Betrayal (31 page)

Cassidy walked down the long, narrow corridor beside the former first lady. She wondered how in the world her life had changed so dramatically in such a short period of time. Her fear was increasing with each step that brought her closer to the agent. She still had no idea what she would find. The idea of Alex helpless, Alex hurt, or Alex in pain was nearly unbearable. Images swirled through Cassidy’s thoughts as she attempted to steady her nerves. A tall, somewhat slender man in an officer’s uniform greeted them just shy of their destination. She noticed a smile sweep across Jane’s face as he extended his embrace. “Janie…”

“Matt,” Jane hugged him and pulled back. “How is she?”

The tall man looked at Jane and then turned to Cassidy. “You must be Cassidy.” Cassidy forced a smile and nodded.

“I’m sorry, Cassidy,” Jane began. “It was so crazy that day… So many people…You remember my brother, General Matthew Waters?”

He extended his hand and gripped the teacher’s firmly. “Just Matt,” he said before continuing to address them both. “She’s out of surgery.” Immediately, he noticed the color drain from Cassidy’s face. “She’s going to be groggy,” he said. “The bullet went in through her upper chest and lodged in her shoulder. They had to remove it. Thankfully, it didn’t do any major damage. The force of hitting the ground might be the worst for her with her back injury.”

“Is she…” Cassidy began as her body again began to shake.

“The surgeon assures me, she’ll make a full recovery. She was lucky she had on a vest. The second shot,” a grip of his sister’s hand stopped his explanation.

“Matt…”

“She’s right in here. She’s been asking for you since she got here,” he said leading them to the door of Alex’s room. “I don’t know if she’s awake.”

Cassidy was already pushing the door open. Alex had her eyes closed and her face was pale. Cassidy took a deep breath and covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to stifle her mounting tears. She made her way to the agent’s side and looked down on her. There was a large bandage wrapped around Alex’s right shoulder and an IV ran into her opposite arm. The monitors beeped steadily in Cassidy’s ear as she brushed the agent’s hair gently out of Alex’s face. She leaned down and placed a tender kiss on the agent’s forehead. “Alex,” she called softly. Alex licked her lips and an inaudible groan escaped her. “It’s okay,” Cassidy continued. “I’m here.”

Alex still couldn’t open her eyes, but the voice penetrated her. “Cass?” she managed. She had been calling for Cassidy for hours, sometimes imagining that her lover was already sitting beside the bed.

“It’s me.” Alex reached with her left hand slowly and Cassidy took hold of it. “You’re all right.”

“Mm….sorry…” Cassidy’s tears escaped in a sob as the agent’s fingers entwined with her own. “Don’t cry,” Alex whispered hoarsely.

“Alex…”

“It’s okay. Where’s Speed?”

Cassidy smiled and kissed the agent’s hand. “He’s fine, Alex. He’s with Mom.”

“Mm.” Alex wanted to speak but the sedation from surgery was still making it difficult.

“Are you in pain?” Cassidy asked trying to control her tears.

Alex shook her head ‘no’. “Drugs,” she tried to explain. Cassidy stroked the agent’s hand and kissed it again. Alex could feel the warmth of her lover’s tears as they fell onto her skin. She needed to see Cassidy and more than that, Cassidy needed to see her. She willed her eyes to open, if only as slits, and slowly the beautiful face she adored came into focus. “Missed you. Need my tacos,” she forced the hint of a smile. Cassidy’s sobs mixed with a heartfelt laugh as Alex’s eyes met hers. “Love you, Cass.”

“I love you, Alex. You scared me.”

“Sorry,” the agent strained to reply. “Tired.”

“I know. Sleep. I’ll be right here.”

“Cass?”

“What, love?”

“How did…”

“I’ll explain later. Jane brought me.” Alex smiled as her eyes closed again.

“Cassidy?” Alex’s grip tightened on the woman and Cassidy understood Alex had her own fears now. The agent hated hospitals. They reminded her of the past; a past that often plagued her dreams.

“It’s me. I’m not leaving. I promise.” As Cassidy’s words registered the agent began to relax. “I can’t lose you, Alex,”
Cassidy whispered as she sat in the chair beside the agent’s bedside, never releasing the hand that held her own. Seeing Alex in the bed helpless, even for a moment, resurfaced all of the teacher’s fears. She had never loved anyone the way she loved Alexis Toles. Alex was everything; the piece that completed the puzzle of her life. It was a piece she wasn’t certain she would ever find. “Alex, you are everything to me. I can’t lose you. I thought you left me,” she confessed through her tears.

Sleep was claiming the agent quickly but she managed one word. “Never.”

need you to send Dimitri to meet me,” Claire Brackett said. Viktor Ivanov ran his tongue over his teeth and considered her request. “Viktor?”

“I heard you. Why not Mercier?” he waited for her response.

“I don’t think Elliot will be meeting anyone soon.”

“Interesting.”

“Viktor….”

“The sparrow has sprouted teeth, then?”

“I need a cover,” she said.

“That man; he is with you?” Ivanov spoke with obvious contempt.

“
Da. On so mnoy
(Yes. He is with me).”

“
Berlin, v etot vecher. Hotel Adlon
(Berlin, this evening. Hotel Adlon).”

Brackett nodded. “Understood.”

“And, little Sparrow?” Viktor Ivanov took a brief pause. “
Ne dumaj choeto bezplatno
(Do not think this is a free pass).” With those words Claire Brackett heard the phone click and go silent.

“Well?” Christopher O’Brien asked impatiently.

“We are going to Berlin.” Before the congressman could comment the redhead continued, “And you…you will owe the Russians your freedom, Congressman.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we are going home.” She noted the relief on his face and chuckled. “And, it means you will have a debt owed.”

“You….”

She laughed and kissed him. “You have no idea, do you? Just stop trying to lead, Christopher. That is not what you were chosen for.”

“I am a…”

“You are a pawn on the board. Meant to follow. The sooner you accept that, the safer we will both be,” she told him.

“Cassidy?” The teacher picked her head up from her hands and glanced across to the attractive woman making her way through the door. “I brought you some coffee,” Jane said softly. Cassidy accepted the offering with a smile. “You look exhausted.” The morning had worn on Cassidy. There were calls she needed to make but she did not want to leave Alex’s side. “Why don’t you just go get a little air?” Jane suggested. Cassidy let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll stay with her.”

“Actually, I do need to call my mother and Alex’s family.” Jane was a bit surprised by the latter part of Cassidy’s statement, but pleasantly so. Alex’s estrangement from her parents and the effect that sometimes had on her relationship with her brother was no secret to Jane. She could sense Cassidy’s reluctance to leave as the teacher reached her feet and began to caress Alex’s forehead tenderly.

“I promise, I will stay right here. Go on.”

“I know…what if she wakes up and I’m not…..”

“Cassidy,” Jane placed her hands on the shorter woman’s shoulders. “If Alex wakes up, I will let her know you stepped out to call Rose. She’ll understand.” She leaned in and whispered to the teacher, “Go on.” When Cassidy turned her eyes had filled with tears and Jane took her immediately into a warm embrace. “I know.”

“I can’t lose her.”

“I don’t think there is a force on earth that could make that happen anytime soon. Not if Alex has anything to say about it.” Jane smiled and placed Cassidy squarely in front of her. She let out a sigh and smiled. “Loving them…it’s hard. They live a different life, Cassidy. That is who they are.” Cassidy nodded. She had realized that from the moment she met Alex. And, she knew that loving Alex Toles was its own rollercoaster ride. Jane looked over at Alex asleep in the bed. “She loves you. And, Alex,” Jane paused and turned back to Cassidy. “Well, John would have told you that she is the most loyal person he ever met. In that way, they are so much alike.” The older woman fought her own tears. She missed her husband. “It makes it difficult not to love them,” she chuckled. “They don’t give their hearts, though…not easily. You have hers. I could tell the moment I saw her at the hospital that day. I’d never seen that expression on her face.” She looked back again at the agent and then patted Cassidy’s hand. “I watched the three of you at the cemetery after John’s funeral. Strange. Seems to me you were meant to be together somehow.” Jane winked at the teacher. “Go. I’ll bet she is still sleeping when you get back. If not; I promise to keep her in that bed.”

Cassidy allowed a quiet laugh to escape her. There was truth in that statement. There was no way Alex was going to want to stay down, or in this place one second longer than she had to. “Thanks,” she said to the woman in front of her. “I still don’t know why you are so kind to me.”

“Oh? Well…love doesn’t come with conditions, Cassidy. Alex means a great to my family. Dylan, well…he is part of that family in his own way and that means you are too.”

Cassidy nodded her head. Jane was truly a remarkable woman and the more time she spent in the former first lady’s presence, the more she understood the love affair people had with her. She was controlled, like all good political spouses. But, she was much more, at least when it came to those that
she loved. Cassidy suspected Alex would describe her much the same way; loyal. As she reached the door, Cassidy turned back to see Jane smiling down at the agent and whispering something. There had been so much loss and so much change for them all. It seemed some days as if years had passed within what was only a matter of days. Perhaps, she realized, they too needed a moment.