Abandoned (The Beckett Series Book 6)

by Mary Martinez

  “We can hope his middle has gone to a bit of a pot.”

  “You’re saying he might have gone soft?”

  “Glenna, I’m saying I have faith in my boy.”

  He gave her leg a squeeze to emphasize his words. All the while tapping down his panic.

  “Whatever he’s doing, he’s keeping it cool Glen… He’s a smart one. From the description we’ve been able to put together the basement door is close to the rear of the house. Don’t wait too long. We don’t want the bastard to catch on to Finn, or notice the phone.”

  Reagan gave them a few more instruction about the floor plan then disconnected.

  Patrick tried not to think about what could happen if Danny Collins noticed what Finn was up to, yes time to go. His hand went to the door, Keira noticed.

  “Wait can’t just waltz in there. We need a plan.”

  “I thought we did have a plan, go in and get Finn.” Patrick knew better, and also knew he was thinking like a parent not an agent. He pulled air into his lungs. “You’re right. We assume, probably correctly but we have to be sure, that he’s working on his own agenda. There isn’t any possible reason The Black Cats would take Finn, why would they? No this is about Glenna.”

  He felt Glenna’s body tense at his words. It wasn’t her fault, but he didn’t have time to reassure her, that would need to come later. Now it was all about Finn, getting him out of that basement safe.

  “Right. I need to help. I know I’m not an agent so what can I do?” Glenna wanted to know.

  “You stay put.” Tyler turned in his seat to look at her. “We have phones, we’ll put them on vibrate. I agree with Patrick, the art thieves are probably not involved. But things will go south pretty damn fast if they show up and surprise us. You watch. Text if anything is going on.”

  “I hate to point this out, but you’ve parked around the corner, if I stay put I can’t watch anything.”

  Tyler frowned, and Patrick knew he’d forgotten that fact also. Patrick maneuvered to look out the back of the SUV. There was a small park across the street which would afford a view of the street the front of the house faced. She’d be in plain sight, but not be able to be seen from the window where Danny stood.

  “There.” Patrick pointed to a bench facing the swing set. “You can sit in the park, no one would even notice. With it being on a corner you’d be able to see vehicles coming from all directions.”

  The other three took in where he pointed. Both Keira and Tyler nodded, Glenna still contemplated. Finally she nodded. She opened her door.

  “I’ll go now. Stay here until I’m on the bench.”

  Patrick grabbed her forearm to pull her back in the car. “One more thing.”

  He reached a hand around the back of her neck to bring her in and kissed her fast and hard. Then he let her go. She hesitated for a moment.

  “Be careful.” Then the door snapped shut.

  They watched as she followed their instructions. She glanced around then gave them a thumbs up.

  “Now let’s go get your boy.”

  There was an alley behind the houses, conveniently giving them an avenue to approach the house unobserved. Once they reached the backyard, they found the gate broken. Tyler hopped it, Patrick followed, much to Patrick’s surprise, Keira had no trouble clearing the crumbling wood.

  A screen hanging askew from its frame was the first challenge. The goal of surprise would be spoiled with the screech of a rusty hinge. Patrick held up a hand. He walked around the back of the house looking for a window that may be a better entry.

  Nothing.

  Keira placed a hand on the screen and inched it away. Too slow for Patrick, he tapped down his impatience. Better be slow and safe than alert the man holding his son. After what seemed like hours, Keira had the screen wide enough for them to enter. Once the door was open. She grasped the knob, Patrick sucked in his breath and prayed the damn thing was unlocked.

  The Gods must be watching because it was.

  Once the three of them were in, it was only a matter of seconds before they heard the voices from the basement. By hand signals they agreed to wait at the top of the stairs and listen.

  *****

  Finn figured he’d been there about a year. Glenna’s family had to have a signal and be on their way. If they weren’t already outside somewhere. The guy was back to his pacing, and Finn just wanted to stick his foot out and trip him. Unfortunately, as if the bugger read his mind, he gave Finn a wide berth never close enough.

  Then he heard it. A creak. The guy was blathering on about Glenna and what he was going to do to her. As if his dad would actually hand her over in exchange for Finn.

  Finn had tuned him out, he needed to keep a cool head if he was going to come out of this alive. With the running commentary going on, Finn knew the man hadn’t heard the sound.

  Now was the time.

  As soon as the guy was in front of him. Finn jumped from his seat, rope in hand, wrapped it around the guys neck. As intended, the guy was completely caught off guard, his hands went to his neck to grasp the rope.

  “Hold it right there.”

  Finn held tight but maneuvered around so he could see Tyler. Keira and his dad right behind, three guns—he had no clue what kind—pointed at the man who’d stopped struggling the minute he’d heard Tyler’s voice.

  “You didn’t take into consideration Glenna’s family. Trained agents. Stupid of you.” Finn gave a little tug on the rope.

  Finn felt the moment the man sagged in defeat. In fact, he almost lost his balance. One minute the man was standing on his own, the next he was dead weight. Luckily, his dad stepped in and took over.

  While he put the cuffs on, Tyler read the man the Miranda.

  His dad clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave a squeeze. “Good job.”

  Finn was caught off guard by the emotion his dad’s words held. Almost eye to eye, he could see the tears in his dad’s eyes about two seconds before he was pulled into a bear hug. The likes of which he hadn’t seen since he was a kid.

  Before he deemed it not cool to be hugged by one of your parents.

  Today, he welcomed the warmth of his dad’s arms around him, giving him the strength he hadn’t realized had zapped out of him. He rested his head on his dad’s shoulder and hugged him in return. How long they stood in an embrace Finn wasn’t sure, but in hours or maybe it was only minutes he felt another pair of arms encircle him and his father

  “Finn.” Glenna’s voice tugged on his name. “Are you okay?”

  *****

  Glenna’s heart still beat in triple time. She wasn’t sure it would ever return to its normal place. She couldn’t have lived with herself if anything had happened to Patrick’s son.

  Before long, officers filled every nook and cranny of the place. Doing this that and the other. Reagan had called in their location soon after the three had left the house. So the officers had been on standby, out of sight of the house.

  “Come on, let’s get out of their way.” Glenna still held Finn’s hand. She gave it a tug and led the way around the working CSI people.

  “I’ll be out in a few.” Patrick’s voice trailed them up the stairs.

  She paused the minute they reached the backyard, it had less people milling around. She couldn’t wait, and pulled Finn in for another hug. She admitted it was more to assure herself he was alright than anything else.

  While she’d been in the park waiting for hours, okay only a ten or fifteen minutes, she’d thought about letting Patrick and Finn go, let them go on with their lives. Then she realized they were hers, and they loved her as much as she loved them.

  Love was complicated, messy, and hard. She’d kept her heart safe from hurt for long enough it was time to suck it up and take the risk.

  It was time to get The Black Cats, grab life back, and enjoy the ups and downs of living with Patrick and Finn.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Glenna sipped her tea and watched the show. The Elders were
fussing, one of their favorite things to do, over Finn. Was he okay? Did he need anything? A warm cup of milk? Oh, he was old enough her dad was sure he could handle a shot of Jameson.

  At the last, she felt Patrick stiffen. Not saying anything she’d reached for his hand and clasped it firmly. He looked down at her with a frown. She just smiled and shook her head.

  Sure enough Finn held a cup of tea, not Jameson, as Glenna knew would happen. Her dad may think whiskey was the cure all for everything, but her ma would never let it happen to anyone in the household under twenty-one.

  All of a sudden, Glenna felt drained. The events of the day began to hit her, she glanced at the clock to see it was well after midnight. She stifled a yawn, but not before Patrick saw. He snaked an arm around her shoulders and straightened away from the counter they’d been leaning against.

  “I think it’s time to get Glenna back to the hotel. We don’t want anyone to know we’ve been gone.”

  “Those cat fellows probably know about that bastard that took Finn by now…” her dad began.

  “No, they don’t. That guy just wanted Glenna.” Finn startled everyone.

  “Really? It’s just a coincidence that he found you at the same time?” She asked.

  Finn shrugged. “I’m not very clear about the exact connection, the guy was sort of raving like a lunatic. But he met them somehow, since he was in real estate they asked for information about Calistoga. When he realized they were talking about Glenna’s Surprisingly Vintage he gave them information about your shop and how it had a secret basement. Since then, he’s been keeping tabs on you through them.” His chuckle filled the air. “He was pretty disgruntled that they didn’t find the hidden door. Oh, and get this, you know how we thought they were changing vans using different colors to throw us off? Well sometimes he was the one watching, in fact they left for New York a day or two before us. He was the one who followed us to the airport.”

  Patrick looked at her, his expression must match hers, surprise.

  “No wonder it seemed like they were everywhere even ahead of us sometimes.” Glenna shook her head.

  “Especially here in Brooklyn and Manhattan with all the traffic. It’s seemed impossible for them to be everywhere. I had assumed they had two vans and they’d split up.” Patrick again was on the same wavelength as if reading her mind.

  “I’m just glad he’s behind bars, now at least we know who and what we’re dealing with, The Black Cats.” Glenna smiled, she knew they’d be ready for them.

  “I think it’s time we get back to the hotel so no one notices we didn’t stay there.” Patrick repeated.

  Patrick regarded Glenna. She tried not to blush, memories of what had happened in their hotel room, before they received the call, scampered over her. All of a sudden she had a burst of energy, and she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms.

  “I don’t understand why you can’t just stay here?” her dad asked.

  Her mother stopped fussing for a moment to stare at her, and Glenna felt the heat begin in her chest and travel to the top of her head when she saw the dawning filter over her mother’s face.

  “Fred, I guess they’re right. They need to finish what they started.”

  Her dad looked first to her mother and then to her in bewilderment. “Couldn’t they just go first thing in the morning before anyone noticed?”

  “No, dear. I think it is best they go tonight. You two run along and give us the low-down tomorrow after the big event.”

  Finn grinned into his tea cup. It seemed like the only one in the crowded room who didn’t understand what her and Patrick were anxious to get to their room and do was her father. Mortifying was what it was to have Tyler smirking, Reagan and Keira grinning. And Paco was trying hard not to look as embarrassed as she felt.

  “Well okay then.” Her dad said as he walked them to the door. “We’ll see you tom… I guess it’s tonight that we’ll see you. Take care.”

  He gave her a hug and shook Patrick’s hand, or would have if Patrick hadn’t pulled him in for a proper hug.

  They traveled the distance in silence. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, though she had an idea it was the same thing she was. Once they reached their room, the door had barely closed and been locked before he pulled her into his arms. This time no words were spoken.

  He said plenty with his hands and mouth. She followed his example and let her hands and lips wander over his shoulders, chest, and flat belly, then dropped lower. It was a tangle of hands, but somehow they managed to explore each other until they knew every sensitive spot on the other’s body. Though Glenna was sure they’d find even more as the years passed.

  *****

  Glenna fell back onto the bed and let out a sigh. “I love you, Patrick. Can you forgive…”

  He stopped her word with a gentle kiss. “Don’t ever think there is anything to forgive. You cannot control the actions of others. You and Finn were right when you both said it would be safer for him to be prepared. If I hadn’t listened to you, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  She rolled to her side a placed a hand on his cheek. “Oh Patrick.”

  “Ssh. Because of you, I allowed my son to take a quick defense lesson with Reagan and Tyler. Something I would never have done. It’s over. Finn is fine. I could beat myself up because I didn’t leave him home with Mum and Da.” He kissed her nose. “Again, because of you, I realize I can’t control the world. It’s dangerous…”

  “Wait, because of me?” She struggled to sit up against the backboard. “I’m the one who’s been carrying on about how dangerous your job is.”

  “Yes, and I’ve been saying what?”

  “That you’re doing your best to take the bad guys down. You’re trained and even if you weren’t an agent you could be struck by a car and any manner of things. So you’ve always believed.”

  He shook his head, what she saw on his face surprised her. He’d always sounded so confident. Vulnerable, was written over him at the moment. She swallowed.

  “I may believe that as far as I’m concerned. But not where my loved ones are. I thought the threat was to you. I stayed close, thinking Finn was safe with your family. Because of you, I’ve come to believe my words. Being kept in the dark and bubble wrapping those I love is more dangerous than educating them on the dangers of life. Thank you. Because of you, Finn is home at your parents snuggled in a warm safe bed, hopefully, asleep.”

  He lay on his side, elbow on the bed his head propped on his hand, looking up at her. She couldn’t resist and leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose, as he’d done to her earlier.

  “And because of you, I believe I can handle the everyday worry of your job. You know what you’re doing and I have faith.” Before they turned even mushier she changed the subject. “Let’s get some rest. We’ve had a long day, and we have some under cover duties.”

  She slipped down next to him, snuggled in and prepared to sleep when his phone rang. She glanced at the digital clock on the bed side. Two in the a.m. was never good for a call.

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed as he reached for the phone, he tapped to connect. His eyebrow raised and looked down at her. “Thank you for calling Mr. Gr… Barlow, I’ll have someone there in a moment.”

  He tapped off. “That was Mr. Grumpy Pants. You have a visitor currently checking out your house again.”

  She struggled to sit up again. “Call Beckworth, then tell me what my neighbor said. Oh, and I thought he didn’t have a phone?”

  After he set his phone on the table he situated himself next to her, draped an arm behind her and pulled her in.

  “I gave him a burner phone I had laying around so he could let me know if anything happened at your house. Anyway, Mr. Grumpy Pants got up for a glass of water and noticed a light bobbing around—his words—in your house. Said it made him seasick to watch and we damn well better get someone to get the varmint—his words—away from his quiet neighborhood.”

  “I’
m sure he said something about me bringing it to the neighborhood.”

  “I wasn’t going to mention that part.” He chuckled. “Beckworth wasn’t happy about the early morning call, but he said he was on it.”

  “I guess when you have money, you can fly anywhere day or night. They must have left right after the last gallery showing this afternoon.”

  “Yesterday afternoon. Mr. Grumpy Pants didn’t say lights, he said light. It could be someone else after the painting now that we’ve let it be known, more or less, that you have it.”

  “We better get some sleep.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “About ready?” Patrick’s voice filtered through the door.

  Ready? She wasn’t sure. She took a deep breath, tonight was the big Gala, where they’d make sure the rumor about here piece of art made the rounds. Was she ready? She looked ready, her reflection indicated she was. On the inside not so much. In the last couple of months her life had taken turns she’d never imagined.

  Not long ago she’d been ready to walk down the aisle with a man she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with. A man who might have gone through her most personal things and prized possessions a few hours earlier.

  It was humiliating to admit how wrong she’d been about Lance Gordon. Sourness burned in the pit of her belly. And humiliating didn’t even come close to how she’d felt about Danny Collins and his stunt to make her pay for some unknown injustice.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Now there was a thread of worry in Patrick’s voice. How could he want her after the proof that she brought out the worst in men. Yet he did want her. He was tender and kind. A good man. She sucked in her doubts. She’d make sure he didn’t regret his decision of falling for her.

  Yes, he brought out the best in her and together they’d make a wonderful warm home for Finn. And maybe more children? Her heart pounded at the thought. With a smile on her face she pulled open the door. Patrick stumbled in a bit, as he’d been leaning against it.