“Victoria will be in surgery for a couple of hours, but Peter is in a room on the second floor. You can see him now. He’ll be a bit groggy from the pain medicine, but he should still be awake.”
“Thank you.” Lexi hurried from the room with Sheriff Dawson and Ace trailing her.
They took the elevator to the second floor in silence. As soon as the doors opened Lexi rushed to her father’s room. She gulped at the sight of her dad hooked up to various tubes, eyes closed and a noticeable lump on his forehead.
“Dad?”
Peter Carlisle opened his eyes. “Hi, hon. I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the vigil.” His words were thick and a bit slurred due to the meds in his IV.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better.” He visibly tensed. “What about Mom?”
“She’s in surgery. We won’t know anything for a couple of more hours.”
His features tightened. “It’s my fault. All my fault.”
“Do you remember the accident?”
Peter closed his eyes briefly. “The brakes ... didn’t work. I couldn’t … stop.” The effort to talk winded him.
“What?” Lexi glanced at Ace who had remained in the doorway to give her privacy. His pinched frown told her he’d heard.
“I pressed … the brake to slow down … for the light, but they were … out.” Peter’s breaths came in shallow bursts. It seemed to take every ounce of his strength to speak.
Worried, Lexi leaned down and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay, Dad. Rest. We’ll talk later. I’ll be right down the hall if you need me.”
Peter nodded, then closed his eyes again.
As they left the room, Ace reached for his cell phone and punched a number.
“Zach. Have the boys check the Carlisles’ car. It seems the brakes weren’t working at the time of the accident. See if it was a malfunction.”
A nurse met them halfway down the hall. “Mrs. Yates?”
“Yes.”
“Please come with me. Dr. Phillips mentioned you wanted to donate blood.”
“I do. Thank you.” Lexi followed the nurse to the lab while Ace and Sheriff Dawson went back to the waiting room.
* * *
“Coffee?” Ace handed a steaming Styrofoam cup to Lexi who was curled up in one of the orange vinyl chairs in the waiting room an hour later.
“Yes. Thank you.” Lexi took the cup from his hand. “I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for Mom to get out of surgery.”
“It shouldn’t be much longer now.” Ace settled into the chair beside her.
“You don’t have to wait here with me. I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing.”
“I don’t mind. You shouldn’t be alone right now.” She didn’t look well. Dark circles had formed beneath her eyes and the pallor of her skin worried him. “Sheriff Dawson has gone back to your house and the rest of the team can handle any new developments.”
Lexi took a sip of her coffee. “When will this nightmare end? I’m beginning to feel like Job. Everyone I love is being taken away one by one.”
Ace squared his jaw. “I’ll admit you’ve been dealt a bad hand. Try to hang in there and think positive. Your Dad is going to be fine, and there’s a good chance your mother will recover as well. She’s strong and seems to be in good hands.”
“And Anna?”
Ace forced himself not to grimace. He needed to stay positive as well. For her sake. “Don’t give up hope. Something is bound to turn up.”
“I hope so. I–”
“Mrs. Yates?”
Lexi looked up to find Dr. Phillips standing in the doorway. She set her coffee on the end table as both she and Ace rose their feet. “How is my mother?”
Dr. Phillips crossed the room holding a chart. “She came through the surgery just fine. We’ll know more after she comes out of recovery. At the moment, it looks like she’ll make it.”
“Thank God!” Relief colored Lexi’s voice. “Do you think she’ll need another transfusion? I can donate more blood if necessary.”
Dr. Phillips hesitated, then shot a glance at Ace before answering. “I’m afraid you’re not a match.”
“Really? I would have thought we’d have the same blood type.”
“Not necessarily. Children can inherit their blood type from either parent.”
Disappointment crept into her voice. “I guess I have my dad’s blood type then.”
Dr. Phillips cleared his throat. “Actually you don’t.”
Lexi knitted her brow. “I don’t understand.”
“Your father is A positive and your mother is AB negative.” He flipped through his chart. “You’re O positive.”
“What does that mean? Are you saying I can’t ever help either one of my parents?”
Ace tensed beside her as the doctor said, “It means Peter and Victoria Carlisle are not your biological parents.”
CHAPTER NINE
The color drained from Lexi’s face. “There must be some mistake. That’s not possible. Of course they’re my parents.”
Dr. Phillips shook his head. “It’s not a mistake. The lab ran the test several times just to be sure. I’m sorry, Ms. Yates, but there is no possible way Peter and Victoria together are your blood relations.” He hesitated. Then, “I’ll let you know when Victoria is out of recovery.”
“Does this mean I was … adopted?” The words rushed from her in a horrified whisper.
Ace shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask your parents that.” Odd. There hadn’t been anything in her dossier about an adoption.
“How could they not tell me?”
Good question. Ace touched her shoulder. “I’m sure they must have had a very good reason. Don’t jump to conclusions until you’ve heard what they have to say.”
“I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Her melancholy voice tugged at his heart. An overwhelming urge to pull her in his arms and take away the hurt washed over him. Another reminder that he was letting this case – this woman – get too personal. “You’re the same person you’ve always been. A good mother and a loving daughter.” Ace squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure Peter and Victoria love you very much. You are still their daughter even if you don’t have the same blood running through your veins.” He knew from experience family was much more than just blood ties. Lieutenant Ortega had been more of a father to him growing up than his own father had been, and Ace considered him just as much his family as his own blood relations. If not more so.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know anything anymore. I feel like my whole existence has been a lie.” Her lower lip trembled as tears welled in the corners of her eyes.
As the first drop spilled down her cheek, the professional distance Ace had fought so hard to maintain for the past few days snapped. He pulled her into his arms and gathered her close. He could feel her heart beating against his chest. Or was that his? At that moment he realized no matter how hard he’d tried to stop it, Lexi had managed to get under his skin and stay there. He’d spent his whole life making sure no woman ever got close enough to ever mean anything to him – to have the power to hurt him – yet in the short time he’d known her, Lexi had managed to do just that. Somewhere along the way he’d developed feelings for her, and in that moment he knew he’d move mountains to protect her from any more pain or heartache.
The thought terrified him. He knew he was way out of her league. Why would someone like her want a poor spic from the Bronx?
She wouldn’t. When this was over and Anna was found – dead or alive – Lexi would move on with her life and never think of him again. Just as his mother had moved on with hers and never given the family she left behind a second thought.
In the end, he’d be left with his heart trampled on by a woman. Again.
The very thing he’d spent most of his life trying to avoid.
Lexi leaned against him, her small body shaking with soft sobs. Ace shoved aside his ow
n fears to comfort her. Right now, she needed him. And that was all that mattered. He’d worry about his heart later. “Everything is going to be all right.” Ace stroked her hair as she trembled in his arms. He held her tight as she clung to him and let go of her frustration.
A few minutes later, Lexi lifted her head to look at him. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.” She laid her head against his chest. “I couldn’t make it through all of this without you.”
Ace’s heart stilled. Yep. He’d move mountains for her all right. And anything else it took to keep her safe and take away the misery. He cleared his throat. “After you see your mother, you should go home and get some rest. There’s nothing else you can do here tonight.”
Lexi simply nodded against his shirt.
* * *
Rest hadn’t come easy, Lexi realized the next morning. She had too many unanswered questions and too many worries, but at least she’d managed to doze for a few minutes here and there throughout the night.
She dressed quickly, took her medicine and padded downstairs hoping to get to the hospital early to check on her parents.
Her parents.
Goosebumps prickled her skin. Peter and Victoria weren’t her parents. Not really. Lexi swallowed the emotional lump in her throat. The thought was too much to process at the moment, so she shoved it aside. At least for the time being.
“I didn’t expect you to be up so early.” Ace frowned when she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a yogurt from the refrigerator. “You don’t want to let yourself get rundown.”
“I’m fine. I want to get to the hospital for the first ICU visit at seven to see … Mom. Is there any news about Anna?” Her heart stuttered to a halt as she waited for the answer. Another day without her daughter. How would she get through it?
“I’m afraid not. The volunteer search resumed at daybreak and some of the local law enforcement are out with them.” Ace glanced at his watch. “I’ll go with you to the hospital. I want to be there when you talk to your parents about–” He paused for a moment. Then, “About the results of the blood test.”
Lexi pulled the foil top off the yogurt, snagged a spoon from the drawer and sat down in the breakfast nook. “Okay. I won’t be able to talk to Mom about it while she’s in ICU, but maybe Dad will be well enough to give me some answers.”
Zach appeared in the kitchen doorway. “The results from the Carlisles’ car are in.”
Ace shot his partner a questioning look. “And?”
“The brake line had been cut.”
Lexi choked on her yogurt, sputtered, then finally managed to ask, “On purpose?”
Zach nodded. “Yes. It was sliced clean in two.”
“Someone tried to kill my parents?” Lexi couldn’t keep the horror from her voice.
“That’s what it looks like.”
A wave of dizziness crashed into her. Who would want to murder her parents? And why?
Ace reached for his cell phone then punched a number. “I want a detail put on Peter Carlisle in room 307 and another on Victoria Carlisle in ICU.” A long pause, then, “Someone tried to kill them last night.”
Ace closed his cell and slipped it back into his suit pocket. “I’d like to know when and how this happened.” He glanced at Zach. “Did they find any fingerprints? Anything?”
Zach shook his head. “Nothing. Whoever did this must have worn gloves.”
Ace grunted. “And they must have been awfully sure of themselves to do this while the house was crawling with cops.”
“Oh, no.” Lexi’s hand flew to her mouth. “I–I might have seen them.”
Ace’s brows shot downward. “What do you mean?”
“The night before last. I thought I saw something outside. It was late and I was in Anna’s room. I thought I saw a light … like a flashlight near the garage.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Zach mirrored his partner’s frown. “We could have checked it out.”
“I–I wasn’t sure. I thought it was a trick of light from the full moon. I only saw it twice then it was gone.” Lexi felt the color drain from her face. “I’m so sorry. It was so late and I didn’t want to wake up the whole house for a figment of my imagination.” Then she whispered, “Oh my God! I nearly got my parents killed.”
“Did you see anyone? Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?” Zach took his notepad out and jotted down the information.
“No. I just saw the light. I didn’t see a person or anything.”
“What time was it?”
“About midnight.”
“We’ll search the area, but I doubt we’ll find anything.”
Lexi slumped her shoulders. “Why is someone trying to hurt my family? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know.” Ace touched her shoulder. “Maybe your father can shed some light on what’s going on. Let’s go to the hospital and see your parents.”
Lexi nodded as she pushed away from the table. She couldn’t eat another bite of her yogurt. A cold sweat broke out over her body. Someone was determined to take away everyone she loved and she didn’t have a clue why.
“One more thing.” Ace‘s tone left no room for argument. “Until we know who is doing this and why, you need to have one of us with you at all times. It’s now very likely you’ll be the next target.”
* * *
The first thing Lexi noticed when she walked into the ICU wing was the FBI agent stationed outside the door. Relief washed over her at the prompt response from the bureau. Surely whoever was trying to kill her family couldn’t get to them with the FBI guarding the hospital.
The killer got to them with the FBI manning your house.
Lexi shivered at the thought. Who would do this to her?
“You okay?” Ace leaned over to whisper in her ear.
Lexi nodded. No. She wasn’t, but there was no use in saying it. She might not be okay ever again.
“I’ll wait out here with Agent Pikes while you go in.”
Lexi spent the next few minutes talking to her mother. Hooked to a ventilator and several other monitors, Victoria wasn’t able to carry on a conversation, but did manage to acknowledge her daughter’s presence by blinking her eyes and reaching for her hand.
Lexi was glad to see her color had improved and the nurse assured her that Victoria was recovering as well as expected. Hopefully, if all went well, she would be moved to a regular room within a couple of days. One piece of good news at least.
Lexi then kissed her mother’s cheek and told her she’d be back for the next visitation.
“Ready to go see your dad?” Ace asked as Lexi exited the ICU unit.
“Yes.” No. Actually, she wasn’t. Her legs felt like wet noodles as she made her way to her father’s floor. She wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation.
To her relief, her father was sitting up in bed. The lump on his forehead had reduced and, like her mother’s, his color had improved.
“Lexi, I’m glad you’re here. Tell these nurses I’m well enough to be discharged.”
Lexi bent down to kiss his cheek. “They’ll let you go when the doctor okays it and not a minute sooner. How are you feeling this morning?”
“Fine. Just a little sore, but other than that I’m fine. How’s Mom?”
“She’s doing better. They might be able to move her to a regular room in a couple of days.”
Lexi hoped her voice didn’t sound as strained as she felt. For the next hour she tried to put her father at ease and reassure him everything was going to be fine. Really, she was just putting off the inevitable, because once she confronted him about her past, there would be no turning back. Everything from this point on would change.
Peter’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I don’t understand how this happened. We keep all of our vehicles well maintained. How could the brakes fail?”
Lexi hesitate
d and looked at Ace. Should she tell him the truth?
Ace propped his leg against the wall and nodded.
“Dad, someone cut the brake line on your car.”
Peter blinked. “It was cut?”
“Yes. We think whoever took Anna is responsible.” Lexi swallowed hard. “Can you think of anyone – anyone at all – who might want to hurt you or Mom?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Who’d want to hurt us?”
“Are you sure? Not even a business deal or personal deal that went wrong? Nothing?”
Peter rubbed his chin. “Lexi, we lead a fairly simple life. You know that. Since I retired, I haven’t even been involved in a business deal much less anything that might be construed as shady. There isn’t anyone I can think of who has a grudge against us.”
“I didn’t think so.” Lexi summoned her courage. Now or never. “There’s one more thing I need to ask you and I need you to be totally honest with me.”
“We’ve always been honest with you.”
“Am I adopted?”
The color drained from Peter’s face. “Why would you ask something like that?”
Lexi gripped the rail on her father’s bed. “I tried to donate blood for Mom’s surgery. I wasn’t a match.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re–”“
Lexi cut him off. “My blood type doesn’t match up with yours either assuming you’ve been faithful to Mom. The lab ran the test several times. Dr. Phillips said there is no possible way you and Mom are my biological parents. At least not together. So I’m going to ask you again and I want the truth. Am I adopted?”
Peter closed his eyes. “I wish Mom was here to explain.”
“So it’s true?” Lexi’s mouth went dry. How could they have kept this from her?
“Lexi, honey, it’s not that simple.” Agitation roughened his tone. “I really wish your mom was here. She could explain this so much better than I can.”
“She’s not, so you’ll have to do it.”
Ace appeared at the bedside. “Mr. Carlisle, someone has taken your granddaughter and there is a very good chance it was that same someone who cut your brakes. Lexi could be next. If Lexi is not your biological daughter, then we need to know who her parents are and why there isn’t an adoption paper in her dossier.”
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