“Don’t you think it’s time we get home?” Katherine asked.
“No,” Zeke responded.
Katherine sighed. “We searched this area already, haven’t we?”
Zeke paused in his tracks and gave Katherine a disgraceful look. “Look, Katherine. If you’re tired of looking for Taylor, then just leave.”
Katherine released a frustrating sigh. “I never said I was tired of looking for Taylor, Zeke.”
“You don’t have to say it for me to feel it,” Zeke snapped.
Katherine shook her head. “Aren’t you ever going to forgive me for what I said? I’ve apologized a million times for suggesting she have an abortion—”
Colton’s finger flew to his lips, silencing Katherine. “Not here, Katherine. You should’ve never suggested such a thing in the first place. Anyhow, please don’t rehash that here, in front of all these concerned people. In fact, don’t ever bring it up again. Now, let’s get a move on. There’s work to be done. Taylor is depending on us to find her.”
“Over here! Over here!” a policeman shouted.
Zeke’s stride picked up as he walked in a hurry toward the shouting police officer. “What is it?” Zeke asked, coming to a stop in front of several officers.
Clad in a navy blue uniform, one of the officers gripped young Zeke’s shoulders. “You don’t want to see this, Zeke,” the officer stated.
Bracing himself for the worst, Zeke inhaled deeply. “Yes…I…do.” With his family, friends, and searchers standing behind him, the officer stepped to the side. Heart pounding in his chest, Zeke slowly stalked toward the white sheet lying on the ground.
His breathing increasing, Zeke knelt beside the white sheet. Clenching the ends of the fabric, he rolled it downward. Zeke gasped. Breath left his body.
Taylor lay dead on the ground, on top of some scattered leaves and grimy dirt. Crying his eyes out, Zeke gathered Taylor in his arms. Someone had killed her. Someone had murdered her and his baby. Holding his dead, pregnant girlfriend to his chest, he kissed her forehead–and suddenly her eyes shot open.
Zeke bolted up in his bed. His pulse beat rapidly at the base of his throat. Sweating profusely, he glanced around his dorm room. Jesus Christ! Thank God, it was just a stupid nightmare.
Dread ripped Zeke’s heart to tiny little pieces. He lifted the picture of Taylor from his chest, held it over his eyes. Using his index finger, he traced the outline of her beautiful brown face. “I’m going to find you and our baby, Taylor. I promise.” He kissed the photo. Rolling to his side, he slid the picture back into his pillowcase.
As Zeke headed down the hallway towards the bathroom to take a very much needed shower, knots pained his shoulders. I’m going to hire a private investigator to help me find her. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.
Chapter Six
Hilton Head Island
Katherine Balfour stood in front of the mirror inside her luxurious bathroom, brushing her long red hair. Thinking about her stepson, Zeke, her expression grew taut and derisive. Oh, Zeke. Spoiled, ungrateful, Zeke.
Zeke had been given everything he’d ever wanted since the day he’d been born. Never having to work hard for anything, her husband Colton cherished the ground Zeke walked on. Colton acted as if Zeke could never do any wrong; however, when it came to her sons—Bane and Antonio—all Colton did was complain.
Colton constantly complained about how her sons were too lazy. Too irresponsible. Just the other day, he’d reminded them of how neither of them had gone to college after graduating from high school. Why in the hell would they go to college when they were already wealthy? Not to mention, their father was a freaking billionaire. Her sons didn’t need money, that was for sure.
With her hair looking straight and silky, Katherine lay the brush on the counter. Hefting the toothbrush in one hand, she lathered it with toothpaste with the other and began brushing her teeth.
So what, Zeke had been the only son out of three to go to college? That didn’t mean Zeke was any better than her own children. Although Zeke had graduated from high school with a four-point-nine grade point average, he wasn’t any smarter than her grown sons, Antonio and Bane. The children she’d pushed from her body. Her own flesh and blood. I was a fool for letting Colton talk me into taking Zeke into my home. Every time I look at him, I’m reminded of Colton’s ugly affair with Bridget. Well, Zeke will never get his hands on the fortune my sons deserve. Never.
Katherine knew she’d been a damn fool to take Zeke into her home after his mother, Bridget, had died. Considering Zeke’s mother had had an affair with her husband, Katherine felt she didn’t owe Zeke a thing. She didn’t owe him love. Damn sure didn’t owe the bastard any money. She owed spoiled Zeke nothing. Zilt. Zero.
Back when Bridget was alive, had she known the little bastard Zeke would end up living with her, perhaps, just perhaps, she never would’ve killed Zeke’s mother.
Katherine rinsed her mouth, gargled it with Scope, then wiped her mouth with a white washcloth. Breath minty fresh, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. “Messing around with my husband and getting pregnant from him, Bridget deserved to die. I’m glad I killed her,” she mumbled.
A wicked smile tilted Katherine’s lips. She hefted the bottle of expensive perfume from the counter and sprayed her neck. Wearing a long, red silk nightgown, she strolled out of the bathroom and into her luxurious bedroom. Standing beside her king-size bed with a diamond headboard, she turned back the silky comforter and climbed on top of the mattress.
She hefted the remote from the pillow and clicked on the television. Flipping through the stations, sexual desire for Colton zapped through Katherine’s veins. Aroused, her clitoris tingled. Shaking her head, she lowered the remote back to the pillow Colton slept on. “All he does is work, work, work. It’d be nice if he came home and made love to me sometimes. Hell, for all I know, he may be impotent.” Katherine shrugged. Thinking about how she lived in one of the finest subdivisions in Hilton Head Island, her eyes roamed over her spacious master suite, made for a Queen.
Married to a very wealthy man, living in a twenty-five thousand square foot home, and driving a Mercedes, she definitely didn’t have anything to complain about. “Well, at least I’ll get Colton’s money when he dies. I may not be getting any sex, but I’m damn sure going to get every single dime he has after he’s dead and gone.”
Wishing Colton would come home and make love to her for once in his boring life, Katherine pulled the string on the lamp, and the room darkened. Growing hornier by the second, she slid beneath the covers, closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep. The light on the television dimmed the room.
“Breaking news. Breaking news.” The news anchor’s voice caused Katherine’s eyes to open. Glancing up at the ceiling, Katherine loved the way the six hundred and fifty thread count linen made by Martha Stewart felt against her skin. “Good evening,” the reporter said. “I interrupt your program to bring you some astonishing news. A missing girl has been found.”
Shocked, Katherine leapt up in bed and glued her eyes to the television. This can’t be. This can’t be. The news reporter continued. “At the present time, the girl has been identified as seventeen-year-old Taylor Spelling. Taylor’s been missing for seven months now. According to our sources, it’s been reported that a man walking his dog through the woods in Walterboro, South Carolina, found her. She’s alive. I tell you, what a happy ending to a sad, disturbing story. I’m Shelly Cooper, with WNXB—”
Panicky, Katherine flung the covers off her legs and hopped out of bed. Chewing her thumbnail, she nervously paced back and forth. Taylor is alive. She got away. This has to be a mistake. Just has to be. “How did this happen? How?”
Scared about what she’d done, Katherine hastened over to the other side of her bedroom, pulled open the doors to her walk-in closet, and got dressed in a hurry. If you want something done right, I guess you have to do it yourself. Damn. Horrified that someone may find out her secret involving Taylor, she sn
atched her purse off the nightstand and grabbed her keys. Katherine fled from her home like a thief in the night to go see the one person that may just have destroyed her life.
TWO DAYS LATER, clad in an elegant emerald dress, Katherine’s black high heels clicked against the marble flooring inside her kitchen as she walked toward the window while speaking with her accomplice via telephone. Pressing the phone to her ear, she pulled back the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck. “Yes, I’m sure. Why do you always question me? I’ve been nothing but good to you.”
“This is not about how good you’ve been to me. It’s about what’s right and wrong,” Taylor’s kidnapper stated.
“Are you going soft on me?”
“No. I want Taylor gone from here just as much as you; however, we have to be smart about this. If anyone finds out what we did to her, our lives will be over. We’d end up in prison. Now, I know I don’t want that. Do you?” She heard a heavy dose of sarcasm in his voice.
Rolling her eyes, Katherine said through clenched teeth, “Of course I don’t want to go to prison.” Looking out at the trees behind her home, the cold outdoors air made her shiver. A family of ducks waddled past her deck, then got into the lake. Turning away from the immaculate scenery behind her mansion, she walked back inside the house. “So you’ll take care of it. Right?”
“Yes. I’ll take care of it.”
The last time she’d entrusted her accomplice to take care of things regarding Taylor, he hadn’t done exactly as she’d told him. In short, he’d messed up big time. At least in her opinion he had. But considering how much she loved him, she wasn’t going to hold his mistakes against him. “Call me when it’s done. And—” The doorbell rang, interrupting her sentence. “Someone’s at the door. I’ll call you back.”
“Check to see if it’s the police.” Worry laced his deep voice.
A sliver of panic crept up inside Katherine. “Dear God. Did you do what I told you to do after I came to visit you the other night?”
“Yes. I did. I took care of it.”
Katherine took her time walking towards the front door. Dear Lord. Who’s at my door? “Then why in the hell would you think it’s the police?”
He retorted, “I never said I thought it was the police. I just asked that you check. Now, you need to calm down and trust me. The minute we stop trusting each other, all hell can break loose. You should know by now I’ll do anything you tell me to do.”
Katherine placed her eyeball over the peephole. Her heart dunked. “My Lord. She finally came.”
“Who?”
Katherine inhaled a deep breath, then let it ease from her lips. “Taylor.”
He grunted. “Taylor?! Damn. Remember what we talked about. You’ve always been good at acting, so pretending to be happy about seeing Taylor should come easy for you. Call me when she leaves.”
After Katherine hung up the phone with the one person she loved more than life itself, she placed the phone on the decorative table in the foyer, checked her makeup in the mirror, then pulled open the front door.
When her eyes connected with Taylor’s, she gasped. Pretending like she was glad to see Taylor, Katherine parted her lips. “Taylor. I’m so glad to see you. Thank God. Thank God you’re alive.” Katherine threw her arms about Taylor’s shoulders. Then came the tears. Oh, how she fake cried. He’s right. I’m a very good actress.
Taylor’s mother, Veronica, stood behind her daughter, rubbing circles on her back. Veronica said softly, “Yes. The good Lord brought my baby back to me. I prayed every day, all day for this.” She sniffed. “One day, God is going to find my grandson, too.”
Like hell he will, Katherine thought, tears slipping from her squeezed eyes. That baby is far, very far away from here.
Taylor pried herself away from Katherine’s tight embrace. Pity rested in her round squirrel eyes. “Is Zeke here? I need to see him.”
Holding the door open, Katherine stepped to the side. “Please. Come in.” Taylor walked inside the house first, with her mother, Veronica, following her. “Please, have a seat.” Katherine gestured towards the couch by the huge bay window.
Gazing around the house like she’d never seen a mansion before, Taylor’s hands fidgeted near her lap. “Zeke. Is he home?”
Shaking her head, Katherine caressed Taylor’s arm. “He’s not here, Taylor. He’s in school. College.”
Nodding her head, water filled Taylor’s eyes. Her eyes left Katherine’s face and transferred to her mother. “He’s gone. He didn’t wait for me to come back.”
Veronica swallowed. “Oh, baby, don’t take it personal. I was with him when he searched for you. The look in his eyes was one of devastation. Staying here after what happened to you was probably too much for Zeke to bear.”
“You’re probably right.” Taylor returned her gaze back to Katherine. “Can you call him for me? Please? I need to hear his voice.”
“Sure. No problem.” Katherine hefted the cordless phone from the end table and pretended to dial Zeke, but she’d dialed her own cell instead. Listening to her voice stream through the speaker into her ear, she gave Taylor a sad face. “Hi, Zeke. This is Mom. Someone you deeply care about is here to see you. Call me when you get this message, okay? Love you.” She hung up.
Gloom shone in Taylor’s brown eyes. She sniffled. “Thanks. When Zeke calls, please tell him I miss him. Please tell him to come home and see me.” Looking thin, Taylor stood.
Katherine stood and gently patted Taylor’s shoulder. “I will.”
Veronica stood and headed towards the front door.
Taylor’s shoulders sagged as she walked back towards the front door. Gripping the door knob, she looked sideways at Katherine. “I had a boy. Zeke has a son. We have a son. He was beautiful,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Oh, Taylor, don’t cry.” Katherine patted her upper right shoulder. “Like your mother said, the police will find your baby.” Katherine had done a lot of pretending in her lifetime, but this was the hardest of all. Harder than she could’ve ever imagined.
“I’m never going to stop looking for my baby.” With Veronica by her side, Taylor headed for her mother’s car.
Katherine stood in the doorway, watching Veronica back her raggedy, beat up Camry out of her driveway. From where she stood, she could see Taylor still crying her eyes out while sitting in the front seat. As much as she hated putting Taylor through what she had, she didn’t have a choice. If Taylor’s son would’ve been born into the Balfour family, her generous husband would’ve undoubtedly left Zeke’s son in his will–and the last thing she needed was to have to split Colton’s fortune with another bastard child. One bastard in the family was enough.
Waving goodbye to Taylor and Veronica, Katherine shut the door. Just then, the phone rang. Hoping it was her accomplice, she spied the Caller ID and frowned. “Hello?”
“Hi, Katherine. It’s me, Zeke. Is my father there?” Zeke asked, as he did every other day.
Katherine rolled her eyes. “No, Zeke. He’s at work. Like always.”
Zeke queried, “Oh. Any word on Taylor?”
“No, Zeke. I’m sorry. I haven’t heard a thing about Taylor. She’s still missing,” Katherine lied, all the while wondering who Zeke and Taylor’s son had been sold to.
Chapter Seven
Paris, France
Ten years later, Taylor sat on an elegant golden chaise beside the open window inside her luxurious apartment, holding a hot mug and peering down at the breathtaking scenery below. White sailboats cruised along the glistening river. People walked to and fro along the bustling sidewalk. Athletic cyclists sped through the city, riding their bicycles. Never in a million years did she think she’d end up in Paris. The way she ended up there still blew her mind to this very day.
Many weeks after an angel by the name of Scott Beringer had found her dying in the woods, she’d returned home to Hilton Head Island, only to find out that Zeke had moved on with his life. According to Zeke’s stepmother, Kat
herine, Zeke had left the small town and moved to England. In hopes that she and Zeke would someday reunite, she’d left all her forwarding information for him with Katherine; unfortunately, she never heard from him.
Taylor tried to keep the memories of her and Zeke pure and unsullied. Guess he went on with his life. Probably met another girl while attending college.
Bright sunrays streamed through the opened window, heating Taylor’s face. She released a heartfelt sigh. She’d waited weeks and weeks and weeks for Zeke to call her and come home, but he never did. She’d also waited weeks, months, and years for the police to find her son, and unfortunately that day never came either.
Devastated, Taylor had become severely depressed. She’d lost so much weight, she’d turned bone thin. Looked like a bag of bones. While many people, including her, found her weight loss unattractive, someone had found it beautiful. Strikingly beautiful.
While roaming the shopping mall in Hilton Head one day with her mother, a gentleman had come up to her and told her he was a talent scout looking for models. Because of what’d happened to Taylor, she didn’t in the least bit trust the supposed talent scout. And she definitely didn’t believe someone that looked like her could actually become a model back then. Oh, heck no.
Well, to her surprise, the talent scout, Mr. Pierre de Givenchy, had invited her, along with her mother, to his top notch agency located in Paris. After showing Taylor and Veronica around and introducing them to some of the most elite people in the fashion industry, Pierre de Givenchy made Taylor an offer she couldn’t refuse. She’d signed with Pierre’s multimillion dollar talent agency right away.
Like magic, modeling jobs by the dozens came Taylor’s way. One after the other, after the other. To her blessing, Taylor now lived the life of a well-respected, wealthy model. She made so much money, it was impossible to spend it all. But her mother, Veronica, on the other hand, tried to spend every single dime she gave her. Thinking about her mother’s wild spending excursions and her own blessings, Taylor smiled.
MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) Page 5
