“Thanks for the case preview,” Jack said as he braced his fingertips on the top of the scarred table.
“Mr. Kavanaugh, please direct your remarks to the bench.”
“I’m sorry, Your Honor. My client explained in graphic detail all of the things she did to make it appear as if she hurt her daughter but the truth of the matter is there is no body and no one saw the defendant do anything harmful to her child. This case actually boils down to a horribly abused woman doing something drastic to protect her child.”
“The child she can’t produce?” the judge asked.
Darby didn’t like her chances. She had a sense of foreboding that made her stomach drop to the floor. She could produce Mia if she could get the drop phone back from Sean. But something told her Sean had already guessed the importance of the phone and had dropped it into the ocean.
Jack went through the elaborate steps Darby had taken to make her plan work. The judge seemed to be listening intently. At times he even leaned forward, which Darby assumed was a sign that he was finally coming around.
She was wrong.
“Motion denied, Mr. Kavanaugh. How does your client plead?”
“Not guilty.”
“Fine.” The judge checked something on his desk. “Bail?”
The prosecutor leapt to his feet. “No bail, Your Honor. The State believes Mrs. Grisom is a danger to society.”
“Mrs. Grisom hasn’t even so much as had a traffic ticket,” Jack argued. “She’s a veteran who served two tours in Iraq. She owns her own business and also oversees Hayes Groves in Palm City. She has deep ties to the community and no reason to be considered a flight risk.”
“No reason?” the prosecutor mocked. “Look at the amount of planning that went into the crime.”
“A crime you wouldn’t have known about if she hadn’t confessed. And she only did that because she’s terrified of her husband. She would rather be in jail than suffer another beating.”
“Gentlemen,” the judge interrupted in one terse word. “This is neither the time nor the place to try your case. Mr. Johnson, I want a number.”
“You’re granting her bail?” Johnson scoffed.
“Either give me a number or I’ll come up with one I don’t think you’ll like.”
The prosecutor sighed, then dropped his head, then lifted it and calmly said, “One million dollars. Cash. No Bond.”
“That’s a ridiculous amount,” Jack insisted.
Darby’s heart was pounding in her ears. She reached over and closed her hand over Jack’s and gave it a squeeze.
“Fine,” Jack amended.
The judge raised his gavel. “One million cash no bond—”
“And she surrenders her passport to the court,” the prosecutor said.
“And she surrenders her passport,” the judge finished, then pounded his gavel.
Darby was so excited she slipped her arms around Jack’s neck and pulled him close. His cologne was subtle but kind of woodsy. She could feel the outline of his body. He was definitely in shape, but not one of those freaky muscle-bound guys she didn’t find attractive. Which meant she did find Jack attractive. That little realization had her leap back from him. The last time she had acted upon attraction she’d ended up married to a sadist.
Jack was looking at her with a touch of confusion. “I-I’m sorry. I just can’t believe I can get out of here.”
“I can’t either,” he admitted with a very sexy half-smile that Darby felt all the way down to her toes.
Get a grip! “Can we do something legal that will allow you to access my money market account?”
“Not a problem.”
“What do I do until you pay my bail?”
“Unfortunately, you go back to jail.”
“Then let’s be quick.”
* * *
Darby thought sitting in a jail cell with nothing but the divorce papers and a newspaper to read for four hours would be unpleasant but it was nothing compared to the gaggle of press who descended on her as she left the courthouse.
“Is the baby dead?”
“Who has the baby?”
“Why won’t you tell police where to find the baby?”
“Where is your husband?”
Darby was so happy when Jack put her inside his car and the two of them drove away from the small courthouse just a few blocks from his office.
“Will you take me home?” she asked.
“Not a problem. Sean was served with an Order of Protection a few hours ago. He can’t come within 500 yards of your place. But,” Jack hesitated.
“What?”
“There may be press there,” he warned.
“It’s a gated community. You have to know the code or the guard or you can’t get in.”
They arrived in twenty minutes and as predicted, there was a small contingent of reporters on the curb across from the entrance to her community. Her neighbors were going to love her. Who was she kidding? Her neighbors were probably already asking the HOA if there was a way to get her out of the neighborhood. It wouldn’t matter. The only reason she wanted to go home was to shower, wash her hair, and get to work finding Lyssa.
Darby got out and used the keypad on the garage door to open it. Jack was at her side just in case Sean was defying the Order and was inside. His car was gone. Her car was where she’d left it on the day of her arrest, only now it was covered in fingerprint dust and several sections of carpet and seat cushions had been cut out. “What a mess.”
The door leading into the house was open, which was normal. What wasn’t normal was the disarray. “Do they always trash a house like this?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She put the cushions back on the sofas as she made her way to the back of the house. She paused when she got to Mia’s room. It had been violated in the search. A lot of her little things had been tossed to the carpet. The crib was empty and it drew her inside the room. On automatic pilot, she replaced the fitted sheet on the mattress and re-tied the bumpers. The room smelled like Mia. Darby started to cry—softly at first, then gut-wrenching sobs rocked her whole body as she slid down to the floor.
Jack gently picked her up and helped her into her bedroom. He sat her on the bed then knelt in front of her. He wiped her tears away. She could feel his breath on her face and that was oddly soothing. Darby shuddered a couple of times, then managed to regain her composure. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m impressed that you manage to keep it together as well as you do.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice pretending everything is fine and dandy.” Darby lowered her eyes and again wondered how she could have allowed Sean to steal her life from her. It was both sad and maddening. He had alienated her friends and family from her, and for some unknown reason she had allowed it to happen. And now it had cost her her daughter. Her heart literally ached in her chest.
He met and held her gaze. “You don’t have to do that with me.”
Without really thinking about it, Darby reached out and pushed the dark hair off his forehead. The action, or rather her reaction to touching him, filled her with confusion. How on earth could she be in the middle of the worst crisis of her life and yet still have such an awareness of a man who was a virtual stranger?
“Tell me something about you,” Darby asked.
“Like what?”
“Ever married?”
He shook his head. “Nope. But I have had the same dog for almost eight years. So I’m loyal.”
She laughed. “What kind of dog?”
“Mutt. I like to run along Stuart beach in the morning. So one morning this mutt comes out of the dunes and follows me. Then he did the same thing for two more mornings, so I decided to take him home. He was in pretty bad shape. But he’s a good dog.”
“What’s his name?”
“Dog.”
“That’s original.”
“That’s what I called him on those mornings on the beach, so it kinda stuck. Before I forge
t, my brother is on his way over here.”
“Why?”
“He’s going to keep an eye on you in case Sean happens to show up.”
“What about you?”
He chuckled. “Trust me, when you have a chance to see Declan and me next to each other, you’ll pick Declan every day. I’ve got a couple of errands to run and then I’ll bring back dinner. Any preferences?”
“There’s a decent Greek place right around the corner.” She struggled to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “I’m going to take a shower,” Darby said. “I need to wash the incarceration off me.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said as he stood.
Darby was alone in her master bath. It felt as if it had been a lifetime since she was alone. No guards, no inmates, no patients. No daughter.
She stripped off her dress, stepped into the shower and had a good cry. Then she washed her hair and scrubbed her body raw with the loofah before stepping from the shower and wrapping herself in one towel and making a turban out of another. Her first instinct was to stand on the bath mat until she was dry. Sean hated a wet floor. Then she shook it off and promised herself Sean could rot in hell. She didn’t have to fear his wrath or to adhere to his strict standards around the house. The first inklings of freedom started to replace the eighteen months of violent outbursts.
She dried her hair and pulled on some yoga pants and a top and went back to the kitchen. Jack wasn’t alone. He was standing next to a tall, dark, intimidating man with barrels for arms and thighs that looked as if they’d split his jeans with very little effort.
“Declan, this is Darby.”
“Ma’am,” he said as he offered a beefy hand.
“Darby,” she corrected. Then she glanced over at Jack, who was smiling. “I see your point,” she acknowledged. “Thank you for coming over to babysit.”
Now Declan smiled, making him seem far less intimidating. “He’s paying me.”
“Technically,” Jack said, “she’s paying you.”
“In all seriousness,” Darby said, “my husband is a very dangerous man.”
Declan reached behind himself and pulled out two Glocks. “I’ve also got a knife strapped to my ankle. Is he Iron Man?”
She shook her head. “The authorities took all of my guns,” Darby said. “Or Sean took them. Who knows?”
The phone rang and Darby’s heart leapt in her chest. She grabbed it off the hook before the first ring ended. “Hello?”
“Hi, it’s Peggy.”
“Hi. And before I forget, thank you for the clothes.”
“It was the least I could do. Listen, may I come over?”
“Sure. We’re going to have dinner in about an hour,” she looked to Jack for confirmation. “Why don’t you join us?”
“I’d rather just talk to you.”
“Sorry, my friend, but so long as Sean is in the wind, I have a keeper. Besides, it’s my attorney and my private detective who doubles as my personal assassin.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice, huh?”
“Nope.”
“See you in an hour.”
Jack left as soon as she got off the phone. Declan got busy helping her put things back in their places. She realized he wasn’t much of a talker. “Tell me about Jack. Is he a good attorney?”
“Yep.”
“Are you older or younger?”
“Older.”
“Married?”
“No.”
“Kids?”
“No.”
“Pets?”
“No.”
“Hey, Declan? You’re making me work really hard here. I’ve just spent three days locked up in virtual solitude, so talk to me.”
“What’s your deal with Jack?”
“Deal?”
“I don’t want to see him hurt.”
Darby was astonished. “Hurt? How could I possibly hurt him? My priority is finding my daughter. Period.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “Yes, I’m grateful to Jack for all he’s done so far, but it’s not like I’m taking advantage of him. I’m paying him.”
Declan shrugged. “Yeah, I got pretty much the same answer from him.”
“Then why would you even ask?”
“He’s my kid brother and I know him. I know when he’s in over his head.”
“You don’t think he can help me find Mia?”
Declan shook his head. “Just the opposite. I think he’ll move hell and high water to help you find your daughter. So will I.”
“But you think I’m somehow scamming him? You think I’ll stiff him on the bill or something?”
“Nope. I think you’re in the middle of a shit storm and Jack is in it with you. You remind him of someone he loved dearly, our mother. Good old Dad used to beat her all the time. Then fifteen years ago, our oldest brother, Michael, intervened and there was a shooting. Mike was arrested and convicted of first degree manslaughter. That’s the whole reason Jack went to law school. He wanted to find a way to get Michael out of prison. So, I don’t think he’s doing it for the money. I think he’s falling for you fast. I just can’t tell whether it’s you or the memory of our mother that has him so intrigued.”
“Th-that’s crazy,” Darby argued. “And it’s wrong. Jack and I have a professional relationship. I’m not stupid, Declan. The last time I leapt into a relationship I ended up getting the crap beat out of me on a regular basis. I’m still married, by the way.”
“Not in any real way that counts,” Declan said. Then he let out a low sigh. “Look, I’m sorry for sounding accusatory; I’m not. It’s just that he’s my brother and I see the way he watches you when you aren’t looking. I don’t want to see him hurt again.”
“You don’t have to worry.”
“I won’t,” Declan said. “So where do you think Sean has gone?”
“Hand me the phone and I’ll call the restaurant.”
Darby pressed the numbers, then listened as the machine picked up. She glanced up at the clock. It should be the middle of the dinner rush. “That’s weird. No one is there.” She felt a pang of fear in her gut. “Do you think he’s around here?”
Declan shook his head. “Too hot. He’d have to get past the guard house and the reporters in order to get here.”
“He could walk in,” Darby offered, then quickly changed her mind. “No, he’d never do that. He’s terrified of snakes and creepy crawlers. He’d need a handful of Xanax to walk through a Florida wetland without me at his side.”
“What are you, a snake whisperer?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’m a great shot and if I can see it I can kill it.”
“Where did a fancy lady like you learn to shoot?”
“The United States Army.”
Declan, like many before him, looked at her with shock in his eyes. “I thought you came from money.”
“I do, but every generation of my family has volunteered for duty dating back to the Revolutionary War. I would have been a great asset if they hadn’t had a ban on women in combat when I was on active duty.”
“Did they have you in the mess?” Declan asked.
“I trained dogs to search for IEDs.”
“Like it?”
“Yeah. They have some amazing animals in the program.”
“Why don’t you have any pets?” Declan asked. “I would guess a veterinarian would have a whole houseful of critters.”
She shared the story of the untimely demise of her dog. “Sean didn’t like anything that took me away from him.”
“If you’re such a good shot, why didn’t you just shoot him?”
Darby contemplated the question for a few minutes. “I…because I was embarrassed. Here I was on the ugly side of thirty. I’d done my two tours. Gone to vet school. Established my own business. I just couldn’t dream of letting anyone know what was really going on. I knew Sean was cheating on me from the time we came back from our honeymoon. It reached a point where I didn’t care. Even when he wo
uldn’t come home at night. I was actually happy when that happened. Then I had to think about my daughter. I didn’t want her to end up in foster care because Dad was dead and Mom was in prison. I’m not one hundred percent sure I could kill another human being. But mostly, if I shot him, I’d be just like him. I don’t know. I guess I just couldn’t bring myself to admit that I was such a fool.”
“Why are you a fool?” Jack asked as he came through the garage door carrying an armload of takeout.
Darby shrugged. “Never mind.” She watched him place the food on the kitchen table—the new one she’d had to buy after Sean had broken the glass one.
“I stopped by Big Tony’s place and got these,” he said as he pulled two jewel cases out of his jacket pocket. “They’re the DVDs he burned off the DVR I found in your attic. Plates and utensils?”
Darby got out a service for four since she was expecting Peggy at any moment. It wasn’t until she recalled replacing the items into their rightful places that a thought grabbed her. “This place should have been cleaned up.”
Jack was opening Styrofoam boxes and plastic containers. “The cops are notorious for trashing a house during a search.”
“But Consuela should have cleaned it all up yesterday.”
Jack lifted his head. “Consuela?”
“My cleaning lady. She comes twice a week and there’s no way she would have left this place like we found it.” Darby grabbed the phone, dialed the number and then listened. “It’s going straight to voicemail.” Darby left an urgent message.
“Is that normal?” Jack asked.
“She almost always answers.”
Declan asked, “Where does she live?”
Darby gave him the address.
Declan grabbed an olive and put it in his mouth, then said, “I’ll go over there now. Save me some food.”
Just as Declan was leaving, Peggy arrived. She came over and gave Darby a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re out of that place.”
“Me too. Come sit down and have some dinner with us.”
Peggy dropped her hands to her sides and squeezed her eyes closed tightly for a second. “I don’t think you’ll want me to eat with you when I tell you what I did.”
“She slept with your husband,” Jack said matter-of-factly.
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