Cormac stood. “Of course, Your Honor. I can assure you there is no malice on my part. I’m just seeking to find out the paternity of the child.”
“For what reason?”
Atlas made a disgusted noise, but as Cormac turned to face them, Ebony saw something else in Cormac’s eyes. Triumph.
“Because, Your Honor, I have very, very good reason to believe that the child Mrs. Tigri is carrying…is mine.”
Ebony gasped, and Cormac smiled. “That’s right, Ebony. Don’t you remember our little tryst, almost two months ago now? In New Orleans? In that…specialist club, for want of a better description? You and I made love, and now I believe that is my child growing in your belly.”
“You’re lying,” Ebony managed to gasp out as Atlas got to his feet, enraged.
“Oh, I think you know I’m telling the truth, Ebony. Atlas, you have to come to terms with the fact…you married a whore.”
Cormac smiled, knowing exactly what Atlas would do next…and Atlas didn’t disappoint him, throwing himself at Cormac. The court was in an uproar, the security teams dragging Atlas off of Cormac. Ebony reached out for Atlas, but he wrenched himself from her grip.
“Don’t touch me,” he spat at her. “Don’t ever come near me again…you just lost me, my nephew…I never want to see you again…” His eyes were wild, his face contorted with rage.
The shock was so powerful that she stopped still for a moment. Then Ebony reeled away and walked out of the court room, too numb to run, walked blindly through the halls, past curious onlookers, out of the building into the pouring rain. Deranged with grief and guilt, she kept walking through the downpour. And through it all, the realization replayed itself over and over in her mind.
Cormac Duggan was the father of her child, she knew it in her bones, and Atlas would never forgive her. She had lost everything…
Stanley Duggan kissed his step-daughter as he strode back into the mansion. “Where is he?”
“Upstairs. He’s…broken, Dad. That’s the only way I can describe it.” Bella sighed and hugged her arms around her slender body. “We can’t find Ebony anywhere. She gave her protection the slip and disappeared into the city. Juno and Obe are out looking for her.”
“What about Fino? Is he here?”
“He is, but he knows something is wrong. He keeps asking for Ebony…I don’t know what to tell him.”
Stanley sighed. “Maybe you should take him out, distract him.”
“I thought of that too. We could go to the Aquarium, I know he likes it there.”
Stanley smiled at her. “Your mother decided to stay in New York for a while, Bella.”
“Thank god.”
Stan chuckled, hugging her. “Families are rarely, if ever, uncomplicated, Bella dear. Your mother loves you in the only way she knows how to.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Go see Atlas, Dad. I’ll take Fino out.”
“Good girl.”
Atlas was staring out of the window in his bedroom as Stanley entered his room. “If you’re here to lecture me about responsibilities, I wouldn’t,” Atlas warned as he saw Stanley.
Stanley sighed. “I’m not here to lecture anyone about anything, son.” He sat on the end of Atlas’s bed and ran a hand over his balding head. “But there’s a young woman out there, scared, distressed, and pregnant.”
“It’s not my child.”
“I understood you knew that from the beginning. So why does it make a difference that it’s possibly Cormac’s child?”
Atlas looked at Stanley for a long moment. “For the life of me, I will never understand how you could have produced a son like Cormac. He’s petty, vindictive…and he’s taken everything away from me. Do you think the courts will grant me custody now? He knew exactly what he was doing, he knew I’d attack him.”
“I’ll ask again…so it’s his child. I take it Ebony didn’t know?”
Atlas hesitated. “I don’t know. I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
“I do.” Stanley stood and put his hand on his stepson's shoulder. “You can trust the woman who supported us all when your brother was murdered. The woman who sat up all night with Fino, holding him, talking to him, trying to help him process his father’s death. The woman who changed her entire life to suit you. The woman who put up with your desperate urges when you were trying to bury your grief,” Stanley said pointedly, making sure Atlas was clear on the fact that his behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed. “The woman who wore a locket with your brother’s photo to her wedding so he could be part of your day – yes, Bella told me.”
Atlas’s face set in a neutral expression and Stanley watched him, unable to read his mood. “Ebony Verlaine loves you, Atlas. She loves Fino, Bella, even me and Vida. She came into our lives when we didn’t even know we needed her. Can you imagine our lives without her now?”
There was a long silence, then “No.”
“Neither can I. Come on, let’s go downstairs and discuss how we can find her. Because this behavior, son, is not a man’s. And it is not yours.”
Bella parked the car in the parking lot of the diner and got out. Fino, tugging his coat over his head, looked confused. “This isn’t our usual place.”
Nervously, Bella pulled him toward her. “No. I thought we’d try somewhere new. It’s okay,” she said to the security guard with them, “you can wait here.”
The bodyguard looked skeptical. “My orders were to…”
“And I’m telling you, you can wait here.” Bella glared at him, then taking Fino’s hand, they walked into the diner. Fino was immediately wowed by the retro look of the diner.
“This is so cool.”
“Well, let’s find a table, and we’ll order some food, hey, sport?” Bella smiled at him, even though her heart was thumping wildly. This was the plan. Get the boy to the diner, get him into the bathrooms…
Bella swallowed hard. Why am I doing this? Her hands felt slippery with sweat, but then, as Fino cried out, she felt a jolt of shock.
“Ebony!”
Bella whirled around to see Fino run into Ebony’s arms as the other woman slid from her seat, hidden in the corner, to greet the boy. Ebony looked tired and somewhat bedraggled, and Bella felt a pang of guilt, but then realized this was even better. She had a scapegoat.
She greeted Ebony with a hug. “Everyone’s been looking for you.”
Ebony seemed close to tears. “I didn’t know where to go, what to do. He hates me, Atlas hates me.”
“No.” Bella made her sit down, an anxious Fino snuggled in next to Ebony. “Look, let me get you some hot coffee…Fino, do you need to use the bathroom?”
He nodded. Ebony took his hand. “I’ll take him.”
Good, this was good…except…
What would he do to Ebony? The man who wanted Fino, the man who was blackmailing her. Him. Would he kill Ebony?
Bella’s hands bunched up into fists, but she made herself nod and turn away as the two of them went back toward the bathrooms. She leaned over to the waitress. “May we have two coffees, please?”
“Of course, coming right up.”
Bella heard the door open and saw her bodyguard walking towards her. “Sorry, Miss, I just checked with Mr. Tigri. He doesn’t want any of you alone.” He looked around. “Where’s Mr. Tigri Junior?”
“In the bathroom,” she said casually. “We ran into Mrs. Tigri. They’re both in there.”
The waitress brought coffee, and with a shaking hand, Bella sipped it. There was no noise, no commotion from the bathrooms – but neither did either Ebony or Fino emerge. After a few minutes, the bodyguard stalked over to the doors. Bella stood, feigning surprise as he came out, barking instructions into his phone. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
The bodyguard stared at her, his eyes trying to read hers. “There’s blood in the bathroom, but no sign of Fino or Ebony. They’ve been taken. They’re gone.”
Chapter Twenty
“What the fuck do you mean ‘gone’? How t
he hell did you let this happen?”
At some point, very long ago, it seemed, Atlas had been a gentle man. Now all he did was rage, and rage he was now, at the bodyguard, who glanced at Bella. She looked away from him. “I’m sorry, sir, I let them out of my sight for a few minutes.”
Atlas rubbed his face and turned away, fists clenched. It was obvious to anyone present who knew him that he was angriest at himself for how he’d treated his brand-new wife.
How could I have treated her that way? What the fuck is wrong with me?
Terror clogged his chest as he avoided thinking that he might not get her back. That thought had to be avoided at all costs, or he wouldn’t survive long enough to bring his wife home—his wife and nephew—and spend the rest of his life apologizing.
Stanley cleared his throat. “Look, the police are on their way…I think we know who’s behind this.”
“Carson Franks,” Atlas said with a groan. “God, how? How the hell did he know where they were? And how did Ebony come to be at the same diner? Jesus…”
Bella looked miserable. “I’m sorry, Atlas.”
He didn’t answer her. Stanley patted his daughter on the back. “Go make some coffee for us, would you, dear?”
Bella disappeared from the room. The bodyguard cleared his throat. “Sir, Mr. Duggan, I think you should both know that Miss Duggan insisted on going into the diner alone. This is not to tell tales or shift blame – it’s entirely my responsibility, but she was quite insistent.”
“Bella wouldn’t have deliberately put them in harm’s way,” Stanley said, but Atlas could hear the doubt in his voice.
“Why would she do this? No, I don’t believe Bella had anything to do with this, she adores Fino and Ebony.”
Stanley’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you, Atlas. Thank you for saying it. But it doesn’t answer how the hell Franks knew they were there.”
“Carson Franks has unlimited funds,” Atlas pointed out tersely. “He’s probably had us all followed. Maybe when Ebony took off from the courthouse, he saw his chance.”
“What does he want with them? He can’t be holding them for ransom.”
“Not monetary, but he’ll use them to leverage an escape route, passage out of the country. He knows he’s finished here, that if he’s caught, he’ll spend the rest of his days on Death Row. Shit, I’d better call Blue, let him know what’s happening.”
“First,” came an angry voice from the doorway, “you can tell me what the fuck is going on – and where my nephew and the mother of my child are.”
Atlas looked at the anger, the fear on the face of his much-loathed stepbrother, and received the second shock of the day. This one was oddly more pleasant as he realized that, for once, he and his brother were united in wanting the same thing:
Ebony and Fino back home, safe and unharmed.
“No. Oh, god.” Romy looked shocked to the bone as Blue told her about the abduction. “Blue, he’s a psycho, he likes to kill women. He’ll murder Ebony whether she tells him she’s pregnant or not. And Fino…god, that poor child.”
She hugged Gracie to her harder, and her daughter clung to her. “Don’t cry, Momma. The policemen will find Ebony and Fino.”
Romy closed her eyes and sighed, leaning her face against her daughter’s soft curls. “Of course they will, pumpkin. Thank you.”
“I shouldn’t have told you in front of…” Blue look apologetic, nodding at his daughter. “It was just such a shock. Look, you are safe here. The kids are safe. Your family is safe – Stuart’s arranged for protection for everyone, and the hospital is on top alert.” He sighed. “God, I just want this over, and I feel helpless to do anything.”
“You’re doing what you can, baby. I just pray the police find Ebony and Fino soon.”
Blue leaned over to kiss her. “I’m going to call Atlas now. You’re okay for now?”
“Perfectly,” she smiled up at him. “I’ve got my little bodyguard here.”
Gracie giggled as her mother tickled her and Blue smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
Blue heard the pain in Atlas’s voice, and his heart went out to the other man, knowing how he would be kicking himself around the block endlessly. “Anything, anything I can do, just ask. No matter the cost, no matter what, remember?”
“Thanks, Blue.” Atlas lowered his voice. “Cormac’s here and I don’t have the heart to throw him out. He’s beside himself. I’ve never seen him so … human.”
“Maybe something like this puts it all into perspective.”
“Maybe so. Blue—”
“Don’t,” Blue cut in. “What you did was unacceptable, yes, but not unforgivable. You’ll find them both, Atlas, and you’ll make it up to them. Especially to your wife.”
“What was I thinking?” Atlas whispered. “That wasn’t me in that courtyard. Blue, I would never—”
“You weren’t thinking,” Blue replied bluntly. “You’ve fallen down a rabbit hole of despair ever since Mateo’s death and it’s time to climb out, Atlas. Your living family needs you, my friend.”
There was a long silence before Atlas cleared his throat. “I’m climbing,” he rasped. “But I haven’t heard from Franks yet…the police say I should expect a call from him. I just want him to give Ebony and Fino back, I don’t care if he escapes.”
“Yes, you do,” Blue said, a little anger creeping into his voice. “Because this won’t be the end of it. He stabbed my wife, threatened my kids and your family too. He murdered your brother. He doesn’t get a free pass.”
“I agree,” Atlas sounded exhausted, “but I just don’t know what to do. And there’s something else…I think Bella might be involved.”
That shocked Blue to his core. “No. No way, Atlas. Bella adores Fino; she’d never put him in danger.”
“We’ll see. Look, I have to go, wait for this call. Is Romy okay? Are your kids safe?”
“Yes, all good, don’t worry about us. But you need anything, call me, man. I got your back.”
“Thanks, brother. Talk to you later.”
Blue ended the call then leaned back against the wall, exhausted. One man, responsible for all of this horror. Blue knew that if Carson Franks stood before him now, he would have no problem ending the other man’s life. He almost wanted Franks to show up to the hospital so that he, Blue, could punish him for what he’d done to Romy, to Mateo. And yet, he’d just cautioned Atlas from letting himself be consumed by anger, so he had to follow his own advice.
Blue sighed and pushed away from the wall, heading back into the room where his family was, thankfully, safe.
She was certain it was a dream…or a nightmare, to be perfectly correct. She was tied to a huge pipe, sitting on cold, hard concrete, her clothes soaking wet, her head pounding with agony. She opened her eyes and saw the giggling man, his face contorted by malevolence, a vicious looking knife in his hand. Please don’t kill me, don’t kill my baby…
Ebony fought the need to pass out again. She could feel a little body wedged next to hers, hear his soft cries.
“Shut up, kid, or I’ll stick a knife in your momma.”
Momma? Was he talking about her? “Ebony? Ebony?” She recognized that sweet voice...
“Fino?”
She heard his sigh of relief. “Ebony, are you okay?”
“I am, sport.” At least her mouth still worked, even if her head felt split in half and her voice sounded funny. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know.”
She opened her eyes wider, fighting the dark spots at the corner of her eyes. Fino, his big eyes wide and frightened, was curled next to her, his arms locked around her waist. Their kidnapper, a blandly handsome man, was watching them.
Carson Franks. It had to be. He smiled at her. “Welcome back, Mrs. Tigri. It’s nice to meet you at last.”
“Let Fino go,” Ebony said immediately. “Take me, but let him go.”
Franks rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because you’re the one in charge here, beautiful.” He
suddenly scooted down next to them. “Listen here. The brat’s father is going to arrange a private plane for me, then I’ll let him go. You, on the other hand…well, I need some sport. This,” he showed them a knife, “hasn’t had a workout since the pretty doctor. I’ll leave your body on Tigri’s plane to find.”
“No!” Fino screamed at him. “No, don’t hurt her. She’s having a baby.”
Franks smirked. “I really don’t give a crap, boy. And scream at me like that again, and I’ll cut your tongue out.”
Fino cringed against Ebony, and she wrapped her arms around him. “You fuck,” she snarled at Franks, “you pathetic little fuck. Spoilt little rich boy. You’ll get yours, Franks, believe me.”
Carson Franks’ face contorted in rage, and he grabbed her face, his finger biting deep into her cheeks painfully. Ebony winced as Carson crushed his mouth against hers. She bit down on his bottom lip, then cried out in pain as he slashed at her side with the knife. Ebony felt the steel slice through her skin.
“Flesh wound, beautiful,” he snarled, “next time it goes in your belly…the whole way.”
He got up and left them in the small room, slamming the door behind him. Ebony tried not to whimper, and Fino, tugging off his sweater, pressed it again the flesh wound on her side. She smiled at him gratefully. “It’s just a scratch, sweetheart.”
He clung to her. “I love you, Ebony.”
“I love you too, big guy. We’re going to get out of here, I promise.”
At least you are, my precious little one, she thought to herself. That’s all she could worry about now – get Fino safely away from the psychotic Franks. The room they were in was small and damp, with a window high up on the wall. Standing on her shoulders, Fino could reach it, but even from here, she could see it was locked. Maybe if they could break the glass…
The door opened, and someone new came in: a young, nervous looking boy, carrying a tray of sandwiches and water bottles. He set the tray on the ground and slid it over to them. “Boss says eat and drink.”
Her Dark Melody Page 12
