by Jani Kay
I nodded, giggling like a silly schoolgirl.
Harrison took a large golf umbrella from the stand and held the door open for me, a wide grin on his face.
Driving in the rain wasn’t something I enjoyed, and I was relieved when we eventually made it inside the bookstore and out of the punishing wind. This was freaky weather for this time of the year, and everyone on the car radio we’d listened to had complained about how it messed up their weekend.
As much as I loved going to the beach on sunshiny days, nothing could beat the excitement I felt when confronted with shelves upon shelves of books. I lazily ran my finger along the spine of the books on the groaning shelves and selected the ones that jumped out at me.
“Take your time, Eva. I’m going to get us a table and a coffee over at the café. See you there.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and I watched his sexy swagger for a few moments as he walked away before letting out a long, relaxing sigh and indulging in one of my favorite pastimes.
Twenty minutes later, I had a stack of books in my arms from which I’d make my final selection. First I wanted to read the blurbs while sipping on my coffee in the comfort of a leather armchair.
Harrison waved me over. He got to his feet and took the pile of books from my arms, setting them on the coffee table.
“Hey you.” He gave me a lopsided grin that made my knees weak.
“Wow, this is the perfect spot,” I mused. I was never this lucky to get a table by the window with the deep comfortable armchairs.
I snuggled in, one leg under my ass and a pile of books in front of me. And the best part was I could sneak glances at Harrison’s handsome face while he was fully absorbed in the pile of car and bike magazines he’d collected off the shelves. This was my idea of bliss and the perfect date.
We hadn’t been there long when an attractive blond woman came over to our table. I was used to chicks hitting on Harrison all the time, even in my company. It never failed to amuse me how brazen some people could be.
“Excuse me,” she said, clutching her throat.
Harrison glanced up from the magazine he’d been engrossed in.
“Yeah?” he drawled warily.
“My son . . . I can’t find him. Have you seen a blond boy running around by any chance? He’s only three years old. Wearing jeans and a red shirt.” Her face grew more anxious by the moment, and tears brimmed her eyes.
“No, sorry,” I said, letting my gaze run over the area, searching for a small blond head.
“What’s his name?” Harrison asked, as he pushed to his feet.
“Mitchel. We call him Mitch.”
“And your name?”
“Jessica.”
“Don’t panic, Jessica.” Harrison placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help you find Mitch.”
“Oh God, thank you,” she cried, big fat tears splashing down onto her chest. “I only turned away for a second.”
“I know, kids are amazing escape artists, huh?” He smiled at her. I guessed he was trying to put her at ease and make her feel better. “Where did you see him last?”
She pointed toward the coffee counter. “I was just putting sugar in my coffee. He was there the one second and then . . . I’ve been everywhere looking for him. It’s been over ten minutes and I still can’t find him. Oh God, what if he’s been abducted? What if somebody stole my child?” The hysteria kept rising in her voice as she twisted her hands together anxiously.
“Listen, let’s not allow all those TV shows to let us get carried away, okay? If we stay calm, we have a better chance of finding him quickly.” Harrison removed his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.
“Eva, stay here with her, but keep your eyes open, okay?”
I nodded, feeling my throat thicken too.
Harrison walked toward the coffee counter, retracing the woman’s steps.
“Jessica,” I said while placing an arm around her shoulder, “if anyone can help you find Mitch, it’s Harrison. Don’t panic, okay?”
“I’m so worried about my boy. He has to be okay. We’ve got to find him.” She talked as if she was trying to convince herself. She wrung her hands together. “And as if that isn’t bad enough, his father will kill me if anything happens to him.” The anxiety in her voice made my heart ache for her.
“We will. He’s probably just hiding somewhere thinking this is all a game.” I tried to sound calm and reassuring as I rubbed her back.
“You don’t understand. We already lost one child in an accident. We can’t lose Mitch too.” She was close to hysteria, hyperventilating as she clutched her throat. My stomach dropped to my shoes.
Pushing her down gently into the chair, I said, “Jessica, Harrison is a cop. I promise you he will find Mitch. Just take a few deep breaths, honey.”
God, please don’t let me be lying to Jessica.
I shoved my coffee into her hand. “Here, drink this. You stay here in case Mitch comes back to this spot. I’m going to go and look around too. Whatever you do, don’t lose hope.”
I couldn’t bear to see her suffer. Harrison simply had to come through for her. I shot up a prayer, hoping like hell somebody was listening.
Chapter 20 — Eva
Making my way slowly around the bookstore, my heartbeat quickened a few times when I saw a blond head, but when I realized the child was a girl, or way older than three, disappointment washed over me.
Harrison came toward me, empty-handed and with a grim look on his face.
“I’ve got men looking outside and in other stores around us. Savage is on his way, too.”
Interesting how Harrison and Savage worked together. They were a strong partnership and as far as I could gather from what Harrison had told me, they always had one another’s back, regardless of the time of day or night. I still needed to thank Savage for dropping off my purse the night before, but at that moment it seemed insignificant.
“Jessica told me she already lost one child. We have to find Mitch,” I said, choking on my words. I remembered Mia’s agony when Jaime went missing; I’d hoped I’d never see another mother experience the same thing again. But life didn’t work like that. Kids went missing every day, and for different reasons. It sucked, and a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me.
“Baby, you have to stay strong for Jessica. If she sees you’ve lost hope, it will frighten her out of her mind.”
“I’ll go to the bathroom and splash my face with water before I go back to check on her,” I said, turning away from Harrison.
“Eva, wait.”
I swung around. “Yeah?”
“The washrooms are the only place I haven’t checked.” He smacked his forehead with his palm. “I’ll go check the men’s room while you wait, and then we’ll check the ladies room together.”
“But—”
Harrison laid his fingers over my lips. “Shhh . . . trust me,” he said simply.
I nodded, my eyes widening as I watched him go into the men’s room. Seconds later, he emerged still empty-handed.
“I have a strange feeling about this,” Harrison said, as he gripped my arm and shoved me behind him. Without any warning, he smashed the door of the ladies room open and burst inside.
Sobs. The sobs of a child.
“Fuck,” Harrison yelled. “Stay where you are and I won’t hurt you.”
Stunned by Harrison’s aggression, I followed him inside. Standing inside a cubicle was a middle-aged woman holding a distraught little blond boy in her arms, her hand covering his mouth.
“Mitch?” Harrison said. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. Mommy is waiting for you outside.” He took a step closer to the woman. “Don’t move a fucking inch. I’m going to take the boy from you and then I’ll ask questions. You got that?”
The woman went pale and nodded. Harrison was a large man and the way he towered over her, threatening her with his body language, would be enough to make anyone agree. She shoved the boy forward and Harrison grabbed him from her.
&nbs
p; The woman cowered into the corner, her face in her hands as she began sobbing. I had no doubt that Harrison would get the whole story out of her.
My gaze swung back to Harrison holding the boy. What astounded me most was the soft look in his eyes as he comforted the child. “Listen, buddy, this beautiful lady is Eva. She knows your mommy and she will take you to her, okay?”
Harrison reached for something inside his pocket and produced a handkerchief, wiping the tears and snot from the boy’s face before handing him to me.
I couldn’t help kissing the boy’s forehead as tears filled my eyes. Jessica and Mitch were lucky today. If Harrison hadn’t decided to spoil me, this child would most probably have become another face on a milk carton.
“You okay, Eva?” Harrison’s voice was laced with concern.
“Yeah, I’ll take Mitch to his mommy. Jessica will be so happy.” I hugged the boy for a few seconds as relief flooded my body.
“I’ll be there soon. I just need to call Savage and deal with her.”
He nodded his head toward the woman who’d sat down on the covered toilet, her shoulders slumped forward and tears streaming down her face. Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel pity for her. Something must have driven her to do something like this. Who was I to judge without knowing the whole story?
Yet I couldn’t deny that what she’d done was a terrible thing. I shuddered to think what her intentions were for the boy. And Harrison—he’d saved a boy by listening to his gut when he sensed something was off. The man never ceased to amaze me. Between him and Savage, they’d deal with the woman in the most appropriate way.
As fast as my legs would carry me, I made my way back to the café area where I’d left Jessica. She was pacing up and down, clutching her chest and talking rapidly on her phone, tears streaming down her face.
“Jessica, look who we found,” I shouted out as I approached her.
Her head snapped up, and her whole expression changed when she saw her child. My heart skipped a beat when I witnessed pure joy and love shine from her face. She sobbed even harder through her smile.
“Mitchel, are you okay, baby?” She took him from my arms and smothered his face with kisses.
I couldn’t help laughing and smiling with her while watching them reunite. It tugged at my heartstrings to see so much love between them. I was so damn proud of Harrison and what he’d done to save the day.
Yet something Jessica had alluded to earlier had stuck in my mind, and I needed an answer, so when she finally calmed down enough to talk, I ordered fresh coffees and a drink for the boy and invited Jessica to take a seat.
“Oh my God, I can’t thank you and your husband enough for helping me today. Thank you, thank you,” she said, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “I don’t normally ask strangers for help but after I’d run around hopelessly, I was so frightened that I realized I needed help.”
“Oh, it was all Harrison; he’s the hero. He found your son in the ladies room.” I didn’t want to tell her more than that, figuring that Harrison or Savage would fill her in when they had all the details. What Jessica needed at that moment was a friend and supporter. The truth and the horror of what happened would come out sooner or later.
“Where is he? I need to thank your husband.”
“Oh no, he’s not my husband,” I said, heat rising to my cheeks. The first time she mentioned it I kind of ignored it, but I didn’t want her saying something like that in front of the guys.
“He’s not? I’m sorry. It’s just the way he acted around you—I could have sworn you were a married couple. You appear to be so in love with one another.”
I just did a kind of unladylike snort-laugh, because if Jessica knew how far from the truth she was, it would be awkward.
“Honey, you said something earlier which worries me. Why did you think your husband would kill you? Is he a violent man?”
Jessica cast her eyes down for a long moment before meeting my gaze. “There’s no point in lying. Since our daughter was killed in an accident, he blames me, and our marriage is on the rocks. He yells at me all the time.” She shrugged, her eyes sad. “He’s become abusive lately, and I must admit I’m afraid of him when he goes on a rampage and threatens me. Poor Mitch hides under the bed when he starts yelling at me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sorry was an inadequate word, but I didn’t know how else to say it. “Has he . . . physical hurt you?”
She shook her head before whispering. “Not yet.”
Shifting my weight on the chair, I thought for a long moment before speaking. “I know it’s not my business, but maybe you should get help? Have you spoken to anyone about it yet?”
Jessica ruffled Mitch’s hair before planting a kiss on his forehead. Since we’d sat down, she hadn’t stopped gently touching the boy and hugging him to her. “I’m too embarrassed. Our families think we are a match made in heaven. I don’t want to upset anyone.”
“You’ve got to look out for yourself, Jessica. And for Mitch. If something happens to you, what will your boy do?”
She lay a hand on my arm. “You’re right. Thanks for your help.”
I smiled warmly at her, hoping she’d take my advice and do something about it before she became another statistic.
Savage came toward us, a deep frown between his eyes. “Hey, Eva,” he said, but his gaze was glued on Jessica. “Um, Jessica, are you okay?”
“Lucas Savage, my God, it’s you!” Her eyes were wide, and she wiped her face removing the tear stains on her cheeks.
“You guys know one another?”
“Yeah, we were at school together,” Jessica said quickly.
Savage turned to me with a lopsided smile. “Jessica was my first crush, and the first girl to break my heart.”
Must have been one hell of a crush, because Savage couldn’t take his eyes off the pretty young woman. He ruffled the boy’s hair. “You okay, big boy?”
Mitch nodded but he tightened his hold around his mother’s neck, as if he were afraid he’d be taken from her again. Savage picked up on that, because he took a step away and said, “Nobody is going to hurt you. You are safe now, buddy.” The frown was back between his eyes.
“I never expected to see you again.” Jessica’s frown matched that on the man’s face. Something must’ve happened between them that had been left unresolved.
Savage cleared his throat. “I have to ask you to accompany me to the police station to make a statement, please.”
The pretty blonde lifted her chin in defiance. “Seriously? I can drive there myself. My car is just outside.”
Reaching out as if he wanted to touch her, Savage changed his mind midway and dropped his arms to his sides. His voice was solemn when he spoke. “Okay, suit yourself. I wanted to tell you this at the station, but a woman tried to abduct your son. This is more than just him disappearing for a while. He could have been taken.”
“Oh God,” she shrieked. “Was it Melinda?”
Savage ran a hand through his hair. “How do you know the woman’s name?”
“Melinda is my husband’s sister. I think they want to take my child from me. This was all a setup.” Her voice was high-pitched, and she clung to her child as if she’d never let him go again.
Savage grabbed her by the shoulders. “Jessica, calm down, sweetheart. The main thing is we’ve stopped her. Harrison has taken her into custody, and we’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise. I’m here to help you. So can you and your boy please come with me? I’ll drop you back here to get your car when we are done.”
Feeling awkward just standing there, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. From the corner of my eye I saw Harrison approach us, and heaved a sigh of relief. He’d handle this the appropriate way.
“Everything okay?” His gaze went from me to his partner to Jessica.
Shrugging, I said, “I’m not sure. The woman?”
“The woman is being taken for questioning. And we’ll need a statement from you too, Jessica. My p
artner, Savage, will handle it from here. Are you okay to go with him?”
Jessica stared at Harrison before she answered. “I’d prefer if you and Eva came with me.”
Noticing the perplexed expression on Harrison’s face, I quickly explained. “Jessica and Savage know one another from school days.”
Harrison’s gaze snapped to the young woman. “You’re Jessica Snow?”
She nodded. “I was. I’m Jessica Martell now.” She reached and placed her hand on Harrison’s arm. “Thank you so much for what you did. It was my lucky day that you guys were here.”
The pained expression that flashed on Savage’s face told me he had unfinished business with his first crush. I couldn’t help but be curious. The giant of a man clearly wasn’t happy about something. He said she’d broken his heart. Was that why Savage never dated and was married to his career like Harrison?
“Nice to finally meet you, but I have other plans for the day with Eva, and Savage will take good care of you.” Harrison’s arm snaked around my waist, and he drew me closer to him. “So if you don’t mind, we’re going to leave now.”
Before I could even respond, he leaned over and kissed me. “Thanks for your help.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and I laughed self-consciously. “Don’t be ridiculous. You did all the work.”
His gaze burned into mine. “Does that make me your hero then?”
I smiled at him. “Yes, it does.”
Chapter 21 — Eva
“Hey, Daddy,” I said, as I answered my phone.
Since Ryder had come into my life, Bill and I were getting along a lot better. How could I hold his affair with another woman against him when I’d scored the brother I’d always longed for? Being an only child wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“Hey, angel, how are you? Haven’t heard from you in a while.” He didn’t sound as if he were accusing me of anything, yet I couldn’t help the pang of guilt that speared my heart. I’d purposely avoided talking to or seeing my father as my relationship with Harrison grew. Dad was on Ryder’s side and he wasn’t exactly crazy about the idea that I was still seeing Harrison.