The Lies That Shatter by A.V. Asher

Chapter Forty-Four

Mercedes took in the vineyards, rolling through the green and gold hills of California. Alec’s expression was calm, but she knew he was a wreck underneath the surface. They could be walking right into a trap, and Adam Wilson was a scary son of a bitch.

When they finally turned onto the long dirt driveway, Mercedes was struck by how normal it looked. This didn’t have the feel of an assassin’s home. Not that she had any idea what that might look like.

It was a cozy little place with a large wraparound porch. Poppies and daisies filled the flower beds and clothes were set out on a line.

Alec was approaching the house like Adam might come barreling out. His hand was hovering behind his back, the way he did when he wanted his gun handy.

The front door burst open and two giggling children came scampering out, each with a bright red popsicle in their small hands. Alec straightened, moving his hand to his side.

The dark-haired girl with wide blue eyes stopped when she saw Mercedes and Alec.

Mercedes decided it might be better for her to talk to the little girl first. “Hi sweetie, is your mom home?”

The girl tilted her head and surveyed the two of them.

Oh, that’s Adam’s kid all right.

“Mom!” the girl shouted through the screen.

“Yeah?” a voice called from inside the house.

“There’s some people here.”

“Okay.”

The girl scampered off, chasing after the boy. They squealed their way out to a small chicken coop on the side of the stable.

A second later, Shannon Barlow stepped out onto the porch. She was definitely the woman from the photo, but she was much thinner. So thin her cheeks were shadowed and gaunt. The space between her collarbone and shoulder was sunken under her oversized tank top. Her eyes and skin had an odd hue to them.

She tilted her head. “Can I help you?”

Alec flashed a brilliant smile and pulled off his sunglasses. “Oh aye, ma’am. My name is Alec, and this is Sadie. I was wondering if Tim Barlow might still be around these parts.”

A wariness crossed the woman’s face. “How do you know Tim?”

“I met Barlow years ago, when I was in the Royal Air Force. He saved my life.”

Her eyes widened. “He did?”

“Aye. We were stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Barlow and I had a few joint maneuvers together and we became mates. This one day, our group was ambushed. The strike was quick and bloody. I lost quite a few mates there that day.”

Alec had thickened his accent considerably. He was even drawing Mercedes into his story.

“I was shot just here.” Alec tugged on his neckline to expose his scar. “And I was quite out in the open, nearly blacking out from the pain, and pinned down by gunfire. Then Barlow comes out of nowhere, grabs me and drags me behind a vehicle. He helped a couple of others cover our location until backup came.” Alec frowned and looked away. “I dinna ken what might’ve happened if Barlow hadn’t been there.”

Did he say ‘dinna ken’? He was laying the accent on really thick now, but Shannon appeared enthralled.

“So, I was in the Bay Area for a bit, visiting my darling’s family before we go back to Edinburgh.” Alec drew Mercedes to his side. “And I hoped I could catch up with the man who saved my life. Maybe buy him a beer. This is the last address I could find for him.”

The lies rolled off his tongue, sweet as honey. If Mercedes didn’t know better, she would have thought he was actually trying to connect with his old mate. Of course, the American who had saved Alec was Mason Wright. This story wasn’t far off from the truth.

Shannon smiled. “I don’t know much about Tim’s time in the service. He wasn’t allowed to talk about his missions. Unfortunately, Tim hasn’t lived here in quite some time. We’ve been separated for years, although we’re still on friendly terms. He occasionally pops in to see the kids, but we don’t see him as often as we’d like.”

There’s no way this woman knows about Adam’s full-time gig.

Alec nodded. “Oh, would you happen to know where I might find him?”

Shannon shifted her feet. “I don’t have his address. He moves around too much. And no offense, but I don’t want to give out his number to strangers.”

“Oh aye, that’s totally fine. I understand.” Alec held his hands out. “But might there be a way you could call him and tell him I’m here? Or maybe I can leave my number and you can pass it along. I’m only in town for another few days though.”

She looked between Mercedes and Alec. Mercedes offered her a smile, hoping she set Shannon’s mind at ease. “Sure, I can do that,” Shannon said, her shoulders relaxing. “Would you like to come in and get out of this heat? I just made a fresh pitcher of sun tea.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely. Thank you.” Alec once again flashed that sweet smile.

Shannon grinned and beckoned them to follow her. Mercedes squeezed his hand to stop him. He looked at her with his brow furrowed.

She leaned into his ear and whispered, “We are sooo gonna have a conversation about that accent.”

His lips turned up into a smile. “Aye?”

Mercedes nodded and turned to follow. This time, Alec stopped her. “Sadie.”

“Yeah?”

“What the bloody hell is sun tea?”

Mercedes snorted. “It’s iced tea that’s made in the sun.”

Confusion crossed his face. “How do you make tea in the sun?”

She snickered. “Just drink it. You’ll be fine.”

* * *

You can tella lot about a person by seeing their home. Alec studied the quaint little farmhouse, trying to discern if Adam Wilson had ever been here. All the evidence indicated only Tim Barlow had ever been allowed into this world. School pictures and family candids were everywhere. The fireplace was covered with pictures and knickknacks that mothers collect from their children’s art classes.

A few photos of a young Tim Barlow with his children hung on the wall. None of them were recent. Alec figured Tim moved away from the family about five or six years ago.

Shannon brought Alec a glass of her sun tea and he thanked her. Mercedes was already sipping on hers, an amused look on her face. Alec took a drink. The tea was a touch too cold and sweet for his liking, but he drank politely.

Alec breathed in deeply. “What is that delicious aroma? Are you baking?”

Shannon gave him a broad grin. “I have some banana nut bread I just took out of the oven. It’ll be ready in a few.”

The door burst open, and two little balls of energy rocketed into the room. Shannon scolded them for being sticky and turned her attention to wiping them down before they touched anything.

“Who are you?” the blue-eyed boy asked.

Shannon nudged her son. “Where are your manners?”

He immediately looked contrite. “Sorry.”

Alec laughed and held his hand out to the boy. “That’s no problem mate, I’m Alec. I’m a friend of your father’s. Nice to meet you.”

A smile spread on the little boy’s face. “I’m Jackson. Do you know where my dad is?”

“‘Fraid not, lad. I’m looking for him myself.”

“Oh.” Disappointment made his little face drop. This boy loved his father.

The dark-haired girl named Maisie had taken a keen interest in Mercedes. She tugged her by the hand into the living room and was pointing out all her art projects. Mercedes was admiring them the way one would at a gallery.

Shannon had her phone in her hand, and she was swiping her hand on the screen.

“This is a lovely place. Do you own the vineyards?”

“My family does, sort of a generational thing. Our tasting room is off the highway, my great-grandfather built the house behind it. My father runs it now, but when he retires, it’ll be up to me and my cousins.”

“Do you work for the winery too?”

“I used to. But I had a bit of a health scare a few years ago and my family stepped up to help. I work a few days a week in the office, but mostly I’m home now.”

The health scare wasn’t over. Shannon’s coloring, along with her fragility, told him she was still deep in a crisis.

She offered him a polite smile and put the phone to her ear. “I’ll give Tim a quick call now.”

Alec’s heart rate climbed. Once Adam knew they were here, they would be exposed. He only hoped the man was too far away to do anything about it.

Maisie now had a small violin on her lap, and they were deep in conversation about the workings of the bow. Mercedes was pointing along the fine hair of the bow, and Maisie was watching diligently. She seemed to have found a mate.

Shannon joined him again, tucking her phone in her pocket. “I left a message. He usually gets right back to me. You’re welcome to hang out for a bit to see if he calls back.”

Alec covered his nerves by taking a sip of the over-sweetened tea.

“Mom,” Maisie said. “Sadie knows how to play all kinds of instruments. She used to play in symphonies.”

Shannon smiled. “Wow, baby. That’s so cool.”

“Alright, kiddo,” Mercedes said to Maisie. “Let’s hear what you got.”

The little girl grinned and put the violin to her chin and belted out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. Mercedes watched, her full attention on the little girl’s playing.

“It’s so good to see Maisie so friendly with your girlfriend. She’s usually so shy.” Shannon said, her expression soft.

Without warning, Shannon’s shoulders slumped, and she reached for the doorway for support.

“Oh, hey,” Alec said in alarm, wrapping his arm around Shannon’s waist. She was skeletally thin, his fingers able to feel the ridges of her ribs and spine. Her legs were barely holding her up. Alec set his glass on the nearest shelf and pulled her closer to him. “Put your weight on me, lass. I won’t let you fall.”

Shannon held on to him, but her grasp was so weak. Mercedes had scrambled off the sofa and set a pillow down. Alec helped Shannon to lie down, her body trembling. A thin sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead and her breathing was labored.

Maisie’s wide eyes were on Shannon. “Mom?”

“Sweetie, let’s go get a cold cloth for your mom,” Mercedes said. “I’m sure she’s okay. It’s such a hot day and we need to cool her down.” Mercedes caught Alec’s eye before she let Maisie lead her to the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry,” Shannon breathed. “This is pretty embarrassing.”

Alec checked her pulse. It was way too slow. “Nonsense, I’m glad we were here.”

Mercedes came back with a washcloth and laid it across Shannon’s brow.

“Thank you,” Shannon said, putting her hand over the cloth.

Mercedes sat next to Alec on the coffee table. “Is there someone we can call for you?”

“No thanks. I just get lightheaded sometimes, but it always passes quickly.” Shannon sat up and gave a weary smile. “I had a rare form of cancer a few years ago. I’ve been receiving treatments ever since. It saved my life but lately I’ve been struggling. The doctors all swear it hasn’t returned, but something doesn’t feel right.”

“I’ve heard chemo can really take it out of a person.” Mercedes said, studying Shannon’s face. “And you’ve been doing it for years?”

“Oh, I’m not doing chemotherapy. It doesn’t work on my type of cancer. I’ve been a part of a clinical trial for a few years.”

Oh, shit.

Mercedes tilted her head. “Oh, I read an article about different trials for cancer recently. Some look really promising. Which company is your trial with?”

“Cooper Pharma.” Shannon smiled wryly. “I know they’ve had a lot of bad press lately, but they gave me these last four years with my kids.”

Motherfucker. All the pieces were finally in place.

“That’s wonderful,” Mercedes said. “How does one even go about getting into a trial like that?”

Alec narrowed his eyes. Mercedes had dealt with medical cases for most of her career as an attorney. She knew bloody well how patients accessed clinical trials.

“I just got a phone call out of the blue one day. They said they had room and wanted me to come in that week.”

“Wow, and your doctor didn’t have to submit your name or do any preliminary tests to make sure you were eligible?”

Shannon shook her head. “No. They already had everything they needed. It was a brand-new trial and my doctors didn’t know about it at the time.” Shannon stood, her feet seeming to be sturdier under her. “It was like God was watching out for me.”

Mercedes met Alec’s gaze, her brow furrowed. She gave a little shake of her head, confirming what he suspected. Clinical trials didn’t work that way.

God? Or the Devil himself?

This poor woman had no clue the number of crimes that had been committed in exchange for her life.

Shannon’s phone buzzed, and Mercedes’s eyes widened. Alec tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“Hey you!” Shannon answered it, with only a subtle quiver in her voice. “Thanks for calling me back.”

Alec watched her face, waiting for it to change to alarm, but her grin never faded. “Yeah. I’m fine. His name is Alec.” She tilted the phone away from her ear. “What did you say your last name was?”

“McKinley.” Alec held his breath.

“Yeah, Alec McKinley. You were at Bagram together. Sure.” She held the phone to Alec. “He remembers you. Here you go.”

Mercedes’s breath hitched, and he gave her hand a quick squeeze. Then he stood and accepted the phone from Shannon. “Bloody hell, Barlow. How many years has it been?”

“Motherfucker, you’re playing with fire.” A deep voice snarled at him.

“At least seven, I think,” Alec replied, ignoring the threat in his tone. He looked at Shannon. “Do you mind if I take your phone outside? I’ll just be a few minutes.”

“Sure.” Shannon waved him on.

Alec stepped out of the house and was nearly to the stables across the dirt driveway before he put the phone to his ear again.

“Hello, Mr. Barlow,” Alec growled, dropping the friendliness. “It’s high time you and I had a chat, don’t you think?”