Harlequin Romantic Suspense January 2021

by Marie Ferrarella, Regan Black, Karen Whiddon

  She thought, because of everything that had happened today, not to mention that this was all so new and strange to Maya, that it would take the little girl a long time to fall asleep.

  January was prepared to sit up with Maya for as long as it took. In her estimation, it would probably be at least an hour, if not more, before the little girl was out.

  As she tried to figure out just what to do with herself during this time, January happen to glance at Maya.

  She was already fast asleep.

  It had taken her all of seven minutes.

  January decided to linger for another fifteen, just in case Maya woke up.

  But she didn’t.

  Releasing the breath she had been unconsciously holding off and on for that duration, January carefully slid off the bed.

  Even though she logically knew it wasn’t necessary, she made her way silently to the bedroom door. Instead of closing it, she made the decision to leave the door open so that if there was any noise during the night, or Maya tried to leave, January would be able to hear that.

  This was the same reason January didn’t close her own door when she went into her bedroom. Above all, she didn’t want Maya feeling as if she was being closed off from anything.

  When she got to her room, January decided that she wasn’t going to change out of her own outer clothing and into pajamas. She left her clothes on so she would be able to spring up out of bed, ready to handle whatever needed addressing at a moment’s notice.

  Stafford had done that to her, January thought. Stafford and his story about those dead men in the warehouse. Men who had been executed by other men who could very well be searching to eliminate any witnesses to what they had done.

  Men who might suddenly make an appearance in her home. She was a very logical, calm person, but that was in the light of day. There was something about the darkness that coaxed out uneasy, frightening thoughts and they were what she found herself battling right now.

  This was ridiculous. She was a grown woman. She wasn’t afraid of things that went bump in the night.

  Get a grip, January, she ordered herself.

  Lying on top of her covers instead of under them, January took a deep breath. She reminded herself that she had just put in a long day and that by all rights, she should have been exhausted, not coming up with scary, outlandish scenarios.

  “Close your eyes, January. You need your rest,” she insisted. “And you’re going to need your rest so you can face tomorrow without sleepwalking. You can do this. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. In, out. In, out,” she repeated as she forced herself to close her eyes.

  After a while, she could feel herself relaxing, one tight muscle at a time. It took a few more minutes, but she had almost convinced herself that she was actually drifting off to sleep.

  Curling up on her side, January buried her face against her pillow. Her self-hypnosis began working. She slipped into a dreamlike state.

  Before long, she was one step removed from actual sleep.

  The strange screeching noise penetrated the wall of sleep she had begun to construct around herself.

  At first, she thought it was all part of her waking-dream state.

  But when the screech-like moan came again, January realized that it wasn’t a dream, or even some trapped animal, which had been her next thought.

  Maya!

  Bolting upright, January’s feet hit the floor before she even realized what she was doing.

  The next second, she was racing to the room next to hers.

  She found Maya cringing in the bed, her eyes shut as she went on whimpering, making those awful noises that had woken January up.

  January lost no time scooping Maya up into her arms.

  Still asleep, her eyes squeezed shut, Maya began to beat her fists against January, crying and desperate to break away.

  But January went on holding her, rocking her body and doing her best to soothe the little girl until Maya finally stopped making those strange, frightened noises. Her eyes suddenly flew open.

  They were filled with terror.

  When she finally became conscious—and realized where she actually was—Maya stopped hitting January. Instead of making that unearthly sound, the little girl began to sob, her body shaking. Her small arms tightened around January, as if she was trying to draw strength from her.

  “It’s okay,” January said in a soothing voice, even though she knew the little girl couldn’t hear her. She could only hope that on some level, Maya could “feel” the words she was saying to her and that by their very utterance, they would wind up comforting her.

  Or at least they would wind up negating the effects of Maya’s nightmare or whatever it was that had wound up terrifying her.

  “I bet that there are a lot of things you’ve seen and gone through that have scared you,” January whispered against Maya’s hair. “But I’m right here and I’m going to protect you, I promise.”

  CHAPTER 8

  It took January a while before she could get the girl to calm down. Once Maya finally did, January tried to get her to talk about her nightmare.

  But instead of signing an answer, or attempting to elaborate, Maya just vigorously shook her head.

  January knew better than to push.

  “You’ll tell me in your own time,” she signed to Maya, offering a smile.

  The little girl continued to seem pensive. And then, a few minutes later, Maya wanted to know when her daddy was coming to get her. Signing, she repeated the question to January not once, but several times. Each time she did, she appeared to grow more agitated when January told her she didn’t know.

  January tried another approach. “Maybe I can call him for you. What’s your daddy’s last name?” she signed. As intelligent as Maya seemed to be, the little girl had no answer for her. All she did was to once again make the sign for daddy.

  “Okay,” January murmured, resigned, “No last name. Do you know his first name?” she signed, trying again and hoping that this might be the start of solving this particular puzzle.

  Maya looked up at her and signed, “Daddy,” in response.

  As a last-ditch approach, January asked the little girl if she knew her address. Just as she had expected, Maya had no answer for that, either.

  This was getting her nowhere. Maybe she could make a little headway with Maya in the morning. At least she could hope, she thought, mentally crossing her fingers. Right now she was fresh out of ideas and too tired to try to come up with any new approaches.

  Rather than leave the little girl alone in the guest room again, this time January lay down next to her, thinking that having her close by would somehow comfort Maya.

  She was pleased to have guessed right. The little girl began to relax.

  Maya was asleep within a few minutes.

  This time, January wasn’t all that far behind her. Falling asleep with her arm loosely tucked around Maya’s waist, January remained that way for what was left of the night.

  * * *

  However, when she woke up, January hardly felt as if she had slept at all. For half a second, she thought she was late. She still needed to pack for her flight to the spa getaway with her sisters.

  She had no sooner thought that than she remembered. She’d had Simone cancel those reservations for her so that she could spend her vacation with Maya until the little girl’s parents, or at least someone in her family, could be located.

  January felt no regret over her canceled plans, only a sense of anxiety that maybe they wouldn’t be able to locate any family members. That would mean there wouldn’t be anyone to take Maya in.

  January sighed, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes. “Well, aren’t you just the ray of sunshine?” she asked herself in a mocking tone.

  She stretched, feeling less than fresh. Her body protested. But this wa
sn’t the first time she had deliberately gone to sleep in her clothes or in an awkward position. She had stayed up all night in a hospital chair recently, keeping vigil. It had been at the bedside of a little boy who had been badly abused by his stepfather while his mother had done nothing to step in or try to save him. The boy, Daniel, had been rescued by a neighbor who had heard his screams. Because of internal bleeding, Daniel wound up needing surgery, and because she had been assigned to his case at the last minute, she had stayed with the boy while he recovered.

  That was how she had wound up sleeping in a chair next to his bedside. She hadn’t wanted the nine-year-old waking up to feel as if he had been abandoned and was all alone.

  The only difference between the cases, she thought, other than the gender of the children, was that Daniel could hear her when she spoke. Getting Maya to understand her took a little extra effort. She had also known more about the boy and his background than she did about Maya.

  Patience, she told herself. Patience.

  Quietly slipping off the bed, January went into the bathroom. She threw some cold water in her face in an effort to try to feel human again.

  When she came out, January found Maya sitting up in bed, obviously watching for her to reenter the bedroom.

  “Hi, sleepyhead,” January signed, then asked, “Are you hungry?”

  Maya’s face lit up in response and she nodded her head.

  “Good, let’s get some breakfast,” January signed, then took Maya’s hand, getting her to stand up. “After that,” she continued, “we’ll find you something clean to wear.”

  Maya looked over toward where her dirty jeans and T-shirt were lying folded on the floor. She pointed to the clothing.

  “Something cleaner,” January emphasized.

  With that, she put her hand out to Maya again, waiting for her to take it. Maya immediately grasped it, reaffirming that the little girl trusted her. January gave her a quick hug, then they went downstairs.

  Once in the kitchen, January put on the coffee. In all the excitement the previous night she had completely forgotten to do that. Her morning didn’t start until she had the dark liquid coursing through her veins.

  As the coffee maker began to make noise, going through its paces, January opened the refrigerator door to see what she could offer Maya for breakfast. Because, until last night, she had been scheduled to leave on vacation today, she purposely hadn’t restocked certain items. If things had gone according to plan, she would have been away for almost two weeks. She hadn’t wanted her refrigerator filled with things going bad in that time.

  Consequently, although her supply of coffee was as healthy as it always had been, the rest of the food was limited: eggs—two—bread—two slices—and as for meat, she had one hamburger patty on the shelf in case she’d been feeling particularly hungry before she left for the airport.

  Beyond that, there was nothing.

  “Looks like the cupboard is practically bare,” January murmured as she rummaged through the crisper drawers at the bottom of the refrigerator.

  As she concluded the inventory, she felt Maya tugging on her sleeve. When she glanced at the girl, Maya raised her hands, indicating that she didn’t understand what January had just said.

  “Sorry,” January signed, then went on to repeat it, this time signing it to Maya.

  As if to disprove what January had just said about the cupboard being bare, the little girl opened the refrigerator door farther and proceeded to point to the two eggs, the all but depleted bag of bread, and the lone hamburger patty on a plate.

  “You’re right,” January signed back with a laugh. “It’s not really bare. Where are my eyes?”

  In response to that, Maya tugged January down to her level, then with a surprisingly gentle touch, she pointed first to one of January’s eyes and then the other.

  January tried not to laugh as she said, “My mistake again.”

  Straightening up, January went on to make Maya two scrambled eggs along with two slices of toast. When she put the meal on a plate in front of Maya, the little girl lost no time starting to eat. But then Maya abruptly stopped and looked up. Putting down her fork, she signed, “What about you?”

  The very act tugged at January’s heart. Not everyone, child or adult, was that thoughtful.

  “I’ll eat later,” January said as she signed the answer.

  Maya shook her head, as if she didn’t believe her. Taking a bread plate that was on the side of the table, she divided what was left of her breakfast so that January could have something to eat, too.

  “You’ve got a good heart,” January told her quietly. “If your parents are alive, I know they’ve got to be looking for you. I hope Stafford can find them.”

  Rather than asking for her to sign what she had just said, Maya looked at her with a wide smile. January felt that she seemed to understand.

  * * *

  After breakfast was over and the dishes cleared, January took Maya upstairs again to find her something to wear. Rummaging through her closet, January found a pretty peasant blouse that, with the proper tie acting as a cinch around her waist, became a slightly large pink peasant dress on the little girl.

  “There, you look lovely,” January signed, pleased with her handiwork. “And just in time, too.” Her cell phone was ringing.

  January was rarely without her phone and it was a good thing, too, she thought as she looked at the name on the screen.

  Sean Stafford.

  “Looks like your admirer is going to be here.” January signed as much to Maya, ready to explain what she meant by that term. But she didn’t have to. The little girl seemed to know who January meant, and she immediately grew excited. “Ah, so much for playing hard to get.” January laughed.

  When Maya asked her what she had just said, January signed, “Never mind,” and gestured for the little girl to follow her downstairs.

  Reaching the bottom of the steps, January answered her phone and asked, “So, when are you getting here?”

  “Try now,” Sean told her. “I’m standing on your front step.”

  Well, that certainly wasn’t much warning. “And what if I wasn’t dressed?” she asked.

  She heard a warm chuckle rumbling against her ear. January pressed her lips together. She had obviously said something that struck him as funny.

  “I don’t mind,” he told her cavalierly.

  “Very big of you,” January commented as she walked over to the front door. She hung up, opened the two locks and turned the doorknob.

  “I try to be easygoing,” Sean said just as she opened the door. His eyes met hers a second before he walked into the house. “I take it you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “What makes you say that?” she asked. She closed the door behind the detective and then proceeded to flip the locks as he looked at her. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of reminding her to lock the door—again.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you don’t exactly look all that rested,” he answered. “Since you didn’t call me last night or this morning, I’m assuming that nothing out of the ordinary happened here.”

  “Other than Maya having nightmares,” she said, sensing he would want to know about that. “No.”

  By now Maya had thrown her arms around Sean, greeting him affectionately.

  “Hi, little one.” He smiled at her as he ran one hand over her curls. Looking in January’s direction, he asked, “She had nightmares?”

  She could see that he was concerned. “Given the way you found her, could you expect anything less?”

  “Taking what happened into consideration, I don’t think I would have been able to fall asleep if I were her,” Sean said.

  “Well, luckily, she did for a while—until the nightmares woke her up.”

  “And you, did you get any sleep?” he asked. />
  She shrugged. “Me, not so much. At least it didn’t feel like I did.” Then, uncomfortable talking about herself, she changed the subject. “If you’re hungry,” she continued, leading him into the kitchen, “I can offer you a hamburger patty or coffee.”

  “Ah, a regular feast,” he commented, his lips quirking to form an amused smile.

  “My refrigerator was expecting me to go on vacation,” January told him. “I didn’t think it was smart to leave a full refrigerator if I wasn’t going to be home.”

  Opening the refrigerator door, Sean looked around the shelves. Except for a barren plate and a couple of empty wrappers that had fallen off and been overlooked, the shelves were all but empty.

  “I’d say mission accomplished,” he concluded. Closing the door again, the detective turned to her. “I thought you were kidding.”

  “Well, let that be a lesson to you. I never kid about food,” January said, deadpan.

  Sean nodded his head. “So I see. After I take that DNA sample I came for and drop it off at the lab, I can go shopping for you and this lovely little lady dressed in pink,” he said, volunteering his services as he smiled at Maya.

  January signed what the detective said, and Maya responded by covering her mouth and giggling.

  “You flattered her,” January explained, then added, “and we can do our own shopping, thank you. As a matter of fact, I intend to make going grocery shopping our little project for the day. I get the feeling that she doesn’t get to do a lot of normal, everyday things.

  “By the way, you should know that she asked for her father again. Several times, actually. Most adamantly right after she woke up from that nightmare she had,” she told Sean.

  He looked at the DNA kit he had brought with him, which, in essence, was a large cotton swab. “Well, let’s see if we can narrow the playing field and find her daddy for her—and her mommy, too, if the woman is anywhere in the picture.”