Doctor Cassidy stared at her for a moment. "I know what I saw. I believe he cares for you."
"I think he does, in his way, but it isn't enough. I need to make arrangements to take care of myself and my daughter." Sky wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I'm sorry for dropping this on you, but you were the only ones I could ask."
"It isn't a problem. Have you told Kadey you're leaving?" Keelee pushed her own plate away from her.
"No, I'll explain it tomorrow morning."
Keelee nodded. "I'll explain it to Lizzy. Well, okay. I'll meet you here at eight tomorrow morning? We'll get you packed up and on your way. I'm sorry to see you go."
Sky smiled and reached across the table, squeezing Keelee's hand softly. "I never meant to be here permanently. I don't know what I would have done without you two. I appreciate your friendship and hospitality." She turned to Doctor Cassidy. "If you would let me know how much I owe Guardian? For the flight, the medical expenses? Your time?"
The doctor brushed away her concerns, "It was all donated. You don't owe us anything."
Sky blinked back tears and nodded. "Then thank you very much. I'll grab Kadey, and we'll go."
"Let her spend the night? I know Lizzy will be heartbroken when Kadey leaves." Keelee glanced into the living room where the two girls were brushing the manes of Lizzy's toy ponies. "But children are resilient and so are you. I'm glad I got to know you Sky."
"And I you." Sky hugged both the Cassidys, made sure Kadey was okay with staying, and then made her way back to the main house. She'd be able to pack faster with Kadey not 'helping.'
"Why can't Lizzy come with us on our adventure?" Kadey sat in the borrowed booster seat that Doctor Cassidy had strapped in. He added foam to the seatbelt across Kadey's chest to prevent any rubbing or chaffing of the incision site.
"Because her mom would miss her the same way I'd miss you." Sky watched the bank doors as Keelee exited the facility. The woman headed straight to the SUV that Sky was borrowing. She'd figure out how to return it once they got situated. Keelee assured her they rarely used the vehicle and they had other ranch trucks they could use if needed.
"Here you go. I added some in there to keep you going for a little while. That's my gift to you. Pay this forward. I'm blessed that I don't need the money or the vehicle and I don't want repayment. I signed the title over to you last night. It's in the glovebox. Register it in whatever state you end up in. It's yours.
Sky took the envelope with shaking hands and brushed away the tears that fell.
"Momma, is it dusty again?"
Sky nodded. "Yeah baby, it's really dusty today." She looked up at Keelee. "Thank you. For everything."
"You take care of yourself. I put my number on the back of that envelope. Call me and let me know you made it alright."
"I will. Thank you." Keelee smiled sadly and blinked back tears. "Take care of yourself, Kadey. Maybe come back and visit, okay?"
"Okay! Bye Miss Keelee."
Keelee tapped the side of the vehicle twice and turned away. Sky put the truck in gear and headed south. They had a long way to go.
"She's gone?" Zane glared across the desk at Adam Cassidy.
"Yes."
"Why did you let her go?"
"Right. I'm supposed to make her stay when she obviously believes this guy has been actively avoiding her. The man hasn't even told her that he loves her. What would your woman do if you fucked up and treated her like she was a convenient hole? I know what Keelee would do. She'd pick up, take off and make a life for herself. And I'd be lucky if she didn't castrate me first. Sky is protecting herself. This guy is someone you used to work with, you deal with it." Adam got up and stormed out of the small office that Zane was occupying.
He rubbed his hands over his face.Damn it, Ani, you really fucked up. He grabbed the secure line and dialed Asp's number. Since Anubis had gone silent, Zane had communicated through Asp, who wasn't supposed to be out of the country on a mission without going through his psych eval. The line rang and rang… and rang. Fuck!
Zane got up and walked to the next office where Jewell was working. Her hands flew over the keyboard as she looked up. She continued typing as she smiled at him. He had no idea how she did that. He'd end up typing in hieroglyphics if he tried.
"Babe, I need you to do something for me… off the books."
Jewell's hands stilled, and she cocked her head at him. "What?"
"I need you to find an asset that has gone silent."
"Kaeden?"
"Yeah."
"Well, it just so happens when he didn't answer your call when you told Sky you'd talk to him, I started working on that."
"Have I told you how much I love you?" Zane bent down and laid a long, needy kiss on his woman.
"Many times, but please, by all means, tell me again."
Zane moved around her desk and sat on the edge. He lowered and brushed his lips against hers.
"Oh, if going off the books gets me kisses, how about I break a few more protocols and then maybe we can make love in this office?" She waggled her eyebrows at him.
"Anytime, babe… well, after Jacob gets here, because I'd hate for him to walk in on that."
Jewell scrunched her nose. "Mood officially ruined. So, why do you all of a sudden need to know where your asset is?"
"Sky left this morning." Zane watched Jewell process the information.
"No."
"Yep."
"Fuck me." Jewell leaned back in her chair.
Zane chuckled. "Again, I will, but not here."
Jewell popped forward and punched him on the arm. "Be serious."
He rubbed the spot where she'd hit him. The woman had some strength in her. He'd make her kiss it better… later. "From what I got from Doc, she was pretty damn sure he wasn't coming back for her. He fucked up and didn't bother to tell the mother of his child that he loved her."
"Does he?" Jewell leaned back in her chair and looked up at him. "You told me that the men in your old profession were wounded, that some were too fucked up to walk in the light again. We all know Joseph's wickedly fucked up, but he's adapting." Jewell's brother was a Shadow that had portrayed his own death on a world stage. The assassin known as Fury was officially dead, yet very much alive. His wife and son were the tethers that kept that loose cannon from exploding. Everyone, including Joseph, understood that fact.
Zane grabbed Jewell's hand and held it while he examined her fingers. He'd like to believe Ani had the capacity to care for his family, but the truth was he wasn't sure. Ani had been in the dark for so long that maybe the woman and child were better off without him. He brought his eyes up to look at his fiancée. Thank God, he'd been able to make the transition back into the light. "I don't know."
"You can't save everyone, Zane. If Kaeden wants this life with Sky and Kadey, then he's going to have to fight for it, like you did." Jewell stood up and scooted between his legs before she looped her arms around his neck. "Maybe your friend needs a wake-up call. Sounds to me like Sky is giving him his critical moment."
Zane smiled and moved in for a kiss. Jewell leaned away from him. "You need to let him figure this out for himself. You can't force him to become a family man."
"I know, but God, I hope Anubis finally catches a break."
Chapter Twenty
Anubis sat in the passenger side seat and watched the pine trees go by. Their flight had been delayed by two days out of Suriname due to heavy rains. They'd missed their connecting flight and had been booked onto a flight that had been oversold resulting in them getting bumped. To say his patience was at an end would be a critical understatement. Asp had taken every setback in stride, but he was fucking over it.
"This place is way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere, isn't it?" Asp slowed as they approached the turnoff to the Marshall Ranch.
"It is." He couldn't wait to see his g
irls. He should have called when they got back to the States, but he didn't know Sky's new cell number. He could have called the complex and been patched through, but seriously, after almost a month, what was a couple more days? He'd see her in person soon, and they could sit down and figure out where to go from here. Anubis stared at the cattle that dotted the vast expanse of rolling hills. Walking away from the Shadow World would take determination, but Bengal had done it. Fury had managed it in a way that nobody expected. He was at least as intelligent as those two. He'd figure it out. Somehow.
"Wow. Would you look at that?" Asp pointed at the front windshield.
Anubis gave an internal snort of laughter at Asp's reaction and turned his head in the direction of the man's gesture. The mansion. Granted, it was a log cabin, but the place could have housed royalty. Word on the street was that the King's stepfather had built it by hand. They drove through a small valley and past the ranch buildings at the base of a large hill.
"Fuck me, standing." Asp slowed down and gaped at the vast expanse of the training complex behind the ranch.
The change that had happened since Anubis had left was awe-inspiring. There were at least twenty new structures since he'd last visited almost six years ago. The airstrip now had a small control tower. Fields of solar panels spread to the east and several large wind turbines dotted the field. Anubis picked out the hospital, and the comms facility was easy to spot with the array of antennas and security fencing around it.
"Park over there." He directed Asp to the closest parking lot. He'd start at the hospital. Doctor Cassidy would be able to tell him how Kadey was and where he could find his woman. Asp followed him up the stairs and into the hospital. There wasn't a waiting area, just a long hall that housed the doc's, PT's, and pharmacist's offices. Anubis walked down the hall until he reached the office door that proclaimed Doctor Cassidy's name. He knuckled the doorframe and waited.
"He's on rounds. Can I help you? I'm Doctor King." Anubis and Asp turned at her voice. The curvy red-head smiled at them.
"I'm looking for my daughter. Kadey…" Fuck, he didn't know if Sky had used the alias or not.
"Oh."
That single word brought Anubis to high alert. He snapped his head toward the doctor. "Is she alright?"
"Oh, she's fine, but she's not here anymore."
"Excuse the fuck out of me?" Anubis growled the response at the woman. Asp put his hand on Anubis's arm. He shrugged it off.
The woman straightened her back and lifted her hand. "Don't. Don't use that tone with me. I'm not the one responsible for Sky and Kadey leaving."
"Then who is?" Anubis would find the fucker and take him out.
"I believe that would be you." Zane's voice shattered the tense moment.
Anubis spun on his heel. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"When was the last time you talked to Sky?" Zane crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Anubis.
"What the fuck does it matter to you?"
"Oh, it doesn't matter to me. It mattered to Sky. She assumed that you did what you always do, that you left her… again."
Asp sucked his teeth and shook his head. "Fuck, that's brutal, brother. He's been cleaning shit up so they could have a life."
Zane turned on Asp. "You are supposed to be on domestic R&R. I don't want to know how you know that."
Asp smiled at Zane-a wide smile filled with white teeth. "Then don't ask."
"Shut the fuck up!" Anubis cut the banter with his words. "Where is Sky?"
"Don't know. She borrowed a vehicle and cash, and she left. Three days ago."
Anubis snapped his mouth shut. She'd left and taken Kadey with her. He nodded his head. "It's for the best. They don't need me."
"Bullshit," That was the red-headed doctor. "Men. Are you all fucking idiots? Pull your head out of your ass before you lose that woman." She turned on her heel and headed down the hall, disappearing into an office. A loud slam of the office door put a period on her angry statement.
"She's right," Zane confirmed the woman's comments.
"Who the fuck is she because daaamn. All those curves. Oh, how I'd like to know them up close and personal." Asp looked down the hall after the woman.
"That is Fury's wife, so stand down, stupid," Zane growled.
"Wait? What? Fury's dead."
"You want to test that theory?" Zane arched his eyebrow in a challenge.
"Ahhh… that would be a no." Asp put his hands in his pockets like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Reprimanded but still wanting the treat.
Anubis had enough of the bullshit and took off down the hall. He needed to get away from people. He had to think. Asp's footsteps beside him brought him to a halt. "I need some time."
"Cool. I'll keep my mouth shut, but I'm not leaving you alone, or you'll do something stupid, and then I'll have to fucking clean it up."
Anubis glared at the man.
Asp shrugged his shoulders, his hands still in his pockets as he spoke, "Don't try to deny it."
"Fine. We passed a bar in the small town before we turned off to the ranch, I'm going there, and I'm getting drunk."
"Right, because you should be getting drunk instead of finding out where she went."
Anubis stopped and turned on Asp. "I have ways of making you shut up."
"Pshhh… you love me, but what's more important is you love that woman and your daughter. If it were me, I'd be calling in every favor I'd ever accrued. Hell, you don't even have to do that. All you have to do is ask Alpha to let you use Guardian's resources."
"Right, like he'd let me do that."
"I would."
Anubis closed his eyes and then opened them to glare at Asp. The shit-eating grin on the man's face proved the motherfucker knew Alpha was standing behind him the entire time.
"See how fucked up this has you? You didn't even hear him coming down a gravel path. You need to find her and settle this one way or the other. At least you'd know that she isn't running away from you before you can run away from her."
"What the fuck does that even mean?" Anubis swung to include Alpha in the conversation. Jacob King's expression was hard to read, and that was never good.
"I think he's trying to convince you she bailed on you before you could bail on her again." Alpha looked at Asp. "Food-that way." He pointed toward another building, and Asp spun on his heel, abandoning both of them without another word. Asp whistled as he walk-ran to the promise of food.
"Come with me."
Anubis watched as the man did an about-face with every expectation that Anubis would follow. He rolled his shoulders and groaned inwardly. He needed five minutes of peace and quiet to figure out what the fuck he should be doing, but it didn't look like that was going to happen anytime soon.
He followed his boss into the comms facility and processed in through security. He trailed Alpha into a large conference room and glared at Bengal. His woman was sitting beside him. He'd seen them together when he'd been given Boa's assignment. Fuck, that seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Sit your ass down." Alpha plopped into a chair and grabbed the nearby bag of chocolate. He poured a few of the mini-bars into his hand and tossed the bag back to his sister. Bengal reached down to the chair beside him and produced a tin of nuts and a bottle of water. "Dinner will be cooked by my mother, from food raised on this ranch. It will be safe for you to eat." Alpha unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it in his mouth. "Faas died. Yesterday."
Anubis nodded. The man hung on longer than he'd expected.
"Why use Polonium 210?" Zane spoke as his eyes focused on a tablet in front of him.
"If your woman was targeted for assassination and your child was to be used as bait to lure you out, what method of death would you have used?" Anubis asked.
"I would have peeled his skin off, one inch at a time." Bengal growled as he grasped Jewell
's hand, "but I wouldn't have risked radiation exposure to others and myself."
"There was little to no risk. The limo had a rear ventilation system, and the driver was using it. I'm well versed in security precautions. It was the most miserable death I could imagine for the bastard."
"We are considering that kill as a mission, so standard protocols will be in place. You've had two dossiers now without going through a go/no-go evaluation. You'll stay here until you've met our requirements."
Anubis stared at his boss. He wanted to rage at the order, to tell the man to go screw himself. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair instead. His anger at having his hands tied hinged on the fact he wouldn't be able to go after Sky and Kadey. His brain told him that letting them go, forever, was exactly what he should do. Then why the fuck did he want to tear down the building they were sitting in with a sledgehammer? Anubis dipped his head once, acknowledging Alpha's command.
Zane cleared his throat and pushed a folder across the table. Anubis flicked a look at Alpha and pulled the folder to him. He'd just been told he wasn't going out on any other missions until he had his fucking psych eval done, so what the fuck was this?
He lifted the cover and glanced at the top page. He looked up, his eyes shifting between Alpha and Bengal before he pulled the folder in front of him and read the words again. Alpha was restructuring the Shadow World operation. There were three positions that worked directly under Alpha. Bengal's name filled one block. The line of authority under his name ran through several people with CCS under their names. Computer specialists no doubt. Bengal would also be in charge of all the administrative functions, although Anubis had no idea what that would entail for an organization that didn't actually exist.
The second line of authority led to twelve boxes. He recognized Asp's control number. His wasn't included in the diagram. The line of authority also trailed through several blank boxes that had Logistics placed in the duty position.
The third line of authority under Alpha was one block. It was marked as the Architect. All the other lines of authority had broken lines between the leads and the down channel personnel showing a cross-management function. The identity of the Architect was a closely guarded secret, for obvious reasons. Who the fuck wouldn't want to know every deep cover identity and alias for all of Guardian? Hell, it was rumored the Architect performed duties for other agencies, too. The man was a priceless asset.
Anubis (Guardian Security Shadow World Book 1) Page 18
