Sweet Sacrifice

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  Opening his eyes, Brandon gave a heavy sigh and pushed a number on his car phone. These last hours had been quite a ride, but now the ride was over.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Who are you working with, Ms. Adams?” The man’s tone was meant to be intimidating but Sash continued to look through him as if he wasn’t there. They were sitting in the conference room in Brandon’s office and the man sat across the table from her. As he spoke he leaned close to her face in an effort to intimate her.

  “You studied the law, Ms. Adams, so you’re aware that extortion is a serious offense. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to take the rap for this by yourself.”

  His breath smelled like sour spaghetti sauce, and Sash’s empty stomach roiled, but she didn’t move a muscle. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his existence. She hated him and she hated Brandon Plaine. It was he who was responsible for this stranger being here and interrogating her like some criminal. She was determined not to give either of them the satisfaction of letting them see that they affected her in any way. She felt alone, betrayed, abandoned. Right now misery was her only friend.

  Sash had been sitting in Brandon’s office awaiting his return from the park when she heard the front door open. Hurrying from the room certain that it was Brandon who had entered she was shocked when she was confronted by a burly black man who she recognized. He had acted as a courier earlier that morning delivering the money from Brandon’s house to the office. The man was huge with the physique of a wrestler. He introduced himself as John Nathan explained to her that he was the head of Plaine Deal Media’s security staff. Flashing an identification badge, he told her that he was an ex-police detective and had been alerted by Brandon about the reported kidnapping and the ransom demand. He said that Brandon had called him from her apartment yesterday. He further informed her that they both had been under his surveillance since that time.

  Brandon had returned to the office twenty minutes later, to confirm all that Sash didn’t want to believe. Brandon had betrayed her. He had strung her along, engaged in deception and trickery all this time, and most important of all had been willing to sacrifice her brother’s life while doing so. She felt defeated, yet still defiant.

  The three of them had been in this room for more than two hours. At first she had made desperate pleas for Brandon to follow-up on the telephone call that had come to his office. It was from a woman calling from the city of Richmond, in the San Francisco Bay area. The woman claimed to have Sweet with her, and she proved it. But Brandon had ignored her entreaties and had ordered John to continue to interrogate her. Angry and frustrated, Sash had shut down, refusing to answer any questions.

  “Ms. Adams, so far everything that you’ve told Brandon about yourself has checked out, and we haven’t called the FBI on you yet. Our contacts in the police department have told us that the authorities in Santa Cruz found the house in which you claim you and your brother were held. It belongs to a retired couple named Crayton. Sound familiar?” He paused and looked at Sash who continued to look through him. “They’re on a cruise and more than likely unaware that their house has been broken into. Downstairs there were signs of the struggle you described and there was blood, but there was no sign of a body.” John paused again, waiting for Sash’s reaction. There was none. He sighed. “Ms. Adams, we know that you do have a five-year-old brother named Trent. Your mother and step-father adopted him and...”

  “Adopted?” Brandon’s startled inquiry caught the attention of both John and Sash. He had been sitting in a corner of the room during the interrogation and hadn’t uttered a word. It bothered him that Sash refused to acknowledge him. He had not been unmoved by her earlier entreaties to follow-up on the so called “lead” from Richmond; but some hard choices had to be made. The wild goose chase was over. Her call to him in the park had been the last straw. He had to discern truth from fiction and right now only one truth was clear. There was a child missing. The boy had to be found and time was running out. John’s expertise was needed in this matter, but this latest revelation was a surprise.

  “You didn’t tell me that the boy was adopted.” Brandon addressed John.

  “I just received that information from my sources this morning. It’s not in the report. We’re still gathering the details.”

  Brandon turned his attention to Sash who continued to shut out both men. He suspected that she hated him now, and the thought disturbed him. He didn’t want to care about how she felt about him. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. The simple fact was that he was attracted to Sash Adams. It was something he couldn’t explain and shouldn’t be happening. After all, she was a stranger and possibly a criminal. He couldn’t afford attaching such emotions to her. He had to focus on what was of immediate concern—a little boy whom he had never met but who had become increasingly important to him. He turned back to John.

  “Do you mind leaving Sash and me alone for a few minutes.”

  John nodded and left the room. Sash sat as still as a statue trying to control her rage. If she didn’t have a word to say to his goon she certainly had nothing to say to Brandon Plaine!

  Determined not to look at him, she continued to stare ahead. Behind her she heard him rifle through a sheaf of papers that John Nathan had given him earlier. She had no doubt that it was a report on her.

  After completing his task, Brandon moved to face Sash. Reaching the chair in which John had been sitting, he picked it up, turned it around and straddled it. He was sitting as close to Sash as John had been. Sash still didn’t acknowledge his presence.

  Brandon tossed the papers on the conference table. “I know that you hate me right now, Sash, but from the little I’ve read about you,” he indicated the papers on the table, “and from what I’ve learned about you personally, I also know that you love your brother. You’ve made sacrifices to make sure that he’s had a home and a sense of stability after your parents died. You quit law school for a while and worked to prove that you were financially capable of being his guardian. You resumed law school after that with a full course load and a child to raise and no family to support you. That had to be difficult. I have no doubt that you love that boy. ”

  Brandon made a move to touch Sash but she recoiled and snatched away from him with such force that her chair nearly toppled over. He reached for her to keep her from falling and she leaped from the chair. It fell to the hardwood floor with a clatter.

  Startled by her reaction, Brandon looked from the fallen chair to Sash. She stood looking at him, breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring.

  “Don’t you ever put your hands on me again!” Her look was scathing.

  The door to the conference room flung open and John stood in the doorway. He looked alarmed as his eyes traveled around the room finally resting on Brandon. “Is everything all right? I heard a noise.”

  “Yes, John, everything’s fine, thank you.” Brandon’s eyes never left Sash.

  John closed the door behind him. Brandon stood, retrieved the fallen chair and placed it upright, then turned to face Sash. His calm demeanor defied her enraged one.

  “I know that you no longer trust me, but I swear to you that I’m not oblivious to the danger that your brother is in, but I’m in a no win situation here. If something happens to that boy—” Brandon paused, unable to express the guilt he would feel if the worse imaginable did occur. He took a deep breath. “Believe me, I’m trying to help save his life whether you think its true or not. Expertise is needed to get your brother back; expertise that neither one of us has.” Sash turned her back on him. Brandon kept talking.

  “I am a man of power and influence, Sash, but I’m just a man.” Brandon started to touch Sash’s shoulders, thought better of it and stepped around to face her. Again, she turned away from him. He kept talking.

  “I’ve got to tell you that this thing scares me to death. I didn’t ask to have a human life in my hands. I have no power over that. I have no control over that, and I don’t know what
to do. I don’t want to be responsible for a child’s death. How could I live with myself knowing that I helped harm a child?” Brandon stepped away from Sash the impact of his own words hitting him. His stomach knotted at the reality of those words. He sank into the nearest chair. All of the emotion that had been building during these tumultuous hours hit him full force. His voice quivered as he took a shaky breath and ran his hand over his face. “I can’t do the wrong thing, Sash. I can’t have this boy’s blood on my hands.”

  Sash stood looking down at Brandon in this moment of vulnerability and for the first time since she had been brought to this room for questioning she wasn’t sure what to think. Was this one of his tricks? He had been a rock through this entire ordeal. It was hard to believe that Brandon Plaine would be frightened by anything. Yet, here he was confessing to being afraid. No, not simply afraid but terrified. Could this be true? If so, she might be forced to view him in a different light.

  From the beginning Brandon had been a means to an end for her. He was the financial resource that would assure Sweet’s return. She had counted on Brandon. His philanthropy solidified his commitment to good. She expected feelings from him of concern, guilt, even anger at the manipulation of his life by nameless forces over Sweet’s desperate situation, but this man’s fear wasn’t something she had thought about. She had rationalized that power and influence resulted in arrogance and came without fear, but if she were to believe Brandon’s words, they rendered that rationale false. This was an unexpected development and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. Was this a ploy to get her to make some false confession? If it wasn’t, it appeared that there were three innocent victims in this jigsaw puzzle and fear was an unwanted companion for them all.

  Sash tried not to be moved by Brandon’s words. He had deceived her once. He could forget her ever taking the chance on trusting him again. She closed her eyes against the possibility of repeated deceit and Sweet’s face floated into vision. No matter the obstacles Brandon presented, her brother was alive. She had spoken to him. Precious hours had already been wasted and she couldn’t afford to waste one more minute, no matter what she was feeling toward Brandon. She turned hostile eyes toward him.

  “What would it take for you to let me go so that I can go to Richmond and get my brother?”

  Surprised by the change in Sash’s demeanor, Brandon wasted no words. “It would take your answering some questions.”

  “About what?”

  “Sweet’s adoption.”

  Sash looked perplexed. “What kind of questions?”

  “Do you know where he’s from? Anything about him?”

  Sash’s jaw tightened. “Does the child’s pedigree have to be declared before you pay the ransom?”

  Brandon gave her a hard stare. “I won’t dignify that with an answer.”

  “I’m sure you won’t.” Her stare was just as hard. She sat in reflective silence for a moment before continuing. “Actually, I don’t think this is really any of your business, but if it will get me what I want… I know all about Sweet’s adoption. Sweet is my brother, but he’s also my nephew.”

  Brandon’s brows lifted in surprise. “Your nephew?”

  “My step-nephew. He’s my stepsister’s son. The one who died.”

  “What was your stepsister’s name?”

  “Her name was Shirley.”

  “Shirley.” Brandon echoed. His respiration increased. “Shirley Curry?”

  Sash shook her head, remembering the sad saga of her step-sister’s life and death. She returned to the chair he had sat upright and sank down heavily. “No, she didn’t go by the last name of Curry. She went by her mother’s maiden name, Matthews, even though she was married.”

  “And what was her married name?”

  “It was Raymond. Now why are you asking?” Sash’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  Brandon looked at her steadily. “I’m trying to see where all of this fits into the picture.”

  Sash cut her eyes at him. “Well, Sweet is not some child whose past we knew nothing about. He’s family, so his adoption is irrelevant.”

  ****

  Brandon managed to make a smooth exit from the conference room and back to his office without making Sash suspicious of his motives, but once the door to his office was shut behind him the information she had revealed almost brought him to his knees. Barely making it to his desk, he fell into the comfort of his father’s old swivel chair. Burying his head in both hands the torrent of emotions was overwhelming.

  Sash Adams’ words had given him the connection. Now everything about what was happening made sense. The boy was Shirley’s child! Which meant that the child also belonged to— Damn! How could this happen? Why had this happened? The past had come back to haunt him and with devastating force.

  CHAPTER 10

  “You can sit there and ignore me if you want, Sash, but we’re in this thing together and we can’t afford all of this tension between us if we’re going to pull this off.”

  Brandon glanced at the angry woman sitting in the car beside him. They had flown to San Francisco in his private plane, and were now driving to their destination in Richmond. Sash had not said one word to him during the entire trip.

  He had made the decision to listen to Sash’s entreaties and follow-up on the telephone call she had received from the woman who had told her to come to Richmond. They were now twenty minutes from their destination and although he tried to ignore it, her hostile silence was getting to him.

  “You know Sweet’s voice when you hear it and if you’re as certain that it was him as you say you are then this may be it. We can get your brother back. So why don’t you drop all of this hostility for a while and let’s work together to save him. You can hate me again later. The precautions that John and I are taking now are necessary. We must have the FBI involved. I should have done that in the beginning. It’s safer this way.” He paused, hoping for a reply. This was the most exasperating woman! “Come on, Sash, give me a break here! I’m doing what I have to do to save Sweet. Whether you agree or not, I’m trying to get him home alive the best way I can. And not once have you said thank you for the effort.”

  Sash weighed Brandon’s words carefully. She never would forgive this man for his blatant betrayal. His sudden decision to listen to her about the call she received from Richmond didn’t make up for what he did to her. She had begun to trust Brandon but he had never trusted her at all. The kidnappers had been explicit about the authorities not being involved, but now they were involved and she was frightened. Brandon was wired. The authorities were trailing them. Where would this all lead? For Brandon it was about the money and damn the consequences of his actions. Sweet was nothing to him but a name and a face in a photo. To her he was flesh and blood. To her he was love and affection. Sweet was all she had, and she had vowed to do whatever it took to save him even if it meant working with this traitor. FBI or not, the two of them had a job to finish and when she had Sweet back, she would say thank you and goodbye to Mr. Brandon Plaine. Sash shifted in her seat and looked at him.

  “Tell me something, was there ever one minute that we’ve been together through all of this that you ever trusted me? Have you ever trusted anybody?”

  Her last words were spat at him and their impact was powerful. Brandon wanted to spit back at her that trust only brought heartache. He knew that for a fact. Right now she was hurt and angry and she probably wouldn’t believe anything he told her. She sure wouldn’t believe that he had began to believe her incredible story, that he regretted having to deceive her and that he was even beginning to care about her. So he said, “Sash, I did what I thought was best.”

  “If you call lies and deceit best I guess you’re right.” Sash sighed. “I shouldn’t have been surprised that this has happened. You gave me plenty of warnings, but I chose to ignore them. Tell me something, was it all staged?”

  “Nothing was staged, Sash. I’m a very wealthy man and prey for any jackal out there who thinks that I migh
t be easy game. All I was doing was protecting myself.

  “And forget about my brother.”

  “No, he was always on my mind. Trying to find out what’s happened to him has been one of the things that has kept me involved in all this. It’s true that I had called John by the time we went to the bank, because I still wasn’t certain about your story...”

  “Then why the telephone call to the bank president? Why get the money?”

  “I figured that I’d better have the money ready just in case I needed it, but I was aware that the bank did close early that day. When we got there I wanted to see what you would say or do if it looked like I couldn’t get the ransom.”

  “I assume that I passed your sick test.”

  “Let’s say that sometimes you’ve been quite convincing and other times you haven’t. You’re an enigma, Sash. I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re a handful that’s for sure. This whole thing had been a major challenge to my ego.”

  “I wish.” Sash rolled her eyes preferring to look out of the window than at him. “I don’t think there’s any wind strong enough to blow your ego away.”

  Brandon chuckled. “Lady, you are truly humbling.”

  “You don’t know how to spell the word. This is a big joke to you, something to occupy your idle time. I’m just a pawn in your little chess game. So I don’t understand why you’re continuing with this farce. If you don’t trust me or believe me then why are we going to Richmond? Why the sudden about face? It’s obvious that your lackey thinks that I’m this terrible person trying to lure you into some trap when we get there.”

  “Well, you’ve got to admit that this telephone call did come out of nowhere at a very convenient time. While I’m making the ransom drop, your brother suddenly appears somewhere else. Come on now.”