“Sweeney? Who’s that? Hey, you told me you ain’t never been married before.”
“I haven’t…I wasn’t. Patrick was a silly crush. He was larger than life. I was star-struck.”
“Sweeney?” Willy’s face creased in thought. “Hey, ain’t he that serial killer who murdered all those women?” A look of horror twisted his features. “You were with him? A killer?”
Erin shook her head wildly back and forth. “Oh, no, I was never with him. I mean, I supported him and didn’t think he should’ve gone to prison, but that’s it.”
“You supported a murderer? Woman are you crazy?”
Dante’s hopes deflated quicker than a popped balloon. It was apparent they had nothing to do with Sweeney now. Willy dumbass wasn’t that good of an actor.
“You visited Sweeney in prison,” Dorian accused.
Willy jumped to his feet, making his stomach jingle like a bowl full of jelly. “What?”
Erin shook her head again. “It wasn’t like that Willy-Bear.”
Gag. Dante fought the urge to puke.
“I did go see him, but I told him that I wouldn’t be back. I was moving on with my life.”
“Did he try to contact you at any point after you left?” Luke asked.
Erin chewed her lip, her eyes darting around the room.
“Mrs. Dimwitty?” Luke’s tone was firm.
She sighed dramatically. “Yes, he tried.”
“What?” Willy’s voice was a roar.
“I didn’t pay no attention. I’d found my true love in Willy-Bear, so I ignored him. Then we moved here and he had no way to contact me.”
Luke met Dante’s eyes and gave one shake of his head. Code for the Dimwittys were as harmless as they appeared. They weren’t harboring a fugitive.
“Did you realize Sweeney escaped?” Logan asked.
Erin gasped, a hand covering her throat. “Is he coming after me because I refused to help him? Is that why you’re here? He’s going to kill me. Willy!”
Willy was beside his wife, throwing his fleshy arm around her shoulder. She burrowed into his side. “I’m scared.”
“Don’t worry, Pookie, Willie-Bear will take care of you.”
Dante shoved his chair back and stood. He couldn’t sit here another minute and listen to them call each other pet names. He’d really hoped his son would be making the trip back with them.
Luke stood as well. “You shouldn’t have anything to worry about, Mrs. Dimwitty. Sweeney’s terrorizing another woman.”
“The prosecutor. Ms. Hudson.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Patrick despised her. He blamed her for putting him in prison. He talked about getting even with her.”
“Did he ever say what he would do to get even?” Luke asked.
She shook her head. “Not to me. Maybe to the others, but I wasn’t one of his,” she made air quotes, “inner circle.”
“Do you know the names of the women who were in that inner circle?”
“It’s been too long. I think there was a Beverly or Betty, something like that. Maybe a Marie or Maryann?” She shook her head. “It’s been too many years ago.”
Logan glanced around the room. “Do you have a phone or internet? Any way to contact you?”
“Just a cell,” Willy answered. “My customers need a way to get in touch with me for, you know, their medicine.”
Logan handed him a card. “If Sweeney makes any contact with you at all, be it a call or letter or whatever, or if you remember anything that might be important, call this number.”
Erin nodded as Willy accepted the card. They gathered their weapons and headed for the door. Dante stopped and stuck his hand in his pocket. He dropped Willy’s shotgun shells on the table. “So you can protect your wife and child if Sweeney shows up.”
“Does this mean you ain’t gonna take my crop?” Willy asked hopefully.
“Not our job, Mr. Dimwitty,” Luke replied as they stepped into the sunshine.
Dante slid on his sunglasses, frustration making him want to hit someone. A hand slapped him on the shoulder. Dorian offering support. He pulled out his cell, dreading the call he had to make.
#
Taylor paced in front of the fireplace in the great room, worry and fear making her head ache. She kept repeating Dante’s words from this morning over and over in her head: You are strong enough. Don’t give it to him. Do not give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s beaten you. If you do, he wins. Dante was right…she couldn’t let him win.
She’d hoped the lead with Erin Edgewater would pan out and they would find Grace and Kai safe and unharmed. Dante’s call crushed those hopes. He and the rest of the COBRA Securities team would be back soon. She would feel better when he was here with her. He kept her grounded, made her feel safe. Protected. The other agents were certainly capable, but it was different with Dante.
A phone rang and Peter called out to her. “Taylor? Could be Sweeney.”
She hurried back to the office, wishing again that Dante was here beside her. He gave her the courage and confidence to face the beast.
“Hello?”
“Well, hello, Assistant State Prosecutor Hudson? How are you today?”
“Where’s my daughter, Sweeney?”
“Oh, would you like to know where we are right now? I’ll tell you. We’re in a boat on the water. Grace is having the time of her life. Aren’t you, honey? She’s nodding yes.”
“I want my daughter back, now.”
“Now, now, Taylor, I can call you Taylor, can’t I? After all, we are family in a way—you, me and Grace.”
“You’re insane. You’re not my family,” she spat.
“Not technically, no,” he chuckled. “You’re too much of a hard-ass for me. But you see, Grace is my family.”
“You’re sick, Sweeney. She’s not yours. I want my daughter back right now.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Am I sure I want my daughter back? Of course I do.”
“No, I meant about Grace being mine.”
A flicker of unease skated along her spine but she shook it off. Sweeney was taunting her, that’s all. “You’re delusional.”
“If you try to take Grace away from me, you’ll be depriving her of her biological father.”
Chapter Fourteen
The dial tone buzzed loudly in the room. Peter or someone silenced it but Taylor’s ears still reverberated with the sound. She knew Sweeney made that ridiculous remark to get a rise out of her and it worked. She just hoped she didn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him know how much his words upset her. She didn’t remember any part of the conversation after he dropped that bombshell.
Sweeney couldn’t be Grace’s biological father. He just couldn’t. Her breathing picked up speed and the room spun wildly. Her vison dimmed to two small pinpricks of light. Just when the darkness threatened to envelop her, strong arms wrapped around her, supporting her. Dante. She’d recognize his scent anywhere. It called to some primal part of her soul. She didn’t even think to protest as he guided her outside to the fresh air. When they reached the swing beside the pool, he eased her to the cushion. She burrowed closer to his side, absorbing his warmth. He pushed the swing in a lazy motion. Midas, sensing her distress, dropped to the grass to keep an eye on them.
The rocking motion of the swing and the heat of his body calmed her nerves. His hand stroked up and down her arm and she felt protected. She wanted to be sitting right here in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, Midas relaxing at their feet, with Grace and Kai splashing around in the pool, their laughter floating in the breeze.
“Why don’t you tell me about Grace’s real dad?” he prompted, bursting her fantasy bubble.
She smoothed her hand over his solid chest. “You heard?”
“Yeah.”
Taylor closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts. Grace’s parentage wasn’t a secret, it just wasn’t something
that she discussed…with anybody. But if there was someone she wanted to share the story with, it was Dante.
She inhaled deeply and began. “When I was assistant state prosecutor, I did pro bono counseling on the side. Most of the work was with a shelter for women and many of the people I represented were looking to break away from an abusive relationship. After I was appointed to the Sweeney case, I knew I wouldn’t have time to volunteer until it was over, so I went one last time to wrap up the cases I was working on. This beautiful young girl approached me, saying I was recommended to her and she desperately needed my help. I explained to her that I wouldn’t be able to assist her and I suggested she get in touch with one of my colleagues. She was adamant it had to be me. She couldn’t tell me the name of the woman who endorsed me, but said she insisted I was the best. I tried as gently as I could to persuade her to speak with someone else but she wouldn’t hear of it. I felt sorry for her. She just found out she was pregnant and she was terrified of her boyfriend. She was so persistent I finally agreed to help.
“She didn’t want the boyfriend to know about the baby, saying he’d either make her get rid of it or he would just abuse the child when it was born. He was controlling, manipulative and he beat her regularly. I advised her on steps she needed to take and I wanted to draw up a restraining order but she refused to name the man. She told me she was on the run and didn’t want him to know where she was now. She was young and scared and she had no family. I spent as much time with her as I could but with the demands of the Sweeney case, it wasn’t much. She was so appreciative of any attention I could give her, and despite the limited contact, we became close. She told me I was the older sister she always wanted. She worked hard at her waitressing job, but she was barely earning enough to make ends meet. Eventually as her pregnancy progressed, she moved into my townhome. Though I wasn’t around much, I made sure she had the proper pre-natal care and we set up a nursery. I became her only family. One night she asked if I would be the Godmother of her child. If something happened to her, she wanted to know that her baby would be taken care of since she had no other relatives. Of course I said yes.”
She paused, gathering her thoughts. The gentle motion of the swing calmed her. “I was engaged at the time. My fiancé was also a lawyer, but he didn’t approve of my relationship with Tara. Any time I spent with her was time I should’ve been with him. He was sure she was going to steal me blind. The Sweeney case was consuming me and I didn’t have time for his histrionics, so I ignored him. I planned on confronting him when the trial was over.”
“He sounds like a prince.”
She smiled sadly. “Yeah, I’m glad I found out before I married him. Anyway, the baby was born and she was perfect, a precious miracle. She was so happy and rarely fussed. I fell in love instantly.”
“Grace,” Dante guessed.
She nodded. “Red hair, big blue eyes, she was a little angel. She wasn’t even mine but I hated having to leave her for work. By the time she was born, the trial was winding down. I noticed that Tara was gone more and more, leaving Grace in the care of a neighbor. I planned on confronting her, too once the trial ended. A newborn needs her mother.”
Dante was quiet, letting her tell the story at her own pace. He kept the swing rocking gently.
“The day Sweeney was found guilty was the highlight of my career. I blew off a celebratory dinner with my fiancé to head home to my make-shift family, but Tara wasn’t there. I picked Grace up from the neighbor’s apartment and brought her home. Tara returned hours later, completely wasted. She was mean and spiteful and disrespectful. She said some really awful things to me. I told her to go to bed and sleep it off, that we’d talk in the morning. She stomped to her room and slammed the door, scaring Grace. She started bawling. I finally got her calmed down and put her to bed. Tara’s attitude ruined the euphoric high I’d felt from the victory and all I was left with was complete and utter exhaustion. I grabbed the baby monitor and headed for bed. When I woke up in the morning, Tara was gone. I had the day off to recoup from the case so I bundled Grace up and headed to the park. When we returned home, there were two cops waiting by the door. Tara had been murdered during the night.”
Dante pulled her closer and she sighed against his chest. “I was so tired from months of late nights and the stress from the case, I didn’t even know she’d left. They found her in a filthy alley in a bad part of town. She’d been shot in the stomach and bled out. There were no leads, no suspects.
“My first thought was of Grace. She was now my responsibility. I’d helped Tara draft a will and it named me the legal guardian. I initiated the process to formally adopt her and since Tara had no family, it was quick and easy. The only thing it cost me was a fiancé.”
“He didn’t want you to keep her?” Dante asked gently.
She shook her head. “He was on the fast track to a partnership. He wanted to wait a few years before we started a family. Plus, I don’t think he relished the idea of raising someone else’s child.”
“Like I said, prince. So you juggled your career with raising a newborn?”
“I didn’t, actually. I always knew when I had kids, I wanted to stay home with them, for the first few years anyway, like my mom did with Cassie and me. So I resigned and headed home to raise Grace.”
“That was a very selfless thing to do, especially after winning a career-making case.”
“Believe me, I heard how crazy I was from everyone. They weren’t shy telling me I was making a huge mistake, that my career would never recover, that kind of thing. None of that mattered to me. I wanted Grace to have a safe, stable upbringing knowing her mother, or adopted mother, loved her more than anything.”
Dante continued to push the swing and the motion was hypnotic, sapping what little strength she had left. Finally his deep voice penetrated the silence.
“Did Tara ever name Grace’s father?”
“No, not even on the birth certificate.”
Dante cleared his throat. “I’m not even sure how to bring this up, but is there a possibility of Sweeney actually being her biological father?”
An instant denial sprang to her lips and she placed her hands on his chest to push upright. She shook her head frantically. “No. No way. I would’ve known if he was the father of her baby. Tara knew I was trying his case and if he were Grace’s dad, she would’ve said something.” Wouldn’t she? Snippets of conversations flitted through her memory. Tara questioning if Sweeney was really guilty. Did Taylor believe he could really do such evil deeds? He was movie-star handsome. All things she brushed off at the time as idle curiosity. Now she had to wonder. Was Tara playing her all along, doing what Sweeney instructed her to do?
“Tara sought you out and insisted you help her,” he reminded her gently.
Taylor sprang to her feet and wrapped her hands around her stomach. God, it couldn’t be true. It didn’t matter to her who Grace’s father was, she just prayed it wasn’t Sweeney. She paced restlessly. Midas scurried to his feet and attached himself to her side. She absently stroked his soft fur.
“Sweeney’s modus operandi is using women and then getting rid of them when he’s finished.”
Taylor jerked to a stop. “Do you think he murdered Tara?”
Dante nodded slowly. “More likely he had someone else do it. He’d have been incarcerated the night she died.” He looked thoughtful. “How long from when you were appointed to the case until the day he was found guilty?”
“Over a year,” Taylor answered. “After he was arrested, there were delays and then new charges added when more victims were discovered.”
“Was he out on bail?”
She nodded. “For a few months before all of the additional charges and the judge revoked.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t flee to a country with no extradition treaty.”
“He was so arrogant, he was positive he’d be exonerated.”
Dante stood and shook his head in disbelief. “It’s diabolical. Assuming he’s
telling the truth, that would mean he planned this from the beginning. He intentionally got Tara pregnant and ordered her to get close to you.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “It was his backup plan if he was found guilty. He wanted to torture the person who put him behind bars.”
Dante nodded. “If he was acquitted, who knows what would’ve happened to Grace.”
“My God, Dante, he’s had years to plot his revenge. What if he’s hurting her right now?” She choked on a sob.
He pulled her into his arms. “Shh, Taylor, you can’t think that way. You’re torturing yourself. We’ll find them before anything happens, I promise you.”
Taylor sagged against his chest, absorbing his strength. One of his hands rubbed her back, chasing away the chill that seeped into her bones. It felt right to be standing here with this man. Her entire focus was on finding her daughter and his son, so she didn’t even consider what it meant that he’d become so important to her in such a short amount of time.
Dante tilted her chin up and she met his gaze. “As a convicted felon, Sweeney would’ve had to surrender DNA samples to law enforcement databases. If you want to know for sure, we can test something from Grace. We use a lab that can return results in a matter of hours.”
Taylor began to shake. “I don’t know if I can handle the truth,” she whispered.
#
Dante checked his email for the fifth time in the last hour. He knew it was too soon to have the results but he was anxious…mostly for Taylor’s sake. He didn’t want it to be true that Sweeney had hatched this elaborate, twisted, ungodly plan of revenge, but the more he thought about it, the more he believed it was real. Adding to his certainty was a troubling tidbit of information Dorian tracked down. He uncovered the name of Sweeney’s paternal grandmother who rescued him from his deadbeat parents and raised him…Grace Lloyd Sweeney.
Dan volunteered to run samples of Grace’s hair to the lab in town. They were able to find strands with the follicle tag attached, so comparing the DNA would be easy. Sanat Vasin, the tech they frequently dealt with, offered to stay late to start the testing but cautioned they wouldn’t have results back until the morning. Sanat promised to email Dante the findings as soon as possible.
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