by Nikki Duncan
Torn between promises and passion, duty and desire…
Sensory Ops, Book 6
Taryn Bellamy has shamelessly used the art of illusion to build a name for herself in the entertainment industry. But it hasn’t magically made it easier to raise the twins left in her care by her past best friend.
After one of the twins runs away, Taryn chases the girl all the way to Miami, where she comes to face to face with the kids’ father. He’s an FBI agent—and he sparks a dangerous heat in her veins. Heat that could send the heart and soul of her closely guarded life up in a puff of magical smoke.
When tech genius Tyler Greer traces a hacker’s cyber trail to a private runway at a Miami airport, he’s surprised to find Taryn, whom he suspects was involved in a series of high-profile art thefts years ago. A crime he could never quite make stick to the slippery, sensual illusionist.
Then he discovers the kids in her care are his. The truth rocks Tyler’s world…and leaves Taryn fearing the greatest crime will be against her heart.
Warning: A father’s chance to know his children tangles into a web of doubt and passion that threatens a few hearts.
Cyber Illusions
Nikki Duncan
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Dedication
To Heather, who will haul my butt out of the fire. Unless she helps me get it there first. I never want to know life without you.
Chapter One
Illusions were Taryn Bellamy’s business and her success stemmed from her ability to project an expected image. When the applause died and the spotlights went out she became the woman her audience would never know. A woman with a need for family and relaxation rather than excitement and intrigue.
While her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light of backstage and her skin still buzzed with the excitement of having given people a magical night, she pulled her hair into a ponytail, using the hairband Davio, her stage and prop manager, handed her as she stepped offstage.
“Great show, Taryn.”
“Thanks, Davio.” She smiled into the darkness of his Greek-god looks. He was a couple years past his prime but still handsome. “Excellent choices for the volunteers, as usual.”
Davio had joined her crew two years ago, using his charisma to charm his way into the job, and he’d delivered on every promise he’d ever made. For a man, he wasn’t large, not much bigger than her, but women seemed to like the ropey guy with exotic coloring and a slight paunch. His appearance combined with his European accent made him nonthreatening and captivating.
“Thank you.” He passed her a bottle of water and followed her toward the dressing rooms. “Your mom has texted you several times since you went on. Says she needs to talk to you.”
“I’ll call her,” Taryn said as she opened her door. “If you don’t need anything from me.”
“I got it.” Like he did after every show, with the audience gone, Davio went to oversee the packing up of the props. For him, that meant doing the job himself. He didn’t know every detail of every illusion, but instead of asking he simply accepted that some secrets didn’t get discussed.
In her dressing room, with the phone on speaker, she began changing from her stage costume and waited for her mom to answer.
“Taryn.” Mom’s breathless greeting was worlds away from her normally serene Hey, honey. “Thank God.”
The hairs on the back of Taryn’s neck tingled the way they did when something bad happened to one of the kids. It was a sensation she didn’t experience often, but she hated it equally every time. “Mom? Is everything okay? Is Ryder feeling better?”
“Ryder’s fine. Sidney’s gone.”
She froze. Intensely afraid of what her mother would say next, she asked, “What do you mean gone?”
“I can’t find her anywhere.”
She shook. Every cell inside and every skin covered inch outside, shook. “I thought she was going to Addy’s house tonight after Tae Kwon Do.”
“Yeah, me too. When I called to see if she’d remembered to get Ryder’s homework from school, Addy’s mom said she wasn’t there and that she knew nothing about a sleepover.”
“Have you asked Ryder?” If Sidney was up to mischief, which wouldn’t be a real surprise, her twin brother would know. The challenge rested in getting him to rat her out. The boy was loyal to his core.
“He only shakes his head while keeping his eyes locked on his screen.” Mom’s jagged sigh shook the phone lines, portraying her level of stress and raising Taryn’s. “I looked through her room and found a map of Miami with a few spots marked with a highlighter.”
“Miami?” Taryn couldn’t think of a school project that would involve researching Miami, so what could Sidney be up to? With her stage costume now on a hanger, Taryn slipped on her jeans and reached for the blouse she’d changed out of earlier. “Let me make a few calls, do some checking, and I’ll call you back.”
Trying not to jump to conclusions of the scary variety, though they were swarming, Taryn slipped on her shoes, skipped the habit of removing her makeup, grabbed her purse and headed toward Davio. While she walked, she dialed Sidney’s Tae Kwon Do coach Jack.
“Davio, something’s come up with Sidney. Can you handle things here?”
“You bet.” Concern deepened his eyes. “Everything okay?”
“I’ll let you know when I know.” She wasn’t sure where she was going, or what she was going to do, but she needed to be moving. With a parting, “Thanks,” just as Jack answered, she took the back exit.
“Jack, it’s Taryn.” She turned toward the hotel, thinking that walking the three blocks might help her settle herself so she could think. “My mom called. Sidney isn’t where she said she’d be. Did she say anything in class about what she was doing tonight?”
“She wasn’t in class. I assumed she’d gone out of town with you.”
Taryn’s heart plummeted. Her stomach dropped. She stumbled on the concrete and fought to keep calm in her voice. Fear made it the toughest challenge of her life. “Thanks. I’ll keep looking.” It was all she could do, because giving in to the panic settling in the back of her brain would solve nothing. “She’ll turn up.” I hope.
Dialing Sidney’s teacher’s cell, Taryn thought of all the places Sidney might have gone, who with and why.
Sidney was the outgoing one of the twins and she had a talent for concocting scenarios—schemes—from start to finish, complete with an accurate prediction of how much trouble she would get in. And then she’d do it anyway. She lost track of time easily when something captured her attention, but she never skipped Tae Kwon Do and she wouldn’t miss an opportunity to sleep over at Addy’s.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Haliwell. This is Taryn Bellamy. I’m calling about Sidney.”
“Yes, Ms. Bellamy. How’s New Orleans?”
“Colorful. Listen, did Sidney say anything in class today about her weekend plans?”
“She wasn’t in class today, but yesterday I overheard her talking to Addy about going to see her father in Miami while you were out of town. I assumed she was with you and that you would send a note next week. Is she not with you?”
“No. But I’ll find her.” Taryn’s mind whirled, unable to quiet. She hung up and instead of calling anyone else she flagged down a cab. Headed toward the airport and her plane, she texted her pilot and then Davio. She would go to Miami and send the plane back for the crew. Davio and her crew would handle all the details for their equipment and rooms.
Logic said the girl couldn’t be in Miami. She had no money, no credit card and no way to get to the airport alone, but an irrational hope to find her quickly angled Taryn toward the illogical. Ten years ol
d or not, if anyone could pull it off Sidney could.
Fearful with helplessness, Taryn called her mom again as she boarded the plane.
“Did you find her?” her mom asked.
“No. Let me talk to Ryder.”
A moment later, Ryder was on the phone. “Yeah?”
“Ryder, Mrs. Haliwell said something about Sidney finding her dad in Miami. Mom found a map of Miami in her room. Is she there?” Before he could respond she went on. “You’ve never been able to lie to me, Ryder, so don’t even try.”
He was quiet for a minute. She could picture him staring at his computer screen while he thought something out. He rarely made eye contact when a screen was around. She didn’t have to wait long for a reply.
“She is.”
Anger erupted, forcing her to take a calming breath to hold back her chastisements. “Tell me the rest.”
“Our dad’s name is Tyler Greer. He’s in Miami, but he’s not in prison. He works for the FBI and Sidney skipped school today to go find him.”
“What?” Taryn grabbed the tablet she kept on the plane. “You are so grounded, and later you’re going to tell me how you found him. Right now, send me what you have on him.” For the first time ever she wished she’d broken down and given the kids cell phones. “How did she plan on getting to Miami? Where is she staying?”
“A plane. We had it all planned out.”
“And neither of you thought to say anything?” Taryn fastened her seat belt as Richard, her pilot, prepared for takeoff. He’d moved quickly to file a flight plan and get ready to go. She would keep it in mind when she wrote his next check. “I would have taken you.”
Taryn hated how easily the twins’ mother had signed over custody, kissed her kids on their foreheads and walked away. If she’d known who or where their father was, she’d have called him immediately and given him the chance to step up. All she’d known was his first name and that he’d been taken to prison by the FBI sometime before the kids were born, so reaching out hadn’t been an option.
“We didn’t want to upset you. She was planning on being home before anyone noticed.”
“Well, her plan didn’t work, did it? How are you communicating with her?”
“What?”
“She wouldn’t have left home without a plan to talk. Spill.”
Ryder sighed, obviously upset that they’d been found out and he was having to sell out his sister. “There’s an app on her tablet. It’ll only work when she’s connected. I’ll send it to you.”
“When we’re done, you can consider yourself grounded from technology until I tell you differently.”
“But…”
“Ryder. Don’t push me. This is a big deal.” Her heart rate eased marginally with the knowledge of where Sidney was, ballpark anyway, and what she was doing. But the thought of a ten-year-old girl being alone in Miami and all the dangers that came from that birthed new terrors.
“Yes, Taryn.”
During the flight time, Taryn read up on Tyler Greer, tech specialist for the FBI Specialized Crimes Unit, and studied the maps of the area Sidney was supposed to be in. She booked a hotel room and then a car to meet her at the plane. She called the FBI, unsure how to explain herself in a voice mail. It hadn’t mattered. Tyler wasn’t in the office and she’d hung up before his voicemail greeting finished.
By the time the wheels touched down her nerves were frayed and as tired as she was, having been up for eighteen hours, she was ready to hit the streets.
As she moved to the exit, the two front doors of a black SUV opened. The man exiting the driver side called out in a commanding voice, “Taryn Bellamy. FBI.”
Taryn looked between the sweet-faced brunette a little shorter than herself and the man. Taller, blond, with a light tan and caramel-colored eyes, he looked more like he belonged on a beach with a surfboard than on a tarmac in jeans, a button-down and tie.
She didn’t have to hear his name to know…
He looked like an older version of his children.
“Agents?”
“A private plane. Wouldn’t have thought magic paid so well. Unless it doesn’t,” Tyler Greer said as he and Kieralyn Cabrera waited on the tarmac. He’d helped take down a lot of criminals, rich and poor, but waiting for a suspect known for making things disappear to disembark in his own backyard was a little too easy.
“We don’t know she’s the thief.” Kieralyn spoke logically, but her agreement with his statement winked in her gaze.
“The trail leading to her is clear, and we know she’s been in New Orleans since yesterday afternoon where there’s already been a theft.”
“You don’t think the evidence is a little too tidy?”
He shrugged. “Ten shows a year for the last four years and a high-end art theft occurs during half of her appearances. It’s too coincidental. And she had to have left tonight’s show in a hurry to get here so fast. What’s she running from?”
“You don’t think it’s coincidental that you got that tip now when the Bureau’s been looking so long for a connection?” Kieralyn asked.
“Maybe it is, but we can’t ignore it.”
“And here we all were, thinking you were only worried about tracking your hacker. Maybe you’ve met your match.”
Tyler’s jaw clenched. It always clenched when he thought of the mystery hacker who seemed bent on helping solve unsolvable cases. “First he hacks my firewall. Then he evades my tracking bots. Now he’s delivering evidence on an art thief whose reign needs to be stopped. Some would wonder why I want to stop him.”
“That’s easy. Pride in doing the job without the help,” Kieralyn said as the door opened on the plane and the stairs were lowered. “Plus, we can only claim the evidence came from an anonymous source on so many cases.”
“Yeah.” His frustration was ripe as they got out of the car and approached the plane.
A moment later the woman whose picture he’d studied stepped into the opened doorway and Tyler was knocked back a step. Stunning was too weak of a description for the woman facing him.
Long, dark hair. Eyes such a pale blue they almost seemed silver. Only a few inches shorter than him and curvy through the bust and hips with a tiny waist, the woman was gorgeous. “Taryn Bellamy. FBI.”
“Agents?”
Her eyes darted nervously between Tyler and Kieralyn. The pulse in her neck rabbited.
“Agents Greer and Cabrera.” He flipped his badge wallet open, showing her his credentials. Kieralyn did the same. “We understand you’re an illusionist.”
“I am,” Taryn answered with a slight twitch of her fingers, “but why are you here?”
“Would you mind if we asked you a couple of questions?” Agent Cabrera asked.
“I don’t, though, now really isn’t a good time,” Ms. Bellamy said with a quiver in her voice as she stepped onto the ground and moved to another car parked nearby.
Her angst and need to get away only made Tyler suspect her more. “We’ll only take a few moments of your time.”
“Fine.” She turned at the car and crossed her arms.
Tyler scanned the area, preferring someplace less open. She made a living pulling off tricks, including disappearing ones. With a car and plane at her disposal, she had too many options. “Were you in Atlantic City on October 15th?” he asked while consulting his cell. He heard the edge in his tone, put it there in hopes of shaking her a little more.
“I know it was October.”
“And Denver on September 18?”
“I don’t recall the date of every performance, but if it means I can go now, I’ll get you a schedule.”
Impatience flushed her cheeks, but he wasn’t letting her go without a damn good reason. “Did you know each of your performances coincides with a high-value art theft?”
“I can’t say I’m that in touch with the art world, so no.” She drummed her fingers against her arm. “Listen, I don’t know anything about missing art and now really isn’t a good time.”
Tyler moved a step closer, watched to see how much more nervous he could make her. “Why the hurry? If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t be afraid to talk to us.”
Her mouth was pinched in a hard line as she checked her watch. “I have nothing to hide and I don’t fear you, but if you don’t mind, I have a child to find.”
It was on his tongue to argue with her claim, but the seriousness and determination in her stare had him changing tactics. For now. It couldn’t be her child, at least not according to her bio, but she was as worked up as any mother so maybe she was being truthful. “Is everything okay with the child?”
“I hope so. That’s why I need to find her.” She opened her mouth, like she wanted to say more, but then closed it again. “You think I’m guilty of stealing some art?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not.”
“Pretty much everyone says I didn’t do it.”
“And we’re all liars.” She nodded. “You want to keep an eye on me?”
“Yes.”
With a nod, she pulled her phone out. After a few swipes of her fingertip she handed it to him. “Watch me while you help me find her.”
A picture of two kids—a boy and a girl, both blond with light brown eyes—dominated the screen. The girl looked eerily familiar, like they could be related to him, but he didn’t know them. “Where do you think she is?”
“Somewhere in Miami. Looking for her father.”
“She yours?”
“Yes. I’m their guardian.” She angled her head and narrowed her darkly lined eyes on him. “Your first name’s Tyler, isn’t it?”
He met her gaze directly. Maybe she’d registered his name off his ID, but he doubted it, so how did she know? Why hadn’t she seemed more surprised to see him and Kieralyn outside her plane? “Yes.”
Her hands, hanging at her sides, shook violently as she raised one to her stomach. With the other she reached toward the car.
“Oh my God.” She shook her head, talking to herself. “He was right.” Raising her wavering gaze to his, Tyler was surprised to see tears pooling along the bottom lids. “I don’t know how,” she continued, “but he was right.”