A few years later and Gina was still gun-shy around men. Dante and his co-workers had to make her nervous but she faced her fears and stayed to offer support. With one last wave she disappeared out the door.
Marla Ortiz, the mother of Grace’s best friend, hugged her next. “Do you want me to stay? Molly’s at her dad’s house.”
“Thank you, Marla. I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather be alone.”
“Alone or with that hunk, Mr. Costa?” Marla winked and flashed a wicked smile. She was an unabashed nymphomaniac. Taylor refused to allow Grace to stay the night at her house, which caused many fights. She didn’t completely trust Marla to keep an eye on the kids. She was always after her next conquest. When they got together with Laurie and Gina for girls’ nights, they took turns picking what child-free activity they would indulge in for the night. Marla always wanted to go barhopping. She never drove because most of the time, she ended up going home with a stranger she picked up at the bar.
“I can’t think about anything like that, Marla. Grace is missing.”
Marla was instantly contrite. “Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Molly was so scared and didn’t want to leave her alone on that bus.”
Taylor squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. Dante is very handsome.”
Marla ran her salacious gaze over him. “I’ll say.” She shook her head. “Anyway, please call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Laurie Nichols hugged her next, followed by Jane, whose eyes looked suspiciously moist again. Her mom’s best friend was one of the last to leave. She pulled Taylor in for a hug.
“I’m staying and I won’t take no for an answer,” Maureen insisted. “Your mom would have a fit if she knew you were here by yourself.”
“I won’t be alone, Maureen.”
“I’ll just sleep on the couch, you won’t even know I’m here.”
“I appreciate your offer, but I insist you go home and get some rest.”
Maureen narrowed her gaze at Taylor, then her eyes traveled to Dante. “You sure you won’t be alone?”
“Positive.”
“All right. I spoke with your mom earlier and she’s not sure when they’ll be able to leave the ship, but they’ll be here as soon as possible. I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow.”
Taylor thanked her and escorted her to the door. Cassie gave her a half-hearted hug and was that a smirk she detected? Taylor shook her head, sure she was just imagining it. Cassie grabbed her purse and sashayed out the door. Taylor watched as Dan and Dorian slipped out behind her, praying that her sister wasn’t betraying her.
#
Cassie Collins waited until she stepped outside Taylor’s house to light a cigarette. Her sister was such a drama queen. Everything was always about her. She couldn’t wait to call her lover and tell him the latest news. Well…he wasn’t exactly her lover—yet. But he would be soon.
Cassie had been stunned when he reached out to her. He was a celebrity, a gorgeous hunk. She’d seen him on television and been instantly drawn to his charm. She had no doubt her sister railroaded him into prison. He wasn’t guilty. He told her so and she believed him. Why would he lie?
They wrote often and then someone smuggled him a phone so they could talk…and they did, for hours. She fell madly in love with him. After her rat bastard ex ran off with his much-younger secretary, Cassie was feeling old and washed up and ugly. Taylor was always the golden child, smarter, prettier, better at sports and school and everything. She was the homecoming queen and the star of the basketball team. Even though Cassie was older, Taylor got all of the attention. Oh, their parents never showed favoritism, but Cassie knew they were proud of Taylor and were secretly disappointed in her. She never finished college, married a two-timing snake and had been fired from more jobs than most people held in a lifetime.
Patrick made her feel like a queen. She’d do anything for him…well, almost anything. She really didn’t want him to harm her niece. She loved the little girl, even if she was Taylor’s child. Grace was so trusting and open, you couldn’t help but fall for her little girl charms. Patrick promised he wouldn’t hurt her, that he cared for her. He just wanted to get back at Taylor for sending him to prison when he’d been innocent. But he promised he wouldn’t touch a hair on Grace’s head. That was the only way she went along with his plan to abduct her.
She pulled out her phone and dialed his number. She smiled, anticipating hearing his smoky-smooth voice drifting across the airwaves. “Hi, lover. Miss me?”
“Sure, sugar, miss you tons,” he responded. She shivered at the deep timbre of his voice.
“I have some news. Turns out the Costa kid was here all the—”
Cassie gasped as two large shapes suddenly materialized in front of her. They both wore matching looks of menace on their faces. The more muscular giant spoke. Dorian, she thought was his name. “Mind telling us who you’re talking to?”
She held the phone against her chest and gave him her haughtiest look. “I most certainly do. It’s none of your damn business.”
The other man spoke, the one she’d tried flirting with earlier. Dan something. “I’m afraid it is our business.” He reached out to grab her phone and she gasped, dropping it to the ground. Before he could snatch it up, she stomped on it, shattering it into a million pieces. Damn, she hated to lose her iPhone, but she didn’t want to get Patrick in trouble. He told her his cell was untraceable, but she wasn’t taking any chances with her lover’s life.
Strong hands gripped her arms on either side and she fought against their hold. “Hey, let me go,” she demanded. She twisted and tried to kick but they didn’t loosen their grip. One of the men scooped up her crushed phone with a look of disgust. She smirked. Good luck getting any info off it, bastard.
They hauled her roughly forward. She looked around for the television people, hoping they were filming these brutes manhandling her. No cameras in sight. “Hey, you’re kidnaping me,” she shouted. “Someone help.”
“Don’t worry,” Dan drawled to the man running with his dog who looked poised to intervene. She batted her eyes at him, praying he’d help her. “We’re taking her to the police right now.” He indicated the cruiser sitting in Taylor’s driveway. Dammit.
They towed her back to her sister’s house and her stomach pitched. She’d been so careful all these months, helping Patrick to plan his moves once he escaped. True, she had no idea where he was right now, and she was pretty sure he was with another woman, but he promised to come back and pick her up. He insisted she was his true love. The other women were just helping him and meant nothing. She was the woman he wanted to spend his life with…his true love.
They pushed through the door and thankfully most of the people had left. A group of women she didn’t know were gathered in the kitchen, pinning her with their gazes. Hey, was that Juliet LaRue? She shook her head. Why would an Oscar winner be standing in her sister’s house? Her eyes flittered around, looking for a friendly face. Surely there was someone left who’d support her. The men all wore matching looks of disgust. No help there. Her gaze landed on her sister who looked shattered. She didn’t have time to revel in victory. The men shoved her forward until she stood alone in the middle of the room.
“Looks like we found the mole,” Dorian rumbled.
Chapter Eight
Friday
Taylor paced outside of her office where Sawyer Oldham and Luke Colton were questioning her sister. Sawyer was a current FBI special agent and Luke a former detective on the police force, so they knew all the tricks to get a perp to talk. One tactic they weren’t implementing was good cop/bad cop. Sawyer was bad cop, Luke was badder cop. Cassie didn’t stand a chance.
Taylor could only see the back of her sister’s head, but she could hear what was being said perfectly. Her sister denied everything at first, but as the evidence mounted, she finally caved and admitted to having been in touch with Patrick Sweeney for over a year. Taylor cou
ldn’t believe it. Her own sister betrayed her.
“How was contact initiated between you and Sweeney?” Sawyer asked. When Cassie didn’t answer, Sawyer’s voice became low, menacing. “You’re in serious trouble here, Ms. Collins. We can either do this here or we’ll haul your ass to jail right now.”
“Don’t I need a lawyer or something?” She squirmed nervously.
“Do you want one?”
She thought about it and then shook her head decisively. “Taylor’s a lawyer and she sent an innocent man to prison, so I’m better off without one.”
Taylor snarled, poised to attack. Dante smoothed a hand up and down her back, calming her.
“Your choice,” Luke agreed. “You’ve already waived your rights. Now answer the damn question”
“Fine,” she huffed. “He wrote me. He said he was innocent and that Taylor was just trying to make a name for herself by prosecuting him.”
Luke casually strolled to the desk and lifted a folder. He opened it, withdrew a picture and slapped it on the desk in front of Cassie. Cassie gasped and lurched back. Taylor didn’t know what the picture was of, but it deeply affected her sister. “Does this look like the work of an innocent man?” He took out another one. “Or this?”
Ah, pictures of Sweeney’s victims.
Cassie frantically shook her head and pointed at the photos. “Patrick did not do that.”
“Are you saying he didn’t do this, either?” Luke slammed another picture in front of her. Cassie gagged and lurched for the trash can, barely making it before she spewed the contents of her stomach. The two men watched with disinterest. She was dry-heaving now. She stood and grabbed a tissue from the desk. Her hand shook as she accepted the bottle of water Sawyer held out to her.
“I’ll take care of that,” Peter offered as he stepped past Taylor.
She grabbed his arm. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s not a problem. I worked my way through school as a janitor at a psychiatric facility, so I’m used to much worse, believe me.” He slipped inside unobtrusively and cleaned up the mess.
“When did you graduate from letters to phone calls?” Luke asked, once Cassie had calmed down and returned to her seat.
“About six months ago.”
“How did he get a phone? Convicted felons aren’t allowed to have one.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “He said someone gave him one. And he’s not a felon. He didn’t do,” she waved a hand in the direction of the photos without looking at them, “that.” Luke had left them on display, even spread them out so all were visible.
“Do you know what convicted means, Ms. Collins?”
“Of course I do,” she snapped at Sawyer. “I’m not an idiot.”
“Could have fooled me,” she and Dante muttered at the same time. They glanced at each other and smiled. Uh-oh. Taylor’s stomach flipped. She shook her head and refocused on the interview.
“Could have fooled me,” Luke echoed their statement. “A jury of his peers convicted,” he stressed the word, “Patrick Sweeney with felony rape and murder. You,” he pointed at her, “helped him abduct an innocent seven-year-old girl.”
Cassie bobbed in her chair. “He won’t harm her. Grace was just a way to get back at Taylor.” She spread her hands in a pleading gesture. “I wouldn’t have helped him if he planned on hurting her.”
Taylor didn’t believe a word out of her traitorous mouth. Dante had to physically restrain her from bursting inside and strangling her older sister. He pulled her against his side and she relaxed into him. It was too easy to place all of her burdens on his wide shoulders.
Luke slowly gathered the photos and tapped them on the desk to straighten them. He held the stack in front of Cassie. “Look at them.” She turned away. “Look at them,” he yelled. Cassie flinched. He waited until she turned back around. He stabbed a finger at the picture on top. “This was someone’s daughter. Patrick Sweeney brutally raped and tortured her and took her life, for no other reason than his sick, twisted entertainment. Does that sound like the kind of man you’d want looking after your niece?”
Cassie started to lunge for the trash can again.
“Sit your ass back down,” Luke barked.
Cassie froze, the urge to throw-up apparently forgotten. Her whole body shook.
“Why did you bug Taylor’s house?” Sawyer folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against Taylor’s desk.
“P-Patrick w-wanted me to,” she stuttered. “H-he wanted to k-keep tabs on her. T-they haven’t b-been used yet.”
“What else did you do for Patrick?”
She shook her head. “Nothing, I-I swear.”
“We’re done here,” Sawyer said, standing. He motioned with his fingers and two men stepped around Taylor and Dante to enter the office.
Cassie looked between Sawyer and Luke. “So I can go now?”
“Stand up, Ms. Collins,” one of the men ordered.
She pushed unsteadily to her feet. He grabbed her hands, pulled them behind her back and slapped on cuffs.
“What? You’re arresting me? I cooperated. I told you everything I know.”
“You aided and abetted a wanted felon,” Luke pointed out.
“But I didn’t have anything to do with him taking Grace.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Sawyer drawled. “You had knowledge of the crime before the fact.”
“In my eyes, that makes you just as guilty as he is,” Luke said.
Cassie’s wild eyes met Taylor. “Taylor, tell them to let me go. I didn’t do anything wrong. I love Grace and would never hurt her.”
Taylor turned away and buried her face against Dante’s chest. He pulled her in close and held her tight.
“You have to at least pay my bail,” Cassie wailed. “I can’t go to prison. Taylor. Taylor!”
Taylor shook with a mixture of rage and grief. She knew Cassie didn’t have enough savings to cover bail, but she didn’t care if she had to spend the rest of her life in jail. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to forgive her.
Dante rubbed her back and murmured comforting words. She absorbed his strength, needed it. Knowing that her sister had helped a madman abduct her child was almost more than she could bear. Finally she gathered her strength and pulled away, embarrassed at her display of weakness.
Dante tilted her chin up with a finger so he could look into her eyes. “Okay?”
“Not really.” She didn’t think she ever would be again. “But thank you.”
“Damn, you are a hard-ass,” Sawyer commented to Luke as they exited the office. “Hell, a time or two, I almost confessed.”
Luke grinned and slapped him on the back. “I wish all suspects folded that easily.”
Dante glanced at his watch and addressed his co-workers. “Go home, get some rest. I doubt Sweeney will call tonight.”
“I can stay to answer the phone,” his secretary offered.
He hugged her. “Thanks, Nancy, but Officer Holmes will be here. He can monitor the lines.”
“I’ll be back bright and early,” she told him.
Once they left he turned to Taylor. “I should probably take off and let you get some rest.”
“No.” The words jumped from her mouth before she could stop them.
“Do you want me to call someone to come over? Your friend Gina?”
“I don’t have the strength or energy to deal with anyone tonight. I know I have no right to ask, but w-would you stay? I have an extra bedroom.”
Dante stared at her for a moment. Would he say no? “I need to run home and grab a few things.” He ran a hand across his scratchy beard stubble. “Feed the dog.”
“Bring him here,” Taylor offered. “I love dogs.”
After a short pause, he nodded. “I'll be back in a few minutes. Officer Holmes will be here if you need anything.”
With a grateful nod of thanks, she watched Dante speak softly with the cop and then exit through the front door.
S
he didn't know what prompted her to ask—beg, really—him to stay. She just knew she felt better, safer, when he was around. Plus, he was going through the same thing she was—fear for their child. She also felt an attraction that was as undeniable as it was unexpected.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she had Grace safely home. She leaned against the back of the couch and waited for Dante to return.
#
Dante didn't know what he was doing going back to Taylor's house. Under normal circumstances, there might have been a spark there, but nothing about these circumstances were normal. His son and her daughter were missing and possibly in grave danger.
Honestly, it was comforting sharing the burden with someone else. Worry was eating a hole in his gut. He knew he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight so if it made Taylor feel better to have him there, then that’s where he’d be.
He let himself in the house and patted the golden Labrador retriever welcoming him enthusiastically. Midas sensed his mood and went on full alert, instinctively knowing something was wrong. He’d texted Maggie earlier to let them know they could leave. Kai wouldn’t be coming home tonight.
He tossed some clothes and toiletries into a duffle, added a bag of dog food and grabbed the leash. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a picture of him, Kai and Midas taken on their boat and a wave of fear washed over him so overpowering, he dropped the bag and fell onto the sofa. Suddenly there wasn’t enough air in the house. He couldn't breathe. Midas laid his muzzle on his leg and he took comfort from the dog. He concentrated on breathing in and out until the urge to hyperventilate passed. Soulful liquid brown eyes stared at him and he ran his hand down the golden fur. “He's going to be okay, Midas,” he said mostly for his own benefit.
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