Midnight Reckoning

by Rebecca Deel

  “Let’s find a place to talk.” Micah stood, bent to give Sophie a hard, quick kiss, and left the room with Red hair after giving a pointed look to Brent.

  Brent moved to Sophie’s side, arms crossed, gaze focused on the detective seating himself in the chair Micah had vacated. He yanked a small notebook from his inner jacket pocket along with a pen.

  “Tell me what happened tonight, Mrs. Winter.”

  “How about introducing yourself to the lady first?” Brent shot back.

  Color flooded his cheeks. “Gil Thomas.”

  “Do you want the whole story, Detective, or tonight’s episode?”

  “Assume I don’t know anything. Start at the beginning.”

  And Sophie began.

  #

  After a combative couple hours with Detective William Murphy, Micah was glad to see the back of the law enforcement pair. From what he surmised, Murphy and Thomas were friends with Abbott and disinclined to believe their fellow officer was dirty. No matter. If their investigation lacked teeth, he and the rest of Brent’s team would provide the evidence necessary to keep Sophie and himself out of jail.

  Weary from the long night and interrogation, he limped down the hall to Sophie’s hospital room. An infant’s cry grew louder the closer he came to his destination. A smile curved his mouth. His son didn’t sound happy.

  A shiver swept over his body at that thought. Man, that sounded good. He looked forward to years of hearing Sophie call him her husband and Nathan calling him, “Daddy.” He prayed he’d be as good at the task as his own father. He might have made mistakes, but no doubts that his father loved him and his siblings.

  He pushed open the door and stopped in the doorway, taking in the tender scene playing out in front of him. Sophie cuddled their son close, rubbing his back in a motion that must have soothed him as his crying quieted to squeaky noises.

  Sophie glanced up, a smile on her face. “How did it go?”

  Micah shrugged. “I’m not on the way to jail.”

  “Positive sign,” Brent said, vacating the seat beside Sophie. “Anything you guys need before I leave?”

  “You headed home?”

  “Yeah. I need a few hours of sleep.” He grinned. “I have nursery detail tomorrow morning. I’m not missing that. I had to pull the boss card to get that privilege.”

  “Nursery duty?” Sophie’s eyes widened, her arms shifting as if to cover more of Nathan’s body. “Are we in that much danger?”

  “We’re being cautious,” Micah said. He sank into the chair, relief instantaneous. His physical therapy sessions didn’t cause this level of fatigue. Almost a solid week on the go with too little sleep and too much time on his injured leg was catching up with him.

  He didn’t plan to tell his wife how little effort it took to snatch a child from a hospital. They weren’t maximum security facilities. However, no one would slip past Brent and his team. They were determined to protect Nathan and Sophie, no matter the cost to themselves. Seemed like the tough private security force had adopted his wife and son as their own family.

  Micah reached over and covered Nathan’s head with his hand. His dark hair was soft as down and his son’s head fit in Micah’s palm.

  “Can you to stop by the place where Micah and I were staying?” Sophie asked Brent.

  “Sure, beautiful. What do you need?”

  “I have a hospital bag ready in the guest bedroom. Clothes for me and Nathan.”

  “Anything else?”

  She bit her lip and looked a little sheepish. Micah brushed the fingertips of one hand down her cheek. “What is it, Sophie?”

  “I want the teddy bear for Nathan.”

  “One bear for my nephew. Where is it?”

  “With my bag. If you don’t want to be seen carrying a big bear, you can stuff it inside a large bag.”

  Brent’s eyebrows shot up. “How big is this thing?”

  “The size of a toddler,” Micah said. He gave his boss the key, address, and security code before dragging himself to his feet. “I’ll be back in a minute, baby,” he said and walked with Brent into the hall. “I still have one problem.”

  Brent gave a short laugh. “Just one? Wish all my problems came in single units instead of batches. You talking about that contract?”

  “Yeah. I’m not living with this hanging over my family, Brent.” He dropped his voice to a murmur as a hospital employee trundled by with a mop and bucket in hand. “Sophie and Nathan need to be safe while I’m not with them. I don’t care what it takes to resolve that problem. I may need some time off to take care of this.”

  “Understood. I’ve been tossing around some ideas. Let me position a few assets first. Let’s talk tomorrow. In the meantime, you and your family are covered. No one will get the chance to make a run at any of you. Get some rest.” Brent grinned. “I need you operational for what I have in mind.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Tuesday morning, Sophie settled higher against the pillows of her hospital bed as the door closed behind the pediatric nurse taking Nathan to the nursery. Already her arms felt empty. They also ached from holding the unfamiliar weight. Babies grew fast, though. In a few months, a wiggling Nathan would want down to explore his world.

  She had to stop that train of thought. Sophie blinked the gathering tears away. If she kept on, Micah would catch her sobbing while planning for Nathan’s college years. A watery laugh escaped. Must be hormone surges from pregnancy and giving birth because she never cried this much. She wrinkled her nose. Micah didn’t know what he’d let himself in for by marrying her.

  A familiar male chuckle told her Micah had exchanged greetings with Nathan and the nurse before they continued to the nursery. Unease twisted through her gut. Who was going with Nathan? As far as she knew, Brent hadn’t arrived. She dropped her gaze to the unattractive hospital gown. She had to trust Micah and his new teammates. She couldn’t go with her son everywhere in the hospital. The nursing staff wouldn’t allow it and Sophie needed to heal.

  She had to rest so she could care for Nathan when the doctor released her Wednesday or Thursday. At times like this she missed her mother. She had no one to answer questions unless Micah’s mother embraced the role of doting grandmother and passed on her knowledge from raising three children. Her observations of the three Winter siblings convinced her Mr. and Mrs. Winter were amazing parents.

  Her gaze returned to the door of her room. She wanted to be that type of parent for Nathan. Her son carried Valero genes, but she wanted him influenced by Micah’s side of the family. He deserved better than the standard Valero heritage of a stint in the local gray bar hotel.

  A tap on the door and Micah strode into Sophie’s room carrying a white covered cup and Sierra’s bear. “I dropped by the coffee shop. Thought you might like hot tea. Still no caffeine, right?”

  Sophie scowled. “For a while.”

  He handed her the cup and set the bear on the nearby chair before he sat beside her on the bed. Micah threaded the fingers of her free hand through his. “Brent is walking Nathan to the nursery.” He grinned. “He’s taking his role as honorary uncle seriously. He scowls at anybody who comes near, so people avoid them by walking at the edges of the corridors.”

  She sipped the hot drink and closed her eyes on a contented sigh. The chamomile mint tea almost made up for depriving herself of a good cup of coffee. “Jackson came while you were gone.”

  “Is he satisfied with your progress?”

  Sophie laughed. “He seemed pleased with me. He’s smitten with our son. Jackson wanted to see for himself that Nathan suffered no ill effects from his abrupt entry into the world. He spent an hour holding the baby while he slept.”

  “Got a feeling we’ll have a steady supply of babysitters.”

  “Until they get the first smelly diaper.”

  Micah flinched. “Yeah, not looking forward to that myself.”

  “When did Brent arrive?”

  “Couple hours ago.”

 
“Why didn’t he come in?”

  “Wanted you to sleep as much as possible. Jackson’s orders.”

  Sophie shook her head. “I have two doctors. I’m glad Jackson cares so much.” Though she hated to give up time with Nathan, she had to admit another pair of arms holding the baby helped. Hospital rules wouldn’t let her sleep with her son beside her. She grimaced. As if she could turn over. She hurt every time she moved.

  The teddy bear from Sierra slipped to the floor. On impact, a metallic tinkling sound caught her attention. Sophie frowned. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah.” Micah eased off the bed and picked up the stuffed animal. He shook the bear. The soft rattling sound returned. Brows drawn together, he brought the bear to her side and sat. He pushed aside fake fur, tracing seams with his fingers. His eyes narrowed. “Look at the heart seam.”

  Sophie pulled the bear closer. A red heart patch was stitched on the left side of the chest. The right seam appeared hand stitched. Her heart sped up. She recognized those crooked stitches from her childhood. She and her sister replaced ripped seams themselves. She should have noticed Sierra’s handwork before now. “Do you have a pocketknife?”

  Micah dug into his pants pocket and drew out a Swiss army knife. “Always carry one.” He glanced up at her. “If there’s nothing underneath, I’ll have Mom sew it. Nathan will never know we did heart surgery on his toy.”

  He slipped the knife edge under the stitches and cut through each one. When the last bit of thread separated from the fabric, Micah lifted the red heart from the bear, revealing a hole the size of a small fist. “My ham-sized fist won’t fit in there, sweetheart.” He handed her the stuffed toy.

  Sophie’s fingers trembled as she eased her hand into the hole. At first she felt fiberfill. She pressed deeper into the belly of the bear and her fingers brushed something velvet. Curling her hand around the fabric, she pulled the bundle toward the heart hole.

  A gray jewelry bag slid through the hole. She dropped it on the blanket covering her legs. Dread filled her. What had Sierra done? Had her sister’s actions caused another man’s death? It didn’t matter that Detective Abbott was a dirty cop. He was still a human being and, if Sophie was right, Sierra’s actions had led to at least two people dying.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got, baby.” Micah’s hand clasped hers for a moment. “We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

  “You open it.” She pushed the bag toward him. “I don’t want anything to do with this.”

  He drew the bag closer. His fingers fumbled a little with the thin knotted cord securing the mouth of the bag. The cord gave way. Micah widened the bag’s opening and peered inside. His expression hardened.

  “What is it?” Sophie laid her hand on his arm.

  “Take a look.” He turned the bag over and dumped the contents on her lap. Sophie’s breath caught as jewels glittered in the morning sunlight streaming across her bed covering. Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, all the jewelry she’d been accused of stealing. This was what Abbott had wanted. She reached for Nelda’s necklace and found her wrist in Micah’s hand.

  She glanced at him.

  “Fingerprints. I’m assuming you used gloves the last time you saw these, right?”

  “Of course. First rule of a good cat burglar. Leave no prints.”

  “So there’s nothing to tie you to the theft.” He reached into the bag and pulled out an envelope with Sophie’s name written on the outside.

  She opened the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper inside. “Dear Soph,” she read aloud, “if you’re reading this note, my insurance plan to protect myself didn’t work. I only hope my husband wasn’t dragged into the muck with me.

  “I messed up, sis. I know I promised you I’d keep my sticky fingers away from other people’s jewelry. I tried, Sophie. But I just couldn’t resist one last score. Only this time I left a print. I had to touch the rubies one time. I never planned to steal the necklace. I promised you and David I wouldn’t. If I was lucky enough to have a baby, I didn’t want our child to be embarrassed about his mother being a thief.

  “I must have tripped a silent alarm. Stupid, rookie mistake. As I was admiring the necklace, the windows lit up with blue and white lights. I dropped the necklace on the floor and ran. I thought I got away clean, but two days later, Detective William Abbott showed up at my door. Oh, Sophie, I was so glad David was at work. Abbott promised to forget about my indiscretion if I did him one favor.

  “If you’re reading this, you know how that turned out. His one favor turned into many. Before I knew it, I was back in the cat burglar business without anything to show for my risk. He threatened to make trouble for David and his family, especially Micah, and have me sent to prison for the rest of my life. I couldn’t let my past ruin the Winter family, Sophie. They are such good people. I didn’t want them to regret David marrying me. I love them all so much, even grumpy Micah. He’s made no secret of his feelings about my past, but he’s always been kind to me.”

  Micah got to his feet and paced at the foot of Sophie’s bed. The look on his face made her swallow against the tightness constricting her throat. Rage, guilt, and regret fought for supremacy in Micah’s expression. He made a hand motion for her to continue.

  “He was right. I was bad for David, but my husband loved me anyway. He believed in me and I couldn’t let him down. The only way to fix the problem and make Abbott go away was to take his retirement package and turn him in if he didn’t leave me alone. He planned to take the loose jewels and sell them after he left the country to tan on some beach. I didn’t think about the cop not trusting me and never considered he would find out about the switch before I had enough to turn him in. Should have known better, I guess. Situations never resolve themselves the way I anticipate.

  “Abbott gave the jewelry to a fence he once busted who owed him favors, a guy he called Lefty. The fence must have taken the jewels out of the settings and examined them on Abbott’s instructions.

  “That’s when he found out I’d tricked him. I swear, Sophie, I was trying to protect my family and my clients. But the situation spun out of control. I was afraid to trust any of the local cops. They wouldn’t spit on a Valero if we were on fire. I planned to go to Micah as soon as he came back in the country. He might have filleted me alive, but he would have helped for David’s sake, if not mine.

  “Obviously, I failed or you wouldn’t be reading this. Now you know the truth. Don’t try to fix this on your own. Abbott is dangerous and desperate. Go to Micah, Sophie. Let him help. He’ll clean up this mess. I just hope there’s enough proof with this letter and the jewelry to keep Abbott away from you and the Winters. David will know how to contact Micah. Or you can contact him through the Secret Service.

  “I’m so sorry, Sophie. I never meant to hurt anyone. Forget my mistakes. Remember my love for you and David. Tell my husband he and his family were the best things in my life except you.

  “You’re the shining star of the Valeros, Sophie. I know the family always ragged on you about being a failure. What you didn’t see was the envy from the rest of the clan. We were caught in a cycle and didn’t have the courage to break free. You’re the only one of us who has the chance to make something real of yourself. Stay away from the Valeros, sis. They’ll be the death of you like apparently they have been of me. Be what you’ve always dreamed of being for both our sakes.

  “I love you, Sophie.”

  Sophie dropped the letter and covered her face with her hands. Tears flowed in a steady stream. The words brought back the pain of losing her sister all over again. The bed dipped as Micah sat beside her and tugged Sophie into his arms. Long minutes passed while she pulled herself together.

  Finally, her husband’s soft murmurs of comfort registered. She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Thanks.” Her voice came out husky.

  “Sierra reminds me of you. You broke the Valero mold. You had the courage to change your life. If Sierra had lived, I think she might have s
ucceeded in doing the same.” He squeezed her shoulders. “She had you to encourage her. If that didn’t work, you loved her enough to harass her into getting with the honest citizen program.” He chuckled. “And if that wasn’t enough, she had her grumpy brother-in-law to threaten her with incarceration as an incentive.”

  Sophie leaned against Micah’s shoulder. “What do we do with the jewelry and the letter?”

  He kissed her forehead. “Give them to the detectives. It’s evidence.”

  “Nelda and the others will get their jewelry back, right?”

  “Eventually.”

  “Call them. I don’t want anything to do with the jewelry, but I want Sierra’s letter. If they have to keep it, I want a copy.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” He pulled out his cell phone and placed the call.

  An hour later, Detectives Thomas and Murphy arrived, questioned them with skepticism glittering in their eyes, and left with the stuffed bear in Thomas’s arms, and the velvet bag and Sierra’s letter clutched in Murphy’s hands, blistering threats ringing in both men’s ears as they left the hospital room. A smile teased the edges of her mouth at the thought of the two sour-faced cops leaving the hospital carrying the big bear. She hoped carrying a child’s toy embarrassed the hard-nosed men.

  Micah returned his attention to Sophie. “You okay, love?”

  She nodded, grateful the burning in her cheeks subsided. Sophie knew she shouldn’t let those bozos get to her. While doing their jobs, the aggravating duo took pains to make her feel like a criminal.

  “Now you know the truth about law enforcement.”

  “You aren’t like them, Micah.”

  “I can be.” His fingers trailed over her face. “When it serves a purpose.”

  “For the greater good. I can’t see you ripping into an innocent despite a lack of evidence.”

  “I wasn’t supportive when you first came to me for protection. That’s something I’ll regret for a long time.”