“Easy.”
When he winced, she noted the fresh sling on his arm. “You hurt yourself carrying me out of the cabin.”
“I’ll live.”
And that was as much as she would get out of him.
“Roberta? Did you get her?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah. If Lannigan has any say in it, she’s going to prison for the rest of her life.”
Rachel found a smile. “Wonder how she’ll look in orange?”
“She doesn’t believe she’s going to prison. The last I saw of her she was telling Lannigan that she’d have his job for daring to arrest her.”
Rachel’s smile dissolved as she recalled Roberta’s fanatical claim that she deserved every penny of the Gyllenskaag estate and had done nothing wrong. “She wanted all of it, no matter that she could never spend that much, no matter that she had to murder for it.”
Grey told her about Kelvin’s murder, and she chewed it over.
“Why?” she asked now. “Why kill Kelvin when he wasn’t a part of the kidnapping?”
“It’s only speculation on my part, but I think he saw something when he was following us. Maybe something that Michaels was doing got Kelvin curious. He was greedy enough to want money for his silence, so Michaels took care of him. We’ll probably never know for certain.”
“That’s as good a theory as any. All of this for money,” Rachel said. “So many lives taken because of it.”
“The money will be waiting for Lily when she grows up.” Grey’s words stopped abruptly.
She understood. They still didn’t know where Lily was. “We’ll find her.” She knew he followed her leap of thought.
“For now,” he said, “you worry about getting stronger.”
“I can leave now.”
“That sounds familiar, too.”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “Tomorrow we find Lily.” She’d done it again. Made a promise she didn’t know if she could keep. For the second time that day, she prayed to the Lord, begging for His help in making good on a promise.
* * *
The next day Grey and Rachel paid a visit to the police station.
Grey was wearing a fresh sling, and Rachel’s hands were still covered with gauze and bandages. He’d learned from Shelley that her ribs were strapped where she’d sustained a kick to the chest. Protecting him.
Given what they’d been through, though, he decided they looked pretty good.
Detective Lannigan pointed to two metal chairs. “You two are becoming regulars around here,” he said once they were seated. “I had a nice long chat with Roberta Gyllenskaag. She’s one cold fish. Bragged about poisoning her own daughter and killing the others. She couldn’t tell me enough, even when her new lawyer told her to be quiet. A jury’s going to love putting her away. Rich society lady like that acting like she’s better than everyone else—oh, yeah, a jury’s going to eat her up and then spit her out.”
Grey wanted to strangle Roberta. She’d used Maggie and then discarded her as she would an annoying fly that had landed in a cup of tea. Maggie, with her sweet, gentle ways, had never been a match to the woman she called mother.
Grey shook his head. “I never liked her, but I’d never have thought her capable of murder and kidnapping. I hope she spends the rest of her life in prison.”
“There’ll be a trial, but I don’t see her getting out of this,” Lannigan said. “Even with the Gyllenskaag name.”
Grey couldn’t rein in his impatience any longer. “This is all well and good,” he said, “but it’s not getting us any closer to finding my daughter. The man who claimed he kidnapped Lily—did you identify him?”
The detective’s eyes were kind as he nodded. “Sorry. I got sidetracked with Gyllenskaag. I’ve seen some mighty nasty people come through here, but she may be the worst of the lot.
“Now, to what you want to know. Ryan Bartell is the man you found at the cabin. A two-bit criminal. Got a rap sheet a mile long, including burglary, fraud, one case of assault. Kidnapping was a first for him, though. From what you reported of your time with him and what we were able to confirm of Gyllenskaag’s testimony, he was telling the truth when he said that he was recruited on the dark web, so Michaels didn’t represent him. We dug into Bartell’s background and found that his parents died when he was eight and he was raised by an aunt and uncle.”
Grey’s heart leaped. “They have Lily?”
Lannigan shook his head. “They died a few years back. But they had a son, Nathan Richmond. He and his wife live in a suburb on the west side of town. It turns out that Bartell kept in touch with them. Here’s the address. I talked with them, told them about you. They sound like good people.” He paused, smiled. “I could have sent a unit to pick up your daughter. I probably should have, but I didn’t want to traumatize her any more than she’s already been. Figured it would be best if you went. They’re expecting you.”
Grey grabbed the paper as he would a lifeline. “Thank you.”
* * *
The Richmonds lived in a quiet neighborhood that was on its way up. Well-tended yards with overflowing flower beds flanked the small but neatly kept homes. Basketball hoops topped nearly every garage, front porches were scrupulously swept, and many homes sported fresh coats of paint. All in all, it was a family neighborhood that said home far more eloquently than the more imposing community of Ansley Park.
Grey gripped Rachel’s hand. What happened in the next few minutes would define his life from then on.
The door was opened by a tall man who invited them inside. “Nathan Richmond,” he said.
Grey and Rachel introduced themselves.
“My wife’s getting your little girl ready,” Richmond said. “I’m glad you found her. I should have gone to the police in the first place, but Ryan said that Lily wouldn’t be safe if anyone knew where she was because someone was trying to kill her.” He hesitated. “Can I ask you about my cousin?”
At Grey’s nod, Richmond asked, “You were with Ryan when he died?”
Another nod.
“Did he suffer?”
“No. You probably learned that he took two bullets. They killed him instantly.”
“Thank you for that.”
Richmond opened an old photo album and took out a yellow-edged picture of two young boys with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders. “This is me and Ryan when we were kids. His dad and mine were half brothers. At one time we were best friends. It lasted until he was about fourteen. He got in with a bunch of boys who were going nowhere.” He cleared his throat.
“Ryan took a wrong turn a long time ago,” Bartell’s cousin said. “He tried turning his life around at different times, but something always got in the way. He told me once that he was too weak to fight it.”
Grey heard the pain in the man’s voice. Not knowing what to say, he looked at Rachel.
“Your cousin was trying to do the right thing in the end,” she said gently. “He was going to tell us where Lily was when he was shot. You can be proud of him for that.”
“Thank you. Ryan and I were like brothers, closer than some I know. My parents were heartbroken when he started hanging out with the wrong crowd. Finally, they had to let him go, but they never gave up on him.” Richmond’s voice shook. “Neither did I. In the end, it wasn’t enough.”
Grey nodded, but he couldn’t help looking over the man’s shoulders, waiting for his wife to bring out Lily.
Richmond’s wife appeared then, Lily in her arms. “Here’s your little girl,” she said to Grey. “She’s been well taken care of. Like she was our own.”
Heart overflowing, Grey reached for his daughter. “Lily. My Lily.” He dipped his head to press a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you,” he said to the couple. “Thank you more than I can say.”
“We can’t make up for what Ryan did,” Richmond said, “b
ut we did our best by her.”
“I can see that.”
“She’s a little sweetheart,” the wife added. “She fit right in with our children. They’ll miss her. So will we. Ryan was wrong in what he did, but he tried to make it right. He knew we’d keep her safe.”
“That’s what you should remember,” Rachel said.
Grey wasn’t surprised that her compassion extended to Bartell’s family. She had love to spare. Was it enough to take on a ready-made family?
* * *
Rachel watched the scene unfold, unbearably touched by the emotion in Grey’s eyes. This was what it had all been for, seeing Grey reunited with his daughter. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t be returning to the army anytime soon. If ever.
Lily was a beautiful child, with hair as dark as her father’s. Her clear blue eyes and porcelain skin must have come from her mother. She looked at Grey with questioning eyes, then gave a tiny smile.
“Thank you again,” he said once more to Nathan Richmond and his wife. “If there’s anything I can ever do for you—”
The wife leaned forward to brush a kiss to Lily’s forehead. “Seeing you with your Lily is thanks enough.”
Grey shook hands with both husband and wife. Rachel did the same. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t wipe them away.
Being with Grey over the past week had taught her to not be afraid of her emotions. Feelings were part of being alive, and she wanted to embrace the whole of it. For three years, she’d locked herself away, refusing to get close to anyone or to let anyone get close to her.
Now she could open herself to the experience of living, the good and the bad of it. She wanted to give and to take, to know the joy of loving and being loved in return. She wanted it all.
That brought her up short in her thoughts.
Tied up in the shed, certain she would die, she’d admitted to herself her love for Grey. She’d kept that admission to herself, knowing Grey was not in any position to hear it, not until he’d found Lily.
Could she share it with him now? Could she find the courage to tell him what was in her heart?
No, now wasn’t the time. He was wrapped up in his daughter, as he should be. She had to wait. For the time being, she had work to do, work that had nothing to do with S&J and everything to do with her spiritual journey.
Something had happened when she was being held by Roberta. The faith she’d thought she’d lost forever had returned. It was more than the clichéd come-to-Jesus feelings people talked about experiencing when fearing they were going to die. It was a genuine pouring out of the Spirit that had filled her very soul.
She’d felt the Lord’s love for her and couldn’t deny it; nor could she deny the peace He’d given her. She would always be grateful for that. Since that instant, she realized she’d experienced His love over and over again—she’d just failed to recognize it. She must have tested the Lord’s patience in refusing to acknowledge His hand in her life. He had never left her. She’d been the one to erect barriers to keep His love from reaching her.
She helped Grey get Lily settled in the car seat and then went with them to the hospital to have Lily checked out.
“We’re going home,” he said to his daughter after the doctor pronounced her in good shape. “Our home.”
Grey dropped Rachel off at S&J offices where she’d left her car. His goodbye was hurried, a jumble of words. She understood. He wanted time with Lily. Alone time.
Time that didn’t include her.
NINETEEN
Grey savored the peace.
Over the past week, clanking and hammering had filled the house with workmen repairing the wall that had been destroyed by the bomb. He’d promised them a bonus if they completed the work within two days. They’d come through, and the house was now blessedly quiet, except when Lily decided she needed something. Then all quiet flew out the window.
His money problems with the army had been straightened out, and he had sufficient funds to take care of himself and Lily.
Lily’s trust, the money that had caused so much pain and death, would remain untouched. When she grew older, she could use it toward college or whatever goal she wanted to pursue. In the meantime, it would stay where it was.
He couldn’t have gotten through the past few days without Rachel. She’d been gently there, helping with Lily, acting as a sounding board as he tried to make sense of what had happened, struggling to come to terms with it.
Five people had died, including Maggie. Roberta would spend the rest of her life in a cell. All for money.
His stomach still roiled at the idea that Roberta had killed Maggie and had ordered Lily’s death, as well.
Why hadn’t he seen the truth earlier? Had he been so eager to return to Afghanistan and fighting the enemy that he’d allowed himself to be blinded to the danger his wife and daughter faced from the very woman who had promised to take care of them?
The enormity of what Roberta had done had left him numb, and it would take time to come to terms with it. Coldness such as he’d never known seeped into him, and he wondered if he’d ever feel warm again.
He promised himself that he would share stories with Lily about her mother. He couldn’t bring Maggie back, but he could keep her memory alive. He owed both mother and daughter that much.
Rachel’s presence had kept him from being swallowed by guilt and remorse. If he could have asked God for the perfect woman, she would look and sound a lot like Rachel. She didn’t take over while he learned how to take care of Lily full-time, and for that he was grateful. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman. Courageous. Intelligent. Compassionate. And so beautiful she took his breath away.
Here and there, he’d believed they could build a life together. He caught glimpses of him, Lily and Rachel together. The three of them would be a family, the kind he’d always dreamed of.
Then reality would set in, and he realized that he could no longer avoid facing the truth. He couldn’t have a relationship with Rachel. He feared he couldn’t have a relationship with any woman.
He was too deeply flawed.
Look how he’d ruined things with Maggie. If he’d tried to understand her more, had been more patient, hadn’t left her alone with her mother, maybe she’d still be alive today.
That was on him.
And then there was Rachel. He’d let her down, too. She’d almost died when he’d let her go to see Roberta on her own because he was so intent on proving that Victor Kelvin was part of the kidnapping. As with Maggie, he should have been there for Rachel. He should have protected her.
Guilt was a cruel taskmaster, exacting so great a price that he feared it would eat him alive. Anything he had to give had to go to Lily. She deserved his best, however pitiful that was. It wasn’t fair to Rachel to ask her to accept a man who was as damaged as he was and had so little to give.
Lily was smiling more frequently, eating better, but they had a long way to go before they truly bonded. He’d been an absentee father for too long, giving everything to the army. That part of his life was over. Though it pierced his heart to leave the rangers, he knew he was doing what was right. The rangers had been his family for years, but now he had another family.
Lily needed him. That was a given. What surprised him, though, was how much he needed her. They would heal together, but it would take time.
He’d arranged for a nanny when he was at work, but he didn’t intend on leaving her again. That was another thing: he had to find work. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—live off Lily’s money.
Aside from that, he understood himself well enough to know that he needed a sense of purpose. For years the army had provided that. Fighting for America and protecting the way of life of the country that he loved had defined him for as long as he could remember.
Now he was on his own. A desk job wouldn’t cut it. H
e would go stir-crazy within an hour. No, he craved action and the fulfillment of knowing he was making a difference in the lives of others.
An impatient cry had him hurrying to Lily’s bedroom. She stood in her crib, waving her little fists. “Aren’t you the pretty girl?”
She giggled when he swung her high into his arms. A moment later the giggle vanished, and she scrunched up her face into a picture of misery. Grey was still trying to keep up with his daughter’s rapid mood swings.
“Do you need to be changed?”
A pitiful-sounding sniffle confirmed his guess. He set about changing her diaper and was pleased to discover he had done a credible job. Though he’d been confident in caring for Lily in the weeks after her birth, nearly a year had passed since he’d spent any real time with her. He needed to step up the learning curve and regain his confidence.
“We’ve got this,” he said to his daughter, who kicked her chubby legs with abandon. “We’ve got this.”
Whether he was trying to convince her or himself, he wasn’t certain. He lifted her into his arms and put her on his shoulder. She reared back, looked at him quizzically, then smiled.
Her smiles were balm to the terror of those days when she was missing. At the same time, she looked so much like her mother that he couldn’t help recalling Maggie and her tremulous smiles. Lily was a constant reminder of Maggie and how he’d let her down. Would he do the same with his daughter? Or could he find the courage to be the father she deserved?
Right now Lily needed to know that she was loved. That, he could do.
“What a gorgeous smile you have,” he told his daughter. “Do you know how much I love you?”
“I’d say a lot.”
He turned to find Rachel there.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, her smile taking in him and Lily. “I knocked, but you didn’t hear it. Since the door was unlocked, I let myself in.”
“I’m glad you did.”
Like Lily’s, Rachel’s smile was balm to his soul, and he allowed himself the luxury of basking in it. Then he stiffened his resolve.
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