by Tasha Fawkes
Unconscious? I tried to speak past the gag in my mouth, but it was so tight, crammed between my teeth that I could barely even move my tongue.
The man pushed himself off the doorjamb and approached slowly, circling me. When his fingers brushed against my cheek, I jumped and jerked away. He laughed and kept circling me.
I tried to hide my fear but he tugged on a tendril of my hair and I cringed.
What did he want with me? Staring hard, I caught a glimpse of his name tag. Collins. I searched my brain, trying to tamp down my fear.
I caught a scent of aftershave that in normal circumstances would have smelled nice but at the moment curdled my stomach. This had to be an awful mistake. It had to be! I tried to ask him what he wanted, but my words came out as gibberish.
The man paused in front of me then squatted down, his knees inches from mine. He placed one hand on my knee and I bit back a scream, fighting the tears that threatened. I stilled as he reached for my face, my strangled sounds erupting from behind the gag.
Then, to my horror, he tugged at the gauze, pulled it up over my forehead. I found myself staring at a middle-aged man with a weather-beaten face. Brown eyes, hair to match, with a receding hairline, bags under his eyes. Thick lips curled upward.
My heart pounded again, so hard I felt the pulse throbbing in my neck. He saw it and stared at my throat for several seconds before chuckling.
"I'm going to take the gag off," he said calmly. "You can scream all you want, but no one will hear you. However, if you scream, it'll annoy me and I strongly suggest you not annoy me."
His hand inched higher up my leg, resting on my thigh now. My leg burned beneath his touch. I tried not to squirm, tried not to scream, tried to stare back at him as if none of this bothered me. I'd read that some men got off on fear, wanted their victims to beg and cry. Well, I wasn't going to.
I cast a quick glance around at my surroundings. I was in what looked to be a small storage room in an abandoned garage or auto shop.
"The garage we're in is part of an abandoned complex in a not so nice part of town near the docks. Even if you did scream and even if someone came to rescue you, you probably wouldn't appreciate the results."
In seconds, he had worked the gag out of my mouth, and I sucked in a lungful of air. I glanced at his chest, at the badge. Yes, a security guard. Above his pocket, a fabric nametag was Velcroed to the shirt. Collins. My heart sank even more. Why was he letting me see him? I swallowed and stared at him, blinking back hot tears.
"Where’s Ethan?" My voice sounded foreign, as if it belonged to someone else, strangled and filled with dread. My heart beat like it was going to come out of my chest.
"The kid? He's okay. He's at Joel's house."
Relief surged through me. I felt almost dizzy with it, and an overwhelming sense of emotion prompted a bubble of a sob to work its way upward from my throat. He was safe. He was with Joel.
I studied the security guard, filled with questions. What did he have to do with Joel? Did he work for him? Was he a security guard or part of the security team at Joel's company, or for Kelli’s photo shoots?
He seemed to read my mind. "You have no idea," he said softly.
His gaze lingered on my lips, and I didn't like the creepy sensation it gave me. I blinked hard, trying to be brave, but not an ounce of bravery remained. "What do you want with me?" I managed.
"You'll find out soon enough." He grinned as the hand on my thigh inched upward and toward the inside.
I tried to pull my leg away, and it was only then that I realized my feet had also been tied to the chair legs. "Stop!" I snapped.
My command elicited nothing more than a laugh. He stood, towering over me, his body half blocking the light from the exposed lightbulb.
He walked behind me and I tried to twist my head to follow his movements, but he grabbed a handful of my hair and shoved my head downward until my chin touched my chest. I gasped. Terrified, I prayed he wouldn't kill me, but he'd taken off my blindfold. He'd let me see his uniform, his badge, his name. He wasn't afraid that I would be able to identify him, accuse him. I wanted to cry, to scream. A crazy laugh nearly erupted from my mouth before I choked it back. Stuff like this only happened in the movies or in fiction novels. This couldn't be happening…
A door squeaked open from the far side of the space outside the room. A female voice called out, "Mick?"
I stiffened with shock as I recognized that voice. The hair stood up on the back of my neck while goose bumps shivered across my flesh.
Footsteps quickly approached the door and when the figure stopped, silhouetted against the light, I could only stare, every muscle in my body taut with dismay.
Kelli.
The man behind me spoke, his tone filled with anger. "What the hell are you doing here? Are you crazy?"
Kelli just grinned as she sauntered into the room, circling me as the guard, or whoever the hell he was, had done moments ago. My shock gave way to fury. If I could've gotten my hands loose, I had no doubt that I would’ve pummeled her quite severely. How dare she! How dare she put Ethan at risk! What the hell was going on?
"You've probably figured it out, haven't you, Sarah?" Kelli stared down at me with a smug expression, her hands placed on hips accentuated by her designer jeans.
I was momentarily rendered speechless. Finally, one word escaped my throat. "Why?"
She let out a tinkle of laughter. "You want me to explain? Okay, I'll explain."
"You need to keep your mouth shut," the man growled. "We're already going to be in deep enough shit—"
Kelli glared at him. "I would suggest you keep your mouth shut, Mick."
I'd never heard that edgy tone of voice from her before. This didn't bode well. Neither of them bothering to hide their identity… Not good. Not good.
"You gone fucking crazy, Kelli? You—"
"Don't forget who's paying you enough to retire to that private little beach you've coveted for so many years." She gestured toward the door. "Go watch out front for him."
Mick gave her a nasty look, then shrugged and left the room.
I stared up at her. "Kelli, what are you doing? You can't possibly think that you can get away with this."
"Don't tell me what I can or can't do, Sarah," she said, moving several feet away without taking her eyes off me, arms crossing her chest. "And don't forget where I found you. How desperate you were… are. Still, you're expendable."
The words sent a shiver of dread through me. "And Ethan?" I choked out. "Is Ethan expendable too? What do you plan on doing with me? And Ethan?" I couldn't help the panic that rose in my throat. Every cell in my body turned to ice. I wavered between fainting and fury, as behind me, my hands trembled even though I clenched my fists. The metal of the handcuffs bit into my skin. I felt cold, so cold. What would happen to me? Oh god, what would happen to Ethan? I blinked back tears, and for a second or two, I was overwhelmed with the idea of how disappointed my parents would’ve been in me if they'd been alive today. What had I done?
Oh god, please help me! I didn’t pray that often, but right now, I needed a good old-fashioned miracle.
"Don't you worry about your little rug rat," she snapped. "He'll be fine. At least for a while. But my plan has come together, and to be brutally honest, I don't like the way Joel looks at you. I don't like the way you look at him either." She paused and glared. "You were about to ruin everything!"
"I'm not going to—"
"I'll do the talking, Sarah. I'm in charge here. And as soon as I have accomplished my goals, I'll figure out what I'm going to do with you. I'm mulling over a couple of options."
I didn't even bother to ask her plans. The sound of male voices caught my attention from the other room. Two of them now, speaking softly.
Kelli glanced over her shoulder with an irritated frown before looking back at me. "Hold that thought, Sarah. I'll be right back."
She joined the men and as I listened to the quiet conversation going on in the next roo
m, everything fell into place.
The other man Kelli was talking to was Eric, Joel's best friend. “Joel and Sarah have been making eyes at each other, and I can’t let it continue. I’m getting tired of waiting for you to make your move.”
“She hasn’t been at Joel’s that long, Kelli,” Eric responded, apparently trying to reason with her.
“I want Joel ruined. Sooner rather than later. Now, you have no choice.”
Eric sighed and responded, “I’ll negotiate the last trade of shares for Graphica as soon as I leave.”
The pieces fell into place. Eric, Joel's friend, was responsible for the takeover bid, and it was obvious by their conversation that Kelli's overall goal was not to get back together and eventually marry Joel, but to get revenge on him.
Kelli's voice grew more animated, and both the guard and Eric tried to calm her when she started talking about getting rid of both Joel and I.
"Nobody kicks me to the curb," she snapped as she grew irate. "I don't care that he caught me in bed with one of his friends. Nobody kicks me to the curb. I will have my revenge, Eric, and don't you think I won't. And that goes for you too, Mick. You're in this now as deep as we are, so nobody better talk."
"But kidnapping?" the guard exclaimed. "Fucking A, Kelli, you've just screwed us all, you stupid bitch—"
A sharp slap cut off his words.
There was a scuffle, Eric chiming in now. "It's done and we can't go backward," he said. "We'll have to do something about her."
My heart thudded harder.
"Do you hear what you're saying?" Mick gasped. "This wasn't supposed to go down this way. What the hell were you two thinking, kidnapping her? We can't let her go to identify us, but hell if I'm going to go down for murder."
"You'll do what you're told, Mick, or take the blame along with us. Watch her just a little longer, then Eric and I will take care of her. You'll get your money, and you can take off for Mexico if you want."
"I didn't agree to any plan involving murder," Mick insisted again, the last thing I heard as the trio moved out of the room and a door slammed shut.
Frantic, I struggled against the handcuffs, knowing that I was not going down without a fight. I would not leave my son without a mother. I wouldn't!
Eighteen
Joel
I paced my office, back and forth, back and forth. I couldn't make myself sit down for more than a few minutes at a time, and even that brief time was a struggle.
I’d called into the office and checked in with my secretary several times over the past few hours, and she’d told me that so far, things were quiet. I informed her I'd be working from home today as long as things remained calm at the office. I certainly didn't want to go into my personal life, or set off alarm bells at the company.
All I could focus on now was Sarah.
Ethan, for the moment, was fast asleep in the nursery. It had taken me a while to get him settled down this morning.
About an hour and a half ago, Kelli had left the house, claiming she had a brief photo shoot in downtown LA. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she didn't seem at all concerned about Sarah's abrupt departure, that she didn't seem to be concerned about Ethan's fussiness either.
I had to face it. It appeared that she just didn't care. If I were to be completely honest with myself, I didn't really believe she had a photo shoot, thought that she’d just wanted to get away from Ethan's fussing.
And fussing he was. All morning, missing Sarah and her sweet way with him. A couple of times, he squalled so hard his face had gone red. He'd never done that before.
Where the hell was Sarah? How could she possibly just up and leave without any notice?
It didn't make any sense. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would do that. Not just to us, to me, but to the child she was looking after. Over the past weeks, it had become obvious that not only did Sarah have affection for Ethan, but Ethan had developed a very deep connection with Sarah. He was the one suffering the most from this separation.
Or was he? Was I even more dismal than Ethan?
I scowled as I stared out the office window at the now empty driveway. Leave it to Kelli to bail on me. You didn't find a new nanny in one day. Not just anybody would do, not when it came to caring for Ethan.
My frown deepened. Too much had happened in a short span of time. Were all these events coincidence? Possibly, but I’d never really believed in coincidences. Come to think of it, the out of the blue attempt by Graphica to take over my company was just the start. I still didn't know who was behind it or their reasoning.
Was it a coincidence that right when I was dealing with that, I found a baby on my doorstep and a former girlfriend reentered my life claiming that the baby was mine? A son that I never knew I had?
It was all about the timing. For the first time, it occurred to me that something was odd with that timing.
My heart thudded then raced as a surge of emotions blew through me. Pride in and fear for my company. Thankfulness for the tentative reestablishment of a relationship that was occurring between me and my dad. My growing love for Ethan, my affection for Sarah, and… and what about Kelli? My feelings for Kelli remained guarded. I guessed I’d been putting on a good face, trying to tell myself that I was pleased to have her back in my life. She'd been on her best behavior, but the cracks were starting to show.
What bothered me most about Kelli's return was her lack of affection and concern for Ethan. That lack of “motherliness” dimmed my attraction to her. Dimmed my hope that we could be a family. Even accepting postpartum depression, wouldn't a mother be able to show some affection, or at the very least, compassion for an infant who relied on adults to take care of it? She'd never snuggled with Ethan, never tried to bond, didn't even feel comfortable holding him. She didn't want to try.
It was at that moment I realized I had made a big mistake. One that I’d briefly thought about but neglected to do. That should've been done that day Ethan arrived on my doorstep.
I picked up the phone and called my attorney.
"Hey, Jack," I said when the man’s gravelly voice came on the line. "It's Joel Farrell."
“Joel! How are you, buddy?”
"I'm fine, thank you, and I'm sorry for calling you on such short notice in the middle of the morning, but I need something, and I need it fast."
“Everybody needs everything in five minutes, Joel. I do my best, but… What is it you need?”
"A paternity test."
“I see. That’s not as fast as a pregnancy test. Most you have to wait to come back from the lab.”
"I understand, but I can't wait that long. I need to find out today.”
There was a pause. “Sounds dramatic. Do you need to come in?”
“No, and I can't explain right now, but it's important, an emergency, and you know I wouldn't ask if I didn't think time was of the essence.”
“Hang on, I’m looking up a lab we use in emergency situations.” The phone muted for a moment, then Jack came back. “Can you be at Tests Now in thirty minutes?”
“Yes, I can do that. Where's the place?" I quickly strode to my desk, grabbed a pen, and scribbled an address on a notepad.
“I called them. They promise same day test results if you go in before noon.”
"That’s awesome. I can make it.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Will do,” I said as I hung up and prepared the diaper bag for a quick trip to Bel Air.
Within thirty minutes, Ethan and I were at the lab, an impressive, clean anomaly of a place that seemed to have replaced the doctor’s office for tests.
Two cotton swabs each of my DNA, then Ethan's, securely sealed in plastic baggies, and we were finished.
“Thank you, ma’am,” I addressed the nurse who had efficiently taken our samples.
She was smiling down at Ethan, who had barely stirred this entire time.
“He’s just as cute as a button. Looks just like you too.” Her eyes flicked
quickly up to my face. “I guess that’s what you’re going to confirm, sorry. You can expect a phone call within a few hours.”
I paid, then breathed a sigh of relief as I headed back to the car.
I wasn't sure how I felt. I wanted Ethan to be mine, I really did, but the more I thought about all that had happened in the past few months, and Kelli's behavior, I wondered if I was truly his biological father. Now though, it didn’t matter if she’d foisted some other guy's kid off on me. Ethan was mine, and I’d fight her for him if I had to.
I was a bundle of nerves by the time I got back home. Ethan woke up and I played with him for a few minutes, gave him a bottle as we sat in the rocking chair in the nursery, and watched as he drifted into the peaceful sleep of an innocent in my arms. I placed him in the crib and tried to get some work done in my home office, wondering when Kelli would be back. I couldn't leave Ethan alone, and I wasn't about to drag him to the office with me.
I couldn't concentrate, worrying about Sarah, the paternity test, Kelli, and my company. Once again, I scrutinized the paperwork. Tried to find not only a rationale, but some indication that someone from inside my company was playing dirty.
The house was quiet as I analyzed the documents, graph charts, and financial spreadsheets laid out on the desk in front of me. The low ring of my cell phone startled me from the depths of my research. I glanced at it, saw the number, and realized it was the clinic.
I looked up at the wall clock. Two and a half hours had passed since I'd gotten home. My heart pounding, I answered the call.
It was a different female voice on the other end, not the nurse from the lab, her voice cold and efficient. “Joel Farrell, you are not a match to be the father of the infant boy.”
Her voice faded, drowned out by a buzzing in my ears. "You're certain?"
“Yes, sir. The results are preliminary, but the testing determined that your DNA doesn't match some of the markers in Ethan's DNA.”
I grunted as the words kicked me in the gut and twisted. “Thank you.” I disconnected the call and leaned back, closing my eyes.
