
Gabe froze. Then relaxed. He had the Word. All he had to do was listen to it. All those years of church and his parents’ teachings came into focus. Gabe suddenly realized how fortunate he’d been…and still was.
Thank You, God, for my parents. It’s been a long time since I’ve thanked You for them.
He felt someone drop into the chair beside him and looked up. “Jonathan.”
“This is my fault, all my fault. It’s taken twenty-plus years, but it’s finally caught up with me.”
“You’re a new man, Jonathan,” Gabe reminded his friend.
“But sin is sin. Consequences can’t be avoided forever.”
“God’s forgiven you. Now you have to forgive yourself.” Just like I have to about the situation with Micah. But he couldn’t add that last part.
“Cassidy’s been…distant. I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me. Christina’s getting there, I think.”
“Cassidy’ll come around.”
“If she lives.” The man’s voice cracked on the last word and Gabe felt his throat go tight.
“She’ll live,” he insisted.
Please, God, she has to. Although knowing Cassidy, if her death would be a way to serve You, she’d say fine. But I’m not there yet. And I think Jonathan needs to hear Cassidy say she still loves him and forgives him. Give us that, God, please.
An hour later, the doors opened again and Max reappeared. He smiled and said, “She’s in recovery and doing much better. Thankfully, she’s strong. I got the bone fragment out and while her blood pressure was scary low there for a while, once I found and repaired a small hidden bleeder, her pressure came back up. She’s on some powerful antibiotics and some pretty strong painkillers, so she might not make much sense when she first wakes up. She’ll be in ICU for a while, but if everything looks good, we’ll transfer her to a private room.”
“Thanks, Max.”
“No problem. Glad I was here. Of course you can wait here or go on back, Gabe.”
Gabe looked at the ambassador for a clue as to what the man felt he should do. Jonathan nodded and said, “Go on, Gabe, she’d want you with her.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as she wakes up.”
What was that smell? Cassidy wrinkled her nose and grimaced. That was some strange cleaning solution. And why did her mouth taste like week-old rotten fish? And why did her shoulder feel like it was on fire?
She turned her head and nausea rolled with the effort. Ugh. A bad case of the flu, definitely.
“Hey,” a voice said softly. Gabe. “How are you feeling?”
Cassidy ran her tongue across dry lips. “Thirsty.”
She struggled to keep her eyes open, but they drifted shut. So sleepy. Sounds faded. But she felt something cool touch her lips. Ice. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Can you look at me?”
Huh-uh. Going back to sleep. Darkness came, then receded several more times before she woke and was aware of someone standing over her, stroking her hair. Then warm lips pressed against her forehead.
“Gabe?”
“Hey. You with me this time?”
Cassidy tried to shift on the bed and winced at the pain in her shoulder and side. They ached. “Yeah. What happened?” Then the memory hit her. “I was shot. Cindy?”
Gabe’s hand stilled for a brief moment then continued its soothing motion. “Yeah.”
“Why?” Cassidy felt tears well up and tried to force them back. “What’d I do? I don’t understand.”
She felt Gabe wipe away the tear that trickled down past her temple.
“Ah, Cass, don’t cry, love. She was just jealous of your relationship with the father she never got to know.”
She sniffed and changed the subject. “Where’s Alexis? Is she okay?”
“Marguerite has her. She’s fine. Your parents are here and are very worried about you. Let me just go tell them you’re awake and okay.”
“All right.”
The door opened and the nurse stepped in. “Ms. McKnight. So glad to see you’re awake. Are you ready to move to your own room now?”
Cassidy blinked sleepily. “Sure.”
Gabe got the room number then bent down and pressed another kiss against Cassidy’s forehead. He headed for the door. “I’ll let them know where to find you.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled. Sleep began to overtake her once again and she closed her eyes as the hospital orderly transported her from the recovery area to a private room on the third floor.
April 22
Saturday morning
She must have dozed off again because when she opened her eyes she could see sun peeking up over the horizon—and smell flowers. Lots of flowers. She shifted to get a better look and pain lanced through her whole left side.
She froze and eased back against the pillow, waiting for the throbbing to subside. The door opened and Amy stepped in. “Hey there.” Without waiting for Cassidy to answer, she looked behind her and announced, “She’s awake.”
Apparently that was the cue. Amy stepped in first, followed by Cassidy’s parents. Gabe popped his head in and said, “I’ve got a phone call, but I’ll be back.” He winked and Cassidy smiled at the warmth that flooded her. He loved her, he just didn’t know it yet. Or maybe he did.
“Finally,” her mother exclaimed, “she’s awake.”
“Hi, Mom.” Cassidy lifted her cheek for her mother to kiss.
“Don’t you ‘Hi, Mom’ me, young lady. I can’t believe you’re in the hospital because you were shot.”
Cassidy didn’t know whether to grimace or laugh. Surely laughing would hurt more. “That makes two of us, Mom.”
“Hey, darling.” Her father shifted, awkward and unsure in Cassidy’s presence.
She struggled with the desire to hold a grudge and the desire to forgive. She’d almost died. What would her father have done if she’d died without making things right between them? He would have lived the rest of his life feeling regret and sorrow. Did she want to take a chance on that happening?
She settled for a slight smile. “Hi, Dad.”
Relief relaxed his tight features and Cassidy realized she’d have to forgive the man. She loved him too much not to. Just like Jesus had loved her enough to die for her. She wouldn’t forget, obviously, but she could start with the choice to forgive. “I love you, Dad.”
Tears flooded the man’s eyes.
“Are you and Mom…?” She trailed off, the question hard to ask.
He smiled down at her and gave a small nod. “We’re going to be okay.”
The door swung open again and Senator and Cecelia Graham entered. The senator stood awkwardly inside the door while Cecelia came over to Cassidy’s side and took her hand. “Cassidy, darling, you gave us quite a fright.”
“Mother, what are
you
doing here?”
The ire in Amy’s voice surprised Cassidy. She knew Amy and her mother didn’t get along, but she’d never seen Amy so openly hostile toward the woman. Especially since she’d become a Christian. Cecelia frowned at Amy but spoke to Cassidy. “The doctor said it was a close call. You’re fortunate.”
“Fortune didn’t have anything to do with it, but thank you.”
“Now that I know you’re all right, I’m going to visit my friend’s son again, but if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, you just let me know, okay?”
Cassidy’s mother stepped forward and gave Cecelia a hug. “Thank you so much, Cecelia.”
Amy spoke up. “Yes, it’s so wonderful how our families have just been such great friends all these years, isn’t it?”
Cecelia frowned at her daughter and everyone else looked a little taken aback at Amy’s tone. Cassidy decided something else was going on between mother and daughter but didn’t have the energy to try to figure it out now. She’d ask Amy about it when they were alone.
After Cecelia left, Amy grimaced. “Sorry. You didn’t need that.”
“You still mad at your mother?”
Amy’s lips tightened. “She just makes me crazy. I’ll check in on Alexis and be back to see you before too long. Take care.”
Then her parents were bidding her goodbye and she gave her father an extra-long—extremely gentle—hug. He had tears in his eyes when he pulled back. “I’m glad God wasn’t finished with you yet, honey.”
She studied his eyes. Total sincerity. He’d made mistakes in the past, but he was a forgiven child of God now. Cassidy felt her throat close up with emotion and had to clear it to speak. “Me, too, Dad. God’s not finished with you, either.”
He nodded.
Christina took his hand. “Come on, Jonathan. Obviously, everyone is giving credit to God for Cassidy’s survival, so I guess I need to reconsider Him. After all, when Cassidy was lying on the floor bleeding to death, I did something I hadn’t done in a really long time. I prayed. Maybe He was listening.”
Jonathan’s eyes shot wide-open and a grin split his lips. Cassidy’s heart went wild with joy. Her parents left and she lay there feeling happy and dizzy. She didn’t think it was all due to the drugs flooding her system. She slid into a light doze thanking God for His goodness—and the invention of painkillers.
Twelve hours later, Gabe sat in the hospital cafeteria contemplating the events of the last two days. Craig called and wanted to meet with him, so Gabe told him to come to the cafeteria. He’d traded shifts with another doctor so that he could be here with Cassidy. Right now her parents were visiting so she had company to keep her occupied until he could get back up there to check on her. Gabe swallowed the last of his coffee and tried to decide if he wanted another cup or not.
“Hey there, buddy. How’s it going?” Craig dropped into the chair opposite Gabe and slapped a file folder on the table between them.
“Okay, I guess. What you got?”
“Well, DNA proves one part of Cindy Patterson’s story.”
“The black clothes.”
Craig pushed the folder over to Gabe. “These are e-mails we pulled from her laptop. She was staying in a hotel on the west side of town. We ran her phone records, too, made and received calls from the hotel phone. No evidence of a cell phone.” He pointed to several numbers that had been highlighted in yellow. “See these numbers here? It took us all night, but we’ve figured out that they’re all from clone phones and only short quick calls to keep the legitimate subscriber from realizing someone has hacked into his cell. We checked all of them. Somebody was real smart. And I’d stake my pension on that somebody being Cindy’s contact.”
Gabe sighed, “Yeah, but who? This somebody would have to know how to hack into a cell-phone company’s records.” Frustration was giving him a headache. “Brian is the logical one, but there’s no connection between him and Cindy. Her job was to simply get rid of Cassidy and report in to the number and e-mail address provided by her contact. No trails anywhere.”