Operation Bassinet

by Joyce Sullivan

  Slowly they removed the garment, both of them trying to calm Emma as she whimpered and squirmed. An incredible wave of relief rolled through his limbs as Stef pulled Emma into her arms. Emma was safe. Sometimes the good guys won a few rounds. “Get her out of here. Now.”

  “Mitch?” Stef protested.

  “Go! Run!”

  A bead of sweat rolled down Mitch’s back. “What now?” he asked the bomb tech.

  “We’re going to pull the wire between the power source and the detonator.”

  Mitch found the wire and pulled it.

  Stef heard the explosion as she carried Emma toward the helicopter. Oh, my god. Mitch!

  DARREN BLACK didn’t even make it into the building. Weapons drawn, Hunter and four members of his security team surrounded the courier van that Darren had hijacked a few minutes earlier. Darren was caught in the act of changing into the courier’s mud-colored uniform.

  “It’s over,” Hunter barked. “Drop your weapons.”

  “I don’t think so.” The mathematician held up a remote-control device. “Bring me Riana Collingwood or Stephanie Shelton’s daughter goes up in smoke. Now.”

  Hunter pointed the gun at Darren’s forehead. “You can’t have her. Go ahead, push the button.”

  With an evil smile, Darren called The Guardian’s bluff and pushed the button. “’Bye, ’bye, baby.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Six hours later Stef was still shaking. She wasn’t sure she’d ever stop shaking. She’d endured the state police’s interrogation. She’d answered all their questions about her abduction. But her mind wasn’t on her ordeal.

  Mitch had been taken to the emergency room, and they hadn’t allowed her to go with him. Tiny pieces of metal were buried in his skin from the detonator exploding when he’d pulled that wire. He called them scratches.

  Once the police had finished with her, The Guardian had whisked her and Emma back to New York City.

  Juliana and Keely had greeted them with hugs and kisses and Stef had introduced Keely to her sister Emma. While the little imps fed lettuce and carrots to Emma’s stuffed bunny, Stef and Juliana had cried and had tea and cried again.

  Stef was listening for Mitch’s return. She needed to see that he was okay. To thank him for taking such a foolish chance by dismantling the bomb.

  When the door opened and she heard a pair of deep male voices, she flew out of the living room and down the hall.

  And there was Mitch filling up the hallway. Filling up her heart. Every handsome inch of him. There were small bandages on his face and his hand. His shirt and suit jacket were tattered in places. Heat lit his cobalt eyes as he welcomed her into his arms.

  Stef barely heard Juliana tell The Guardian that she thought they ought to be given some privacy.

  Mitch pulled back and framed Stef’s beautiful face with his hands. He kissed the tip of her nose. “I meant what I said earlier. I love you.”

  She gripped the lapels of his jacket not wanting to let go. “I love you, too.”

  “I think I’m out of a job now, so I’m not breaking any ethical rules by telling you that I have plans for us. You, me, Keely and Emma.” His voice grew husky. “Plans that include you wearing a wedding gown and me learning how to be a dad and a husband—and the best lover you’ve ever had.”

  “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  Mitch shuddered and pressed his forehead to hers. Stef loved him. He loved her. They had to find a way to make this work. Had to find a way to keep Keely or they would never have a future. “No, I’m telling you we have a future together. The Guardian paid me an obscene amount of money to take this case. We’ll use it to hire a lawyer.” He stroked her hair. “Keely belongs with you. You’re inseparable.”

  Anguish laced through her tone. “Did The Guardian tell you what happens now with Keely?”

  His arms tightened around her, sheltering her. “He’s going to arrange a meeting with Keely’s legal guardian in forty-eight hours. There’s going to be a media storm when it’s announced that Riana Collingwood has been returned.”

  Stef started to cry. “Oh, Mitch, I can’t lose her.”

  Mitch closed his eyes and imagined a future that didn’t include his jelly bean. A future where Stef eventually grew to resent him and the love between them died. “I know. I can’t lose her, either.”

  THE MEDIA erupted into a feeding frenzy over Darren Black’s arrest and the details of the kidnapping and the baby switch. Annette York and Darren Black were making declarations of love to each other via the papers. The state police had found human skeletal remains on the Conklin property near Waccabuc Lake where Stef and Emma had been held hostage.

  Mitch was being hailed as a hero and inundated with job offers from police departments across the country.

  And The Guardian had given Stef the DNA lab results confirming that Emma was her and Brad’s biological child. Stef had almost forgotten the tests had been ordered.

  She’d spent the past two days mentally preparing to be introduced to the person Ross and Lexi Collingwood had appointed to raise their daughter. Juliana still refused to give Stef any hints about her employer and Stef had stopped asking. Now, as the helicopter swooped down like a dragonfly and landed next to a fairy-tale castle set on an island in the sparkling blue waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Stef was assailed by insecurities. She couldn’t compete with this kind of grandeur!

  Mitch squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Stef caught a strained look that passed between The Guardian and Juliana. The tension in the helicopter was palpable. Only the girls were oblivious to it.

  An elderly, dignified butler with an imposing face awaited them at the entrance to the house. He held a cooing blond infant in his arms.

  Juliana embraced the old man, taking the baby into her arms. He immediately curled his chubby fists in her hair. Smiling, she turned to Stef and Mitch. “I’d like you to meet my father, Nigel Goodhew. He was the Collingwoods’ butler for many years. And this delightful young man is Cort.” Juliana’s voice wavered with emotion. “He’s Ross and Lexi’s son. The Collingwoods kept his birth a secret.”

  Stef stared at the beautiful little baby, her heart clenching. Keely had a brother! This was more complicated than she could even contemplate. She felt the steady presence of Mitch’s hand at the small of her back.

  Juliana laid a hand on Keely’s shoulder. “Papa, this is Keely.”

  Stef saw tears form in the elderly butler’s eyes. It was a very strange feeling to acknowledge that these people genuinely loved the little girl she considered her own.

  “I am very pleased to meet you, Miss Keely. And you, Miss Emma. And the very courageous, Mrs. Shelton. You are all most welcome. Ladies and young ladies, you are to adjourn to the drawing room. Mr. Halloran and The Guardian, your presence is requested in the study for a few moments.”

  Mitch kissed Stef’s temple and breathed in the scent of her hair to give himself courage. They’d have an uphill battle to retain custody of Keely. “I’ll be back.”

  Mitch took in the jewel-toned rays of light that filtered through the stained-glass ceiling as they mounted the staircase to the third floor. The butler punched a code into a keypad and opened the heavy wood door. The study reminded Mitch of the one in the apartment overlooking Central Park. It was sleek and high-tech only on a larger, grander scale. He expected to see Brook Sinclair ensconced in the chair behind the desk, but no one was waiting to greet them.

  “I’ll take it from here, Goodhew,” G.D. said.

  And suddenly Mitch knew. This castle was The Guardian’s home and he was Riana and Cort’s legal guardian. Suddenly Mitch’s dreams of making a family with Stef seemed only that—dreams.

  G.D. held out his hand to Mitch. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Hunter Sinclair and Juliana Goodhew is my wife. We married suddenly after Ross and Lexi were killed and told people Cort was our son to protect him. Ross was my best friend. We went to Harvard together.”

  “And you’re
Riana’s and Cort’s legal guardian,” Mitch finished for him.

  Compassion rose in G.D.’s eyes. “Yes. I married Juliana because she’d been caring for Cort since his birth. I didn’t expect to fall in love with her—that took me by surprise. That’s why I didn’t say anything when I noticed what was happening between you and Stef.”

  The story was starting to make sense. It explained the looks between Juliana and G.D. And yet it filled Mitch with dread. He couldn’t deny that G.D. and Juliana would be great parents to Keely. Except that Keely already had a great mommy.

  Mitch nodded. “And Brook Sinclair is…?

  “My sister. She runs the family hotel business and I run this—”

  “The family-saving business.” G.D. lifted a brow. “You’re very astute.”

  Not astute enough. Mitch shrugged. “It comes and goes.”

  “You’ve done an excellent job, Mitch. I’d like to know your plans.”

  Mitch’s jaw set. “Since you asked, I’m going to do everything in my power to convince Stef to marry me and we’re going to fight you for custody of Keely. I don’t understand how you can justify taking Keely away from the only mother she’s ever known when I know you wouldn’t dream of separating Cort from Juliana. Didn’t you just tell me Juliana’s the only mother Cort’s ever known?”

  G.D. sank onto the leather couch and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “I find it hard to believe that you can’t solve a complicated problem.”

  Hunter stared at Mitch for a few moments, struggling to make a decision that would affect all of their lives. Mitch had made a blunt point. And yet, Hunter could not lightly disregard the responsibility that Ross had entrusted him with. He thought, too, of Juliana who’d brought such love into his life. The idea of Keely joining their family made him feel richer. Blessed. He’d been looking forward to having Keely in his life.

  And he thought of Keely and what was best for her.

  She’d not only captured Hunter’s heart, she’d captured Mitch’s, as well. And Hunter saw in Mitch a dedicated, caring man who understood that a family is the greatest treasure a man could ever have.

  Hunter drummed his fingers on his thigh. Mitch was right. There was a solution to this problem. He cleared his throat. “I would be willing to let Keely remain with Stef on two conditions. One, you marry Stef and set up your own residence here on FairIsle where Keely can be protected and grow up with her brother. And two, you agree to join me as my partner in my security business. Now that I have a family, there’s more work than I can comfortably handle. It’s not always abductions, but you would be helping people protect their families.”

  Mitch laughed in his face. “You have a sick sense of humor, G.D., dangling a big carrot like that in front of me. First of all, I’m a grown man and nobody tells me who I should marry. But fortunately for you, I’m so in love with Stef I wouldn’t mind living on this puny rock for the privilege of being Keely’s and Emma’s daddy. And since I’m here, I may as well make myself useful and give you a hand now and then.”

  Hunter grinned and held out his hand, relieved that Mitch had his priorities in order. “You’re hired, partner.”

  SIX WEEKS LATER, on the day after Christmas, Stef Shelton descended the grand staircase at FairIsle on her father’s arm. Bands of colored light shot through the stairwell as if by magic. Two smiling girls in matching red-satin dresses sprinkled rose petals through the foyer and into the drawing room.

  Stef and Mitch stood in front of drawing room windows that gave a dazzling wintry view of the St. Lawrence River and exchanged their vows in front of the minister and their guests. Hunter and Juliana Sinclair witnessed their union as best man and matron of honor.

  “I didn’t know what love was until I met you,” Mitch whispered huskily in Stef’s ear after he’d officially kissed the bride at the ceremony’s end.

  The guests gathered around, offering congratulations. And then Hunter asked for everyone’s attention. Even Keely and Emma stopped tossing their rose petals.

  “On behalf of the Find Riana Foundation, I’m honored to present Stef with this reward for her assistance leading to an arrest in Riana Collingwood’s kidnapping.”

  Stef blushed as Hunter handed her a thick white envelope. He winked at her. “Consider it a nest egg so you can build that house in the spring.” Stef peeked inside the envelope and her mouth went slack. It contained a check made out for two million dollars!

  She showed it to Mitch, dazed. “Do you see how many zeroes there are on that check?”

  Mitch laughed and tucked Stef securely in the crook of his arm. “It’s only money, sweetheart. We’ve already got everything we need.”

  Stef looked from Mitch’s handsome face to the people who were sharing in this special day with them. Her family. Hunter and Juliana and Cort. Brook Sinclair and her two rambunctious sons. Goodhew. Keely. And Emma.

  Emma who had been lost and was now found, who added her voice to the melody of Stef’s life. Mitch was right. They had everything they needed. With love, compromise and great faith, they could make this extended family work.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-4092-6

  OPERATION BASSINET

  Copyright © 2003 by Joyce David

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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  * The Collingwood Heirs