Little White Lies

“A bomb or something hit the restaurant we were in shortly after. I’d never expected to be in the middle of fighting, Wyatt. I was never supposed to be-am not supposed to be. Stuart managed to get me out of there, back to the Embassy where Cael and James met me.

“I promised to explain everything to him-in detail. It took another eight weeks before we could get him out of South America. When we did, we brought him here.” Charley’s voice cracked. “After we explained everything, he begged me to tell you, but we made him promise… again.” She waved a hand as if to change her answer. “No, I did. His eyes welled, Wyatt… when I made him promise. He had to give you up because of me.

“He’s been a part of my family since then, in a variety of ways, but it’s always… always… always been my fault that he couldn’t tell you.”

Wyatt gave her no response, his face reflected no emotion.

And I have screwed up again. She turned to the door, opened it and stepped inside.

***

Wyatt followed Charley back through the house to the shared office. Her revelation gave him answers and loads of questions. They also suggested a few of her kind might have been part of some of his weirder assignments. As he thought about it, a few of those made even more sense. Hindsight really is twenty- twenty.

Cael, James and Stuart formed a wall in front of a monitor, their heads rising as Charley and Wyatt walked in.

James smiled, his grin directed to Charley. “Forensics came back with some interesting information, and we just picked it up in the files.”

Wyatt bristled as if he’d touched on James’s territory when it came to Charley. He banked the emotions and the war that started within him.

“What did you find?” Charley asked.

“Sit down, and I’ll explain.” Cael turned from the monitor. “I’d like Lily here if possible, though. I think the more she hears, the more she’s aware of what’s going on, the stronger she’ll be for it.”

“I can hang with Sophie if you want,” Stuart said. When all the faces in the room turned to him, he shrugged. “What? She’s asleep. I can handle that.”

“Go, Stuart. Send Lily. And thank you.” Charley patted his shoulder as he walked by. “But nothing to lead us to our boy or understand who took him, right?” Her hand gripped the desk as if she needed its support before the answer fell into her lap.

Wyatt wanted to put his arm around her but hesitated and tucked his hand in his pocket.

“No, not yet.” James passed her a look that broadcast his disappointment in silence.

Lily walked in a few moments later, and Charley patted the seat next to hers. Pinpoints of glitter dotted her cheeks where tears had fallen again. Hands between her knees, she shivered as Cael began.

Wyatt leaned to Charley’s ear. “Can I sit between you two?”

She looked at him like he’d gone looney, but when he pointed to a shivering Lily, Charley gave him her seat. He put one arm around Lily’s shoulders and pulled her tight as Cael’s gaze grew dark and dangerous.

“Keep going,” Wyatt said. “She’s cold.”

Lily nodded her agreement, and Cael turned back to his screen of graphs, numbers and lines.

Thank the Lord.

Wyatt wanted to offer the same to Charley but didn’t know how she would react. At least with Lily, Cael’s responses consistently suggested they were a pair and anything he did would remain in the realm of friendship.

“So, this…” Cael pointed to a red line. “… indicates force. And this…” He pointed to a green one. “… direction. According to forensics, and based on Sophie’s little bit of information, it suggests the assailant was female, and the little dissection of the voice on the phone does, too.”

“How can they tell that?” Lily asked.

“By her injuries, for one. It’s a lot of stuff I don’t understand but have come to rely on these guys to help in this way,” Cael told her. “From x-rays and her semi-conscious account, plus pictures, they measure the force it took to create the breaks in our furniture, the damage in the house. In Sophie’s case, her injuries were light-but Sophie’s small, so she succumbed quickly.”

“So a woman?” Lily whispered.

“Or women,” James said. “If someone attacked Sophie thinking she was Charley, she might have known of Charley’s strength. Why they opted to keep Chase is beyond what we can find here, though, and I can’t see him going down without try-”

“He’s just a baby,” Charley’s voice took an edge toward anger but mixed with desperation. “He can’t defend himself.”

James shook his head and smirked. “He’s eight, Charley. He’s not a baby anymore.”

Charley trembled like Lily, but the chill hit Wyatt, too, despite their lack of connection. Who is Chase, really?

“He doesn’t know what to do. He hasn’t been taught. He’s barely been away from us outside of Sophie.” Charley’s breath hitched.

Cael coughed under his breath.

“What?” Charley’s tone turned suspicious. She moved her hands to her lap as she stood.

“I-” Cael stopped and looked to James who nodded but rolled his eyes.

“Tell me what’s going on, right now!” She tapped a finger on the desk.

“Go ahead, Cael, tell her,” James said.

Cael heaved a sigh. “We showed him a few things.”

“You what? What did you expose him to? He’s too young, dammit, and we all agreed! Eleven at the earliest, thirteen to know, for sure.” She pounded one fist into the palm of her other hand as she berated them.

So Chase is one of them. In Montreal she’d called him her son. Her and James’s then?

“We just thought-” Cael started.

“You thought wrong.” Charley furrowed her brow, her lips pursed, nostrils flared.

Wyatt let a small laugh loose, and she turned on him.

“Have something to say to defend them? You don’t know anything about this. You get no opinion, nor options, nor ability to vocalize any thoughts.”

Wyatt raised his hands in surrender. “Okay.” He jumped in further than he should have. “But what if what they showed him… helps? Or saves him?”

The words must have hit the mark as her eyes glazed with tears. Wyatt readied himself for the onslaught of emotion.

Charley heaved a sob. “What if it doesn’t? They were after me.” She pointed to herself. “Me, Wyatt. If they know what I am, they can guess what he might be, and that alone could get him killed!” She ran from the room for the second time in the same night.

So he is Charley and James’s. Dammit.

Wyatt stood with the intent to follow but James stopped him.

“Hang on,” he said. “Give her a sec.”

Wyatt started to go again when Cael held up a hand. “Wyatt,” he said.

“What is with you guys? Don’t you know the rule? Guy runs after girl when she leaves in tears.”

“Guy in love with girl runs after girl in tears,” James said.

Either way. Do I love Charley or still love Mira or whatever? Wyatt kept his comments to himself.

“Can I just say one thing?” Cael asked.

Wyatt nodded.

“Thank you.”