Lauri stood wringing her hands. Getting in that car would be stupid. She didn’t trust him.
Her gaze rocketed around the neighborhood, but she saw no one she could call to for help.
“Get in,” he said again. “I’m not going to hurt you. I have a business proposition.”
His mild tone calmed her fears only a little. She reluctantly opened the passenger door and slid inside. The car’s warmth soaked into her chilled skin. She dared a glance at the man and found him studying her. She let him look and infused her own stare with defiance.
“You’re younger than I thought,” he said, his high voice abrupt.
“I’m nearly twenty,” she said with an edge to her tone.
Mr. Jones waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Look kid, I know you heard stuff that was none of your business. I followed you when you went running to your brother. What did you tell him?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” she said, desperate to keep her brother out of it. “I just stopped by to say hello.”
“Don’t play games, little girl.”
Wes leaned forward from the back. “We know everything,” he said, tipping up his chin. “How you murdered someone and how you’re blackmailing the Saunders family.”
Lauri nearly groaned. She so didn’t want to be here. This was going to get them in trouble. She just knew it.
The man glanced at her. “You going to let this guy speak for you?”
She shrugged and attempted a smile.
He studied her face, then shrugged. “I’ll give you ten grand, and you keep your mouth shut about anything you’ve heard. None of it’s your business.”
Wes cleared his throat. “We want twenty thousand.”
The guy rolled his eyes. “Go right for the jugular, huh? Fifteen.”
“I don’t think you want to end up behind bars,” Wes said. “We’re not taking less than twenty. This is huge.”
Lauri wanted to tell Mr. Jones she didn’t want his money, but Wes could really use the cash. It might be just what they needed to break free of his family. She choked back the fear bubbling up. The guy studied her face, and she bit her lip but managed to hold his gaze. She kept her expression defiant. At least she hoped that’s what he took away from it. A serious threat. When he jerked his chin down in an abrupt nod, she nearly sagged in the seat.
He reached into the back and pulled a black snakeskin briefcase into the front with him. Fiddling with the combination, he cursed until the levers flipped up. He pulled out stacks of twenties, which he began tossing into her lap.
Terror filled her. She swallowed hard. She was so going to regret this.
His lips twisted. “Don’t go getting any bright ideas. That’s all. No more, it’s done. If I find out you’ve told anyone what you heard, you’re dead.”
Dead? Lauri gulped and studied the hard glint in his eyes. She stuffed the money into her bag. “I won’t say anything to anyone. My brother doesn’t know anything.” Neither did she, not really. Not even his real name.
“Our lips are sealed,” Wes said, his voice full of suppressed excitement. A grin tugged at his lips.
“You’d better not, either one of you.” He stared at them. “Though there is one more requirement to the deal.”
“Requirement?”
“I want to make sure you have incentive not to talk.”
Looking into his glittering eyes, she had plenty of incentive.
“What do you want?”
“It’s about your brother,” he said.
“Don’t drag my brother into this.”
“He’s got a son. A young boy.”
Lauri sank against the seat back. “Yes.”
“I’d like to have a chat with him.”
Lauri shook her head. “He’s just a little kid. Why would you want to talk to him?”
“That’s my business,” he said. “All you have to do is bring the kid to the Raccoon Lake picnic grounds and leave me alone with him for thirty minutes.”
“I don’t want him hurt,” she said.
“I’m not going to hurt him. This could all be over for you. Everyone will be happy. Once it’s done, I’ll know I can trust you because you won’t want anyone to know what you did either.”
Lauri wasn’t sure she believed his smooth voice. Even as an inner voice urged her to do whatever it took to get out of this mess, she envisioned Davy’s earnest green eyes and the smattering of freckles across his nose. It would kill her if this guy hurt him.
She summoned her courage. “I can’t do that.”
He shrugged. “Deliver the kid or pay the consequences.”
“He’s just a little boy!” Her throat closed, and her eyes grew hot. “What do you want with him?”
“I need some leverage,” he said.
Leverage? “Leave him alone.”
“Look, kid, I’m not going to hurt a little boy. I’m just going to talk to him. Talk.”
Now that he was being persuasive rather than threatening, she was even more afraid. There was something very big at stake, and she didn’t have the foggiest idea what it might be.
She wet her lips. “No, I can’t do it.”
He glanced at Wes. “I think you will. Eventually. I’ll be in touch.” His tone dismissed her.
She fumbled for the door handle, but it didn’t open and she realized it was locked. She flipped the lock and shoved open the door. Her knees trembled as she leaped from his car to Wes’s truck. She locked her door and sat shaking in the passenger seat.
Wes exited the backseat of the Mercedes and flung himself under the steering wheel of his truck. “What a rush!” He jammed the key into the ignition switch.
The engine ground. “Come on, come on,” she whispered. “Get us out of here.” She wanted never to see that guy again.
The engine caught, and the tires spun on the ice as Wes pulled away from the curb. He grabbed her bag with one hand and opened it. “Twenty grand! We can start a new life, Lauri. You’ll see.”
“He’s going to kill Davy, Wes.” The words came out between sobs. She loved her little nephew. What had she done?
“You exaggerate everything,” he said, his voice sulky. “Calm down, Lauri. We’ll have another chat with him.”
“You must not have noticed that there’s no talking to this guy!” she screamed. “I’m not turning my nephew over to him.”
“You don’t have a nephew. Just a stepnephew. And what harm can there be to talk? We can keep the money and have our fresh start.”
“I’m not letting Davy get anywhere close to him.”
Disgust filled Wes’s voice. “Sheesh, you’re so melodramatic.”
The tears flooding her eyes dried. “Wes, you haven’t seen this guy as many times as I have. You have no idea how scary he is.”
“Scary,” he scoffed. “He’s good at scaring women and little kids.”
All that bravado could get them both killed. Pain pulsed behind her left eye, and she pressed her fingers against it. “You don’t understand.”
He leaned closer, and his breath stirred her hair. “I understand that you’re paralyzed with fear. You’re not seeing how our future together is at risk. We can have it all, baby. You’ll see. Get the kid and I’ll take him to see the guy.”
She didn’t know what she was going to do, how she was getting out of this fix.
It was only after she reached the office fifteen minutes later that she realized she’d been breathing shallowly all the way there. Her lungs expanded, and her vision blurred as he pulled against the curb and shut off the engine. She leaned her head against her window and drew in a deep breath. And another, until she could see again.
What had they done?
Bree glanced at her watch as she sat in Syl’s Country Café outside Ontonagon. The woman was late. She’d left Samson sleeping in the Jeep. In the carrier, Olivia squinted at the bright light. She’d found her thumb and so far hadn’t uttered a peep.
A young woman rushed into the café. Her long dark hair an
d vivid blue eyes attracted the attention of the five men in the dining room. The snug jeans she wore hugged every curve, and she stood by the door and scanned the tables. When her gaze landed on Bree, she smiled and moved forward.
“You must be Bree Matthews,” she said, her voice low and breathless. “I’m Inga Beckjord. Thanks for seeing me.”
The young woman had called an hour ago after getting Bree’s number from Mrs. Bristol “Thanks for calling me.” Bree waited until the young woman sat down. “You said you had some information about Ellie’s disappearance?”
Inga ordered coffee and a turkey sandwich when the waitress approached. Once they were alone again, she studied Olivia. “She might be Ellie’s baby.”
“When did you see Ellie last?”
“The day she disappeared. She stopped by my apartment on her way to meet the guy arranging the adoption. She wanted me to go with her.”
Bree leaned forward, trying to contain her excitement. “Did you go along?”
The waitress brought Inga’s coffee. Once she was gone, Inga nodded. “She wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with it. When she mentioned this, he said she’d have to pay back all the money if she backed out. She’d already received half of it, then spent it on college tuition and rooming, which was part of the agreement and why she was getting so much.”
“What did the guy look like?”
“Small, slim. Good dresser with expensive shoes.”
“Ellie didn’t mention a name?”
Inga shook her head. “There were no introductions. We met the guy at a coffee shop.”
“How were things when you parted?”
“She cried all the way home. Her mom had already told her she couldn’t help her raise the baby.”
“So she was planning on going through with it.”
Inga hesitated. “That’s why I called you. While we were on the way home, she called that guy and told him the deal was off. That she’d find a way to pay him back even if it took awhile. I could hear the guy yelling through the phone. Ellie kind of shrank back against the seat and cried.”
Poor girl. “What did she say when she hung up?”
Inga bit her lip. “She said she was afraid of that guy, afraid he might take the baby by force.”
“Was she planning to go to the police?”
“No, she was too afraid. She wasn’t sure if what she was doing was legal or not.” Inga stared down at her coffee cup. “But what if she was right?” she whispered. “Maybe he came and took her somewhere until the baby came and then killed her.”
Chills ripped down Bree’s back. “If he paid her forty thousand, he must have charged the adoptive parents much more. The baby would be very valuable to him.” The nightmare scenario wouldn’t stop playing in her head. “Did Ellie buy anything for the baby that might prove Olivia is her child?”
“She bought a pink sleeper that had a rabbit on it. With a hot pink nose.”
Bree gulped and reached for the diaper bag. She unzipped it and lifted out a sleeper. “Like this?”
Tears filled Inga’s eyes. “Just like that,” she whispered, touching the sleeper. “Can’t DNA prove Olivia belonged to Ellie?”
“It can, but it could take as much as a few months to get test results back. Is there anything else you can tell me about that baby broker, some detail that would help me track him down?”
Inga bit her lip and her eyes took on a faraway expression. “His voice was kind of high. I don’t suppose that helps much.”
Bree’s cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her purse. She glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Mason.
“Bad news,” he said when she answered. “I just heard a woman’s body was found in the Porkies. She was shot. The wallet with the body identifies her as Ellie Bristol. We’re awaiting positive ID from her mother.”
“And the baby?” Bree asked, holding her breath.
“The woman recently delivered. No sign of the infant.”
“I think Olivia is Ellie’s child,” she said. Bree’s gaze went to Olivia. Motherless, or so it seemed.
17
SUNDAY AFTER CHURCH AND LUNCH KADE RODE HIS SNOW-mobile toward Eagle Rock. He prayed he’d find the pictures he needed on the camera. He climbed the trail and retrieved his camera. He was about to start flipping through the pictures when his cell phone rang.
He glanced at the display, saw it was Lauri, and flipped it open. “Hey, kid sister.”
“Kade, I’m in trouble.” Her voice was thick with tears and hysteria.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone broke into my apartment. Stuff from my drawers is all over the floor. They took my camera and my computer.” She was sobbing now.
Kade tucked the camera into its bag. “Are you okay? Were you home?”
“No, I’d gone to get a beef pasty. But it’s more than just a break-in, Kade.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Someone has been following me.”
“Following you?” He thought back to what she’d overheard. “That guy threatening your boss?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Can you come now? I’m scared.”
He glanced at his watch. “I’m a few hours away. Head for my house and I’ll meet you there.”
“My car isn’t working.”
“What happened to it?”
“I don’t know. It just won’t start.”
Could someone have tinkered with it? “Okay, I’ll come get you. But it will be several hours.”
“Can Bree come?”
“I’ll give her a call and see if she’s busy.” He ended the call, then punched in his wife’s number. “Hey, babe,” he said. “You busy?”
“Just feeding Olivia.” She sounded distracted.
“Is something wrong?”
“Mason called. Ellie Bristol’s body was just found. Murdered. I talked to Ellie’s best friend, Inga. She told me Ellie was going to back out of the adoption even though she couldn’t pay the money back. And Inga identified that bunny sleeper as one like Ellie had bought her baby.”
He drew in a gulp of air. “So it looks like Olivia is Ellie’s baby.”
“And her grandmother wants nothing to do with raising her.”
Kade saw where the conversation was heading. “We already talked about this, Bree. Let’s not argue about it now. We, uh, we’ve got a situation with Lauri. Her apartment was broken into, and she’s shook up. Could you go get her? I’m over in the Kitchigami Wilderness, and it will take me a couple of hours to get to her.”
“Sure, Olivia’s just finishing her bottle. I’ll run over and get Lauri in five minutes. You want me to call her and let her know?”
“Sure. Thanks. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He put his camera away and returned to his truck. He’d have to check the photos later.
He was halfway to Lauri’s when his cell phone played “Love Me Tender.” Bree’s tune. He answered it. “Hey, babe. Did you get Lauri all right?”
“Kade, she’s not here.” Panic strained the tenor of her voice. “I had a key, but I didn’t need it. The door was standing wide open. The place is trashed, and I can’t find her. Has she called you?”
“No, I haven’t heard from her.” Kade tried not to panic, but he caught the sharp edge of his wife’s fear. “Did you check with the neighbors? Or the superintendent? Did you try calling her?”
“I called you first. I’ll try her now. And the neighbors.” The baby wailed in the background, and Bree hushed her. “I’ll call you back.”
Kade accelerated as fast as he dared on the snow-covered road.
Quinn drove slowly into the campground in Houghton. The mark had finally agreed to all their demands. The announcement would be made in two more days. The baby needed to be returned to her parents. And Davy was about to be reunited with his father.
The campground held only three trucks. Snowmobilers, most likely. He’d picked this place thinking they’d be alone. Quinn heard the noisy machines in the distance. He parked under the bare branches
of a birch tree and turned to Jenna.
“You look hot in that getup,” she said, pressing her lips against his.
He endured her kiss, realizing their relationship was about over. Since being here, he found himself comparing her to Bree every time he turned around. And found her wanting.
“I’ll warm you up,” she murmured.
“You’re good at that.” He whispered the lie against her hair. “But we need to talk.”
“Talk, talk,” she grumbled. “That’s all you ever want to do lately.” But she settled back against the seat and glanced up at him.
“I need you to grab the kids in two days.”
“Kids? I thought it was just the baby.”
“The boy too. Davy.”
She shook her head. “I’m not taking him. The Matthewses have been good to me. I’d have to have strong incentive to do that.” Her gaze grew cunning and she waggled the ring finger of her left hand at him. “Like wedding bells.”
“I’m sick of this marriage talk. You’ll do what I say or you can get out of the truck now.” He wished she’d take him up on it. He’d find another way without her, and he wouldn’t have to put up with her constant yapping about marriage.
Her blue eyes filled with tears. “You don’t mean it.”
She was a good actress. “I mean every word,” he said. “You’re in this as deep as me, Jenna, don’t forget that.” His hand touched the softness of her mink coat. “Our deals bought you this and those five-hundred-dollar boots. You want that all to vanish?”
“No,” she said, her mouth going sulky. “You never tell me anything. Like how do you know Kade and Bree? And why do you want David?”
His hand shook, and he laid it on his leg. “I knew Bree a long time ago.”
“Were you lovers?” she asked. Her face changed when he didn’t answer. “I get it. David is your son, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” He expected histrionics, but she nodded at his admission.
“The news of this just might rattle Kade’s faith in Bree,” she said with glee in her voice. “He might need some comfort.”
“From you?”
“Maybe. Since you don’t want me.” Her voice grew insolent.
For just a minute Quinn allowed himself to imagine how it would be to have the family back together. But it would never work. He knew how his wife would react to his new line of work. And he wasn’t about to give it up, not even for her.
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