“It’s really pretty out, isn’t it?” She smiled.
“Going to nap with me?”
She spun in his arms, curling herself into him. “Actually, I’m kind of awake now. I was thinking I’d go for a walk, maybe do some shopping. I can be back by lunchtime if you think that’ll be long enough.”
His gaze shifted toward the clock. “Noon?”
“Yeah.” She reached up on her toes, pressed a kiss to the edge of his lips and teased the way he did to her before. “See ya.” Lexi spun from his arms, grabbing her bag as he caught her wrist.
“You’re going to start something then walk away?”
She tweaked his nose. “Yup.”
“That’s evil.” He moved to the foot of the bed, slipped off his shoes and dropped onto it like a sawed off tree trunk.
Lexi ensured the lock clicked, leaving him to his nap and took both the hotel brochure and her cell from her pocket. She crossed the street into the park, stealing a spot on a bench from a few pigeons. They circled, bobbing their heads as they pranced around her feet.
One deep breath later, she pressed ‘call’.
Emma’s voice rang through the air. “Where the hell are you?”
Lexi brought the phone back to her ear, turning the earpiece volume down. “Savannah, Georgia.”
“Why?”
“Day trip?”
“Lexi Marie Shepherd, don’t you—”
“What, mother? Oh, wait. You’re not our mom.”
Emma’s small gasp told Lexi she’d stepped over the line.
“I’m sorry, Em.”
A sigh and deep breath followed.
Lexi added her own but made sure the speaker didn’t register the sound. “I really am sorry, Em. Your little ploy with Ian—”
“Was meant to force the two of you together. George and Marge told us you two might need help getting past your issues.”
“Mine?”
“Well, yours more than Tripp’s, yeah. I see how he looks at you, Lex. He wants to devour you. Mmm. I want a man to look at me like he does you.”
Lexi smiled. “George and Marge tell you anything else?”
“Ah. Something about when the stars align or some such nonsense. I think they’re cute, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“So, what’s in Savannah?”
“A really great park. Oh, but you probably mean the paperwork Tripp needs to retrieve.”
“Did you find it?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t really need me since he already knew the location.”
“That would be Ian’s doing. These guys are set up, Lex. They have all these contacts, these people who don’t quite know how they do stuff but trust them enough to hire them.”
“I proposed we go into business togeth—”
“You did not!” Emma’s tone reflected excitement, not scorn.
“Wasn’t that kind of your idea? I mean, we can keep Wise Women and just add on to it—if we stay around each other long enough. Might be a nice side thing … or whatever.”
A man in black slacks and a white shirt passed in front of Lexi, his hand at his ear, a slight limp in his step. Behind him, a small child skipped in his wake. Happiness consumed Lexi as she watched the two of them.
“I thought you were worried, what with that guy at the beach and all,” Emma said.
“That’s because I didn’t exactly know what I was doing.” Lexi stretched, relaxing against the bench. “I mean, who in their right mind meets a stranger in the middle of the night under a nearly deserted pier?” She laughed, the idea of danger and intrigue far surpassing the actual event’s excitement. “It’s so much safer during the day with people around, right?”
“Yeah, sure, Lex. Whatever you say. So, when you coming back?”
“I guess after Tripp gets his papers. For now, I’m just going to sit here on this bench and enjoy the sunshine. Then do some shopping.”
“Alrighty then. Keep your phone with you, and stay safe.”
“I will. Love ya, Em.”
“You, too, Lex.”
She disconnected, switched her gaze to the park’s maze, but before she could rise, a hand clamped over her mouth.
“Scream and this will hurt a lot more than it needs to.”
14
Despite the nap, Tripp’s head throbbed. He rubbed one side and shifted to the other. A quick check of the clock showed he’d overslept by two hours.
“Lexi?”
He sat up, moved to the balcony, but didn’t find her there or in the bathroom. Tripp grabbed the hotel phone, pressed one for the front desk.
“How can I help you?” a crisp voice greeted him.
“Do you have any messages for Tripp Fox, room 205?”
“Just a minute.” On-hold music played in the background as he pulled his cell from a table and checked his own voice mail. “I’m sorry, Mr. Fox, but I have no notes here for you. Can I help you with anything else?”
“Ah, no thank you.”
He dialed Ian, starting in as soon as the line connected. “Have you heard from Lexi?”
“Well, hello to you, too. No, why?”
“You with Emma?” Tripp paced from the window to the room’s door and back.
“Yeah, why?”
“Just ask her if she talked with Lexi and when.”
Ian mumbled in the background, but before he returned, Emma took the phone. “What’s going on?” Her tone of voice matched Lexi’s more than any two sisters he’d ever met.
“When did you talk with Lexi last?”
“A few hours ago. She said she was going shopping.”
Tripp depressed at his temples. “Do you know where she is now?”
“No, I thought she was with you. She hasn’t come back?” Her tone took an edge of anger or despair, he didn’t know which.
“I don’t kno—”
“She’s missing?” The screech pierced his ear.
Tripp braced himself against a wall as a wave of nausea hit him. “Dammit, I’m not feeling well. Keep the pitch down. Can you give me her number?”
Emma rattled it off.
His head spun as if he’d been drugged. “Can you call her? I—” He cringed, his upper arms burning as if cinched tight against this body.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Emma’s voice rang through, biting into his senses.
“No.” He heaved a breath. “Lexi isn’t here.” He grabbed his arm as the pain increased. “Heart attack maybe?”
“Are you feeling something you can’t explain?” She rolled through the question as if she understood.
A slice, like a whip to the cheek, had him massaging the right side of his face. “Yes.”
“Oh, god. Someone is hurting Lexi. She had the same problem when you got shot. You have to find her. Ian!”
The blare of her voice through the phone hit him like a bull horn, and he fell to his knees on the floor.
• • •
The nausea from her initial fear passed. Ropes dug into Lexi’s skin where her T-shirt didn’t cover. She expected to see harsh lines across her upper arms if she ever got out of her restraints. Tied to a smooth metal chair, like one from a mental institution or those she’d seen in movies, she stared at the man from the beach.
His dark hair, deep set eyes and pointed nose reminded her of the wizards in a few of her favorite fairy tales. The solid black attire fit his profile, too.
“Why did she give it to you?” Robert restarted the questions for the tenth time.
Lexi shook her head, a layer of dizziness moving through to her stomach again. “I don’t know. She told me I should have it.”
“Where is it?” Wide open space, like a garage or empty factory, forced out every word he said as an echo.
“I already said. I—”
“You’ve told me nothing, bitch!” He spat the words at her.
“It must have fallen off or—”
He moved behind her, his lips at the edge of her ear. “I want my sapphire.”
“You can have it. I’ll find it.”
“Tell me where it is. Now!”
“I already did. I had it around my neck—”
The slap threw her head in the opposite direction. Lexi breathed through the pain, willing herself not to cry or even tear up. She tried to pull to mind images of the pendant, but with each attempt, her stomach objected. Another go and she’d lose the war to keep her breakfast down.
His hands clamped around her neck.
She took a deep breath as he squeezed and released with a shove.
“It’s not here. It’s not in the park. I checked. There isn’t a lost and found for jewelry in this town. So tell me where my fucking piece is.”
“I don’t know.” Her voice reached only to a whisper.
“Then like you suggested, and since you managed to find it once, you’ll do it again. But I’ll be watching the entire time.”
She bent her head up toward Robert, reflecting on the evil she hadn’t recognized in him before. Calm and forthright in a phone conversation, irritable when she double-crossed him, but the truth came through under the pier. She hadn’t expected him to show up in her life again. How he found her in Savannah confused her more than having been captured by him.
“I’m going to take you back to the bench, and from there, you’ll lead me to it like the rod thing that man called you. I looked it up.”
“It’s not so easy. I’m not a psychic. It takes time to investigate, to search and ask quest—” Her head whipped back as he yanked on her hair. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
“You’re not going to get time. You think you’re so smart listening to my ex? She probably gave you all the documentation on it, too. She hid it from me. Kept it from our settlement agreement. That necklace is mine.”
“I’m sure it means a lot to you—”
“You have no idea.” He tugged on her hair.
The pain at the back of her head sent a throb through her. “Can’t it just be replaced?”
“Like a boyfriend or a wife? The star inside makes it completely unique and worth a triple fortune.” His tone took on a wistfulness. “I did the research. I found out the details.” He kept her neck outstretched, backward. “I want it.”
“Please.” Her neck burned from the angle he’d forced it into.
He released her, storming back and forth in front of her. “I get it back, you live. You have no other options.” From his pocket, he drew out a gun and pointed the barrel at her.
• • •
Tripp pushed himself up, but a blue glint at the edge of the carpet caught his attention. The sapphire, without a chain, rested on the carpet. An internal war sent waves of pain to the tips of his fingertips.
He staggered down the suite’s short hall, leaned against the wall as he caught his breath and yanked open the door.
Two men in black slacks and white shirts shoved him back into the room.
“Tripp Fox?”
“Who wants to know?” He stood with his feet shoulder width apart, his hands across his chest, fighting to keep himself freestanding.
“I do.” A woman stepped through the two men. “Are you Mr. Fox?”
“Same question applies.”
She wore her hair as short as he’d ever seen a female dare do so and still look feminine. The bright red lipstick and giant hoop earrings helped.
A moment of recognition hit him, but he shook it off.
“Oh, come now, Tripp.” She extended her hand to him, covering her sarcasm with a smile. “I’m Isabelle Reed.”
“That’s nice, but I have somewhere to go.”
“Meeting a young lady, I presume?” She inclined her head in his direction. “She was quite a beauty. Too bad you left the marina so quickly this morning. We could have gotten to know each other a little.” She traipsed to the window and tilted her head down toward the ground below before she turned back to him.
“What do you want?” His stomach roiled again as his cell vibrated in his pocket. Tripp ignored them both. He considered making a dash between the two men, but without the knowledge of their capabilities or whether they hid firearms of any kind, he stayed put.
“I’m here to make you an offer you can’t resist.” She chuckled.
The light sound threw him, given her posture and stance. “I don’t have time for this.”
“I’m sure you do. You make time for everyone, except someone’s daughter.”
“Jill?”
The hospital. Jill introduced her as a friend.
“Who else?” Isabelle mirrored his stance. “I believe you have an agreement—”
He shook his head. “I never made any promises to her.”
Isabelle’s smile turned into a smirk. “And I’m sure the judge and jury will say the same—that you made no promises about some work you did for her father, either.” She patted him on the chest in a move he found more intimate than necessary. “You see, Jill is very upset. You’ve left her at such an important time. She believes your verbal agreement to be binding. In fact, her father thinks the same.”
“This isn’t the 1800s. Marriages aren’t set until the papers are signed.”
She inclined her head. “You’re certainly right, but an offer is an offer. Finish your stint with your girlfriend, and Mr. Sloan will ensure Jill knows nothing about it, as will I. Return to New York, complete the ceremonial rites, and he’ll also take care to eliminate any … ah … past transgressions which might appear in the record books.”
Tripp kept his expression blank.
“Mr. Sloan doesn’t care if you need outside … let’s call them, interests, shall we? Just so long as you keep them under wraps from his daughter.”
She pressed up against him. Her big brown eyes held nowhere near the amount of expression Lexi’s did.
“Do I make myself clear, Mr. Fox?” She pushed herself up on her toes, dropped her gaze to his lips, and returned them to his eyes.
“Yes.”
Her eyebrow quirked up as she patted his arm. “Ta-ta for now. We’ll expect an answer within a week.” She spun her watch around. “Mr. Sloan figures that gives you enough time to screw … up … before you settle down.” She nodded to the men at the door who followed her out and closed it with a light click.
Tripp blew out a breath, squeezing the pendant in his palm. He grabbed for his phone as it buzzed again. Jill’s number flashed on the screen. He stuffed it back in his pocket, wishing he had Lexi’s gift to find her quarry. Once he found her, if he did, he’d speak with Ian about his next steps with Jill.
Her father always meant what he said. If Jack Sloan sent a cleanup crew for him after twenty-four hours, Jill must have run for help.
Tripp snatched open his door but found no one. As the buzz started again, he checked the ID, answered and ran down the hall. With Lexi missing, Tripp wouldn’t tell Ian that Jack held Tripp’s balls in his hand, nor that with one good jerk, Tripp would find himself behind the bars her Dad helped design.
“You okay?” Ian’s voice reflected fear and worry. “We’ve been calling for fifteen minutes. Tried Lexi’s phone, too. What the hell’s going on?”
“Not sure.”
“Emma’s getting frantic. She says Lexi was sitting on a bench in a park—”
Tripp exited the hotel. A check of all directions and he headed across the street.
“—but she doesn’t know anything. And why haven’t you called us?”
“I’m busy looking for Lexi. Listen. Let me find her, and I’ll get back to you.” He hung up, dropping the phone in his pocket.
Tripp sped through the entrance to the park, around trees and the massive fountain in the middle. He hit the maze at a run, turning back when he didn’t find her.
“Where are you, Lexi?”
“Hey, mister.” An old homeless guy in dirty but intact clothes pushed a grocery store cart toward Tripp. “You lookin’ for somethin’?”
“Someone.” Tripp started to walk away, but spun back to him. “You here a lot?”
The old man nodded. “Every day. All day long.” He scratched at a balding head with a few wisps of white hair atop it.
“Did you see a woman with dark curly hair, about yay tall and big brown eyes around here earlier?”
“She wearing jeans an’ a pretty red shirt?”
Tripp couldn’t remember. He shook his head in an effort to pull to mind her apparel.
“Well, one of them girls was feeding the pigeons, or talkin’ to them or sumpin’ over yonder.” He pointed toward one of the benches.
Tripp started to head in the direction of his finger but stopped when the old man continued.
“Then, some person come up behind her while she was just sittin’, talkin’ on the telly-phone.”
“What happened then?”
“Oh, she dun went off with him. That aways.” He pointed toward a set of shops.
“Thank you, sir.” Tripp noted the man’s medal hung around his neck. He pulled out his wallet but realized he used up all his cash. “You have somewhere to go?”
“I gots me some walls.”
“You know the people around here?”
The man nodded. “All of ’em. Theys keep me warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”
He held out his American Express. “Take this. Buy whatever you want for the rest of the week. It’s on me. Make sure you stock up, too.”
The man flipped the card in the light as it reflected the sun. “Pretty. Like that girl. You hang on to her once you find her.”
“If I can, I will.” Tripp took off at a run down the sidewalk.
• • •
Lexi stumbled along the walk from the water’s edge, up a steep embankment meant for cars, and toward a road which led back to the park. Robert followed at a consistent pace, like a driver who tails another vehicle from a discrete distance. He promised to keep her in sight, vowed to pounce the moment she either found the pendant or tried to slip away.
He’d taken her cell phone—otherwise, she’d have called the cops. He’d warned her not to try to sneak into any of the businesses either because he’d just wait her out.
She still didn’t understand how he’d found her in the first place since they’d met at a beach two states north, but surprises happened with far greater frequency than ever before since Tripp’s introduction into her life.
Lexi stopped to catch her breath. “What was I thinking?”
Instinct aside, she’d gotten herself into Tripp’s line of work—one that held way too much danger. She continued on up the steep road. Her chest heaved, nerves tingled and the muscles in her calves burned.
I will never, ever touch this kind of work again.
She leaned against the building’s outer wall, her goal to pull to mind the pendant’s location. The fresh air and light breeze helped clear her thoughts and keep her stomach settled. She flashed back to the hotel, the room, the floor and stopped. Like a camera, she switched from one to the next, zoomed in and out, changing her view and perspective but found only an empty space.