“You were supposed to tell me and let me decide!”
Her hands went to her hips. “You did decide when you left me!”
He shook his head and began pacing again. “This is different, Ashley. A boy needs a father.”
“He has a father. Josh adopted him.”
“If I had known...” How things would have been different if he’d known. Majorly different. Entirely different.
“What would you have done, Christopher? Would you have gotten out of the military? Would you have changed your mind and married me, anyway? What would you have done?” Her voice rose in pitch.
He raked his hand through his hair. “Maybe. Maybe I would have.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have let you marry me out of obligation. You didn’t love me enough to try to make it work before. No way would I marry you because you felt guilty.”
“Obligation?” His eyes felt like they might pop out of their sockets. “Ashley, marrying you was the only thing I wanted to do, and that was the problem. Your heart can’t be in two places. I couldn’t be fair to you and to the military.”
“And you made your decision. You were going to be a military man. That was your first love.”
“It wasn’t like that, Ashley.” He tried not to let defeat enter his voice, but with each word, he found his fight fading. Could he ever make her understand?
“I’ve tried for nine years to figure out exactly what it was like, Christopher, and if I haven’t figured it out yet, I probably won’t.”
He drew in a deep breath. He didn’t want to turn the conversation away from his son. Their son. “You should have told me, Ashley. It would have been the right thing.”
She raised her chin. “I got in my accident when he was only two months old. Josh and his wife took care of him for me for all of those months. When I looked at them together—” she sucked in a deep breath “—I knew what I had to do. I knew I couldn’t give him what he needed without a job, with my physical therapy, without a spouse. You have no idea how hard that pill was to swallow. I only wanted what was best for him.”
He jammed his finger into his chest. “Me. I would have been best for him.”
“You weren’t here, Christopher.” She shook her head and closed her eyes.
He sank back into the couch and buried his face in his hands. He’d been on the verge of confessing how much he cared about her. Then she’d dropped this bombshell. Any hope of rekindling what they’d had dissolved like yesterday’s snow. “I just don’t know what to say.”
“I realize you’re upset with me. I don’t blame you. As much as I tried to justify what I did, I’ve realized I made the wrong choice and I regret that.” Her voice cracked. “I’m going to give you some time to process everything.”
With that, she stood and crept away. He heard the click of her bedroom door a few seconds later.
Women. Would he ever understand them? He doubted it.
He wouldn’t even try right now.
Right now, he had to let the truth sink in. He was a father.
FIFTEEN
Ashley pressed her forehead against the door. In all of her self-righteousness, she’d hurt Christopher. He’d hurt her, too, so she’d thought it was okay. But that’s who she used to be. As soon as she became a Christian she should have called him and told him the truth. But she couldn’t undo the past now.
The conversation replayed in her head and made the pounding there even worse. How had she expected it to go? Had she expected that he’d be delighted and smiling the whole time?
How would she feel in Christopher’s shoes?
She didn’t know. She just didn’t know right now.
Her hand went to her stomach. All throughout her pregnancy with David she’d wondered what it would have been like to have a spouse by her side, someone who would delight in each kick and movement. Then she’d remembered that her fiancé had abandoned her, and eventually she resigned to the fact that she was alone.
A couple of people had suggested she terminate the pregnancy. She knew she could never do that. This was a baby inside her. Her baby.
Christopher’s baby.
If circumstances had been different, they would have had a wonderful life together as a family. It would have been filled with sweet evenings playing blocks and making cookies and exploring the backyard. But she’d never been a “what if” kind of girl. That wasn’t the way life had worked out. Everyone made their choices and you had to keep moving forward.
So why did her heart twist with regret?
Something moved across the moonlight shining in her window.
Her lungs tightened.
A shadow.
A shadow had passed her window.
She pulled herself up straight and stared at the window. Was that a person passing by? Had the men found them? Or was that the guard just making his rounds?
Funny, she’d never noticed him walking the perimeter before.
She wanted to peer out the window, to confirm that everything was okay.
But then the image of someone seeing her, the picture of a gun aimed right at her, filled her mind, and she remained frozen.
No, she had to get a grip. She could have just been seeing things, but before she went to sound the warning bells, she needed to look.
Drawing in all of her courage, she crawled toward the wall. Remaining low, she paused beneath the sill.
It was nothing. Her imagination.
If that was true, why were her limbs shaking so badly?
Her throat burned as she swallowed. Slowly, carefully, she rose up. At the corner of the window, she leaned toward the glass.
Please, just let me see woods and darkness. No men with guns. No leering figures.
The outside came into view. Trees. Darkness.
Her gaze continued to scan the area.
The movement she’d thought she’d seen was just a bird. Nothing to be worried about. Those men hadn’t found them. Again.
Her gaze reached the far side of its scope. So far, so good.
A slight movement at the side of the window caught her eye. She sucked in a scream. A man was pressed there, right against the side of the house next to her window.
And he was staring directly at her.
* * *
Christopher was still fuming mad. He couldn’t sleep, which was nothing unusual. Instead, he paced the living room, hoping the movement would help to sort out his thoughts.
How could she? How could she? That was the question that kept replaying in his mind. He’d thought more of Ashley, never that she’d be one to pull a stunt like this. She was always so well thought out and planned. She always put other people’s needs above her own. She was—
“Christopher, someone’s outside.”
He jerked his head toward the hallway and saw Ashley standing there with wide, panic-filled eyes. He stopped pacing, adrenaline crackling through the air. “What do you mean?”
She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. “I mean, there’s a man outside my window.” Her voice cracked as her words tumbled out.
His senses instantly went on alert, and he put his emotions aside. “Just one?”
“I only saw one.” Her gaze darted around the room. “Where’s Bruce?”
“He should be at the front door.” He paced over to the area, but there was no one there. He took a few steps closer, his hand going to the gun at his waist. “Maybe he stepped outside for a moment.” Even as he said the words, cold reality hit him. Christopher was never one to be blissfully optimistic. If Bruce wasn’t inside, there was a good chance he was in trouble.
She shook her head. “I hope not.”
“Stay back.” He walked toward the front door, bracing himself for battle.
“You’re not going out there, are you?” Ashley’s voice held a hint of desperation, of fear.
He didn’t want his heart to soften, but it did, anyway. He paused and lowered his voice. “We can’t sit here and wait for whatever’s going to happen. I’ve got to see what’s going on.”
“But if you walk outside you’re an open target.” Her fingers dug into his arm.
He stepped closer, keeping his voice even. “I’m trained. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m not going down until I meet my son.”
Her cheeks flushed. At least she had the decency to look halfway embarrassed. He cast those thoughts aside. There would be time for them later.
Ashley swallowed, her throat muscles looking tight and rigid as her hand slipped away from his arm, and she stepped back. “Be careful, Christopher,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Apprehension stretched across his shoulders as he put his hand on the doorknob. On the mental count of three, he pulled the door open. An empty porch waited for him.
He listened carefully for a sign of something—someone.
Nothing. He heard nothing.
The woods beyond the house appeared empty, but the dark spaces there could easily conceal someone.
But what if Ashley had simply been seeing things? What if it was just Bruce pacing the perimeter of the house? Still, her fear had been genuine.
He had to check things out.
He took his first step outside, his senses attuned to every movement, every sound. He held his gun, his muscles rigid and ready to fight. The cold air was no match for the beads of sweat that formed across his forehead.
A son. His son. He had to stay alive to meet him.
He had to find him to meet him.
He stayed close to the wall of the house as he crept around the building. His footsteps were light, not making a sound. Stealthlike, just as he’d been trained.
He paused at the corner then peered around.
Still nothing. No one.
Then a stick cracked in the distance.
Tension ratcheted his muscles. Someone was out there.
He raised his gun. Just what were they planning? How many people were out there exactly?
Lord, some supernatural help might be nice right about now.
Another stick cracked until a figure appeared from the woods. The man raised his hands in surrender as he approached. “We need to talk.”
Christopher still aimed his gun directly at the man’s chest. Adrenaline pumped through him. Images of Afghanistan flashed back. Insurgents. Suicide bombers—
No, this wasn’t Afghanistan. But these men might be just as deadly.
“Who are you?” Christopher growled.
The man’s hands remained raised in the air. As he came closer, Christopher noted that the man was probably in his late twenties with dark hair and he wore all black. “It’s a long story. I’d like to explain.”
Christopher didn’t trust that easily. “Where’s Bruce?”
“He’s okay. I just had to get him away for a few minutes so we could talk alone. With Ashley.”
“I’m not letting you get anywhere near her.” Christopher examined the man more closely. Why did he seem familiar? Like he’d seen his face in the crowds before? “You’re the man who’s been following us, aren’t you?”
“I can explain. If you’ll let me.” The man’s eyes looked honest. But the best of them could fool anyone.
Christopher kept his gun raised. “You better start explaining now before I pull this trigger.”
The man shook his head. “Listen, you don’t want to do that. I’m on your side.”
His muscles slacked—but just for a moment. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“Please, I’m with the CIA. I was assigned to track Ashley Wilson, to make sure she wasn’t working for His People. Like her brother.”
* * *
Ashley stared at the dark-haired man sitting across from them. Christopher had his cell to his ear and his gun aimed at the man. The CIA? Could the man’s story get any bigger or more glorified? There was no way she was caught up in some real-life spy mission. No way.
Christopher lowered his phone and sat down beside her. “Denton confirmed that he’s legit,” Christopher muttered.
The man—Ed Carter, he’d said his name was—nodded. “We worked together for two years. Mark Denton is a good man.”
Ashley wasn’t in the mood for chitchat. “Tell us where Bruce is,” Ashley demanded.
The man raised his hands and patted the air as if to say “calm down.” “I will, but only after you listen to me. I’m on a need-to-know basis. You’re not even supposed to know who I am, let alone your guard. Trust me. He’s fine.”
Fire ignited in her veins. “Trust you? I don’t even know you. Why would I trust you?”
He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his badge. “I’m with the CIA. My name is Ed Carter. I’m twenty-nine years old, and I’ve been trailing you for the past four days.”
“Why are you here? Why are you talking to us?” Christopher asked. “I want some answers. Now.”
The man raised his hands again. “I know. I know. And I’m going to give them to you.” He turned toward Ashley. “Maybe I should start with this explanation. TechShare is just a cover name for a CIA office.”
She blinked, trying to comprehend what he was saying. “A CIA office? What are you talking about?” There her mind went again, feeling like she was in the middle of some spy movie. Only this wasn’t a movie. This was her life—her upside-down, crazy, how-had-she-gotten-here life.
Ed Carter didn’t blink as his gaze connected with hers. “Ashley, your brother didn’t work for a corporation that was developing new computer software. He was recruited by the CIA to work in our cyberterrorism division. Your brother was not only proficient in hacking into systems, but he was also quite talented at developing viruses. He was, quite frankly, a genius.”
Where was he going with this? “So he was abducted by His People for his knowledge?”
Ed’s face remained grim as he shook his head. “Not quite. We think he was working for His People all along. We think he’s giving them information, for a price.”
She stood. “For a price? What are you talking about? My brother would never do that!”
Christopher pulled her back down. “Just hear him out, Ashley.”
Fury warmed her blood, though. How could this man think that? What proof did he have?
“Ashley, we found a large deposit that had been made into your brother’s checking account. We traced the money back to His People. There have been other signs that he’s been doing some illegal things. We think he started playing hardball with them and that’s when they snatched him.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m telling the truth, Ashley.”
“Don’t you guys always lie? Isn’t that what you do? Twist things around to get what you want?”
He stared at her, not bothering to repeat what he’d already said. Which made her even madder.
She heaved in a deep breath, trying to maintain her control. “Why have you been following me?”
Ed leaned on his elbows, looking casual and as if he did this sort of thing every day. “We suspected your brother may have been working with someone. We thought it could be you. I was hoping you would lead us to your brother.”
“You were the person who was outside his house that evening while Christopher and I were searching through his things,” Ashley said.
He nodded. “I was. I was there when the men demolished your house, Christopher. I’ve pretty much been your shadow since we realized Josh had disappeared.”
Ashley shook her head, trying to comprehend everything he was saying. “
Why didn’t you just follow those men in order to find my brother? Wouldn’t that make more sense?”
“They’re all just henchmen. They won’t lead us to the person we need to find.”
Christopher shook his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if we cut off their funding, then we essentially cut them off. But no one knows who’s giving these people all of their money. He’s guarded like a treasure. But someone, somewhere has got to be able to lead us to him.”
“You thought I was that person?” Ashley pointed to herself.
“It was our best guess. I’ve realized you’re looking for him yourself. That’s become obvious. It’s also become obvious that with the two of you being together, they can kill two birds with one stone.”
“What are you getting at?” Christopher asked.
Ed stared at Christopher. “I think you know what I’m getting at. Someone took down Abar Numair, the man who started His People. They may have restructured since then, but they don’t easily forget. Having you involved in this case is like a bonus to them. If they can kill Ashley and one of the SEALs who helped bring their leader down, then they’re twice as happy.”
Christopher straightened beside her. “No one knows I was on that team.”
“No, but if they had a computer hacker working for them, they might be able to find out highly classified information like that.” He raised an eyebrow as his words settled over them.
A chill spread through Ashley. This was getting worse by the minute. Maybe she didn’t want to know the truth. Maybe she should just find David and Josh, and not worry about any of the details.
But she knew she couldn’t do that.
“Let’s say all of that is true. How about me? I don’t understand why they’re trying to kill me. Why don’t they just let me fade into obscurity?”
“My theory, once I realized you weren’t working for them, is this. You saw your brother being abducted, and they wanted to make a statement that no one could get in their way. You could identify them and possibly even offer clues that would lead authorities to them—at least lead them closer. They don’t want anything or anyone to get in the way with their plan.”
High-Stakes Holiday Reunion Page 15
