by Joyce
"We might as well head back to the house until we can get more information on these people,” Al said. “Otherwise, we're wasting our time."
"What made them decide to leave so suddenly?” Rae asked of no one in particular.
Al closed the car door on the early morning cold. “They got spooked."
She looked at Steve. He shrugged. “It's okay to talk in front of Al. He knows how to keep his mouth shut. I trust him with my secrets. I think we can trust him with yours."
"I was at the coffee shop today. Mary didn't know I was involved with Bryce. She's lived here for five years. She was secure enough to bring Bryce here when she didn't have her in that backroom at the coffee shop. What spooked her?"
Al stepped in again. “Maybe she got nervous. Maybe she knew we were close behind her. Maybe it was coincidence that she was ready to move her again."
"Put someone at the coffee shop,” Steve said quietly. “In case she comes back for something."
Rae shook her head. “She won't be back."
"Is that a feeling?"
"No. That's an observation from experience. She's going to be looking for somewhere else to hide until this is over. Maybe a friend or relative. Once a kidnaper takes off like this from their familiar terrain, they don't come back."
Steve didn't elaborate on what her experience was. Al looked at her curiously. Wondering what her secret was and why she knew so much about kidnappings.
The two men didn't have an answer for how Mary Francis knew they were coming. They were busy with theories about where she went and how they could track her. Rae knew they were mistaken not to look at the link that was still missing between Mary and Bryce. She felt even more certain that there was a person close to Steve who was feeding Mary information.
Steve knew that Rae was in the coffee shop. Rae shook her head to clear her thoughts but they buzzed at her like a pack of angry bees. He knew they were going back there after she had the vision. He had time to tip Mary when he went for his jacket before they left the house. Mary wasn't secure in her own home anymore. She knew they were coming after her.
Rae glanced at Steve then looked out the car window as they drove back to the house. It was a devastating thought. She wanted to dismiss it but the shadow lingered. What if Sharin was right? What if Steve was responsible for Bryce's kidnapping?
It made a horrible kind of logic. Nothing could stop her brain from forming conjectures once it started. Suppose, as Sharin suggested, Steve wanted Edna and Stan Nurvin to buy him out. He stood to profit from it. At the same time, with Bryce gone, he had enough shares in Solutions to bounce back.
She didn't think he wanted to kill the girl. When he had control of her stock, he could take his company and the Nurvin's. No one knew what he was going through right now. When he finally told everyone that Bryce had been kidnapped, his actions would make sense. Everything he did would be explained. He would be on top of the world again.
Al's cell phone rang. He nodded at whatever the caller said then turned to Steve, “We've traced that twenty-thousand to a bank in the Cayman's. That goes back to our original theory that it's a corporate kidnapping."
"But this Mary Francis isn't a pro,” Steve disagreed with him.
"Maybe she's the front for whoever really engineered the whole thing. Or maybe she agreed to take care of Bryce for that money."
"What about DMV on that van?"
"We have the license plate, make, and model. Should we call the police?"
Steve shook his head. “Bryce is still in danger. If the police go in with their sirens blaring, she'd be vulnerable. Send Duke and his team out on it. And find me a link between this woman and Bryce!"
Rae listened intently. The words whirled in her mind and she put a hand to her head. It was ridiculous. No one could fake loving someone as much as Steve loved Bryce. There wasn't the faintest hint of insincerity to his tone.
She fingered a glove she picked up in the house. She didn't want to say anything to Steve until she could get an impression from it. She did it secretly so that he wouldn't be disappointed. Now, she wasn't so sure. Maybe Bryce would be better off if she kept her visions to herself.
Rae was convinced that Steve was hiding something. She felt that way since they met. What was he so worried about hiding from her? If it didn't have anything to do with Bryce, why did she feel it so strongly? Then there was that strange twinge of something she couldn't name between him and Sharin when they spoke about David.
Despite the fact that he kicked Sharin out of his room, Rae felt sure the two had been intimate. Was that the secret they shared? Somehow, David found out about it and that's why he was leaving Solutions to Steve. But what did that have to do with the kidnapping a year later?
No, it wasn't true. Rae trusted her own instinct when it came to people. She was rarely wrong. Steve Williams was an honorable man. She could feel it when she looked at him. She could hear it in his voice. No one was totally honest about the things they did. Everyone had things they wanted to protect from others. He didn't know who took Bryce. She was willing to bet her life that Steve loved his niece. You're betting Bryce's life.
The limo pulled up in front of the house and Al bolted from the car. Steve followed him, reaching back to help Rae. “You must be exhausted."
"I'm fine.” She resisted touching him and got out of the car on her own. “I'm just sorry we couldn't bring Bryce home with us."
"So am I but we're closer than we were yesterday. Thanks to you."
"I should have known."
"You did your best. And I'm sorry I gave you a hard time at the Tower earlier today. It's hard to believe that you know these things."
Rae smiled ruefully. “I know."
"No wonder you started—"
"Drinking?” She finished the thought for him. “Now you know why I didn't want to come here with you."
He moved close to her as they walked into the house. “I'm going to try and grab a few hours sleep. You should, too. They might find that van and we'll have to go out again."
"It's two a.m.” She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “My grandmother calls this time the hour of the soul. It's the time when the dead can speak to us because the world is so silent. It's the time when many people give up on life and pass into the darkness."
Steve slipped his arm around her. “You're freezing."
"I can't seem to get warm after being out in that cold rain."
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to help her circulation. “What do the dead tell your grandmother?"
"Ten generations of Harris women speak to her regularly.” Rae was too tired and dispirited to fight the visions that came to her. She wanted to lay beside him in that big bed. She wanted to touch him and have him touch her. She was drowning in sensation. “When I was a child, they grumbled mightily about things that I did wrong. Lately, they seem more likely to tell her where the best adder root is located on the island."
Steve laughed down at her. His hands grew more caressing as they moved over her back. “I'm so glad I found you."
"I haven't been much help yet,” she whispered in the quiet of the hour of the soul.
"You've made it easier to bear. And I know you'll find Bryce before it's too late."
When he kissed her, it was the meeting of two frightened souls who came to realize that the world wasn't always what it seemed. Passion whispered through Rae's veins and intoxicated her senses. Heat wasn't a problem as he pulled her closer. His hand rested possessively in the small of her back. His mouth closed on hers hungrily. Her arms went up to his chest and her lips parted for him.
With a muffled groan, he pressed his mouth to hers again. This time she met him halfway and reveled in the dangerous undertow it created. She shivered with desire, not cold. Colors, lights and images whirled around and through her. She was part of everything in the universe and everything flowed through her, melting her into him.
It was a deeper, more frightening place than even
Jack Daniels ever took her. She pushed away from him, terrified that she would lose every part of herself to him. Even Lessie wouldn't be able to bring her back. “I-I need some rest. I can't think like this and there isn't much time left."
He released her at once, though his eyes were troubled. “You're right. Let me know if you see anything else. Thanks for being here."
Steve walked with her to her room. They didn't speak again. She lingered with her back against the closed door, listening to his footsteps as he walked down the hall to his room. She had to know the truth behind the secret Steve didn't want to share with her. She didn't believe he was responsible for Bryce's kidnapping. But she had to know what happened between him and David.
Chapter Eleven
Rae cleaned the steam from the bathroom mirror a few hours later and studied her face. She looked the same as she did before she left Sullivan's Island. But she felt the change inside herself. Everyone was so afraid for her to come here. She was afraid too. But she was right to come. She needed to test her hard-won confidence. It turned out that she was more stable, more able to take care of herself than she imagined.
Four years away from the job and two years from the bottle, she was able to see things so much more calmly. She was still emotionally involved with Bryce. That didn't change. She'd never be able to go back to finding lost children day after day. But she surprised herself with her strength.
She dressed slowly. Not anxious to confront Steve and Sharin. Alabaster was washing her clothes and returning them, clean and folded every day. She only packed a few outfits but the housekeeper made up for the lack. The gray slacks she put on were the same ones she wore on the flight. She pulled on a gray tunic blouse and twisted her hair into submission with a pencil before she headed downstairs.
Steve and Sharin were at the base of the stairs, quarreling. Their words were purposely quiet. Rae could only make out a little of what they were saying to one another. She looked at their intense faces, almost touching. She was certain about their relationship. She slowed her steps until they realized that she was there. She wanted to talk to Steve alone. She wasn't looking for a confrontation with Sharin.
Sharin looked up first. “Good morning, sunshine."
Steve smiled. “Good morning, Rae."
"You look good,” Sharin purred. “But they all do."
Rae returned Steve's smile. “Good morning. I hope I'm not interrupting."
"You're about five years too late for that, sweetie. I was just leaving.” Sharin turned her back on them and walked out the front door.
"She seems ... better,” Rae said.
"She has her good moments. Did you sleep well? I didn't want to wake you earlier. It was a long night."
She wanted to know the truth. Part of her wanted to believe in him so strongly that it hurt to doubt him. Part of her knew trusting him at all could be a major mistake. “I'm fine, thanks."
"Is everything okay? I just got off the phone with Duke. I waited to have breakfast with you so we could talk. Time keeps slipping away."
She didn't answer his question, parrying instead with one of her own. “Any word on the coffee shop or the house?"
"No one's come back to either place. Al's been looking for any trace of Mary. So far, she hasn't left a trail he can follow."
"These people are well informed and well financed. The only thing that's missing is professionalism. I don't think they've ever done anything like this before. I can't imagine a competitor hiring them to take you out this way."
Steve held her chair at the table in the tearoom. His hands lingered on her shoulders, soothing the tired knots he found there.
His touch felt good. Too good. Rae relaxed into it. She didn't want to fight it anymore. She closed her eyes and let it roll over her. The night was forever. The smell of the sea. The warmth of him beside her. His hand slid around her waist and drew her closer. She nuzzled his neck and kissed him.
He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck. “I don't want to compromise your judgment, sweetheart. I just want to hold you."
It felt good to stand up and turn into his embrace. She'd been fighting this too long. At the beginning, the emotions were all in the visions. Now, they were part of her.
His arms closed around her, holding her tight against his chest. She relaxed against him with a sigh. Listened to the beating of their hearts. Felt the magic of his touch work through her tense body. His hands stroked her spine while his lips caressed the edge of her ear and the curve of her neck. She pretended for a moment that everything was all right. Bryce wasn't lost and alone. There were no unanswered questions. There was only the two of them.
Time stood still for a long moment, then it swept forward and was lost forever. The questions returned. The doubts and fears drifted into the pleasant room with the sunshine.
"We can't do this.” She took control of her fractured emotions. “I don't want to lose Bryce."
"I don't either. How does one affect the other?” His voice was quiet in the small room.
"You haven't been through this. You don't understand."
"That's how you lost your partner, wasn't it? The two of you were involved. It distracted you. You made a mistake."
He was doing it again. Rae took a step back and his arms dropped away from her. She felt his psyche melding with hers. Sensing things that she wasn't ready to share with him yet. He didn't need to realize his own gift to make his probing intense. “I think all that matters here is that we find Bryce."
Steve walked to the window and stared out at the dead brown landscape. “All right. We found the van that Mary used to leave town. Duke says there's evidence that she and Bryce were in it. There was no sign of anyone else being with them. She abandoned the van at a convenience store near Stone Mountain. We don't have a clue where she went from there or how she went. She and Bryce could be anywhere."
Michael brought fresh baked loaves of bread with butter and honey with warming trays of scrambled eggs and fruit.
"So, we're back where we started,” Steve finished when they were alone.
She didn't want to see the slump in his shoulders or hear the defeat in his voice. “Yes and no. We know who has her now. We know what Mary looks like and a lot about her background. If she goes to any of her family, we'll be able to find her. Maybe we'll be able to find out who paid Mary to take her. I don't believe she did this by herself. Any leads on a link between Mary and your family?"
"Al was up all night looking for any reason for her to be involved. I never heard Mary's name before yesterday. Maybe you're right and the kidnappers paid her to keep Bryce for a few days. I don't think a coffee shop owner pulled this off by herself. It took a professional to set this whole thing up."
She tried to gauge if he was the truth. It was confusing, looking at him through the haze of her emotions. She felt in tune with him. Too much so. She didn't know if she could tell the difference between the truth and a lie that came from his lips. “I understand why someone like the Nurvin's want to make you step down. They want to take over the company. I understand why someone like Mary would want the money. But where do they come together?"
"Are you saying now that you think Stan and Edna are involved?"
"I don't know.” She paused to think about what she was saying. “Let's assume for a minute that Mary was someone who agreed to take care of Bryce for a few days. She knows what's going on but she didn't plan the thing or execute it. She's just there to take Bryce when they need her. Who had the money, the information, and the motivation to take Bryce, then systematically have you dismantle your company?"
"Stan and Edna stand to make a lot of money and they've wanted our companies to merge for a long time. I suppose they could've bought someone on the inside who had the information they needed."
Rae swallowed a piece of bread with honey on it. “Is there another competitor who'd gain as much?"
"Not unless they foresaw the Nurvin's buying me out. Our two companies being joined will swamp an
y competitor. The government only recently decided it would allow a merger because of market share. They were worried that our two companies together could monopolize the market."
"When was that?” A buzz started in her brain when she heard him say those words.
"About a month."
"So, all of this could be about the take-over. The timing seems better than average, don't you think?"
"I suppose so. But that would put Stan and Edna in the middle of it. I can't picture them there and you said you couldn't either."
"I guess I'm trying to think through this rationally rather than relying on my psychic awareness. It used to be the frosting, not the whole cake."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that this all makes sense logically in someone's brain. I want to understand it the same way. Then, if the psychic part kicks in, all the better."
He grimaced. “All right. How do we investigate if Stan and Edna hired someone in the firm to kidnap Bryce?"
"Moles don't come cheap.” Rae rationalized the situation. “If Mary got a check from a bank in the Cayman's then someone else might have a deposit from the same bank. There's only a handful of your employees who had all the information and access to help a professional kidnapper."
Steve got out his cell phone. “I'll have Al check into it right away."
Rae buttered a slice of bread. She glanced up at him hesitantly while he spoke on the phone. His hair was carefully combed. His clothes were immaculate. The man was an android. Or immune to everything that was going on around him. Recalling the paperweight incident and his bloody hand, she knew better. When he got off the phone, she asked, “How do you keep going?"
"What do you mean? What else can I do?"
"You can fall apart. Most people don't stop to question what else they can do. They do it. You've kept up appearances down to the letter. No one in the outside world knows what's going on. Stan and Edna don't have a clue. They think you're having a mental breakdown because David's gone. Even your closest friends wouldn't guess. How do you do that?"
