“Shit,” he ran his hands through his short hair. “Dammit, Cassie.” He reached for his phone.
The car pulled in front of the large white house. Cherry Circle was inundated with police vehicles and emergency personnel. It was also becoming a media circus. Alex opened the car door and had no control over her body. Fallon tried to keep up, flashing his credentials as his partner’s speed increased with each pace. Alex reached the open front door and was met with a pair of sturdy hands blocking her entry. “Badge?”
“What?” Alex said. Fallon was trying desperately to catch Alex in her short sprint. “Get out of my way,” Alex ordered. The officer moved for his cuffs. Alex’s temper began to flare. “Get the fu…”
“Hey, easy there Kyle,” Ferro appeared. “Come on, Agent,” Fallon shook his head at the detective as he reached his partner.
Alex looked in through the large doorway and saw Cassidy sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket and holding a glass of water. She froze for a moment and closed her eyes. ‘Calm down, Toles,’ she warned her own thoughts. Slowly she made her way to the woman she loved. “Cass?” Cassidy looked over as Alex closed the distance between them. Alex knelt in front of her and the teacher’s tears fell as a smile of relief washed over her. Gently, Alex took the woman’s face in her hands and Cassidy collapsed into her. The agent had no thought, had no care about who saw the exchanged affection or what anyone might surmise. All that mattered was the woman before her. “Cassidy, I’m sorry. I love you so much. I.. I tried to… I…”
The blonde woman let the blanket fall and pulled back to lift a hand to Alex’s cheek. “Je savais que vous viendriez, (I knew you would come),” she whispered to the agent.
“Always, Cass.” Alex looked at her lover’s wrists and closed her eyes.
“I’m okay, Alex. Dylan… where….”
“He and your mom are at Nick’s.”
Cassidy gave Alex a genuine smile through her tears. “Alex…”
Alex caressed Cassidy’s cheek. “We need to get you checked out, love.”
Cassidy shook her head. “No. I’m all right, Alex.”
The agent looked at Cassidy’s leg and felt a fury build within her. “Cass, this really…”
“It’s just a cut.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Alex answered. “Cassidy, please…honestly…you need to be checked out.”
“I just want to see…”
The agent understood that her lover was anxious to get to Dylan. “I know. Let’s just get you looked at, okay? Just humor me, Cass…Then we’ll go to Nicky’s. I promise.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” Cassidy’s body trembled as she grabbed for the agent.
“I’m not leaving you. Not leaving,” Alex took Cassidy into her arms. “Not ever, really… maybe not ever…”
“I’m not taking you to the bathroom with me,” the teacher said chuckling through a sob.
“Don’t count on it.”
Cassidy continued to cry and laugh at the same time now in the safety of Alex’s arms. “I love you so much, Alex. I was so…”
“I know. It’s all right, now. Come on...let’s get this done so we can get to Dylan.” The pair stood; Alex helping the smaller woman to her feet and wrapping the blanket back around her. As they began to move Cassidy stopped abruptly and grabbed Alex’s arm. “Are you okay? Cass?” Green eyes tinted red looked deeply into the pools of blue above her and Cassidy pulled Alex’s face to hers, kissing her tenderly. “What was that for?” Alex said as Cassidy slowly pulled back.
“I wasn’t sure I would get to do that again,” the smaller woman answered.
Alex bit her lip as she realized the fear that Cassidy had just experienced; not knowing if she would survive the sadistic Fisher’s plans to see her family again. The agent caressed her lover’s cheek. “I hope you spend the rest of your LONG life, doing that.”
The teacher smiled fighting against the tears that seemed to be endless. “Me too,” she whispered.
Cassidy was markedly silent on the drive to Connecticut. Alex’s thoughts were drifting back and forth between the woman she loved and the case that was still missing pieces. She held Cassidy’s hand on her thigh and gently caressed it with her thumb as Cassidy gazed out the window in silent contemplation. It was in the agent’s nature to see details in her mind and to continually analyze them. She resisted her temptation to investigate the scene of Cassidy’s torment earlier; knowing that the woman she loved needed her to be fully present. She was relying on Fallon and Ferro to see the details. When Fallon met them at the hospital with some clothes; Alex had gotten a chance to hear some of the more disturbing details and also some of Ferro’s private theories about Fisher’s death. Now, as their conversation played in her mind; she could see Cassidy in the kitchen, tied to a chair. It was like watching a bad movie run over and over.
“How is she?” Fallon asked.
“She’s tough, Fallon. Not as tough as she wants me to think.” Her partner nodded his understanding. Alex looked into the room where Cassidy was getting dressed and then glanced back to her partner. “So, what did Ferro have to say?”
Brian Fallon’s eye twitched and his lips tightened. “Toles…”
“What is it Fallon?”
Through a heavy sigh Fallon expelled the detective’s theory. “Two shooters.”
“What are you talking about?” Alex was confused.
“Ferro thinks there were two shooters. There’s only one entry wound. Two bullets.”
Alex shrugged. “I’ll call Brady. He probably fired twice.”
Fallon shook his head. “Alex, when they do the autopsy we’ll know for sure, but Ferro….He’s pretty sure there are two different bullets. He found a casing near the counter that splintered the wood.” Alex looked back toward Cassidy’s location and considered Ferro’s assessment. “You don’t look surprised,” Agent Fallon asserted.
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose and paced away from the door to the small room. “I’m not.”
“Alex, it doesn’t make sense though, I mean everyone thought…”
“No, it makes sense. He knew too much, far too much. Even with his background he had to have had help faking that suicide.”
Fallon was confused. “Why would someone help him and then kill him?”
“Why do people do anything they do, Fallon?” Alex felt her stomach turning with the rage that had settled inside her. The knowledge that Cassidy had been hurt by anyone produced emotions within the agent she could not describe, anger, fear and anguish. She took a deep breath and exhaled it with force, rubbing her temples in frustration. The investigation, for Alex, would have to wait. Cassidy was safe. That was the most important thing. She stopped and covered her face with her hands. Fallon watched in amazement as his partner did the unthinkable. Alex shook her head. “Fallon, keep me in the loop, I’ll call in some markers…but I….”
“Toles?”
Alex walked back toward the room and looked in the small window. Cassidy was fluffing her hair with her hands; clearly trying to get herself ready to face the world again. The agent looked at her friend and continued, “Brian, no one wants to get to the bottom of this more than me. I need you to be my eyes this week…okay? Dylan needs…and Cass is….”
“Don’t worry about it, Alex. Hey, you know maybe this is… I mean maybe the suspension…it might be a good…”
Alex chuckled slightly. A suspension would do little to prevent her from investigating anything. Cassidy needed the agent right now and so did Dylan. For the first time in Alex Toles’ life something was more important to her than the puzzle. “Just keep me in the loop, but quietly….All right?”
“You don’t want her to know,” Fallon offered.
“I want her to heal, Fallon. She got lucky, physically. That wall, it’ll crumble. We both know that. The last thing she needs is constant reminders from me. Reminders of him…of…”
“Speaking from experience?” There was a great deal Brian Fallon did not kn
ow about his partner. He did know there were things in Alex’s past that still haunted her. He’d seen the ghosts appear in her eyes during a few investigations.
Alex nodded. “I am. But, Fallon? I need you to keep an eye on O’Brien and Brackett.”
“You don’t think Cassidy’s still in danger?”
“I think,” she paused and pulled him away from the room, “that whatever he is into puts everyone in his life at risk. I don’t think; I know.”
“You don’t….” he continued when his partner cut him off.
“No. I don’t think Cassidy is in any immediate danger; or Dylan. Otherwise, Fisher would have succeeded. They would have made sure of THAT. Just keep an eye out; keep working that accident. Brackett thinks we’ve dropped it. There’s something there, some link. If I don’t answer, well…”
Cassidy was emerging from the room and Fallon watched the expression on his partner’s face transition. He’d never expected to see Alex Toles like this. Cassidy clearly meant everything to his friend. It was written on her face more plainly than any evidence he had ever uncovered. He’d watched his partner on the plane earlier as she coordinated people and facts. Every time there was a moment of silence he would see the normally composed agent fighting just to breathe. Alex was a puzzle to him sometimes. She liked to seem in control, almost cool, but she was anything but hard.
Two years ago Fallon had been hit by a car as he pursued a suspect. His head injuries were severe and he spent five days in an induced coma. The recovery was slow and he was fortunate not to have any major memory loss or compromise to his motor functions. Alex took care of his wife, Kate, and his kids for three weeks. She made certain that someone was with them around the clock when needed. She drove the kids to sporting events and the hospital. He wondered if she had slept at all those weeks; working and taking over all of her partner’s duties including caring for his family. Alex shrugged it off. Loyalty was one of his partner’s most admirable qualities. Brian Fallon knew no matter what the agent said, Alex’s sense of loyalty was born from compassion. Cassidy brought that into clearer focus. It was time, Fallon thought, that he return the favor. He smiled as Alex placed her arm tenderly around the teacher. “Fallon, why don’t you come with us; stay at Nick’s tonight. You are more than welcome,” Alex offered.
Brian Fallon flashed a heartfelt smile to the women before him. “Nah. I promised Ferro a beer. Don’t get to see him much.”
Alex knew that was a lie. Ferro was likely still at the scene. She knew his type well and she knew her partner. “Okay.”
As they began to make their way out Cassidy took hold of Fallon’s hand. “You’re a good friend, Brian,” she said to him softly. “Thank you.” Fallon smiled at the younger woman and when he looked to his partner, he saw it. There was an unmistakable tear running down Alex’s cheek as she acknowledged him.
“Anytime,” he answered as they took their leave.
“Cass?” Alex called gently across to her lover as she parked the car. “Hey…”
Cassidy sat looking out the window. “What am I supposed to tell him, Alex? He’ll see…”
Alex tightened her grasp on the small hand that sat atop her leg. “I don’t know. He’s going to find out something; it’s everywhere.”
Cassidy threw her head back onto the seat and covered her eyes. “He’s six.”
Alex felt her body tense. Cassidy was right. No six year old should have to confront this type of harsh reality. Someone had hurt his mother. It was all over the television. It would be in all the newspapers by morning. He had just dealt with his father’s accident and now his mother. The agent was seething and she didn’t want Cassidy to see that. Alex knew eventually Cassidy would have questions. How did Alex know? And then, she would have to reveal that it was the congressman that tipped her off. He was indirectly responsible for this. She wanted nothing more than to nail his coffin shut right now. She wanted to bear down and root out who was responsible. And, she felt little need for mercy. Alex wanted to punish the people who caused this, all of them, the congressman, whoever he was involved with, Brackett, the press. But, that was not what Cassidy and Dylan needed from her now. They were her priority and they both needed to know that. She needed them to feel secure; to feel secure with her. She took a deep breath and gently kissed the small hand in her own. “We don’t need to tell him anything tonight. He’s in bed…let’s just go in and see him…when he sees you are all right…he’ll feel better. We’ll figure out what to say tomorrow.”
The smaller woman turned to face the agent. “And then?”
“I don’t know…. Cass…”
Cassidy’s mind was racing and at the heart of all of her concerns was her son. “What about school? There’s no way to shelter him…”
“Cassidy, listen to me. You are safe. He is safe and I will do whatever it takes to keep you both that way even from the press, even from school mates, even from….”
Cassidy let a smile creep onto her face as she looked into Alex’s eyes; just a faint glow from the moon and the porch light gave Alex’s expression away. “You’re rambling.”
Alex nodded. “I’m sorry. I just… don’t….I won’t let….”
“I know,” Cassidy said seeing the pain in Alex’s eyes. This, the teacher understood, had been painful for all of them. She couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Alex to be so far away with so little control. And yet, she knew that Alex would find a way to get home; a way to get ‘home’. “Let’s go,” Cassidy said squeezing the agent’s hand. Alex sighed. Another hurdle they would need to clear. Somehow, she knew that they would.
Rose could not contain her emotions as Cassidy and Alex walked through the door. She immediately embraced her daughter with her tears flowing freely. “I’m all right, Mom… really,” Cassidy assured her mother.
The older woman looked at the agent and then took her into a hug. “Alex…Thank you…thank you for…”
The agent was still wrestling with her own guilt. “I don’t deserve any…”
“Yes you do,” Rose said stepping back and looking at the agent and her daughter. “I’m just so glad you are safe.”
Cassidy smiled and looked at Nick. “He’s upstairs,” the man answered knowingly. “Alex…he wanted to sleep in the bunk beds with Cat. He did pull the bottom.”
Alex shook her head and smiled. She took Cassidy’s hand. “Come on.” Alex opened the door to the room. A night light gave off a slight glow and the light from the hallway peeking in highlighted a small face in the lower bunk. She felt Cassidy’s body begin to tremble and she tightened her grip on the woman’s hand. Cassidy took a deep breath and quelled her mounting emotion as they approached the bed. “Hey… Speed, wake up,” Alex gently called to him. Seeing small eyelids begin to flutter she continued. “Someone wants to say goodnight,” she said.
“Mom?” He woke and wrapped his arms around his mother’s neck.
“Hey, sweetie…I’m sorry it’s so late… just a crazy day.” She held him tightly to her. “I had to wait for Alex to come and pick me up.”
“Why? Where were you?”
“You don’t need to worry, sweetie…Okay?” In the light she could see that her young man was not so convinced. Dylan was a bright and intuitive boy. Cassidy ran her hand over his small head and ruffled his hair affectionately. Dylan looked at Alex; questioning her with his eyes. Cassidy watched and continued, “Alex is home now, Honey… We’re all okay.”
Alex smiled and took a seat next to her two favorite people on the edge of the bed. “Get some sleep, Speed Racer. It’s late. Tomorrow we’ll all have breakfast together. Okay? We’ll spend the day here with Uncle Nick.”
“I have school,” he looked at his mother.
“Well,” Alex said, “not tomorrow.” She smiled. “Tomorrow, we have other things we need to do.”
“What?” He asked.
“Ah…. That’s tomorrow, Speed. Get some rest.” Alex kissed him on the head.
Dylan looked at his
mother who smiled broadly at him. “I love you, Mom,” he said grabbing onto her again and sensing in her that she was somehow sad.
“I love you, too Dylan, Alex is right…get some sleep. Okay? We’ll be here when you wake up.” She held him for another minute and then tucked him back in. Slowly she made her way back to her feet where Alex’s arm swiftly wrapped around her waist and guided her to the door. She turned back and looked at the small boy already being reclaimed by his dreams. “God, Alex….”
“It’s okay. We’re all here now,” Alex said closing the door and pulling Cassidy to her.
“I just want to…” Cassidy struggled to speak. “I don’t think I can…”
Alex understood. “You don’t need to go back down there, Cassidy. Come on.”
“My mother…. and I should really thank Nick and…”
Alex shook her head and lifted Cassidy’s chin. “No. YOU should follow me. I will run you a bath. You relax. I will get our things. I will talk to your mother and you can see Nick and Barb tomorrow. They live here, remember?”
Cassidy couldn’t help but smile. “What did I do to deserve you?”
Alex kissed the woman’s forehead. “I think you have that backwards….Come on.”
Cassidy got out of the bath and found sweats and a baggie T-shirt laid out for her. Alex was still downstairs. She was certain the agent was answering questions to keep Cassidy protected. The teacher smiled and climbed into the bed. She was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally, but she was so grateful to be here. There was no way, she realized, that she could sleep in her own house right now. She didn’t even want to walk back in there. A hotel would have been cold. Alex thought of everything. She rolled to her side and hugged her pillow, closing her eyes. The toll from the day captured her and her body gave over to sleep. Alex walked quietly into the room and threw on her long T-shirt and shorts. She slid under the covers next to the small figure in the bed and nestled her face into the long blonde hair. She inhaled deeply; the faint scent of Cassidy’s shampoo invading her senses. “I love you, Cass,” she whispered.
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