Stolen Hearts

by Marci Bolden

  Alexa shook her head. “No way. She may play like she’s tough as steel, but she loves Jack. We are family, and Holly would want her family to share in this. Speaking of which, did Jack invite her father?”

  “I don’t know. But Jack is bringing Najwa.”

  Jack’s mother was an angel determined to have grandchildren. She’d been pushing for Jack to wed Holly before they’d even settled into dating. Now that he was proposing, it probably wouldn’t be long before they did have kids. A real family. Alexa didn’t want to feel jealous of her friend, but there was that nagging in the back of her mind again.

  Sam sighed wistfully, pulling Alexa out of her spiraling thoughts. “I hope she says yes.”

  “She will. She’s crazy for Jack.”

  Rubbing her palms together, Sam bit her lips, but the excitement inside her bubbled out. “I’m going to help her plan. I don’t care what she says. She’s not running to the courthouse or having some simple ceremony. She’s not treating her wedding like just another thing. We’re blowing this bitch out. Holly is getting married. I can’t believe it.”

  Alexa chuckled at Sam’s determination, but that same internal disappointment at her own lack of success in the romance department flared at the idea of Holly’s wedding. “Well, good luck with that. I’ll help however I can.”

  Sam didn’t seem to notice the slight dip in Alexa’s enthusiasm as she asked, “Think I should I get a cake? Would that be too much? For Friday, I mean. Not for the wedding. Obviously we’ll have a wedding cake.”

  “Yeah,” Alexa said. “That’d be good. Don’t pick it up until after lunch, though. You can’t hide a cake around here all day. Somebody will sniff it out and wonder why you have it.”

  The wheels were obviously turning in Sam’s mind. “Awesome.” She stood and started for the door but then stopped. “Hey, how’s your client holding up?”

  “Not well,” Alexa said without the conspiratorial tone she’d had moments before. “I’m worried, actually. I think he’s taking a lot of blame that isn’t his. Have you had any luck finding signs of Mandy online?”

  “Not yet. All her social media accounts are still active, but she hasn’t posted since leaving.”

  Alexa put voice to something she had been hoping to avoid. “Do you have time to start searching for her photo on sex sites?”

  “You want me to search the Dark Web? Because I honed those skills with Eva’s last case. It’s a little frightening how good I am at finding sex videos.”

  Eva’s last case had been a crazy mix of peeping tom meets Stepford Wives meets revenge porn. Alexa still couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it, but it added another layer of services for HEARTS. On top of investigations and self-defense basics for women, they’d added a monthly class on how to identify hidden cameras. The fact that those types of classes were needed pissed her off, but that was the world they lived in. The least they could do was share some of their knowledge to those who might benefit from it.

  “I don’t think she’s making movies. If anything, she’s being trafficked. Check escort sites,” she clarified for Sam. “Black listings that sell sex. That sort of thing. There’s a document on our cloud drive with a list of sites I’m aware of, but look around. New sites pop up all the time.”

  Sam’s eagerness faded. “Yuck.”

  “If you aren’t up for it—”

  “I am. I can do it. If she’s out there for sale, I’ll find her.”

  “Thanks. Sam?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll staple your damn lips shut if you tell anyone else Jack’s secret.”

  She pretended to zip her lips and toss away the key, but Alexa knew better. By the time Jack presented a ring to Holly, almost everyone at HEARTS would know what was coming.

  Dean hadn’t expected to see Alexa for lunch, but he was glad she’d stopped by. After he let her in, he saved the design project he had been working on while she reheated some of the posole from the night before. When he entered his kitchen, the scent of garlic and chili peppers filled the air as Alexa reheated tortillas over the open flame as she had the night before. Something about her fluid movements entranced him. Or maybe it was the lack of rest he’d gotten for the last few months.

  “Smells delicious,” he said by way of announcing his presence.

  She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “It’s always better the next day. All those seasonings have had time to blend together and gain a little strength. I hope it’s not too spicy for you today.”

  “Nah. I like spicy.” Sinking onto the same barstool he’d sat at the evening before, he watched her. She’d taken off her black blazer and hung it on the back of the chair, clearly exposing her gun…and the way her slacks sat low on her slender hips and hugged her curves.

  Realizing he was staring at her ass, Dean rubbed his fingers into his eyelids. Jesus, he needed sleep. Checking out the PI searching for his sister was not the best idea.

  Alexa tossed a reheated tortilla from one hand to the other as she brought it to him. “You okay?”

  “I didn’t sleep much. That’s all. I kept trying to figure out how my little sister fell so far.”

  Sitting next to him, she rested her hand on his forearm.

  “My grandmother likes to say every cloud has a silver lining,” she said. “With the bad comes the good. Mandy is going through a tough time right now, but had she not fallen so far, you never would have realized she needed help. It’s not much comfort, Dean, but this is the beginning of getting her back on track.”

  “I hope you’re right,” he said.

  “I am.” Her confidence didn’t exactly lighten his burden, but it sure didn’t hurt. “I spoke with your dad this morning.”

  “And?”

  Stirring her stew, she seemed to calculate her words before speaking. “He says you’re too hard on Mandy. Why would he think that?”

  “Because he walked out on his kids and has no clue that raising them was a hell of a lot of work.” He blew out his breath. “Sorry. That sounded bitter.”

  She didn’t respond. She simply slid a mouthful of posole into her mouth and silently chewed.

  “I went to see him last night.”

  She lifted her brows at him but didn’t speak.

  “He’s so angry at me, and I don’t know why. Clearly it has something to do with Mandy, but I can’t figure out what. I was never mean to her or hurt her.”

  “He said something…” She let her words fade as she tried to find the right way to ask about Lily’s mental health. “He said the reason he left was because your mother had extreme mood swings, so much so that he began to fear she’d hurt him.”

  A wry laugh left him. “Mom didn’t have mood swings for no reason. She knew he was seeing Trisha, his now-wife. She knew he was a lying, cheating bastard. I could hear them fight sometimes. As for her hurting him… The last big fight they had, she screamed at him that she was going to cut his dick off if he didn’t learn to keep it in his pants. I don’t think she was crazy, Alexa. I think she was hurt and angry. She never would have hurt him.”

  “So she was never treated for mental illness?”

  “No.”

  “What was her relationship like with Mandy? Your dad said you and Lily pushed Mandy too hard.”

  He rolled his tortilla, dipped it in the bowl, and then took a big bite. “Mom and I both butted heads with her quite a bit, especially when she hit her teens.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she could act like a real spoiled brat sometimes. She wanted everything handed to her. Even though our parents were divorced and Dad rarely came around, she knew how to play them against each other. Typical teen stuff, Alexa. She thought she knew everything and was smarter than everybody, but she had a world of growing to do. After Dad left, I took on the role of man of the house. I got a paper route until I was old enough to get a work permit and get a part-time job. Mom needed help, and it was my place to help her, so I stepped up. Mandy thought it was her job to ma
ke things harder for everyone, and she knew complaining to Dad would magnify that.”

  She drew a breath, halted, drew more, and then finally met his gaze. “Dean, I got the distinct impression that he knows where Mandy is. Or at least that he’s had some kind of contact with her. He wouldn’t confirm that. He just said that she needs a break from the pressure you’ve put on her and would come home when she was ready.”

  Anger shot through Dean. “That son of a… He knows how worried I am about her. Why wouldn’t he tell me?”

  “I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me. Did you and your dad fight about this?”

  He pushed his bowl away, his appetite gone, and rested his arms on the counter. “Remember I told you I had to find a drug dealer for Mom? I…I don’t know about this shit, Alexa. Buying pot? I hadn’t a clue. But I suspected that my stepbrother was a pothead. We’re not close or anything, but when I decided to get marijuana for Mom, I asked David for help. He sold me a bag. Dad found out. Even though I explained why, he was pissed that I was enabling David’s habits and giving Mandy access to drugs.”

  Alexa stared at him, processing his confession and what it meant. “So you didn’t find some random drug dealer online? You went through your stepbrother.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And your dad found out.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is there any chance that the D in her journal is David?”

  Dean considered that. “Um. Maybe. I guess. Could be.”

  Blatant frustration rolled across her face. She tensed her jaw and huffed out a breath. “If I had known that, I could have taken a different approach when questioning your dad. I deliberately did not bring up Mandy’s possible drug use because I assumed he hadn’t a clue, and I was trying to respect your request that I not embarrass your sister.” She pushed her bowl away too, but she did so angrily. “I cannot help you if you don’t tell me everything.”

  He started to object but held back. “You’re right. That was stupid. I apologize.”

  “I cannot emphasize enough that I am not here to judge you. Whatever you think is too embarrassing to share, believe that I have seen and heard so much worse. This line of work doesn’t often allow for me to see the best side of people. You bought drugs for your dying mom. So what? Your little sister got caught up in trouble. Lots do. My job is to find Mandy as quickly as possible. Not point out past mistakes. Understand?”

  He nodded. He did understand—not only Alexa’s role here but that hiding some long-ago secret was foolish. He’d known that when he didn’t tell her the entire truth. But he’d lied about those little things for so long, it hadn’t felt like lying anymore. “I got it.”

  “Good. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”

  Shifting uncomfortably, he spun his stool to face her and clutched his hands between his knees. “Once, when Mandy was three months old, I went into her room and got her out of her crib. I wasn’t supposed to hold her without Mom or Dad, but they never really let me hold her anyway. They said I’d drop her. I wanted to prove that I was big enough to take care of her. They were right. I dropped her. I panicked and put her back in her crib and then hid in the closet so Mom wouldn’t know the reason she was crying was because of me.”

  Alexa dipped her head down and blinked her big brown eyes, but he still saw the little grin she was obviously trying to hide grow. “What does that have to do with her disappearance?”

  “I don’t know. But for the sake of transparency—”

  “Oh”—she playfully shoved his shoulder—“you know what I mean.”

  She laughed, and the symphonic sound eased the tension in Dean’s chest. For some reason he couldn’t breathe thinking she was upset with him. He’d spent years mourning his mom and months fearing for his sister. His connections with any other emotions had nearly been severed, but seeing the smile on Alexa’s face reminded him there was more than to life than fear and sadness.

  He hadn’t felt close to anyone for a long time. Not that he was close to Alexa. He’d met her just over twenty-four hours ago, but she supported his concerns. She was on his side. He had needed that more than he’d realized, and the notion that he could lose that because he’d failed to be completely honest spiked a different kind of fear in him. One he didn’t fully understand.

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Is there anything else I need to know about Mandy, your father, David, you, or anyone else who may have information on her disappearance?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Any other secrets you’re hiding that could help me find your sister?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Your father isn’t going to talk to either one of us. Do you think David would talk to you?”

  “He might. I don’t have much contact with him, even less after the whole pot deal thing blew up. Dad didn’t want me to have anything to do with him.”

  Alexa nodded. “Find time to call your stepbrother and ask him if he knows anything about Mandy. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Good. Now eat. If you don’t, I’m going to tell my grandmother, and she’ll think you don’t like her cooking. It will break her heart.”

  “I don’t want to break your grandmother’s heart.” He took two big bites before dabbing his chin with a napkin. “You know all about my family. Tell me about yours.”

  “My grandmother and parents came to America when my mother was pregnant with my older sister. The little town they were from was being overrun with gangs. They didn’t want to raise a family there. It was too unstable. Papi opened a little grocery store in the neighborhood where they settled. He worked there until he passed away from a heart attack. Mami sold the store because she didn’t think women should run businesses.”

  “Huh. What does she think about HEARTS? My understanding is the business is owned and operated by a team of women.”

  The smile that crossed her face was warm and tender. “She knows better now. She’s very proud of her girls. And she does consider us all to be her girls.”

  “That’s great. And your sister? What does she do?”

  That warmth on her lips faded, taking on a sadness he saw in his own reflection these days. “Um, actually, Lanie was abducted a long time ago.”

  “Oh, Alexa. I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”

  “You couldn’t have known.” She put her hand to his arm and squeezed. “I don’t share that information with clients openly because…”

  The despondency in her eyes told him why. “Because it didn’t end well.”

  “Because I don’t know the ending. She was never seen again. No remains were found, no sightings in faraway places. She’s just gone, Dean. That’s not the kind of thing people want to hear when their loved one is missing.”

  “No, I guess not.” Since she was always so quick to comfort him with a touch, he didn’t hesitate in putting his other hand over hers, where it rested on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

  “I haven’t given up. I keep a file in my office. Sometimes I pull it out and go over everything I’ve learned, hoping that a light bulb will go off. I know that sounds foolish—”

  “It doesn’t,” he interrupted firmly. “It absolutely doesn’t. I’ll never stop looking for Mandy. If it takes years, I’ll never give up hope of finding her and bringing her home. Do you have any leads on your sister?”

  “No.”

  That one little word carried so much hopelessness, he felt the weight of it on his soul. Sliding his arm from under her hand, he draped it over her shoulders and brought her closer to him. “I can’t imagine.”

  “I shouldn’t have dumped this on you, Dean.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I don’t want to add fuel to the fire of your concerns. My sister’s disappearance is nothing like Mandy’s. Mandy left a trail. We just have to follow it.”

  Brushing his hand over her hair, he took far too much notice of how soft the strands felt as he caressed them. When he reac
hed the end of her hair, he ran his fingers over her again. He had to. “I trust you. I know you’re doing everything you can. For my sister and your sister.”

  “I am,” she whispered. “I’m going to find Mandy.”

  “And… What’s your sister’s name?”

  “Lanie.”

  “You’ll find out what happened to Lanie. I believe that.”

  Tilting her face to his, she smiled, and his breath caught at the jolt her eye contact sent through him. He suspected she felt it as well, because she blinked, sat a bit straighter, and then looked away. She picked up her spoon again and scooped out a big bit of pork. “Eat,” she said, not looking at him. “Or I’ll tell Abuela on you.”

  5

  There had been so many things Alexa dreaded in the course of being a private investigator, but taking Dean the photos Sam had printed out was definitely in the top five. Make that top three. Dean was trying to be strong, but Alexa had sensed from the day he hired her that it wouldn’t take much to make him lose himself in the grief, fear, and self-blame that consumed so many people when their loved ones got mixed up in something sinister.

  The images in the envelope were going to tear him apart. Alexa was going to have to fight to keep him focused on finding Mandy and getting her the help she clearly needed instead of allowing himself to sink into the darkness that was bound to fill his mind. Pulling into his driveway, she looked over the little house and considered all he had already been through. The loss of his mom still haunted him. Whenever he spoke of her, his voice softened just a bit, his shoulders stooped a little, and his eyes glazed.

  He hadn’t been able to save his mom, but he could save his sister. Alexa was going to have to remind him of that repeatedly as they delved into the uglier side of humanity to find her.

  Drawing one more breath, she grabbed the envelope and headed for the front door. She pressed the doorbell and then stepped back, giving him time to answer. This time, however, the door opened almost immediately.

  He smiled, and nervous energy rolled through her stomach. She didn’t take the time to analyze it—obviously she was anxious about the news she was about to share. And when that sensation had hit her the evening prior, it was in response to telling him about Lanie. And when he looked into her eyes and her heart tripped over itself, well, that was because she felt so sorry for what he was going through.