The Right Bride: Book Three: The Hunted Series

by Jennifer Ryan

  “I understand she’s the richest woman in the state.” Jenna smiled at the statement Anthony Fairchild had once made about Marti. Shelly could appreciate a statement like that.

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Her uncle claims she is, and he should know. He runs Fairchild Industries. You’ve met Anthony Fairchild, haven’t you Cameron?”

  “Several times. The man is impossible to get along with. All he thinks about is money.”

  “So Miss Fairchild tells me.”

  They arrived at the table. Cameron helped Shelly into her seat next to Sam’s partner, Tyler, of all people.

  “Nice to see you.” Tyler extended his hand and Cameron shook it.

  “Long time no see,” Cameron responded. “This is Shelly.”

  “I have heard a lot about you,” Tyler said, no smile or welcome in his voice.

  Shelly beamed him a smile, but at the cool reception she leaned back in her seat and gave him a confused look.

  “I’ve been working undercover. I heard I missed one hell of a fishing trip. You’ve been busy, I hear,” Tyler prompted.

  Cameron didn’t want to talk about the fishing trip or his life the past few months. “What brings you here tonight?”

  This wasn’t exactly Tyler’s scene, or affordable on his cop’s salary. Not that Cameron thought he shouldn’t be here, but the sly smiles on Jack and Sam’s faces told him something was up.

  “Charity. For children. I’m in. Don’t worry, I paid my two hundred bucks. I love kids. Besides, Sam promised to introduce me to Marti. I’ve heard so much about her, I feel like I know her already.”

  Cameron glared across the table at Sam, a silent warning not to set Tyler and Marti up together. The last thing he wanted was one of his friends dating the woman he loved.

  “I thought you were hunting down Morgan,” Cameron tossed out to rile Tyler about his psychic ghost.

  “Yeah, well, she doesn’t want to be caught. Tonight, it’s all about the kids and Marti.” Tyler shared a knowing look with Sam and Jack, one Cameron wished he understood.

  One of the organizers brought Jenna a microphone, ending all conversation. Since Cameron wasn’t in the loop about tonight’s events, she made the opening announcement.

  Jenna tapped her spoon to her water glass. Once the crowd quieted and shifted their focus to Jenna, she began. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight. We are pleased to have you here with us to raise money for a very worthy cause. The Emma Shaw Foundation supports the children’s hospital’s neonatal unit where Emma was born more than five years ago.

  “As a special treat, we have Emma’s favorite author, Tina Fair, with us tonight. We also have a collection of Sofia Fairchild’s masterful paintings on display, which depict her granddaughter, Martina, as a young girl. Martina will be here tonight to present a special gift to Emma.

  “Before we start tonight’s activities, please enjoy your meal. Thank you for coming, and most of all thank you for your generous donations.”

  Everyone clapped and Jenna took her seat at the table reserved for the Turner and Shaw families.

  Cameron tore his mind from thoughts of Marti and Tyler together and glanced across the table at his daughter sitting next to Elizabeth. She held Elizabeth’s hand and stared at Shelly with such fear, Cameron’s gut tightened. He needed to find out what had Emma so spooked.

  She looked beautiful in her golden gown with her ruby and diamond necklace crown. He thought about the night Marti and Emma had their tea party on top of the dining room table.

  “Elizabeth, the dress you bought Emma is beautiful. Emma, did you pick it out?”

  Emma sat silently watching Shelly. Elizabeth squeezed her hand. She still didn’t answer him.

  Elizabeth stepped in. “Marti had the dress made for her. She asked that Emma wear it tonight with her necklace crown.”

  Cameron didn’t know what to say. A waiter placed his dinner plate in front of him, but even the smell of prime rib and mashed potatoes didn’t entice his appetite. He’d lost it the second he discovered he’d lost his baby with Marti.

  “Cameron, why is everyone ignoring us?” Shelly was finally sitting at the table with all the important people and no one even acknowledged her.

  “They’re all mad at me. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  Jenna thought she might see how big of a hole Shelly could dig herself into. “Shelly, it was terrible to hear Marti attacked you. I hope you and the baby are all right.”

  “We’re just fine. Cameron has been wonderful taking care of us.”

  “I’m sure he has. There’s nothing more important to him than the baby you are carrying.”

  Cameron caught the wording and glared at Jenna. Completely untrue, his baby with Marti was a dream come true, and devastatingly a reality that would never be. He missed his baby, even though they’d never met. The grief hit him hard again and his throat clogged. He wondered where Marti was. Was she all right? After he’d lost his mind and yelled at her in the hospital, did she hate him?

  “He’s so excited about the baby,” Shelly’s cheerful voice broke into his dismal thoughts.

  “When exactly is the baby due?” Jenna asked.

  “Um, December seventeenth.”

  Funny, she’d told him December twenty-seventh. An alarm went off in his head, making him listen more carefully to the exchange.

  “Just before Christmas. What a nice gift,” Jenna added.

  “I told Cameron the same thing.”

  “I can’t believe Marti fell while trying to push you. It must have been horrible to see her fall face first down the stairs.”

  “It was terrible. She pushed me, I moved, and she fell forward.”

  “Wow. I’m surprised she didn’t break an arm or something.”

  “Cameron said she hurt her leg. She deserves a lot worse for trying to hurt me and the baby.”

  “Well, no wonder Emma’s been so upset. Seeing Marti attack you must have been awful. I’ll bet you must have been a big help in consoling her.”

  Cameron sat straight up in his chair and leaned forward on his elbows. “Emma wasn’t there. She was in her room.”

  “No, she wasn’t,” Jenna replied.

  Well, this was news to him. After what happened, he’d tried to talk to Emma, but she froze up and refused to speak about it. Now he knew why. “Emma, sweetheart, did you see what happened?”

  Emma crawled up on her Uncle Sam’s lap and hid her face in his chest.

  “It’s all right, baby girl. No one is upset with you. You don’t have to talk about it.” Sam put his arms around Emma and held her tight. “Your dad thinks he knows everything.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cameron had enough of everyone telling him what he did and didn’t know. The problem was, he didn’t know what he knew. Everything was mixed up and the only thing that mattered was he’d lost his baby with Marti. He’d lost her too.

  “You already know what happened. Shelly told you, so that’s it, right? I mean, you marched right into Marti’s hospital room and told her what went down. It must be true,” Sam finished.

  Jack got in on the act now. “That’s right. I’ve never seen anyone sum up what happened so succinctly without ever asking for both sides of the story. It’s too bad Sam and Tyler can’t lock up every suspect by simply having someone say, ‘He did it.’ All that evidence and finding out the truth is highly overrated. It’s better to accuse people and find them guilty without determining the facts.”

  “What the hell are you all talking about?” Angry and even more confused, Cameron tried to read between the lines, but came up with nothing as usual. Emma still hid her face in Sam’s chest. She wouldn’t even look at him.

  “Did you ever find out her last name?” Elizabeth asked.

  Cameron squirmed. One simple question. It haunted him because he still didn’t know.

  “No. Why? Did you?”

  “Yes. After you left her uncle came to visit he
r. It was quite enlightening. We found out all kinds of wonderful things about her.”

  “So, what’s her last name? What did you find out?”

  Jenna joined back in on the fun. “You know what’s the most interesting thing about finding out who she is? The fact that she never actually hid it. It was right there for all of us to see, especially you, Cameron. It was right there in front of you the whole time, and you missed it every time she showed you who she is.”

  Cameron remained confused and angry. He worried about Emma.

  Jack got back in the fun at his expense. “She told us she never actually came out with her last name because if she did, we’d only know her because of it. Once we knew, she was right, in a way. It’s really impressive and hard to get past the name and everything you know about the name in order to get down to the person she really is. I, for one, am glad I got to know her as Marti. Imagine all we would have missed if we’d gotten caught up in her name.”

  “What is her last name?” Shelly asked, but everyone ignored her again.

  “You know, her uncle calls her eccentric because she works three jobs and hardly ever goes into an office. She likes her freedom and can work wherever she is. It’s amazing the amount of work she’s accomplished in such a short amount of time. Hell, she got Emma’s room done in two days.”

  “Emma’s room is amazing. She must have had a dozen people in there getting it done.” Cameron thought of Marti every time he went into Emma’s room. She’d made her dream come true.

  “Did you ask her how she did Emma’s room?”

  “Well, no. I didn’t. It was so amazing, and . . .” Cameron remembered she’d been exhausted and Shelly had come in and spoiled things. “She was exhausted and went to bed.”

  “You must have thanked her profusely. I mean it’s not every day you get the granddaughter of such a famous artist to do your daughter’s bedroom.”

  “Are you talking about the person who painted the room? The mural on top of the bed was signed by M. Fairchild,” he said and sat back and looked up at the ceiling. “She had Sofia Fairchild’s granddaughter paint the room,” Cameron realized.

  “You’re an idiot. You come so close, and then you blow it,” Sam said, disgusted. He really thought Jenna had led him right to the truth.

  Dinner was cleared away and people were starting to mill around. The curtain for the paintings was closed and people were moving in that direction, waiting for the display to be revealed.

  Sam’s cell phone vibrated, and he looked at the caller ID. “I believe this call is for you, Emma.” He handed her the phone.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello, Sugar Bug.”

  “Marti.” Emma sat up on her uncle’s lap.

  “I’m coming to see you tonight, just like I promised.”

  “You always keep your promise. I knew you’d be here tonight.”

  “That’s right, Sugar Bug. Uncle Sam is going to come and get me. I’ll meet you by the paintings. You stay with Aunt Jenna. Okay?”

  “Okay. I’ll see you by the paintings.”

  She handed the phone back to Uncle Sam, jumped off his lap, and took Aunt Jenna’s hand.

  “Jack and Tyler are going to make sure you behave yourself,” Sam warned. “You’re in for the shock of your life. Everything you know about Marti is about to be blown to shreds. She tried to show you who she is as a person. Now you’ve left her no choice but to show you who she is to the world. That hurts her more than anything you’ve already done to her. You’ve accused her of a lot of things. None of them were true. You’re an idiot, and she’s about to prove that to you too.”

  Sam left the table and went to a side entrance and waited for Jenna and Emma to make their way to the curtain by the paintings.

  The curtain opened and everyone in the room saw the display, a set of paintings depicting a child from the age of about three until about twelve. The little girl had dark, wavy brown hair and the greenest eyes. Each painting showed the girl in different poses and scenes.

  Cameron thought the little girl looked familiar. Very familiar. A shiver danced up his spine, but before he could really put his finger on it, Jack leaned over and said, “You wanted to know who Marti is, watch Sam at the door. You’re about to get your answer.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  * * *

  JENNA PICKED UP Emma and put her on a chair next to a covered painting. Jenna stood next to her with a microphone. Emma didn’t like all the people watching her, but Marti was coming soon and she’d stay with her.

  “Ladies and gentleman. As you can see, the paintings we have here tonight are the wonderful creation of world famous artist Sofia Fairchild. The paintings are of her granddaughter, Martina Fairchild. The series was named simply, ‘Martina.’

  “As promised, her granddaughter is here with us tonight to present Emma with a special gift. She was taught to paint by her grandmother from the time she was three when she came to live with her grandparents after her parents’ death.”

  Cameron sat back, reeling. This was Marti’s story. “Oh my God, Marti is Martina Fairchild.” Cameron had no idea. It was right in front of him the whole time. She’d done Emma’s room and even signed her name. Everyone had given him hint upon hint and he just didn’t put it together.

  “Welcome to the party. It’s about time you showed up,” Jack said snidely.

  “I can’t believe I’ve been living with the richest woman in the state,” Shelly said, surprised. “She seemed like such a normal, ordinary person.”

  “Because you thought she was just Marti. Now you know she’s a Fairchild, so you look at her in a completely different way. She’s rich and powerful and has the world at her fingertips, and that’s all you see.”

  Jenna’s introduction continued. “Although she is an accomplished painter in her own right, she’s never before shown any of her paintings like this.

  “The world knows her artwork in the form of children’s books she writes and creates the artwork for under the pen name Tina Fair.

  “You see, Martina Fairchild is Tina Fair, author of the children’s books Tina’s Travels, which she wrote while fulfilling her grandmother’s final request.

  “She spent a year traveling the world by sailboat, or ‘pirate ship’, as Emma would say, and writing children’s books, so all children would know what it’s like to be in a foreign land.

  “In addition to the personally autographed books she’s donated tonight, she has two special edition books to present to Emma.

  “Without further ado, I’d like you all to welcome Miss Martina Fairchild, aka Tina Fair, and to those of us who call her friend, Marti.”

  Sam opened the side door and Marti stepped into the room and took his arm. Still in a lot of pain, but she’d promised Emma she would come, and she wasn’t about to let her down.

  Sam took her arm, supporting her as she walked. The brace helped her knee, but it wasn’t enough. The doctors wanted her on crutches, but she wanted to walk in the room tonight. She wanted to make Emma proud.

  Sam leaned into her and whispered in her ear. “Did the doctor numb you up?”

  “She gave me several shots in the knee and in my shoulder. I can’t feel either. If you let me fall on my face, I’ll have to steal your gun and shoot you.” She squeezed his arm tighter for support.

  She trembled next to him. “No need to worry. I won’t let you fall. You look like a queen.”

  “Thank you. Emma and I dressed up like this one night and had a tea party.”

  Marti wore her gold gown. The shawl she’d used to wrap Emma in was draped around her back and shoulders hiding the bruises. Atop her head, she wore the diamond and emerald necklace.

  They made it to where Jenna stood next to Emma, who was on a chair. Marti stood in front of Emma for a moment and they were face-to-face. She didn’t even acknowledge the applause from the crowd behind her.

  “Hello, Sugar Bug. I promised I’d come tonight and nothing would keep me from seeing you. Are you
surprised?”

  “You wrote the books Aunt Jenna said.”

  “Yes, I did. I have some special gifts for you.”

  Marti gave Jenna the go-ahead and Sam helped her take her place on the other side of the covered painting beside Emma.

  Jenna waited for everyone to stop clapping for Marti’s entrance. The press snapped multiple pictures. They waited for everything to settle down.

  Cameron watched closely. He’d seen Marti say something to Emma and she’d smiled. He hadn’t seen that smile in a few days. He wanted to see Emma smiling again like she used to. Sam helped Marti take her place. He didn’t like the way Sam held her in such an intimate way around the waist and close to his side. If he didn’t know Sam, he’d think they were a couple.

  “Why the hell is Sam holding onto her like that? Elizabeth is going to kill him.”

  Elizabeth stood off to the side of Jenna watching the proceedings. She smiled and clapped along with everyone else. She saw Sam. Why wasn’t she upset?

  Jack enjoyed watching Cameron squirm. He’d been assigned to make sure Cameron didn’t make a scene by trying to approach Marti during the benefit. They didn’t want him to accost her like he’d done in the hospital.

  “Sam is making sure she doesn’t fall. She’s not supposed to be here, but she made a promise and she’s keeping it. She should be in bed lying down and resting. The doctor had to shoot her up full of drugs to numb her knee and the muscles in her shoulder. She’s been in excruciating pain. It’s amazing what she’ll put herself through to keep a promise.”

  “Why the hell doesn’t the doctor just give her some pain pills?”

  “I wonder,” Jack said and rolled his eyes.

  “Wait till you see this,” Tyler chimed in. “I snuck a peek earlier. You’re about to see something amazing. Seriously, I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Cameron glared and held back the fist he wanted to plant in Tyler’s face.

  Jenna continued with her announcement. “Martina has never shown one of her own paintings. As a gift for Emma, she painted a very special piece. It commemorates a very special evening in which Emma and Marti had a milkshake tea party. Emma, if you’ll do the honors, unwrap your gift.”