by T. K. Leigh
But never before had they faced a storm of this magnitude. Alexander feared their love wouldn’t be strong enough to survive the clouds shrouding their world with darkness.
A sob reverberated in the still air and Olivia clutched onto Alexander’s back, squeezing with all her might. Her tall, slender body trembled uncontrollably, the flashing lights of the police cruisers an ominous background to her breakdown. Alexander wanted nothing more than to let out all the emotions he’d been forced to bottle up all morning, but he remained strong, being the rock of support Olivia needed.
He wished he could say something that would assure her everything was going to be okay, but it would just be an empty promise. He had no way of knowing whether everything would work out. But he did know he was going to do everything within his power to fix this.
“I’m going to find her,” he mumbled in a soft voice, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I promise you, love.”
She pulled her head away from his chest and tilted it back, her brown eyes wet with tears. “How, Alex? How are you going to find her?” She covered her mouth as she struggled to breathe through her heavy cries.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, comforting her the only way he knew how…within the shelter of his arms. “But I’m not going to leave any stone uncovered.”
She pulled away from him, wiping her tears. “The FBI thinks it could have a connection to one of your company’s contracts. Do you—?”
“I’m not ruling anything out,” he replied. “As much as I don’t want to give that man any credit, it’s a very strong possibility. I’ve pissed off a lot of people…” He closed his eyes, letting out a breath as he considered the monumental task of narrowing down precisely who could have done this. “Some of them certainly have enough training and resources to be able to orchestrate something like this.” He held both her arms, staring deep into her brown eyes.
His voice grew louder, more assured. “I don’t want you to worry, Olivia. I have just as much training and resources available, without the bureaucratic red tape the FBI has to deal with. I will find our daughter and bring her home, and when I do, we’ll never have to worry about anything like this happening again. I promise you.”
He released her and stepped toward the SUV, opening the passenger door.
“Maybe I should stay here,” she said, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked between Alexander and the door to the house. “Just in case she…” Her breath hitched.
“Martin and my mother will take care of things around here. I already lost half my heart today. I’m not going to lose you, too,” Alexander said forcefully, his voice almost a growl before his expression grew tender, loving, reverent. Approaching her, he cupped her cheek. “I don’t know who took Melanie or why. I failed her by not being here when I should have been. I won’t fail you, too.” He placed a soft kiss on her nose and helped her into the SUV, then ran around to get behind the wheel.
A heavy silence fell between them as Alexander drove down the long, tree-lined driveway and out the front gate, the police lights disappearing behind them. Olivia reached across the center console, resting her hand on his jean-clad leg, squeezing gently.
“Please don’t blame yourself for this,” she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.
“I don’t know if I can do that,” he answered, keeping his eyes glued to the road as the miles flew by, both of them probably thinking the same thing… Melanie could be anywhere.
Chapter Thirteen
December 19
11:30 AM
NO MATTER HOW HARD Rayne tried, she couldn’t get warm. Rubbing her arms, she glanced around the two-story house where they were now holed up, the walls barren, the ceiling showing signs of water damage. Her eyes settled on Mark sitting at a table in the dining area. He appeared so relaxed, leaning back in his chair, his feet propped on the table, flipping between all the national news networks as they broadcast the same story…the abduction of the daughter of the man who owned one of the largest and most successful private security firms in the world.
Rayne should have felt a rush of satisfaction when the reporters commented about the irony of it all. Here was a man who was in the business of keeping people safe, yet he couldn’t extend that luxury to his own daughter. She should have felt thrilled that she finally did something to make the man responsible for Landon’s death feel the pain she’d endured for a year now. She should have felt at peace.
But she didn’t.
Her stomach churned every time she glanced at the television and saw a photo of the girl they now had locked away in the cold, damp basement of wherever they were. Mark had it all planned out, down to having somewhere to keep the girl. Rayne’s suspicions that he had been wanting to do this for quite some time continued to mount with each passing second. He knew everything about Alexander and his family. He knew where they lived. He knew all the details of their security system. He knew how to access the online database and manipulate it. He even had the code and fingerprint to gain access to the house. It was as if he had been planning on doing this no matter what, so why did he need her?
She felt duped and betrayed. She thought he truly understood her pain and grief. Instead, Mark used that to his advantage, preying on her vulnerability.
“Will you sit down already?” Mark said, breaking through the stiff silence. “You’re making me nervous.”
Rayne continued pacing. “You should be nervous! Don’t you feel just a hint of remorse? That what we did was wrong?”
“You mean what you did,” he said in a condescending tone, picking up a newspaper and flipping through it. The Mark sitting at the table as if he didn’t have a care in the world seemed like a completely different person. Rayne began to wonder if she really knew him at all. “I only got you inside the house. Anything you did there is all on you.”
Over the past few hours, as she waited nervously for him to announce their next move, jumping out of her skin every time the sound of police sirens approached, she had heard him quietly talking on his cell phone in a language she couldn’t quite place. Ever since she’d met Mark, Rayne had thought he was second-generation Greek, as he had led her to believe. He had olive-toned skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and no accent. Now, it was all different.
“Which never would have happened if you didn’t push me,” she retorted. “Why did you care so much? What could you possibly gain out of me doing this? I’ve seen Alexander in action. He won’t stop until he’s turned over every rock, searched every abandoned warehouse, questioned every person who has any connection to him and his family. We may get away with this for a little while, but not for long.”
“I don’t need that long,” he said in a sinister voice. “Just enough time to get back what he has no right to.”
“What do you mean?” Rayne asked, furrowing her brow as a heaviness set in her chest. Her limbs felt like they were chained to the floor, a weight preventing her from moving.
“Exactly what I said,” he responded, barely looking up. “He’s wronged countless people over the years. It’s my job to make it right.”
“Why did you even involve me? It sounds like you were going to do something like this anyway.”
He glanced up. “I needed someone who had been in that house before and knew exactly where the girl’s bedroom was. Sure, I could have done it myself and figured it out, but as you saw tonight, the less time it took, the more likely we were to get away. And look at us! No one has a clue. Thanks to you, we were in and out of there in less than five minutes.”
Rayne crept toward him, the room spinning around her. “You used me,” she declared, hurt, upset, and frustrated, but more at herself for falling for this kind of trap.
She caught her reflection in a cracked, dusty mirror hanging on the wall. She should have known Mark wasn’t who he said he was. How could someone as attractive as he be drawn to her? Her appearance had deteriorated over the months, the woman staring back at her a shell, physically and ment
ally, of who she once was. She had no redeeming qualities. She treated Mark like crap, yet he still came back to her over and over. She should have known he had an ulterior motive.
“No more than you used me to try to forget about your dead fiancé. It’s been a year, Rayne,” he hissed with venom in his tone. “Move on. He’s not coming back.”
“You can’t compare the two!” she shrieked. “I used you for sex, to forget for a minute, not to commit a felony!” Her lip trembled, wishing this were all just one big nightmare. How could she have been so blind? She was smarter than this. Landon had taught her to be extra cautious. He liked to see the good in people, but he also said the devil often disguised himself in sheep’s clothes. She should have seen the signs earlier. Mark always seemed more interested in Landon and his line of work than her own past. At first, Rayne thought he was offering her a shoulder to cry on, allowing her to reminisce about the times she had shared with Landon. Now that she knew the truth, that he used her to commit this horrible crime, it all made sense.
“You’re just feeling a bit of remorse. It’s completely normal after your first time. I was paranoid after my first time, too.” He got up from the chair, slowly approaching Rayne.
She gaped at him, shocked that he could talk about this so nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. She wondered how many other felonies he had committed.
“You need to stop sweating the small stuff and look at the bigger picture here.” He placed his hands on her arms and met her violet eyes. “You can finally make peace with Landon’s death.”
“But his daughter…,” she pleaded softly. “She did nothing wrong. Why does she have to suffer?”
“An unfortunate casualty, but they need to be motivated to return what’s been taken. If we didn’t do this, they’d never see all the wrong they’ve done. They’ll never think twice about changing their ways.”
“What did he do?” Rayne asked, intrigued by the passion in Mark’s voice.
“I’ve seen countless families torn apart. I don’t have to explain to you how difficult it is to sit down to dinner and see an empty chair at the table.” He grabbed her hands in his. His expression softened, his eyes pleading. Mr. Hyde had transformed back into Dr. Jekyll. “Yes, I lied to you, Rayne. I’m sorry I wasn’t transparent with you from the beginning. I knew who you were. I followed Landon’s story on the news. I kept tabs on you. I’d observed you from afar and knew you wouldn’t talk to me if I just showed up on your doorstep, so I decided to go to the same grief counseling session you’d been attending. At first, my goal was just to find out more about Alexander Burnham. After all, you were engaged to his friend. Then something unexpected happened,” he said, his voice becoming soft as he gazed upon her with all the tenderness and warmth Landon used to.
“What’s that?” she whispered, a lone tear falling down her cheek.
He sighed, his taut stature relaxing. A smile spread across his full lips. “I fell in love.”
“You what?” Her voice rose in pitch. She searched his eyes, unsure what to believe. This was a man who had admittedly used her to further his own personal vendetta. Could she really believe that he loved her? She didn’t know, but dammit if she didn’t miss the feeling of bliss that went with being loved.
“I don’t expect you to believe a word that comes out of my mouth,” Mark said, reading her mind. “I wouldn’t after everything I put you through. But you need to know you’re loved, especially after all these months of thinking no one could ever care about you the way Landon did. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but the way you’ve talked about him, I know he must have been special. I don’t expect you to return these same feelings, but I thought, after everything you’ve been through, you deserved to know you’re valued.” He reached out, swiping at the tear falling down her cheek. “That you’re loved, Rayne.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she responded, trying to regain her composure.
The ache she had been living with grew dull for the first time in months. Maybe she was stuck in a rut because she refused to believe she deserved to move on. Perhaps Mark was right. Perhaps she did deserve to know her life still had value.
“I don’t know what to think right now,” she admitted. Thoughts swirled in her head, some shouting at her that this was just another one of Mark’s lies. She knew she shouldn’t trust him, but part of her wanted to be loved again. Love was like a drug, and Rayne was an addict who had gone so long without experiencing that unmistakable rush of euphoria, she was more than happy to overlook all of Mark’s faults.
“I know. I get it. And to prove I mean what I say…” He took a deep breath, taking her hands in his. “If you want to turn me in, I’ll take the fall for all this. Your name will never come up. Here.” He released his hold on her hands and grabbed a cell phone from his pocket. “Go ahead and call it in. Right now. I’m willing to go to prison for the rest of my life to prove my words are true.”
She raised her eyebrows, staring at the smart phone as if it contained the launch codes for several destructive missiles. Rayne wanted to do what was right. Overwhelmed with hatred for everything that had been taken from her, she’d acted impulsively when she agreed to take the girl. Now, in the light of day, regret churned in her stomach. She thought she’d feel better knowing she hit Alexander where it hurt, but she didn’t. Guilt for hurting one of Landon’s friends consumed her. She feared her conscience would never be clear unless she did something to make it right.
Torn, Rayne glanced around the room. Her gaze settled on the television and she stared, listening intently to the reporter talk about a press conference scheduled in an hour’s time where both Alexander and Olivia Burnham would appear to discuss their missing daughter.
“How about this?” Mark said, noticing her rapt attention on the report. “Why don’t you go to the press conference? Look into Alexander’s eyes, see if you still feel the same remorse. If you do, go ahead and turn me in. If not, well, we’ll get back to work.”
“And if I turn you in?”
He shrugged. “No hard feelings. And, I swear, your name will never come up.”
“You would do that for me?”
He smiled at her, drawing her into his arms. “I told you, Rayne. I love you. That’s what people who love each other do. They put their loved one’s needs ahead of their own.” Cupping her cheeks, he brought her head toward his, kissing her forehead.
She closed her eyes, relishing in Mark’s proximity. The heat was so much more charged, more intense.
“Now, you’d better get going.”
A chill replaced the warmth and she opened her eyes to see Mark heading toward the window and peering out at the street. She had a strange feeling that if she walked out that door, she’d never see him again. She didn’t want to leave, but she needed to be at that press conference. She didn’t know why. All she knew was something inside her pulled her toward Boston City Hall that gray Saturday morning. Maybe she needed to see their pain, know that Alexander was suffering just as she had. Then he’d understand.
Retreating to the couch, she grabbed her coat and pulled it on, searching for her backpack. She could have sworn she dropped it beside the couch when they walked into the house in the middle of the night. Now, it was nowhere to be found.
She retraced her steps, checking the bathroom and bedroom, banging drawers and cabinets shut in her futile search. She stormed back into the living area and ripped the cushions off the couch.
“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, turning around.
“I can’t find my bag. It was right here. I put the scarf Landon bought me in it, and now…” Her voice grew frantic. “What if I left it at…?” She trailed off, the thought of having left her bag at Alexander’s house churning her stomach. It wasn’t because it could have been connected to her. It was because one of her last gifts from Landon was in it.
“Relax, Rayne.” Mark approached her, rubbing her arms. “You fell asleep. I wanted to keep it in a safe place, j
ust in case.”
He disappeared up the stairs as Rayne tried to steady her nerves. A wave of relief washed over her when he returned with her bag in his hands, the scarf from Landon peeking out of the front pouch.
“Better?” he asked, handing it over.
“Much,” she said, taking it from him and slinging it over her shoulder.
“There’s something in there for you, but promise me you won’t peek until after the press conference and you’ve made up your mind.”
“What is it?” she asked, intrigued. It had been so long since anyone had given her a gift.
“You’ll just have to wait to find out.” He winked.
Allowing a small smile to form on her lips, she nodded, then headed toward the door.
“Oh, and Rayne?” She looked over her shoulder at him. “No matter what you choose, I’ll still love you.”
Bathed in the warmth of his words, she beamed at him, then continued toward the back door, ignoring the cries for help emanating from the padlocked basement.
Chapter Fourteen
December 19
11:30 AM
“ARE YOU GOING TO get that?” Olivia asked Alexander as she paced in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in his twenty-ninth floor penthouse office, looking down at the Boston city streets below.
The phone had been ringing almost constantly since they arrived a half-hour ago. The story of Melanie’s abduction had hit the mid-morning news at both the local and national level. Alexander’s publicist handled all the requests for an official statement, but that didn’t stop acquaintances and work colleagues from calling him to personally offer their condolences and assistance. World leaders, diplomats, politicians…some of whom were on his list of possible suspects. Each took him away from what he needed to focus on. After the tenth call in so many minutes, he simply ignored his phone, allowing it to ring over and over again. It was better than sitting in an uncomfortable, awkward silence.