by SUE FINEMAN
She wasn’t worth two cents to Blade.
The more he thought about Sunny, the more he thought about his natural mother. He had her married name and phone number, so Tuesday morning, while the boys had their lessons in the school room on the third floor of the house, Blade called Deanna Benjamin Oates. “Is this Mrs. Oates?”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Blade Banner.”
She gasped, and Blade froze. What if her husband didn’t know about him? “If this isn’t a good time to talk, I could call—”
“No, no, it’s just that I never thought I’d hear from you. You have no idea how hard I looked for you, but John said—”
“John abandoned me when I was five, and I grew up with his wife, Sunny. I looked for you when I was a kid, but I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“Do you still live in California?”
Blade sat on the side of the bed. “No, I ran away when I was fifteen, put myself through college, and I’m building a house in Gig Harbor, Washington. When it’s finished, I hope you and your family will come out for a visit.”
“Oh, Blade, we’d love to.” He heard tears in her voice, and it was all he could do not to cry along with her. She sounded like a nice lady, and he would have been so much better off with her than with Sunny.
“I’m hanging out at Cara Andrews’ estate near San Francisco for the next few days, and then I hope to be back in Gig Harbor.” They talked for several minutes before he gave her his cell phone number and ended the call.
He sat on the bed until the ache inside him eased. He had a mother who loved him, but Sunny kept them apart. He had grandparents who wanted him, and he didn’t know they existed. He spent his childhood thinking he was unloved and unwanted so Sunny could feed her addiction.
Sunny was dead, but he couldn’t let go of his bitterness.
<>
On Blade’s birthday, they had a little party after lunch. The kids gave him their homemade cards and one from Daisy, with her paw print on it.
After they said goodbye to the kids, Cara’s pilot flew Blade and Maria into Boeing Field in Seattle, where he rented a car. They had reservations at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle, where they’d spend the night, and they’d fly back after the court hearing tomorrow morning.
Gerry wanted Maria to bring the boys, so they could testify against their father, if necessary, and Maria refused. If the judge wanted to speak with them, they’d come back another time, but she didn’t want them to have to face Fred. He’d done enough damage to her children.
As she climbed into bed with Blade that night, Maria tried to tell herself that everything would be all right, that Gerry would present the offer to forgo child support in exchange for terminating Fred’s parental rights, Fred would accept it, and it would be over.
All she knew for sure was that Fred would be there, armed with the DNA results on the boys. He couldn’t have Robbie. No matter what he did to her, he couldn’t have her son.
Blade pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair. “It’ll be all right, Maria.”
“Will it?”
“I’ll be with you, and after the last time, he wouldn’t dare touch you.”
He won’t have to put his hands on me, Blade.
“The boys are already more mine than his. Andy and Jimmy never talk about him, and I haven’t heard Robbie mention him since you told him about his other father.”
Robbie had grown disillusioned with Fred because of the way he treated Jimmy and Andy. Her oldest son seemed more content now that he knew why he was different. His eyesight might be poor, but not his brain power.
“Is there a school for gifted children in Gig Harbor?”
“I don’t know, Blade. We may have to look in Tacoma.”
He hugged her closer. “We’ll find the right school for Robbie. He’s a great kid, Maria. They’re all great kids, and I know Fred had very little to do with that.”
Their lovemaking wasn’t as urgent as it had been that night in the pool, but Blade never failed to satisfy her, to make her feel like a cherished woman. He seemed more settled lately, more content, and she knew it was because he was falling in love with her.
I love you, Blade.
And I adore you, Maria.
Those weren’t the words she wanted to hear, but for right now, it was enough.
Chapter Twenty
The courtroom sat empty when Maria and Blade arrived, then Fred, his sister, and their parents walked through the door. Fred looked smug and sure of himself, as he had the last time she’d seen him in court. She couldn’t stand to look at him.
Maria had seen little of Fred’s parents and sister during her marriage, and none of them made eye contact with her today. She didn’t see Molly’s teacher. If the kids were right, she and Fred had broken up. Smart woman to get out now, before she made the mistake of marrying him.
Gerry arrived with Mom, and Maria realized her mother intended to testify about Fred’s last visit. Blade would testify, if necessary, and Gerry had the doctor’s report and pictures of Jimmy’s scarred behind. That should show the judge why Maria wanted to sever Fred’s relationship with his children.
Gerry spoke first, and he talked about his client’s former husband refusing to follow the judge’s order to pay child support, to carry medical insurance on his children, and to pay his ex-wife half the equity in the home they’d shared during their marriage. “Mr. Fredricks has visited his children three times since last June, and the last time he only spoke with one of them. By the time he left the house, they were all extremely upset. I have two witnesses who will testify that he came to take one of the children away from his mother, but he said he only wanted the child so he wouldn’t have to pay child support. My client doesn’t want any of her children ripped away from the rest of the family. She’s willing to forgo all claims to child support, past and future, and medical insurance, in exchange for Mr. Fredricks relinquishing his parental rights.”
“I see,” said the judge. “Mr. Fredricks, what do you have to say about this?”
Fred whispered with his attorney, and they seemed to be arguing, when the judge said, “I don’t have all day, counsel.”
The attorney stood. “Your honor, my client—”
Fred jumped to his feet. “I’ll speak for myself, your honor. If she’ll give up claims to the equity in the house, she can have the kids, all but Robbie. He’s mine.”
The judge stared at Fred. “Let me get this straight. You want one of your children but not all of them, and you don’t want to follow the court’s order of…” He read the date off the papers on his desk. “Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
Maria felt cold right down to her bones. “No,” she whispered. She stood. “No, your honor. He can have all the money. He can have everything, but please don’t give him my son.”
“She can have the others. I only want one,” said Fred. “Robbie is the only one I’ve ever wanted.” He turned back to the judge. “I ordered her to get her tubes tied and she refused, and then she went out and got herself pregnant with another man not once, but twice.”
“What about your oldest child?”
“She’s a shrew just like her mother. Maria can have her.”
The judge looked at Fred as if he was crazy.
Gerry entered the doctor’s report and pictures into evidence. “My client didn’t want her children in the courtroom today, but their statements are in the doctor’s report. Jimmy’s injuries were caused by his father.”
“Jimmy is not my son,” said Fred. “I have the DNA tests to prove it.”
Maria felt numb as Fred gloated about having proof that his two youngest kids weren’t his. She rose slowly and interrupted Fred’s tirade. “Your honor, may I speak?”
“Please do.”
“My ex-husband had DNA tests done on my children without my knowledge or consent, but he didn’t have one done on himself, so there’s nothing to compare the tests with. He hit Andy
because he was scared of the big needle, but Andy’s father is also afraid of needles.”
Fred’s attorney pulled on his arm, and he sat down. Maria glanced at them and continued. “There’s a reason why the DNA tests between Robbie and his brothers don’t match. It’s true that one of my children isn’t Fred’s, but it isn’t the two younger boys. It’s Robbie.”
All the color left Fred’s face. When he found his voice, he screamed, “No.”
After a warning from the judge and a word from his attorney, Fred signed the papers that Gerry had prepared. He relinquished his parental rights on all the kids.
Maria thought that would end it, but the judge wasn’t finished with Fred. “From this day on, you owe no child support, but you defied an order of this court, and I find you still owe your ex-wife half the equity in the house, which I see was a total of two hundred and ten thousand dollars, and you owe her for child support up to this point, which is another…” He punched the keys of a calculator and then looked up. “We’ll call it ten thousand dollars.”
“But she said—”
He rapped his gavel and Fred jumped. “Quiet. I’m in charge in this courtroom. You will provide a cashier’s check in the amount of one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars within one month, and you will deliver it here, to my chambers in the courthouse.”
Fred opened his mouth and his attorney jabbed him in the side with his elbow.
“I should lock you up right now for defying a court order,” said the judge. “I’m giving you a month’s reprieve, Mr. Fredricks, and if you defy me again, I will find you in contempt, and you will go to jail. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir, but I don’t have that much money.”
“A cashier’s check, Mr. Fredricks, for the full amount, made out to your ex-wife. Nothing less will do.” He pounded the gavel. “Next case.”
Maria thought they were finished, but Fred’s parents and their attorney took their place at the table across from Gerry. The attorney stood. “Your honor, my clients would like grandparents’ visitation rights for the children of the previous case, Molly, Robert, Andrew, and James Fredricks. Although their son has severed his parental rights, William and Carolee Fredricks do not wish to sever their ties with their grandchildren.”
Gerry turned to look at Maria, who whispered, “How often?”
Gerry stood to face the judge again. “My client would like to know how often and where these visits would take place, and if her ex-husband would be present.”
“Family get-togethers,” said the other attorney. “Four times a year.”
“No,” Maria whispered to Gerry. “Fred will be there.”
“We can’t deny them the right to see the kids, Maria.”
“I know, but they’ll visit at my house, by appointment, and without Fred.” She didn’t want a repeat of the last visit.
Maria sat quietly while Gerry negotiated the visits by appointment with the children’s mother and at her home. Their natural father was not to be present. She didn’t care how often they visited, as long as Fred didn’t come. Jimmy and Andy were afraid of him, Molly didn’t ever want to see him again, and Maria wouldn’t allow him to play tug-of-war with Robbie’s feelings.
Fred left muttering to himself and talking to his attorney, and a minute later, Maria walked outside the courtroom with Fred’s parents.
“You cheated on our son?” asked Fred’s mother.
“If Fred had treated me with respect, I wouldn’t have felt the need. I can’t count Fred’s other woman or the number of times he cheated on me. I know that’s no excuse, but it doesn’t matter now. Robbie loves you and thinks of you as his grandparents, and I hope this won’t change your relationship with him.”
“We love him, too, Maria.”
Fred stood down the hallway, glaring at Maria. “Bitch,” he yelled.
His father shoved him on the open elevator, and the elevator doors closed on Fred’s swearing. Thank God she hadn’t brought the kids.
“That was brutal, but we accomplished what we set out to do,” said Gerry.
Blade motioned toward the elevator door. “He lost his kids—all his kids—and he still has to pay up. I’d say he got exactly what he deserved.”
On their way out to the car, Blade’s cell phone vibrated. When he answered, Nick said, “The high school called. Molly left after her first period class. Her friend said it was for a modeling gig, that she’d be back by lunch period.”
“We’re on our way,” said Blade. Instead of driving to Boeing Field, to Cara’s plane, he drove directly to Gig Harbor, to Peninsula High School. He broke every speed limit along the way, making the hour plus ride in forty-seven minutes.
Maria was so scared Blade could almost taste it, and he knew they’d made a big mistake leaving Molly here in Gig Harbor while the rest of the family was in California. High school or not, they should have taken her with them.
Molly’s best friend, Kellie, a cute little blonde, sat in the office with the principal and Lucas. “Did you call the cops?” Blade asked.
“Apparently,” Lucas said with a little sneer, “they don’t come out when a kid skips school.”
“Shit,” Blade said under his breath.
Kellie’s words tripped out quickly, “Molly didn’t want to go alone, and I knew if I skipped school my dad would kill me. The woman said she only had room in her car for one person, so I couldn’t go anyway.”
A woman? Blade could only think of one woman who might be involved in the takeover of Banner-Covington, if this was connected. And he had a feeling it was. Vanessa Milhauser?
Could be.
“Did this woman speak with a New York accent?” Blade asked the kid.
“Yeah. She had short, spiked, blond hair, a bunch of earrings in both ears, and she talked kinda fast. She said she was with some big agency in New York.”
“Vanessa Milhauser,” Blade and Maria said together.
Blade called Lonnie and asked him to fax a picture of Vanessa Milhauser to the school. Minutes later, they had a positive ID on the person who took Molly, and Blade was on the phone with Lonnie again. “You said Hans Belzer was Vanessa’s stepfather. Can you find out who her natural father is or was. It’s urgent, Lonnie. We have a missing kid here, and we think Vanessa took her.”
Lucas called the cops again, trying to convince them that this wasn’t a case of a kid skipping school. Someone had tricked Molly into going with them.
According to the kids who saw Molly leave, the woman drove a little red sports car. If Vanessa had someone with her, she’d left him somewhere. How long had they been hanging around, waiting for the right time to take the kid?
Blade’s uncle had to be behind this. Seventy years old, give or take a couple years, and the guy was still after his father’s money. He probably wanted his diamonds back, too, but Blade wouldn’t give him shit.
Maria’s eyes were filled with worry, but she was the picture of composure, gently pulling details from Kellie. Molly had met Vanessa at the mall, where she’d gone with Kellie the week after Maria and the boys left for California. A security guard had gone to the mall with them, but he didn’t go inside the stores, and he didn’t know Molly planned to model for anyone.
They’d underestimated the enemy.
The guard handed his phone to Blade. “It’s Nick.”
“Hey, Blade, Teresa just called Angelo. She went by your house to get something, and she said there’s someone at Aunt Sophia’s house. The position of the drapes has changed and the garage door is up a couple inches. She wanted to go down and check it out, but Angelo told her to stay put until he got there.”
The cops still hadn’t arrived, but if the cops went in there with guns blazing, Molly could get hurt. Blade asked the guard to take him to his duplex to get his Harley. Maybe he could create enough distraction to get Molly out of that house in one piece.
Maria didn’t approve of his plan, but Blade hugged her and tried to reassure her. Then he left with the gu
ard. He had to get that kid out of there before she got hurt.
They raced out to the duplex, where Blade grabbed his jacket and helmet. In seconds, he had the Harley out of the garage and roaring down the street. He had one of those headsets on under his helmet, so he could coordinate things with the guards, like Lucas had out at the park when Sunny got killed.
He stopped at the mouth of the street and waited until Lucas told him the guards were in place, then he revved the engine and rode up the street like he owned the place. He saw Molly’s face in the window downstairs. She opened the window and knocked the screen out. The kid was half out before Blade got there. Molly jumped on the back of the bike and held on tight to Blade as he raced down the street.
On the main road, a red sports car appeared out of nowhere behind him, and he yelled, “Hold on, Molly.” He raced down the street and around the corner to the park, the car still behind him. Going through the parking lot to the turn-around at the end, he slowed and cut through the trail between the trees, a place he knew the sports car wouldn’t fit. He stopped way back in the trees and handed Molly his cell phone. “Hide and call 911 while I get rid of the guy in the car.”
Molly disappeared in the woods, and Blade wondered what he’d gotten himself into. The cops were nowhere in sight, and the guards were all back at Sophia’s house. And he had to draw that car away from the park. Away from Molly.
Threading his way through the trees to the road, Blade revved the engine until he saw the red car. There were two people in the car. He’d met the woman in New York, and the man looked vaguely familiar.
“I left Molly at the park,” he said into the headset. “She’s hiding in the trees, and the guy in the car just found me. There’s two of them, a man and a woman. I’m taking them back toward town, and I hope to hell they don’t decide to start shooting.” He’d made himself a target to save a scared kid. The kid was okay for now, but he wasn’t so sure about himself.
