Chapter Seventeen

Thud. Curt’s head hit the end table, the sudden impact waking him. He blinked and took in his surroundings. He sat on the sofa in the Walkers’ living room. Taylor leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, sound asleep. Priscilla slept in the chair across from him. Her head was tipped back and her mouth slightly open, while Stripes slept curled up in her lap.

He lifted his head as the events of the past day and night rushed back. Eliza and her boyfriend had Reese and were demanding money. How long had it been since the two assholes contacted them? Had the authorities made any progress in finding them? What about the security firm’s HRT, hostile response team? Honestly, he had more faith in them than anyone else working the case. Unlike the police and FBI, the members of the HRT didn’t have to follow a strict chain of command. The firm gave them a lot of leeway when handling situations in the field.

Against him Taylor moved, the comforting warmth of her body disappearing. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. What time is it?” Sleep clung to her voice. He knew she needed more rest but would never willingly take it.

He checked his watch. “Almost four.” They’d been out for two hours. Curt rolled his head, his neck stiff from sleeping in an upright position.

Taylor yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “I should be out there doing something. Not sitting here and napping,” she said with annoyance. “Poor Reese probably cried herself to sleep. She hates not having Peanut at bedtime. She cries if she has to go to bed without him.”

“Reese will be okay.” He kept telling himself the same thing. “Forcing yourself to stay awake won’t help. I just woke up, too.” He reached over and rubbed her neck. Considering her sleeping position, she probably had a stiff neck as well. “Even your Mom is catching a nap.”

“That’s different.”

She sounded angry with herself. He’d tried convincing her earlier the situation wasn’t her fault. His argument then had fallen on deaf ears. If he tried now it probably would, too, but he’d give it a try.

“Why? And don’t say because this is your fault. It’s not.”

“Mom works in a library. She doesn’t deal with people like my sister and her scumbag boyfriend every day. I do.” She moved away toward the edge of the sofa and turned back to look at him. “I know the types of places they use. I should be out searching for them, not waiting for the phone to ring.”

He understood her sense of helplessness. The same one filled him. Running around aimlessly wouldn’t help Reese or the authorities. “Taylor, I know you’re frustrated. I am, too, but we don’t know where to start. They might not even still be in New Hampshire.” Massachusetts was only a short ten-minute drive away. Parts of Maine could be reached in less than an hour, too.

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t sit here.”

When she stood, he knew he’d lost the battle, but he wouldn’t let her go off alone. “I’ll come—”

Taylor’s cell phone on the end table rang, and a cold fist punched through his chest and grabbed his heart. The authorities wouldn’t give bad news over the phone, he reminded himself, passing the device to her. Bad news, they’d deliver in person.

She answered the call, and before she finished her greeting his cell phone rang. Two calls so close together couldn’t be a coincidence. He checked the screen. Eric Coleman.

Curt skipped a greeting. Considering the circumstances, the firm’s director would understand. “Eric, tell me you have good news.”

“HRT found her.”

Elite Force Security wasn’t cheap, but it never disappointed. He’d been right to call them.

“Connor, the team leader, is coordinating with the police and FBI. Once they have a plan, they’ll go in and get her,” the firm’s director explained.

Eric’s comment somewhat diminished Curt’s happiness. When the director said they’d found her, he’d thought Eric meant the team physically had her. That Reese was safely away from her bitch of a mother and the deadbeat with Eliza.

“How long until she’s home?” Curt asked.

“Matter of hours. When I hear back from Connor, I’ll contact you again. Sit tight. This will be over soon,” Eric assured him with confidence.

Easier said than done. The little girl meant a hell of a lot to him.

Taylor and Curt ended their calls about the same time.

“Agent Morris says your security firm found Reese and Eliza.” Taylor referred to another FBI agent assigned to the case. “They’re holed up in an apartment in Dorchester.”

The boyfriend’s demand that Taylor meet Eliza in Boston made more sense now. Dorchester was Boston’s largest neighborhood. Getting from there to Faneuil Hall wouldn’t take long, and it’d be easy even with a child in tow.

Taylor went over and shook her mom awake. Neither ringing cell phone had disturbed her. “Mom.” Taylor waited for Priscilla to open her eyes. Judging by the older woman’s expression, it took a moment for the previous day’s events to come back. “The authorities found Eliza and Reese.”

Priscilla made the sign of the cross. “Thank God. Where is she? Can we go get her?”

Taylor fixed her ponytail and yanked her sneakers back on. “The police don’t have her yet.”

“But you said they found them,” Priscilla said.

“They did. Eliza and her boyfriend brought Reese to Dorchester. But the authorities can’t burst in. They’re putting a plan together.” She walked away as she spoke.

“Why not? If they know where your sister and Reese are, can’t they knock on the door? Demand she open it, and take Reese out?”

He knew what Taylor didn’t want to share. The authorities didn’t know what might be waiting for them inside. People who kidnapped a child only considered themselves. If cornered, Eliza and her boyfriend might use weapons to escape. The police, FBI agents, and HRT members didn’t want any bullets finding their way into Reese or themselves.

With Taylor out of the room, Curt answered Priscilla. “The authorities need to make sure the situation remains safe for everyone, especially Reese.”

He knew the moment she comprehended what he told her. “I wasn’t—I should’ve thought of that. My husband was a police officer. But Eliza has never been a violent person. I don’t think she would be now, either.”

Curt disagreed. A person as desperate as Eliza might do anything, and her boyfriend was a wild card in the situation. “Then this should all be over soon, and Reese will be upstairs tucked in bed asleep.”

Taylor rushed down the hall toward the front door. She held keys in one hand and Peanut, Reese’s stuffed tiger, in the other. “Mom, I’ll bring Reese home. Don’t worry.”

She’d spent enough time sitting around and doing nothing. She had a general location—Agent Morris hadn’t given her a specific address—and intended to help. Go in with the team, bring Reese out, and then hand over Peanut. That wasn’t the only thing motivating her, though. She wanted to be the one to slap the handcuffs on her sister and walk her to a waiting police cruiser. The Dorchester section of the city consisted of about six square miles. With a call to a friend at the Boston Police Department and some luck, she’d have the exact location soon.

Taylor never made it outside.

“Where are you going?” Curt pulled her back and slammed the front door closed at the same time.

“To get my niece. And make sure Eliza lands inside a jail cell.” She yanked her arm back, but Curt kept his fingers locked around her wrist. “Please stay with Mom. Keep her company until I come back.”

“Did Agent Morris share the team’s location?”

She almost lied and said yes. “No. It doesn’t matter. I used to work for the Boston PD and I still have friends there. I’ll get the location on the way.”

He stepped into her personal space. The front of his T-shirt rubbed against hers. Both understanding and compassion swam in his eyes. “Do you really think that’s the best idea? Would you want someone so emotionally involved on your team when you do an arrest?”

No. This was different. She could put aside her emotions and do the job.

“It’ll be better for everyone if you stay here and wait.” He plucked her keys away and shoved them in a pocket before she realized his intention. Then he released her wrist and cupped her face with both hands. “When Reese is safe, they’ll call us. As soon as they do, I’ll bring both you and Priscilla to Reese and back home again.”

“Curt, the waiting is killing me.”

Curt moved closer, and she felt his heart beat against her chest. “I know. It’s killing me, too.” He spoke with almost as much anguish as she felt. “But let the FBI and the police and everyone else handle this. It’s almost over. Reese will be safe soon.”

Since Mom’s first call, she’d struggled to keep everything inside, not let her fear or anger show. She needed to be strong for both Mom and Reese. Besides, crying solved nothing. It would only upset Mom more. The poor woman didn’t need that. Standing near Curt, with his misery apparent, pushed her over the edge. Without warning, all the emotions she’d held back for hours broke over her and forced their way out. Tears streamed down her face, and her shoulders shook.

It’s almost over. She repeated Curt’s words, but they didn’t soothe the fear festering inside. “Damn. I don’t want to cry.” She dropped her head against Curt’s shoulder and his arms went around her. “It’ll upset Mom more.” Her words came out broken up and muffled.

“Your mom can’t hear you.” Curt whispered the words against her ear. “Cry all you need to. Let it out.” He made small circles on her back with his hand. “You’ll feel better.”

Doubt that. Crying usually gave her a headache, a stuffy nose, and red eyes. But maybe a brief breakdown would help ease the tension trying to rip her body in two. Maybe after a good cry, she’d get her emotions back under control enough to get through the next couple hours.

***

Curt put to shame professional race car drivers getting them from New Hampshire to Boston after the call finally came. She’d participated in a few high-speed chases, but even she closed her eyes a time or two during the trip. And she’d heard Mom say a prayer in the back seat.

When they walked in the Boston Police Department, Captain Parker met them. “Please follow me,” he said, holding open a door to a restricted area. “Reese is in a conference room with Detective Hughes. We thought she’d be more comfortable with a woman, and Detective Hughes has children around Reese’s age at home.”

“The poor baby must be exhausted,” Priscilla said as they followed the captain.

Taylor looked down at the irregular sound of Mom’s sandals bouncing off the walls. On one foot Mom wore a purple rubber-soled flip-flop, and on the other a sandal with a wooden sole. Considering how quickly they’d left the house, it wasn’t a shock Mom wore mismatched shoes.

The captain opened a second door and escorted them down yet another hallway. “When I left them, Reese was talking Detective Hughes’s ear off while eating a donut.”

Sounds like the Reese we know and love, Taylor thought. She hoped Reese stayed that way. An ordeal like the one she’d experienced could change anyone but especially someone Reese’s age.

Their escort stopped at a closed door marked Conference Room 2.

“Where are my sister and her boyfriend?” Taylor asked before the captain touched the doorknob.

When they got the call telling them Reese was safe and with the police, she hadn’t asked about Eliza or her dirtbag boyfriend. At that moment, only getting to Boston and Reese had mattered. She wanted to know, though, and she didn’t want it discussed in front of Reese.

“Eliza Walker and Brad Monroe are in holding. Both face a long list of charges,” Captain Parker answered.

Well, she knew kidnapping was one. “What else besides kidnapping?” It’d all come out in court, but she’d rather hear it now instead of at Eliza’s arraignment. Something she planned on attending Monday.

“Illegal possession of firearms. Possession of heroin.”

The captain rattled off a few more charges. Taylor’s mind stayed focused on the first one. Illegal possession of firearms. She offered up a little prayer. Reese and everyone who’d gone in to get her were safe, but it could’ve turned out much differently. Mom’s expression said she was thinking the same thing.

Taylor put an arm over Mom’s shoulders, and hoped Eliza spent the rest of her life in jail. “Thank you, Captain Parker. We’re ready to go in.”

Reese sat at the oblong conference table, half a strawberry-frosted donut and a container of chocolate milk in front of her. As she talked to the woman sitting next to her, she swiveled her chair from side to side. When she saw Taylor enter she jumped from the chair, ran over, and hugged her.

“Auntie Taylor, look what Beverly gave me.” Reese stepped back and held up a white stuffed horse with a pink mane and a pink tail. A tag still attached to the animal’s ear indicated it was a brand-new toy. “I named her Strawberry because her tail is pink. See?” She stretched the tail out. “And Beverly got me donuts and milk. I already ate the one with sprinkles.”

Beverly must be Detective Hughes, the woman walking over to them. “I hope you don’t mind. I thought Reese could use a special treat. My daughter’s favorite treat is donuts.”

“Reese loves them, too. Thank you.” Taylor pulled Reese in for another tight hug, tempted to never let the girl leave her side again.

Reese tolerated the hug at first but then wiggled free. “Mimi, are you feeling better?” She moved and wrapped her arms around her grandmother. “Eliza said you’re sick, and that I had to stay with her until you got better.”

Mom kneeled so she was at Reese’s level. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“Good. I didn’t like it with Eliza and Brad. Their house smelled really funny, and they wouldn’t let me watch what I wanted. And they yelled at each other a lot.”

Taylor hoped yelling was all they’d done around Reese. “Say thank you to Detective Hughes so we can go home.”

“Who?” Reese asked.

“Me, silly,” the detective said.

Reese waved but didn’t move away from her family. “Bye. Thank you for Strawberry. I’ll take good care of her.” She tilted her head back. “Is Curt coming home with us?”

“I am, short stuff. I’ll even give you a ride outside.” He picked Reese up and sat her on his shoulders. “Ready to go?” He looked at her and Mom.

Definitely. She had the three most important people in her life around her. Everything else took a back seat. “Let’s go home.”