“Okay. He’s out,” Dylan said.
“See anyone else?” Cole asked.
“Clear,” Dylan answered.
“Clear here,” Eden said.
“How many up front?”
“Two. Man and a woman,” Eden said.
“Cameras?”
“Didn’t see any.”
“Okay, we’re heading in.”
He shot a glance at McKenna as they walked up the steps. He’d worked with her only a couple of times. After saving her life once, he probably knew her about as well as almost anyone, which meant not at all. She was one of LCR’s most secretive operatives.
Despite her odd quirks, she was a damn good operative and had saved a lot of lives. Besides, there weren’t any LCR operatives he knew of that didn’t have a few oddities. Seeing and experiencing hell seemed to have that effect on people.
Since she usually dressed like a teenaged boy or a punk rocker, he was surprised to find that when she dressed like a woman, McKenna was actually very attractive. There was an elegance and femininity he’d never noticed before. She, like so many LCR operatives, was a chameleon, becoming what she needed to be to get the job done.
They reached the top step, gave each other a slight nod, and then Cole pushed the door open for McKenna to go ahead of him.
The office was one of understated elegance. An attractive middle-aged woman sat behind a desk. A man, probably in his late twenties, stood beside the desk talking to her.
The woman smiled up at Cole and said, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, we’d like to inquire about an adoption,” Cole said.
“Do you have paperwork?”
Pulling a legal-looking document from his pocket, Cole unfolded it and handed it to the woman. Something dropped from the document and the man beside the desk went to pick it up. Cole hit him on the head; the man collapsed to the floor. The woman behind the desk sprang to her feet and then yelped as McKenna grabbed her arm.
Cole gave the woman a cold stare. “Anyone else in the building?”
Jerking at the hard grip McKenna had on her, she snarled, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
“Maybe after this is all over, you and I can sit down and you can tell me exactly who I’m dealing with,” Cole said.
“You’ll pay for this.”
A small, wry smile tilted McKenna’s mouth. “That line never gets old, does it?”
Cole held a gun on the woman while McKenna tied her hands behind her back.
Cole’s gaze swept the small office. No indication of cameras, but he wouldn’t rule that out. “Okay, guys. We all clear?”
“I’m clear,” Dylan answered.
“Me too,” Eden said.
He looked at McKenna. “Stay here. Alert me if you see anything odd.”
Barely giving McKenna an opportunity to nod her agreement, Cole pushed open the door to a small hallway. His heart lurched and then went into overdrive. Eden stood at the end of the hallway holding a small, brown-haired girl. The child appeared to be asleep, but even from a distance Cole recognized the sweet face of Hailey Fairchild.
Peace like he’d never known flowed through him. Keeley was finally getting her daughter back. Cole’s pledge had been fulfilled.
twenty-eight
Keeley couldn’t sit still any longer. She’d stared at the radio left in the room and had heard every word. Hailey had been found. Without asking permission, Keeley ran through the door. No one tried to stop her and if they had she would have knocked them out of the way.
She stood on the street, unsure which direction Cole would be coming with Hailey. People milled around her, dodging her. Some looked at her strangely. She saw nothing, her mind only on one thing. And then, like the parting of the Red Sea, the crowd divided into halves and Cole strode toward her, a small child in his arms. Keeley’s heart stopped. The closer he came, the more her heart dropped. She looked nothing like Hailey. How could they have thought …?
Cole murmured something to the child who had her arms wrapped around his neck. The little girl lifted her head to peek around, and Keeley saw an angel’s face. Her angel—Hailey.
Sobbing and laughing all at once, Keeley took off running; Cole stopped and put Hailey on the sidewalk.
“Hailey!” Keeley screamed.
“Mommy!”
Keeley scooped up her daughter in his arms and swung her around. Tears pouring from her eyes, she buried her face against Hailey’s soft neck and cried.
She held her for several long seconds, absorbing the wonder of having her baby back in her arms. Finally able to raise her head, she looked over to where Cole stood. Only he was no longer there. Keeley whirled around. She saw Eden and Jordan standing a few feet away. Shea and Ethan were walking toward her … but where was Cole?
A few hours later, Keeley was tucking Hailey into the small bed they’d set up on the plane. After LCR doctors had examined Hailey and declared her healthy, the two of them had been hustled onto a private jet. It had been done quietly, efficiently, and quickly … and Cole hadn’t been anywhere to be found.
Even Shea and Ethan didn’t know where he’d gone. Eden said that he’d stood for several seconds watching the mother and daughter reunion and then had turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
She hadn’t said goodbye. Hadn’t said thank you. And most important, she hadn’t said, “I love you.”
Would she ever see him again? Keeley straightened her spine. The last few months she had learned a lot about herself. Some of the things she’d learned, she hadn’t liked. She realized that until her children had been taken, she’d never truly fought for anything. But when they had disappeared, she had stood her ground on more than one occasion. Now it was time to fight for herself.
She’d always been stubborn and an optimist, but had never had the confidence to demand respect. Which was one of the reasons she’d allowed Elizabeth to treat her as she had. And one of the reasons she’d stayed in a bad marriage.
That Keeley was gone. Forever. She’d survived one of the most unspeakable horrors a woman could know—losing her children. She had never given up hope they would be found. And now, that fortitude and determination would see her through for Cole. She would not give up on him.
There were things to be done, issues that had to be addressed. The doctors had said Hailey was fine physically, but they had urged her to make sure she received a thorough exam from her pediatrician. And the child psychologist would want to see her as well.
Once she was assured that Hailey was indeed fine, she would turn her attention to finding Cole and making sure he knew that she wanted to be a part of his life if he still wanted her.
She refused to allow herself to believe he didn’t. That would be a final break to her heart. One she would never recover from.
Jenna looked out the window as Hannah played in the backyard. Her heart broke for the little girl who would soon lose her mother. It would be a devastating blow to her and to little Hailey … especially after what they’d gone through already this year.
She had no choice, though. It was time for it to end. She couldn’t put up with the inequality any longer. After years of being in the shadows, always receiving Keeley’s leavings, it was time for her to step up and take her rightful place.
She had hoped to avoid this. Had hoped Keeley would see how much she needed her friend. See how important Jenna was to her survival, to her happiness.
Jenna’s importance had always been predicated on what Keeley wanted and needed. And had Keeley appreciated that? Had she been grateful for the things Jenna had done for her, allowed her to have? Of course not. She had taken and taken until Jenna didn’t have anything left to give.
None of this had turned out the way it was supposed to. Keeley should have turned to Jenna for comfort and strength. Taking her kids hadn’t created the emotionally needy Keeley that Jenna had expected. Instead, she had become self-sufficient and stronger. That emotional support Jenna had been primed to of
fer her friend had never really been needed.
And now, it had come full circle, but was so much worse than before. Keeley not only had both of her children back, she’d also fallen in love. Why was it that everything always worked out for Keeley? It was so damn unfair. And it had to stop.
It hurt Jenna deeply; she couldn’t deny that. She loved Keeley and would miss her tremendously. Hailey and Hannah would need her to stay strong for them. They were her daughters now. She would take care of them, mother and nurture them. She’d never allow something to happen to them the way Keeley had. She would be a good mother.
The townspeople would praise her for taking in two orphan girls. They’d tell their friends when she passed by, “Oh, that’s Jenna Banks, she took in Keeley Fairchild’s children after Keeley suddenly disappeared. She didn’t have to, you know … but that’s just the kind of person Jenna is.” People were finally going to realize how special she was. So much more special than Keeley.
The newspaper would run an article on her. Maybe the television stations would come and interview her the way they had Keeley when the girls first disappeared. Everyone would admire Jenna for her self-sacrifice and her loyalty to her missing-and-presumed-dead friend.
And then there was Cole. He had always been nice to her, always seemed interested in what she had to say. With Keeley out of the way, he would be able to see how special Jenna was. How much better she was for him than Keeley.
Which proved the point: life might not turn out the way one plans, but sometimes, if one works very very hard, it can turn out even better.
Tampa, Florida
Cole stared down at the notes he’d just scribbled. He’d gotten in last night and hadn’t been able to sleep. Knowing Keeley now had her children home with her should have given him the peace he’d searched for. For some reason, that feeling had only been temporary. Something was ripping at his insides. Wesley Tuttle was dead. There was no longer a threat to Keeley or her children. So why the hell did worry keep hammering at his brain? Something had been bothering him and he couldn’t get a grasp on what it was.
As soon as he walked in the door of his home, he grabbed a soda from the fridge and started writing. In his previous life, before LCR, he used to work out problems this way. He remembered that Jill used to tease him about his method.
He still missed her … would always miss her. She’d been a beautiful, special person. Had been a part of his life since he was a little boy, and he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with her. But that hadn’t been possible, and though a piece of his heart would never heal from her death, he knew she would want him to move on and be happy again. That happiness would only come with Keeley.
Whether she would give him another chance, he didn’t know. He would give her and her daughters a chance to bond again, and then he would go back and see if there could be a future for them.
He let his pen move across the paper without any plan on what he would write. And suddenly he wrote Jenna’s name. Snatches of conversation he’d had with Keeley over the past few months passed through his mind; Cole jotted them down.
“Jenna and I used to run together. After her knee injury, she couldn’t run anymore. Her mother broke her kneecap. She wore a brace for years. By the time she could afford surgery, it was too late, the damage had been done.”
“Jenna knew about Stephen’s affairs and didn’t tell me.”
“Running has always been my panacea. Whenever I was at my lowest point, I could run and everything seemed just a little bit better. It made me happy.”
“I stopped competing in track because my mom died when I was running a race. Jenna was with her. I came home with a first-place medal and no mother.”
“Jenna’s always been there for me. At the most devastating times of my life, she’s been right at my side. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
Cole shot out of his chair.
Jenna!
Keeley pulled her car up in front of Jenna’s house. For some reason, her friend had decided to bring Hannah here. Which actually worked out better for everyone.
She had called Miranda and asked her to take care of Hailey while she picked up Hannah from Jenna’s. She wanted to tell Hannah that her sister was safe before she brought them together again. One psychologist had suggested that the shock of seeing each other so suddenly might have a negative effect and bring back memories they weren’t ready to deal with yet.
Twisting the doorknob, she was surprised when the door opened as if it hadn’t been closed all the way. Sticking her head in, she called out, “Jenna? Hannah?”
No answer.
Keeley went from room to room, puzzled at first and then becoming increasingly concerned. Every room was pristine, organized and beautifully decorated. But still no Hannah or Jenna. That was odd. Jenna knew she was coming. She’d called her less than an hour ago and told her she was coming by to pick Hannah up. Where could they be?
On the second-floor landing, Keeley heard a soft sound from below. Running down the stairs, she called again, “Jenna?”
“In here.”
Keeley ran down the hallway. As she pushed the door open to the kitchen, shock jerked her to a stop. Jenna stood at the center of the kitchen behind the butcher-block counter. Hannah lay on the counter, her eyes closed. What chilled Keeley to the bone was the knife Jenna held against Hannah’s throat.
“My God, Jenna. What are you doing?”
Jenna’s brown eyes glittered with hatred as a sick smile spread across her face. “What I should have done years ago. You never deserved the good things that happened to you, Keeley. You never appreciated them. You gave me up … lived without me … did things without me.
“Every time I let you have something, you took it and never thanked me.” Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, all the while keeping the knife at Hannah’s throat. “You even ran away and got married. You called me before you left, but it wasn’t the same. I didn’t get to be your maid of honor like we’d always planned.”
Keeley could barely register Jenna’s crazy words. All she could concentrate on was the butcher knife pressed against her daughter’s tender neck.
“Jenna, whatever I’ve done to you, however I’ve hurt you, I’m sorry. But don’t hurt Hannah because you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Keeley. I love you. You’re my best friend.”
“Then if we’re best friends, we should be able to talk things over.” She took a step forward. “Let’s sit down and talk it out.”
“Oh, we’ll do plenty of talking, and if you move any closer, your darling Hannah is going to bleed all over my nice clean kitchen. She’s asleep right now … she’ll just never wake up. Is that what you want?”
“No! Please … tell me what you want me to do.”
“I want you to drink from that cup on the counter in front of you.”
Keeley’s eyes darted to the cup at the edge of the counter and then back to the horrifying scene before her. “Why?”
“Because I said so, Keeley. From now on, I tell you what to do. You’ve had your way for too long. Now it’s my turn.”
“What’s in the cup?”
“Not poison, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
Keeley took a breath to steady herself. This was a woman she’d known most of her life. Had shared every secret and every sorrow with. That couldn’t have been a lie. Somewhere inside the crazed woman staring at her was still the young girl she’d giggled with and told all her secrets to.
Keeley placed her hands in front of her. They were shaking so badly, she didn’t know if she could hide what she was doing, but she had no choice. The watch Cole had given her and made her promise never to take off might be her only hope. Crossing one hand in front of the other, Keeley pressed the button Cole had showed her would reach him immediately. The button next to it was the mute button. If Jenna heard Cole answer, there was no telling what she might do.
She couldn’
t hear him answer; she could only hope he would hear her.
Keeley raised her hands and walked slowly toward her in a nonthreatening way. “Jenna, please listen to me. Whatever I’ve done to you, please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt Hannah.”
“I won’t as long as you do what I tell you to do. Now, drink what’s in the cup.”
“I—” Keeley choked back a cry when Jenna seemed to press the knife harder against Hannah’s neck.
“Don’t make me have to do it, Keeley. If I kill her, it’s your fault.”
Keeley picked up the cup in front of her. It was filled with a dark liquid. “If I do this, what happens to Hannah?”
“I’ll make sure she’s okay, her and Hailey. I love them, Keeley … just like they were my very own. That’s why I had two good families all picked out for them. They would have been happy … well cared for. Instead the bastard sold them to buyers who could pay more money. He didn’t die soon enough for me.”
Fury replaced the shock. “You hired Wesley to take them, didn’t you? And you killed him?”
She laughed. “Finally, after all this time, you figured it out. You know, you’re not nearly as smart as people think you are.”
“But why?”
“Drink!”
Her hands shaking, knowing she had no choice but to do what Jenna said if she wanted to keep Hannah safe, Keeley put the glass to her mouth.
“All of it, Keeley. If I see even a little remaining, I’ll cut one of Hannah’s ears off.”
Keeley took a sip, surprised it was her favorite herbal tea. It was tepid and she finished it quickly. Whatever had been in the drink would most likely disorient her soon. Could she get to Hannah before she passed out?
She set the glass down and took a step toward Jenna. The room wavered in front of her. Whatever had been in the drink was faster acting than she anticipated. She blinked again and forced her eyes to focus enough to see that Jenna had moved away from Hannah and was no longer holding the knife to her neck.
Her vision tunneling toward darkness, Keeley flew across the room in the direction she thought Jenna was. Before she reached her, pain slammed into her head and she dropped to the floor.
Last Chance 05 - Second Chance Page 31