The child bounced up and down on Theron’s leg and grabbed at the bottle in his hand. The baby garbled something, but Theron’s English was not up to the standards of American baby talk. Not really knowing how to handle feeding a baby, he carefully brought the bottle to the child’s lips. The baby greedily latched onto the hard rubber nipple, one hand grabbed the bottle, the other sticky little hand held Theron’s large hand firmly in place. The howling stopped and was replaced by deep gulps.
His heart melted when the child cuddled into him. Theron had once observed a woman in the park holding a baby in this position while it fed. Perhaps parenthood wasn’t as difficult as he had always feared. If a baby already knew how to get into position to be held or whatever, then when he and Cassiopeia had the required heir it would not be difficult to care for, especially when she was already an experienced mother.
He knew that creating a child with her would not be an onerous task. Her body had surely been created just to pleasure men, and he had wanted her to pleasure him from the first moment he had set eyes on her. The fact that he had been at his own wedding had not the power to stop his erection. His reputation as an international playboy had been honestly earned, his former mistresses had been sorry when it was time to end their affairs. He had had sex with some of the most beautiful women in the world and he had been willing to give it up. He had been willing to give his loyalty and fidelity to his new wife, the future mother of his children.
Then the little firecracker walked through the big double doors with her hourglass figure, her flaming hair, and her gorgeous legs. His bride looked pasty, overly made up, and anorexic. After seeing Cassidy, he had lost all will to complete the wedding ceremony and had absolutely no desire to bed the bride.
The baby squirmed uncomfortably on his lap, bringing his attention back to the situation at hand. It was halfway through with its milk and the look on the little face did not connote pleasure. In fact, it looked as if it were about to cry again. The pungent bottom moved. A look of pain encompassed the child’s face whenever it shifted position.
No. He would not do it. He did not want to do it. He did not know how to do it. There was not enough money in the world to make him to do it.
The baby moaned around the rubber nipple. Quiet tears flowed from its dark brown eyes. Big hot drops landed on Theron’s hand. Hitherto unknown compassion filled Theron at the child’s agony. It became clear that he must get the child’s wrappings off and put it into something dry. His men were proving to be insubordinate and were strangely missing while the child needed to be cared for.
He cast another hopeful glance out the windows. Not a nappy changer in sight. He was alone on this desolated country road with a child in need of help and no one but himself to provide that help.
First things first. How do you clean a child? He tried to put the child down on the seat, but it clung to his arm. Whimpering.
That gave him time to think and the thoughts he had were of the things people do in limos. There was no way Cassiopeia would forgive him for exposing her child to whatever might be ingrained in the leather upholstery of the damn car.
The blanket. He spread it on the seat and placed the child on top of it. Gingerly he unzipped the fuzzy pajamas, and peeled them off. The inside was coated with something nasty, so he tossed it into the far corner. He was glad he had upgraded to the SUV.
The interior was dim, but he could see the undershirt was just as bad. He found the snaps between the baby’s legs and removed the shirt. He tried not to think about what was now coating his fingers.
He could taste the scotch he had earlier as it tried to leave his belly and fill his mouth. Stop this right now, he commanded his stomach. This is nothing compared to the smells on the wharves and in the canneries. You survived that and you will survive this. The baby needs you to be strong enough to take care of it.
He removed the child’s wrapping and realized the cushiony things were actually throw-away nappies. The baby grabbed the clean nappy out of his hand and gnawed on it. Theron opened up the box of wet naps and started the process of cleaning the baby before he opened the other nappy.
“Okay, you are a boy,” he observed as he cleansed the newly exposed area. “Young man, right now it is just you and me. So just bear with me while I figure out how to do this. You must understand, I tend to do everything very well, so I am sure this is not going to prove to be a problem. Then we shall find your mother and reunite the two of you.”
The waning light showed a red rash on the boy’s delicate skin. Blood oozed out of the sores. There was something wrong with the child. He must be taken to emergency services as quickly as possible. He reached for the door handle, but before he could open the door it flew open and Luca’s bald head filled the aperture.
“We have found no sign of the woman. I think. . .” Luca sputtered to a stop as a stream of fluid flew over the baby’s head and hit the chief of security in the chest.
“Gather the rest of the team. The baby needs medical help.”
“Boy babies are known for doing that. It’s disgusting, but he is fine,” Luca, who had several nieces and nephews, responded calmly.
“No, no!” The normally urbane Theron battled down panic. He picked the baby up and shoved the little derriere in Luca’s face. “He has wounds. He is bleeding.”
“My nephew Spiro had a rash like that once. It is nothing serious. Just use the medicine in that tube on the floor next to your foot and he’ll be fine,” Luca said with a chuckle.
“How much do I give him? Should I mix it in his milk? Or should I give him water with it?” Theron let out a ragged breath. This baby business was a much more complicated than he imagined.
Luca appeared to be shocked for a moment “Ah, sir, the child must not ingest it, that would be toxic. It is a salve. You apply it directly to the affected area.”
Theron opened the cap and smelled the white cream. He looked at the tube. There was no applicator. He dove into the bag “I can not find the applicator.”
Luca held two fingers up. If Theron did not know better, he would think his Chief of Security, the man he considered as close as a brother, was biting the inside of his cheek. Was he laughing at his employer? “You don’t use an applicator. You soothe it on with your fingers.”
Luca was laughing at him. “Since you have experience in these matters you may complete the task.”
“I wouldn’t dream of taking the child away from you. The two of you have bonded. Listen. He is calling you Daddy.” The baby pulled himself up on the seat and threw himself, in all his naked glory, into Theron’s arms. Luca laughed out loud. “It would be wrong to separate the two of you. It would confuse the little one. Make him cry.”
The baby gave Theron a noisy kiss on the cheek. A sharp pain pierced the hard shell he had around his heart. He cared about this smelly chunk of humanity. With the exception of his mother and a few old friends, he had never cared for anyone before. Certainly not a child or one of his women. Caring for this child showed him he was truly feeling concerned about Cassidy. She had to be the real Cassiopeia; he could not let down the people of Evadne simply because he wanted the wrong woman.
He suspected it was no coincidence her “father” was in Texas at the same time as she disappeared, leaving an abandoned child and an open vehicle behind. Dame Fortune had looked out for the child. There had been three wild dogs, or were they coyotes, approaching the truck when they had stopped. Another coyote had jumped out of the vehicle. If they had been five minutes later the child would not have been found alive.
Shaky hands and a wiggling baby did not make it easy for a novice, but he managed to get the diaper on before Luca returned.
The child needed his mother.
“Theron, we must go to the authorities. Give them the child,” Luca said.
“No. We must find the woman and give her back her child. She will not believe he is safe unless she sees him for herself,” Theron’s voice was husky with concern. The baby settled int
o the safety seat one of the men had brought to the limo. Theron covered him with the fleece blanket to keep him warm. After they found Cassidy the baby needed clothes. There was a chill in the air.
“We do not know this country. We have no idea where to start,” Luca tried to reason with his friend.
“We may not know this country, but Costas Dolmides is being kept apprised. I would wager my fortune he knows of her location. We must find her before Dolmides people harm her.”
“You have spoken to Dolmides tonight?” Luca asked.
“He called moments ago. Claiming Kelley’s slimy relative has Cassidy in some nowhere little town, here in Texas.”
“That’s what he said. Some no where little town?” Luca asked. No one else would recognize the excitement underlying his tone, but Theron, as a lifelong friend, did. For the first time in an hour he felt his hopes rising. Luca continued to voice his thoughts, “There is a small town not many miles west of Primrose called Nowhere. That’s where they’ve taken her. I know it. We must turn this over to the authorities. They will know where to look.”
“No I must be the one to find her. I will not jeopardize her safety or her child’s in any way. We have no standing here. It would take too much time to convince the authorities we are on the level.”
“We don’t know the area, the people. We don’t know where to begin the search. Going to the police is the only option we have,” Luca argued.
“We begin by searching the local motels.” The baby jumped in his sleep. Theron unbuckled his seat belt and took off his leather jacket. He placed it over the sleeping baby, his hand lingering to caress the child’s black curls. I promise I will find your mother. I will keep you both safe.
“Theron, you are not thinking logically. The men who have taken this woman won’t take her to a motel. They will go to some deserted place where no one will see or hear them. We must go to authorities. They will know the right places to look.”
“To utilize the area properly Jenkins would have to find someone local to help him. He was in Greece until three days ago. That would not give him enough time to find the right locals. You have seen Cassidy’s friends. They are not the sort most people would want to cross. He would have to be discreet to find the right thugs. People he could trust not to expose his plan.” Theron relaxed his shoulders a little as he took comfort in his own words.
“If we do not find her in the local motels we will go to the authorities?” Luca insisted.
“Yes.” Theron agreed.
Chapter 11
Eighty-seven minutes later they were standing outside cabin twelve of the Lonesome Wrangler Motor Court. The sign boasted of having such luxuries as full size beds, hot showers, and color television.
Theron paid one thousand American dollars for a key to an already occupied room. The woman in the office with the straw hair and whiskey breath was more than eager to give it up once she was told she would also be able to keep the five hundred dollars Jenkins had given her to look the other way.
The woman made one request, no blood on the bed spread. She had bought it only three years before and she wasn’t ready to replace it so soon. Theron shook his head at the woman’s callousness. The dregs of society were still the dregs, whether they lived in Athens, London, or small town America.
Despite Luca’s urging, Theron left the baby with the driver and prepared to enter the room with Luca.
He repressed the tremble that wanted to take over his hand as he reached for the lock. He opened the door. A roar erupted deep in his chest.
Cassidy was tied spread eagle on an iron bed. Her tee-shirt with the sexy pink scorpion caressing her breast was ripped down the middle. A man with a hypodermic needle poised above the vein in her arm knelt on the bed next to her.
Her porcelain complexion was now an ashen shade. Her breathing shallow. Sweat poured down her face, gathering on her chin where it formed a river that pooled between her breasts. The breasts the man who claimed to be her father had his hands wrapped around.
Theron and Luca had learned their fighting skills in the back alleys and wharves of Athens. They had been a team, fighting back-to-back. Theron did not take the time to calculate the best way to handle the situation. He didn’t take the time to see who else might have been in the room. He just leapt with a mighty roar knocking the needle holder onto the floor with one judiciously placed kick to the chest while his fist caused a loud crunching sound as it shattered the nose and eye socket of Joe Jenkins. Luca and Marco easily took care of the other three men in the room.
While they secured the five men, Theron untied Cassidy and tried to bring her back to consciousness. It was clear that Cassidy had been given drugs before they had arrived. Now they must find out what the drugs were so that she could be treated properly.
Theron held the shivering woman in his arms while Luca found a clean blanket to wrap her in. Luca began questioning of the men. At first no one would speak until it became clear that Theron would have his answers no matter what measures had to be taken to get them. In fact, he favored more brutal methods to get quicker results.
When the laundry list of drugs was finally revealed, a deadly cold settled over Theron. Cassiopeia could die or suffer severe brain damage from the drug cocktail these men had had injected into her system. She needed medical attention immediately. That was the only reason the five men were left alive in the roach-filled motel room. Theron would not put her down, nor would he order his men to do a task which he wanted to do himself.
Back in the limo, with the baby sound asleep in his seat and Cassiopeia clutched tightly in his arms, Theron discovered a fear he had never felt before. It was the fear of losing someone special. Well, he was not going to let that happen. He borrowed Luca’s mobile and made a series of calls.
Chapter 12
Everything hurt. Everything. From her hair that was using knives and daggers trying to remove itself from her scalp to her toenails that were trying to get off her feet and take her tonsils with them.
Her tongue was so swollen it filled her entire mouth. Nothing would go down her throat, though that didn’t really matter since there was nothing there to go down it anyway. At the same time, nothing would come out of her throat. Nothing. Not even the groan of agony that had fought its way up from the pit of her pain could get out of the desert that had once been her throat.
Her arms wouldn’t move, which was a pity because she really wanted to rub the sand out of her eyes. Then maybe her eyelids would lift open. If she could see she would feel better. She knew she couldn’t feel any worse. There was bright light, shining through her eyelids. Was it the sun?
What on earth had she done last night to feel so bad this morning?
This morning. What was so important about this morning? Bile rose in her throat. Why couldn’t she remember? Her breath shortened. There was something important she was supposed to do today? But what? What?
Tears seeped through her closed eyelids and trailed over the curve of her cheekbones. Why wasn’t her brain functioning? She always awoke clear headed! She always reviewed her daily plans and obligations before she had to face the day. Why couldn’t she remember? Why couldn’t she move?
She had to pull herself together. Quickly. Enzio would wake up any minute and he needed her to have her act together.
Enzio!
Of course!
Baby Z. Rico’s son. Now her son. He needed her. She needed him. They loved each other. They were a family.
She tried again, but she couldn’t move. She had to open her eyes, get out of this bed, and take care of her family.
She tried to get up, but, oh, she hurt. Was she paralyzed? Was she in an accident? But if she was paralyzed would she be in so much pain?
The ranch. She owned a ranch. She had to get out of bed to run it. She had a dozen special needs kids arriving after breakfast. They were going to spend two fun-filled days working with horses, riding horses, and eating around a campfire near their horses. They certainly didn’t
want to find their hostess still in bed looking like a bedraggled Raggedy Anne doll left outside for the entire monsoon season. She had to get up and shower, no matter how lousy she felt. After a good hot shower she would feel just hunky dory. She would. She had to. There was no one else to keep things running if she wasn’t.
How egocentric did that sound? It’s not that she thought she was indispensable or anything, but in this case the ranch would be too short-handed to keep the children for the weekend without her there to help. It would be a real shame for those poor kids to have gotten up before the crack of dawn, traveled on a bus for hours, and then be sent straight back again. It wasn’t fair. Just because she had a touch of the flu those brave little kids shouldn’t have to suffer.
It would be okay once she could reach the phone. She’d call Lynda and have her step in. Everything would be fine. Lynda was actually better handling the kids than she was. Once she took a couple of pain killers, drank some vitamin C, and took a long, hot shower she’d be better than new. Then she would go out and enjoy herself with the kids and the horses.
It hurt like hell, but she slowly slid her arm in the direction of the oak night table where she kept her phone. It shouldn’t be that far away. She only had a double bed. That’s all she needed since the only one to ever share the bed with her was baby Z. Too bad that big hunk of burnin’ Greek lust wasn’t around. She would give odds that he knew how to use a bed so that no spot was wasted and very little sleepin’ went on in it. Bet he wouldn’t like this old iron bed. It would be too short for him, the old mattress too lumpy, the woman in it too plain, she thought dismally.
He wouldn’t like her too short, lumpy body either. She had googled him a few times, okay more than a few times, since she had come back from Greece. All his “women friends” were tall and slender, like Julia. They looked like glamorous sticks in their five hundred dollar shoes, ten thousand dollar dresses, and endless bleach jobs. They had probably never met a piece of chocolate they could keep down.
Stop this right now, she told herself. You’ve been obsessing over that man for more than a week. It’s time to let go of the erotic dreams and the hopes of a happy ever after ending and get out of this bed. You’ve got children to care for today and a bar to run tonight. Nothing in your world takes care of itself.
The Counterfeit Bride Page 8
