“Ian, let her work. In addition to the hair and tissue samples, she needs to extract some bone marrow. She's being as careful as possible. He’s tiny. Maybe another twenty minutes.”
“I’m sorry, Kathy.”
Kathleen handed him a three-day supply of antibiotics. “Apologies aren’t necessary. I’ll call Hunt with a report. Keep the wound clean. Three days. Take them. When was your last tetanus shot?”
“The last time I got shot. Seven years ago. Why?”
When she pulled a loaded syringe from her pocket, Ian glowered.
Christian laughed. “I’m gonna tell Cassie.”
Ian rolled his eyes and his other sleeve.
Once his wound was taken care of, Ian and Christian joined Tony in his office. The Chase Group branch in San Diego was just a ten-minute drive from the cemetery. Tony pressed a button, and his office turned into a secure operations center. Windows turned opaque to prevent prying eyes from outside, and another device turned the room impenetrable from listening devices. A large plasma screen dropped.
“Our two shooters are former AFEUR, Colombian Special Ops. They’re mercenaries for hire. I can tell you right now that, without leverage, the survivor’s not going to talk.”
Christian shook his head. “I searched the guy I took down. Nothing. No ID. No tats. You said he was AFEUR? How come he was wearing boots made in the former USSR?”
Ian started to pace. “Find their car. They didn’t walk there.”
“Already on it. Another Russian connection. What is the tie to Cassie?” Tony's phone lit up. “Olivetti. Yeah…son of a bitch… Yeah, stay on it.”
He slammed the receiver down. “Man, what the hell are we getting into? Those two morons who were supposed to destroy the baby drove off a cliff in University City. They made the toe tag drop. It happened on the way back. Our guys saw it happen. The car went up in flames before it went over the edge. They’re gone. I’ll send our forensics folks to check it out, and I already have two on the drop site. This keeps up, Ian, and I’ll need another tactical team out here.”
* * *
Kieran thought about the conversation he had earlier with his brother. “I want you to take over the day-to-day operations at the company for a while. I need to focus on Cassie,” Ian had said.
“Maybe you have it wrong. Maybe you need to step back from Cassie,” he countered.
“I wish I could, but I can’t. If this were Monique, would you? I love her, Kieran.”
“You’re sure? I don’t need to tell you how fragile she is. I don’t think she’s able to withstand another loss. If you are trying to absolve some misplaced guilt, step back now.”
Ian looked up at him. “I know it’s fast to feel like this, but I can’t see my life without her in it. She’s beautiful, smart, honest, and caring. It kills me that she doesn’t believe it. The dinner we shared, a lifetime ago—she gets me.”
Kieran clapped him on the back. “I’ll do whatever you need.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Robert Bynum Jr. rented an isolated cabin in the Shenandoah Valley. He relaxed beside the shimmering pond in the late afternoon sun as he injected heroin into a vein between his toes. As warmth spread through his body, his eyes closed, his head full of sexual memories. Last night’s brunette was so hot when she begged him to stop. Her tear-drenched breasts tasted delicious while he bit them. Thoughts of another auburn-haired innocent crossed his mind. Flying on that cloud, he drifted off.
* * *
Leaning over Robert Bynum Jr.’s body, Monte checked for a pulse. Gloved hands picked up his cell phones, but he left the empty syringe and tourniquet in place. On his way back to the car to wait for the police, he made another call. “This is Monte. Both problems are taken care of. I’m sorry for your loss, sir.”
Senator Bynum leaned against his office wall on the other end of the call. “Thank you, Monte.”
A single tear dropped from his eye. It had to be done; he needed to mitigate the liability. He wasn’t aware of how long he stood as his mind drifted to a little towheaded boy running along the shoreline. That boy was gone long before today. The loud tones of his cell phone brought him back to reality.
“Senator Bynum, this is Captain Reginald Thompson from the Virginia State Police. I’m sorry, sir, but I have some bad news.”
* * *
“Breaking news. Robert Bynum Jr., son of Senator Robert Bynum, was found dead this afternoon at an isolated cabin in Washington County, Virginia. Virginia State Police had no further comment on the matter. We are sending our reporters to the scene.”
Kieran picked up his phone, and the call went right to voicemail. “No answer.”
