Evil Secrets Trilogy Boxed Set

by Vickie McKeehan

  But Baylee, in full-out mommy-mode, paid no attention. “Sarah, where’s Sarah? If you’ll just give me five minutes I’ll explain everything. Right now, I need to see Sarah, make sure she’s okay.”

  Jake, who had never turned off his cell phone, held it back up to his ear and told Dylan, “Did you get all that? The coast is clear. You can head back in now.”

  Dylan stepped through the back door from the alleyway bouncing Sarah in his arms before Jake could disconnect. Baylee, still shaking from the experience, took off like a shot and met him halfway there. Cradling Sarah in her arms, she snuggled the baby tightly to her chest, and then drifted to the back of the store where she could be alone with her for a few minutes.

  Baylee knew she had to face all of them, but she needed to hold Sarah for a moment, get her head on straight before coming clean.

  Dylan traded curious looks with Jake, who in turn shot one of the same in Kit’s direction.

  “Hopefully, when she comes back, we’ll get her to open up.” Kit said as she shrugged her shoulders and headed toward the counter. After making up a tray with cups of fresh coffee, a basket of cinnamon buns, and plates, she brought it over to the table where Jake and Dylan were huddled in conference.

  For an instant, when Jake’s eyes met Kit’s it seemed as if they were the only two people in the room. But then the reality of the situation took over and when Kit took her seat, she put her hand on top of Dylan’s. “I’m not sure why you were here, but I’m grateful you were. Thank you, Dylan.”

  “I didn’t do a damn thing but take the baby outside, and leave Baylee in the store by herself. I stood out there for what seemed like an hour and a half before you guys showed up not knowing what the hell was going on in here. What if…he’d done something to her while I was playing babysitter in the alley?” He was still unnerved at the idea of Connor Boyd being alone in the store with Baylee. She’d been terrified. And he hadn’t done a thing to help.

  “No what ifs, Dylan. You were here to take Sarah outside. I have a feeling right now, that’s what mattered the most. I have my suspicions and if I’m right, the last year is starting to make sense.”

  CHAPTER 2 Book 2

  “And what exactly are your suspicions, Kit?” Baylee asked, nervously standing in the doorway between the coffee shop and the bookstore, wringing her hands with a disgusted look on her face.

  “Okay.” Kit stood up, walked to where Baylee was, and folded her arms over her chest. It was time Baylee enlightened them all with the truth. “I think you and Connor must have gotten together some time last spring. I think he’s Sarah’s father.” Just saying the words scraped Kit’s throat raw. “And he doesn’t know Sarah’s his.”

  “Got together?” Baylee sneered. “I guess you could call it that, although that’s a stretch.”

  The inference went over Kit’s head. She went ballistic at the notion Baylee had been holding back an affair with Connor for more than a year. “How could you, Baylee? You know what all three of them are like. You were right there with me when we tried to persuade Quinn to stay away from Cade. She didn’t listen and look what happened. At one time, Quinn thought Cade was different, too. But she soon found out they’re all exactly alike, evil through and through. What were you thinking?”

  The minute Baylee broke down, started sobbing, Kit’s anger fled. She went to her friend and threw her arms around her. “I’m sorry, Baylee. I didn’t mean to yell.”

  But when Kit led her over to the table to sit down, Baylee shook her head. If she was going to have to tell them, she needed to pace, needed room to move around. She locked her arms around her chest trying not to look at Dylan and Jake.

  “Let me just get this out once and for all.” She sniffled. “Remember a year ago in March, when I went to that charity fundraising event at the civic center in Malibu hoping I’d run into Elaine Fairchild, convince her I finally had enough jewelry pieces for a show?”

  Kit nodded, knowing how much work Baylee had put into her jewelry design business. At one point it had been her passion. Designing jewelry had been for Baylee what medicine had been to Quinn. But after Baylee had disappeared for seven months last year, Kit had wondered why she’d given it up. It was as if Baylee’s heart was no longer in it. She’d been back in town since Christmas and hadn’t once brought up her dreams of designing her own line of jewelry one day. Of course, she’d been a new mother with a dying father. Kit had just assumed Baylee no longer had time for a demanding business.

  But Baylee wasn’t really looking at Kit now or anyone else in the room for that matter. She was locked in a world of her own. “I ran into Connor at the reception. For a while over canapés we made polite conversation about the people we knew, people we had in common, mostly reminisced about childhood, you know, about the times I’d visited the Enclave with you for birthday parties and such when we were kids, about school functions even though there’s a huge age difference between us.

  “We talked about how brilliant Quinn was for finishing up med school so quickly. Just small talk really, this and that, polite party conversation. He offered to get me some champagne, I said sure. When he brought it back I took a few sips of the drink and immediately started feeling sick to my stomach. I decided I needed to leave, get out of there, get some fresh air.

  “Connor offered to walk me to my car. I was feeling so sick I let him. I remember getting to the car. And that’s it. I don’t remember anything afterward. The next morning I woke up in a hotel room in Malibu. Alone. Connor was nowhere around. He called me later that day to tell me what a great time we’d had.”

  “That son of a bitch.” At the sound of Dylan’s comment, Baylee’s voice broke.

  She took a deep breath just to force the words out. “About six weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I was scared, Kit.”

  “Of course you were scared, anyone would have been. But you could have told me, come to me with the truth. We could have gone to the police, Baylee. That bastard needs to be in jail.”

  Baylee shook her head. “You said it yourself about Collin. When you have enough money to buy a third world country, you aren’t going to do jail time―for anything. Look at what Collin did to you last night, kidnapped you right out of your own house. Is he sitting in jail this morning for kidnapping? No, he’s not. His family’s already bailed him out. He’s back at the Enclave, probably lounging at the beach, working on his tan. My guess is Collin won’t spend a day in jail for what he did to you.”

  She spared a glance at Jake who’d gone a little white at the reality of that.

  “And what would I have told the police about that night, Kit? What details would I have shared with them? That I left a party on my own woke up the next morning in a strange hotel room, not able to remember anything about what had happened. Connor was right, who would have believed me? It was my word against his.

  “It’s true; I knew what they were like. I’d seen how violent Collin was with you a year earlier. I knew Cade’s history with Quinn. But the only thing I did wrong was trust Connor to bring me that stupid drink. There was something in that drink, Kit. I’m convinced of it. When I thought about it later, the champagne tasted too salty, too bitter. He’d spiked it with something.”

  “I’m sure he did. He probably used that date rape drug, what’s it called… ”

  But it was a furious Dylan who spoke up. “Probably Rohypnol, also used to enhance the effects of cocaine, or maybe GHB. Gamma Hydroxybutyric, commonly known as liquid ecstasy. In a safe dosage both have minimal effects. But if you bump up the dosage of either one, add alcohol to the mix, either drug can induce a deep sleep and it’s difficult to remember anything. In extreme cases a person might not even wake up at all. You’re lucky you did, Baylee.”

  Hearing that only made Kit’s blood boil more. But for Baylee’s sake she tabled her anger and concentrated on her friend. “You had no way of knowing he’d do that to you, Baylee. Stop blaming yourself. I’m so sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I should
have known better.”

  “But the point is I wasn’t thinking straight, Kit. I got out of that room and couldn’t get back home fast enough. During those six weeks, I had myself tested for STDs half a dozen times before I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t go to the police, didn’t say anything to anyone, and kept what happened to myself.”

  Wringing her hands, pacing back and forth, Baylee went on, “He kept calling me for a month after it happened just to threaten me, remind me not to say anything. He doesn’t know about Sarah. On her birth certificate I listed her father as unknown.”

  Baylee’s eyes darted to the men, shame filled her. But she couldn’t deal with that now. There were other more important aspects to point out now. “And that was before I ever knew anything about what Alana did to Gloria, her own sister, before I knew what part Jessica played in taking you away from your birth mother. I’ve been scared to death ever since I found out what they did to Gloria.”

  “Oh Baylee. I’m so sorry. What a burden this must have been for you to carry around all this time. No wonder you left L.A. Where did you go, anyway? Quinn and I were worried sick about you.”

  Shaken, Baylee closed her eyes. “Do you remember Blair Rafferty from college? She lives in Denver now. We still keep in touch.” Her shoulders slumped.

  “I didn’t know where else to go. The only reason I came back at all was because Dad got sick.” She looked Kit directly in the eye, shook her head, and said sadly, “If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have come back at all. When Tanya called me about Dad, told me about the brain tumor, I felt guilty that I wasn’t here for him. Like an idiot, I thought enough time had passed and Connor wouldn’t give me a second thought.

  “But that day Collin stopped by, that day he was looking for you, Collin must have said something to Connor. I should have left then. I’ve been so terrified he’d find out about Sarah, want visitation rights or custody. The fear’s only gotten worse knowing what Jessica did to take you away from Gloria all those years ago.”

  “Jessica’s dead. She won’t be taking another baby away from its mother.” There was some satisfaction in that Kit thought gamely.

  “I’m not worried about. But she taught those sons of hers every trick she knew. And with all that talk the other night at Gloria’s about how they have a habit of producing false documentation in court, I’m scared Connor might do something devious like that to get Sarah. I won’t let him near her. Ever. You all need to understand that right now.”

  Her voice grew sharper laced with steely determination when she emphasized, “He can’t find out about Sarah. I don’t want that man around Sarah, not for any reason. I can’t share custody. I won’t. It’s that simple. I can’t handle that.”

  She finally looked at each one of them, her blue eyes piercing, making sure each of them understood. “I’ll do anything. I’ll live in Alaska; I’ll live in Mexico; I’ll go to the ends of the earth before I’ll let Connor Boyd anywhere near my daughter. He may be her sperm donor, but that’s all he is. He isn’t father material. He’s violent and he’s mean. I don’t want that for Sarah. I grew up with an alcoholic, a verbally abusive man, a man who refused to let go of the past. I won’t allow Sarah to grow up like that in an explosive, volatile environment. Ever.”

  Tears welled up in Kit’s eyes as she took both of Baylee’s hands in hers. “Baylee, I promise you I’ll take you to the ends of the earth myself before I let that bastard get anywhere near Sarah. I’m sorry I talked you into staying in L.A. I should have let you leave. But I didn’t know the circumstances then. If you’d just told me what was going on, I would have driven you out of town myself.”

  Hearing that, Baylee broke down again.

  Jake and Dylan exchanged looks across the table. Dylan wasn’t sure what Jake was thinking or feeling, but he knew he felt like hitting something. He wouldn’t mind landing a couple of blows on that smug bastard’s face. After two seconds contemplating Connor’s demise, he pulled himself together enough to ask, “So he doesn’t suspect a thing about Sarah, right Baylee?”

  Baylee dried her cheeks with her fingertips, shook her head. “No. That’s why I wanted you to take Sarah out of here, take her to Kit. But I don’t know how much longer I can keep her a secret. If he finds out…I’m afraid he’ll fight me for custody or something. Sharing custody of my daughter with a rapist is not an option.”

  “But as long as he thinks he’s gotten away with it, as long as we keep Sarah’s existence unknown to him, you’re okay, she’s okay. Right? You don’t have to make a mass exodus out of town.”

  Jake turned to Dylan. “What are you thinking?”

  “Well, it’s like this. If Baylee needs to disappear with Sarah for a while, make it look like maybe she’s living with someone else, Boyd wouldn’t have a reason to come looking for her in my direction. He doesn’t even know I exist. He may be able to track credit card receipts, a money trail if she’s on the run in some other city, but he can’t track what doesn’t exist. If she lays low at my place, until the son of a bitch gets tired of looking for her, or maybe like I said just thinks he’s gotten away with it, he’ll go on with his life and leave her alone.”

  “I couldn’t move in with you. I couldn’t ask you to do that. Sarah’s a great baby, but she’s teething, and she cries, and she isn’t sleeping through the night yet. Besides, I’ve just settled into Gloria’s little cottage. I can’t keep moving around once a month. Oh God, I just said I’d do anything, didn’t I, to keep Connor from finding out about her? I need to sit down.”

  With that Baylee dropped into the nearest chair.

  Kit grabbed Baylee’s hand. “No, listen to him, Baylee; it isn’t such a bad idea. You’re planning on leaving anyway, right? So, why not hide out locally? We’ll see to it that there isn’t any money trail he can follow, no credit card receipts to track. Keep your Range Rover parked at Gloria’s guest house as if you’re still there. If he comes looking for you there, Gloria can stall him, let us know he’s looking. And if he comes back here, he won’t find you. This time we’re the ones who’ll be keeping tabs on him.”

  Kit turned to Jake. “What about that private investigator, Jordan Donovan, you hired to look into Alana’s murder? Since I’m no longer the main suspect, he could keep tabs on Connor. This is more important.”

  “Hell, if that’s what it takes to keep the two of you safe I’ll hire a whole team of investigators to keep an eye on all three of those bastards.”

  But Dylan wanted Baylee back on track. “Look, worst-case scenario, he finds you at my place. He sees Sarah. It’ll look like you’re living with me, that we’re together. I could claim to be Sarah’s father then. To prove otherwise, he’ll have to get a court order for DNA. That will take some time. Even if he were to use the Boyd influence with a judge, it still takes time to get the results. Being with me will buy us some time, Baylee, until we figure something else out. By that time, if we have to, we’ll smuggle you and Sarah out of the country.”

  Baylee sniffed. “But I can’t keep hiding. He’ll find me again and again. He said so. He won’t give up. And why would you do something like that, Dylan? You don’t even know me.”

  “Because I don’t want the bastard getting his hands on Sarah any more than you do.” Dylan wasn’t even thinking about what he was offering. His heart seemed to be leading his mouth down a perilous road. But the idea of Connor getting anywhere near that baby or near Baylee made him sick to his stomach. It was plain as day for anyone to see the man was a ticking time bomb. Plus, he had cold, violent eyes.

  “Is this what my life will be like from now on, looking over my shoulder until he…until he finds out about Sarah? And then what? What happens then? Hiding out at Dylan’s isn’t the answer. I should leave town, maybe head to Europe.”

  But Dylan wasn’t convinced. “And what makes you think he wouldn’t find you wherever you go Baylee, with no friends around for support? You’d be alone in a foreign country and he might track you down anyway. Think a
bout it, it isn’t so much about hiding as it is about giving him the impression, the illusion that you’re with someone else, someone that could just as easily be Sarah’s father.”

  He stopped long enough to get up and pace. “The bogus idea works if he sees you with me. We give him the impression we’re a couple with a kid. If we pull it off, we give him no reason to suspect Sarah is his, but rather mine. Think about it. He’d be less inclined to go digging around if he thinks the baby belongs to someone else. That someone might as well be me.”

  Kit put her arms around Baylee. “Think about it Baylee, you can’t keep running every few months with a baby. This way, you won’t have to leave town and you’ll be around the people who love you. Dylan’s right. You won’t really be hiding out, more like hanging out at Dylan’s place for a while. And you can’t work at the Book & Bean now that he knows you’re here.”

  “But I want to work. I have to. I’ll go crazy sitting around worrying.”

  “Then Jake and I will figure something out, work on a way to get you and Sarah safely back and forth from Dylan’s every day. But until we do, you’re on vacation.”

  Jake got to his feet, slapped his friend on the back. “That’s not a bad plan, Dyl. Way to go.”

  Dylan blew out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, the look on Baylee’s face tells me the plan is sheer genius. It would appear that we’d be living together, Baylee, but we wouldn’t. Understand? You and Sarah would have your own rooms, your own space. It’s a temporary fix. For now it gets you out of Gloria’s guest house—a place he knows about—and into a place he doesn’t know exists. I’ve got the space. We can move you in tonight.”

  Dylan’s Pacific Palisades beach bungalow had been built decades earlier, but the upgrades he’d put into it just a couple of years ago, like new cabinets and modern appliances in the kitchen and new plumbing in both bathrooms, made a huge difference in the comfort of the mid-century house.