by Mallory Kane
Then he saw it. It was just a sliver, but it was light. He swam toward it, realizing how shaky his arms and legs were. Damn, what a coward he was, afraid of the dark.
The light turned out to be a square hole in the floor. Railroad ties were built up around the edges, but directly above his head were the steel rails and the boxcar. And there, in the center of the boxcar’s base, was the trapdoor he remembered. The door he’d been deathly afraid was a fantasy. His limbs went weak with relief.
Now came the hard part. Could he get the door open and climb into the car without frightening his little girl to death?
He had to try.
He pushed on the door. Like the escape he’d designed from his father’s house, like the window in his hotel room, he’d done everything he could to make this secret hideout easy to reach and fail-safe, so all during his teenaged years he’d kept the hinges of the door oiled and free from rust.
His care back then paid off now, because the door lifted without a sound. He pushed it open slowly, blinking away water from his eyes.
Then he saw her.
She was sitting on a cot holding a picture book, dressed in blue jeans and a New Orleans Saints T-shirt, with only one sock. Little tennis shoes sat neatly on the floor near the cot.
She clutched an orange-and-green afghan around her and watched him with huge, dark-blue eyes.
“Hi, Katie,” he said softly.
She lifted her little chin and looked around the brightly lit room, her gaze going to the sliding door then back to him. Her eyes went even wider and began to fill with tears.
Johnny longed to throw the trap door open and grab her, but he controlled himself with a great effort. He didn’t want her to be more frightened of him than of the guard who brought her movies and books.
“Can I come in for a minute? I got all wet.” He spoke softly and didn’t move a muscle.
She backed up on the bed and pulled the afghan closer.
He smiled at her, praying he didn’t look like a sea monster. “I’m a friend of your mom’s.”
A tiny frown line appeared between her eyes and she looked past him into the gap made by the trap door. “My mom?” she whispered. “Is my mommy coming?”
“No, but if you’ll let me come in we can go find her.”
“Are you a bad guy?”
Johnny shook his head solemnly. “No, Katie. I’m the good guy. I’m here to rescue you.”
She looked at him for a moment. “The villains locked me in here.”
“I know they did. Are you ready to be rescued?”
She watched him for a few seconds without blinking. He didn’t even dare to breathe.
“Okay.”
His head throbbing with relief, Johnny slowly climbed into the boxcar without taking his eyes off his daughter.
“Hi, Katie,” he said. “My name is Johnny.” He crouched down before the cot and held out his hand to her.
He couldn’t stop looking at her. She was his child. His little girl. A living miracle, a testament to Paige’s beauty and bravery and determination. Whatever it took, he had to put her back into her mother’s loving, sheltering arms.
Katie didn’t move to take his hand. She pulled the afghan tighter and stared at him. “You look scary,” she said in a quivery little voice.
“I know.” He nodded and spread his hands. “My clothes are all wet. But your mom sent me to get you. Aren’t you ready to go see her?” he asked, his throat closing with emotion now that he was actually here, seeing his child for the first time. “Can I show you something your mom gave me?”
She didn’t respond.
Slowly, he straightened, and dug carefully in the pocket of his jeans. With the utmost care, he extracted the soaked school picture Paige had given him and laid it on the cot beside Katie.
“See what your mom gave me? It was so you’d know I was her friend and you’d let me rescue you from the villains.”
Katie looked at the picture without moving. “That’s my mom’s picture from her purse. It has the broken corner.”
“That’s right.”
“Why didn’t Mommy come to get me?” she asked, her voice filling with tears.
“She’s calling the police to catch the bad guys. But I’m here to take you to her. Will you go with me?”
He held out his hands, not really expecting the child to trust him. She was certainly her mother’s daughter. She had to consider every option carefully before she would commit.
So he was almost knocked over with surprise when she stood up and held out her arms. “Will you take me to my mommy?” she asked quietly.
“I will, Katie. I swear I will.”
She leapt at him, wrapping her arms and legs around his wet body, clinging to him with all the unrestrained trust of a child. His eyes filled with tears as his daughter’s arms tightened around his neck and her soft blond hair, so much like her mother’s, tickled his cheek.
An overwhelming warmth and yearning spread through him, making his heart ache. She was his and he was hers. Connected.
He was no longer Jay Wellcome, nobody. He was a father; a lover; a son. He was John Andrew Yarbrough, and his daughter was depending on him. He hugged her for a brief, awesome moment before he spoke.
“Listen to me, Katie. We have to do something very scary to get out of here. Are you brave?”
She nodded against his neck. “My mom says I have courage.”
“You do.” He blinked and hugged her tightly. “Now if I were to tell you we were going swimming, would that be okay?”
“I had swimming lessons last year.”
“How about holding your breath. Can you do that?”
She leaned back in his arms and looked at him. “That was the first lesson,” she said indignantly.
“Good. That’s really good, because we’ve got to go under the water and hold our breaths.”
“I can do that.”
“Now, Katie, listen to me.”
She looked up at him with the same dark blue eyes he saw in the mirror every day.
“I’m real scared of the water,” he whispered. “Can you hold on to me real tight so I won’t be scared?”
She nodded silently.
“And you won’t let go no matter what? You’ll hold on to my neck and keep me safe until we can pull our heads above water?”
She nodded.
“Show me how you hold your breath.”
Katie took a big breath and held it and squeezed his neck tightly.
Tears burned his eyes as her little arms tightened around him. “That’s good, Katie. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, sir.”
Johnny wrapped his arms tightly around her and hugged her. “You have a lot of courage, Katie,” he said. “Like your mom. A lot more than me. Now we’re going to slide into the water real quiet, and then we’ll take a big breath, and go under the water and back up before you can count to twenty-seven. Can you count to twenty-seven?”
She giggled nervously. “Yes.”
“Count slow, and don’t let go for anything.” He kissed her soft hair and cradled her head with his hand, then slipped through the trap door. Her little body stiffened as they sank into the water.
“Okay, you’re doing great. Let’s take three big breaths and we’ll go on the third one.”
“Okay,” she said. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you go.”
So with his daughter following his movements, Johnny took a deep breath and let it out, then a second, then a third, and nodded to his child.
Katie closed her eyes and tightened her hold on his neck.
Praying for as much strength as his daughter had, Johnny ducked them both into the water and dove downward, kicking furiously and pushing against the water with one arm, while the other held his precious cargo.
He swam as fast and as smoothly as he could, feeling Katie’s little arms squeezing him, until he saw a faint glow. He headed for it. To his amazement, they were already out from under the building. He swam to
ward the light.
When their heads broke the surface, they were under the pier. He pushed wet hair out of his face and looked at his daughter, who was still holding on to him and still holding her breath, her eyes squeezed tightly closed.
“You can breathe now, Katie, but be quiet, okay?” he whispered.
She let go her stranglehold on his neck and pushed her wet hair away from her face. “That was only eighteen,” she whispered.
Her words surprised him. “How slow were you counting?”
“One-Mississippi, two-Mississippi,” she said, “like my mom taught me.”
Johnny laughed softly and hugged her. “Only eighteen, wow,” he said. “It felt like eight hundred to me.”
She grinned at him and shook water out of her hair.
“Now I’m going to take you to where your mom is waiting for us.”
He looked around quickly, but nothing had changed. The sun was not even noticeably lower in the sky. He suppressed a shudder. That meant getting into the railroad car and back out had taken no more than fifteen minutes total. It had seemed like hours. He pulled them both out of the water.
After retrieving his gun and putting his shoes on, he picked Katie up again.
“Where’s my mommy?” she asked, her little voice trembling.
He kissed her soft little cheek. “We’ll see your mommy real soon.” He started pushing his way through the rice grass and reeds, dodging the Spanish moss that draped the cypress trees like gray shrouds, headed toward his home and the highway. Then he remembered Miss Aileen and Mr. Woodrow’s house. He could get back to the warehouse in plenty of time to arrange a surprise for his stepmother if he didn’t have to walk all the way through the swamp to the highway.
“You know what, Katie? There’s a nice lady who used to live over here at the very end of the bayou. She fed me gumbo and let me play with her puppies. Maybe she still has some puppies.”
“Puppies?” Katie repeated, her voice rising in interest.
“Yeah. And I’ll bet she’ll let you play with them until I go get your mom.”
He turned west and walked along the edge of the bayou until he came to the old house where Miss Aileen and Mr. Woodrow lived.
He stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door.
The door creaked as a small, gray-haired woman opened it a crack. “Who you want?” she said, then stopped, staring.
“Is that a zombie?” She flung the door wide, her mouth stretching into a gap-toothed grin. “’Cause it can’t be young Johnny. Come in here, chér. We thought you was dead. Who’s that little one and what are you doing soaking wet?”
Johnny grinned. “Not quite dead, Miss Aileen.”
Chapter Thirteen
Paige stared in the window of the abandoned blue rental car, her heart pounding in her ears. It had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, walking up to that car, afraid of what she’d find, but thank God it was empty.
She looked at the cell phone’s clock. Forty minutes had passed since Johnny had left her. She didn’t care if it hadn’t been an hour yet. She was calling the police now.
She didn’t know whether he had decided to go the rest of the way on foot, or if he somehow had been overpowered and forced to leave his car.
She prayed he was all right. As furious as she was at him for leaving her at the gas station, she loved him for putting himself in danger for the daughter he’d never known. She loved him for his courage; courage he hadn’t possessed seven years ago.
It occurred to her that while she’d never stopped loving him, she’d never forgiven him either. Not even after she’d thought he was dead. He should have been brave enough to take her with him to confront his father and his stepmother.
How different their lives might have been if they’d walked together down Urselines that long-ago afternoon. She wouldn’t have spent all those months alone and scared, with no idea how she was going to care for a baby. She wouldn’t have had to be both father and mother to Katie, wouldn’t have had to raise her alone.
If Johnny had taken her with him that fateful day, Katie would have had her father. She’d have had the best schools, the most beautiful clothes. She would have been so happy.
Paige froze, horrified at her thoughts. What was she thinking? She wouldn’t change one day of her life with her beautiful daughter. Not for anything.
She had learned how to survive, how to be strong, because of Katie. She’d learned how to live, instead of just existing.
She didn’t regret anything.
Now Johnny was risking his life to save their child. She had to get help for him. With shaky fingers, she dialed 911 on the cell phone. When the dispatcher answered, she stammered at first, trying to figure out exactly how to explain what was happening.
“Is this an emergency?” the efficient voice said.
“Yes. My little girl has been kidnapped,” she said, working to control her voice.
“Tell me your name please.”
“Paige Reynolds. My daughter’s name is Katie. Her father is John Andrew Yarbrough. He’s gone to save her but we need the police.”
“Where are you located, ma’am?”
Paige heard an engine behind her. She turned and looked. It was a large SUV. She ducked down behind the blue car.
“Bayou Lesgensfou,” she said quickly. “The old warehouse.” The SUV was coming closer. “Please hurry. They’re here.”
“Ma’am, I need you to stay on the phone.”
“They’re here. I’ll leave the phone on, but please, send the police to the warehouse. Bayou Lesgensfou. My daughter’s being held there.”
“Wait, ma’am—”
Paige threw the phone into the bushes as the SUV slowed to a stop. They’d seen the car, and in a minute they would see her.
She ran, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. But maybe she could lead them away from the warehouse. Maybe she could delay them long enough for the police to come. Long enough for Johnny to get Katie to safety.
The SUV turned and came after her. Paige’s heart pounded and her breath whooshed in her ears as she ran as fast as she could over the rough shell road and into the underbrush.
But she wasn’t fast enough. The big utility vehicle easily overtook her and a man jumped out holding a shotgun.
“I wouldn’t go no further if I was you,” the man said in a nasal twang.
She stopped and held her hands up, breathing in great, wheezing gasps. She wanted to cry in frustration, but she would never let Serena Yarbrough see one single tear.
“Now why don’t you and me take a walk? Sis can follow in the car.”
Paige wiped sweat off her face with the back of one hand as she glanced at the SUV. Was that Serena driving?
“Let’s go.” The man’s voice was harsh. He was tired of waiting.
“Okay,” she gasped, and turned. They walked toward the warehouse with Serena following in the SUV.
When Paige got her first glimpse of the battered wooden building, she almost cried out in horror and relief. Her throat closed up and her heart squeezed.
This was the warehouse Johnny had remembered. Katie was in there! So close. She suppressed a reckless urge to break into a run, screaming Katie’s name.
Had Johnny had time to find her? Were they still inside?
“Why are you doing this?” she asked the man, stalling for time. “What is that building?”
“Don’t be stupid.” The man spit tobacco juice near her feet. She smelled the stale, bitter odor of tobacco on his breath. “You know your kid’s in there. Ain’t that why you came?”
She felt the barrel of the shotgun press into her back. She kept walking.
The SUV’s engine stopped and a car door slammed. Paige turned. It was Serena. The white streak slashed through her black hair like an open wound. She pushed it back from her face with a scarlet-tipped nail as she picked her way carefully along the shell road, her high heels sinking into the dirt and crunching the shells.
�
�Hello, Paige,” she said, smiling blandly.
Helpless, virulent anger surged through Paige. “You!” she grated, as the man prodded her again. For an instant, Paige considered attacking Serena with her bare hands, but the rational part of her brain knew she wouldn’t make it two steps before the man shot her.
She stared at the woman who had tried to kill Johnny twice, and who was holding their daughter hostage.
“Where’s my stepson?” Serena walked up close to her.
Paige lifted her chin. “Where’s my daughter?”
“Leonard,” Serena said.
The man came up and grabbed Paige’s arm. “My sister asked you a question.” He twisted and pain radiated through her sore shoulder and all the way down to her wrist.
She could hardly breathe. “I don’t know—where he is,” she rasped. “He left me.”
“You’re lying.”
The man jerked on her arm again and agony shrieked through her as she felt something tear. She couldn’t suppress a cry.
“My daughter,” she gasped as the edges of her vision turned black. She blinked, trying not to give in to the pain. “I want to—see her, now!”
“You want to see your daughter?” Serena asked. “Leonard, let’s take Paige to see her daughter. We’ll all wait for Johnny together. Because no matter what you say, Paige, I know my stepson. He’ll be here. In fact, aren’t you playing the little decoy? My guess is, he’s hoping you’ll distract us while he tries to sneak up on us. But we’ll be ready for him.”
She shook her head, as if in regret. “He always was too soft, too sentimental. He’ll feel honor bound to protect you and his child.”
Leonard pushed Paige ahead of him to the side door of the warehouse. He knocked with the butt of the gun.
The door slid open, and a large man with a cigarette dangling from his lips stood there with a handgun.
“Get outside, Martin. Keep an eye out.” Leonard pushed Paige into the brightly lit building. “We’re expecting Johnny any time now. You got your cell phone? Call when you see him and make sure he don’t see you. Then when he tries to get in we’ll get the drop on him. It’ll be a nice little welcome back party for him.”