Steal My Heart (16 page)
Authors: Linsey Lanier
“Paige! Paige!” Mark held onto the sobbing child his arms and hurried through the mansion searching every room. Where was she?
“My mommie,” the little girl moaned, her tears soaking the shoulder of the jacket Foley had loaned him to wear. “The big man took my mommie away.”
“We’ll find her, honey. Don’t worry.” He hoped. The only thing better than the sight of Laroche being handcuffed on his command just now, would be killing the bastard himself with his bare hands.
“Where’s my mommie?” Holly insisted. She was as stubborn and tenacious her mother.
“I don’t know,” he admitted hoping he didn’t make her cry more. “Shh.” He rubbed her back trying to soothe her, but how could he when he was just as frantic?
She waved her little hand toward a window. “Outside. The man took her outside.”
Just then a shout came from the back. “Storm. Get out here now.”
He trotted through the kitchen and out the back door. Stepping onto a wide slate patio, he stopped in his tracks when he saw her.
Her dress was torn. Her dark hair was a mess. Her face and arms were muddy, her hands bloodied. But she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
If she never wanted anything more to do with him, he couldn’t blame her. But at least he could cherish this moment. At least he could give her Holly back, just like he promised. If he were lucky, maybe she’d let him see her once in awhile. If he were patient, maybe she’d forgive him.
In a million years or two.
Paige gasped when she saw Mark come out of the house with Holly in his arms.
“Mommie,” her little girl cried, her hands grasping the air.
Mark put her down and she ran to her. Paige scooped her up and held her tight, hot tears filling her eyes. “My baby, my baby.”
Holly buried her face in her neck. “Mommie, don’t ever leave me like that again.”
“No, darling. I promise I’ll never leave you again.” And she wouldn’t. She stroked her daughter’s hair, loving the softness of it and knowing just how precious that sensation was.
Mark watched her, tenderness on his face. He took a step toward her, then hesitated. He looked handsome in his FBI suit, his dark wavy hair gleaming in the morning light, his deep blue eyes intense with emotion. He seemed different. Strong. Official. He truly was one of the Good Guys.
“I would have gotten here sooner, but I had a little trouble getting my boss to believe me.”
He was amazing. “I heard you were arrested for stealing the Fantasia.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, I was.”
This time he went to jail because of her. Guilt flooded her. “Your boss should have trusted you. And I should have, too.”
He looked off in the distance, as though he didn’t know what to make of that. “Turns out the Fantasia I had wasn’t real either.”
She blinked at him in surprise. “What?”
“Adolphus was hoping it would be stolen to collect the insurance money.”
“That’s why the security was so lax.” She forced a laugh. “Bigelow will have me doing an investigation on that.”
“The Bureau’s looking into it, too. But with Adolphus’ connections, probably nothing will come of it.”
“We’ll see about that. Though I always liked the old tycoon.”
He put his hands in his pockets, as if he didn’t want to touch her. Her heart sank. Had he come after her out of duty alone?
“It turned out Laroche was right. Another branch of the Bureau was investigating him. Capturing him will be a feather in my boss’s cap. He’ll get that promotion he wanted.”
She shifted her weight. “Good for him. Where does that leave you?”
“There was talk of my stepping into his place.”
A surge of pride shot through her. Mark deserved that after all he’d been through. “Is that what you want?”
He shrugged. “It sounds like a fun gig. We’ll see how it goes.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.”
She felt suddenly as awkward as a schoolgirl. “Thank you,” she told him, meaning it with all her heart. “For saving my little girl. For saving my life.”
“No problem.” He looked at her hard, as if he wanted to ask her something. He shook his head, as if to himself and gestured toward the helicopter. “You should see the medic. He’ll fix you up.” Then he turned to go.
Her heart sank. “Mark?”
He turned back, a question on his handsome face.
Had Laroche been right? Did Mark want no part of family life? Or was he just afraid she didn’t want him? Only one way to find out.
She took a deep breath and lifted Holly’s chin with her finger. “Don’t you want to meet your daughter?
As the look on his handsome face turned to gratitude and relief, she exhaled the nervous breath she’d been holding. His feelings were genuine.
He took a step toward her. “Yes, I do. Very much. And I’d like to get to know her mother all over again. But—”
“What?”
His blue eyes glistened with pain and hope. “Are you sure you want an ex-jewel thief in your life, Paige?”
She smiled at him. “I want Mark Storm, FBI hero, in my life.”
Breaking into a huge grin of obvious pleasure, he stepped to her side, and took her and Holly in his arms. “Those are the best words I’ve ever heard.” He kissed her forehead softly.
Holly began to wriggle. She squinted up at him. “Are you really my daddy?”
“Yes,” they both said together. And then they all laughed.
Twenty-Five
Paige stood in the foyer of the little wedding chapel off Third near Central Park, butterflies flying in formation in her stomach. She was dressed in a one-shouldered, asymmetrical chiffon gown with a beaded silver sash around her waist and a matching comb in her hair.
She turned to the man whose arm she was holding onto for dear life. “
It’s nice of you to give me away, Bigelow.”
He gave her a wink. “The least I can do for my star reporter.” After the first in her series of articles entitled
Kidnapped by a Madman
had run, newspapers across the country were talking about syndication and agents were contacting her for a book deal.
She pursed her lips at him. “I like the way that sounds.”
“You’re a beautiful bride, Paige. Besides, this is the event of the season.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek and whispered. “Don’t forget. I want an exclusive.”
She laughed. “When I get back from my honeymoon.”
“Where is he taking you?”
“It’s a secret. But since we’re taking Holly along, my bet is Disney World.”
The music started and Holly looked up at her with a big smile. “Now, Mommie?”
She looked so pretty in her pink crinoline, holding her little basket full of pink and white gardenias. Paige and her mother had planned the color scheme with her tastes in mind.
Paige nodded. “Yes, honey. Now.”
Walking slowly, just as they had practiced, Holly moved down the aisle. Taking a deep breath, Paige followed her, Bigelow at her side.
There weren’t many people. Her mother was her matron of honor. Mark’s boss, Foley served as his best man. In the pews were a few close friends from the office, as well as Special Agents Kesler and Theobald, who Paige had learned had helped in the rescue. She could barely think about that now. The past two weeks had been a bustle of activity and plans. Picking out flowers and clothes and music and food, even though the gathering would be small.
They reached the altar at the end of the aisle and Bigelow patted her arm. “You’ve found a good man.”
“Yes, I have.”
Her heart swelled as she met Mark’s cherishing gaze and he took her hand.
“I love you,” he whispered, looking as charming and debonair as ever in his tux.
“And I love you. Don’t you ever forget it.”
“I don’t think I can. And I certainly don’t want to. I’ll show you when we get home tonight. But first, we’ll dance to
Misty
.”
“Our song.”
“Our song forever.”
The minister cleared his throat. Oh, yes. The vows.
They turned to him and Mark nodded. “Sorry about that. Go ahead, Reverend.”
The minister began. They’d opted for traditional vows for their second time around. The “t
o have and to hold” ones. When they got to the “for richer, for poorer” part, Paige held her breath. But Mark repeated the words with the most genuine sincerity she’d ever heard.
“From this day forward until death do us part.”
“I do,” she whispered.
“I do,” Mark said, his eyes burning with love for her.
He slipped the ring onto her finger. A band of shimmering gold. And in its center, a glittering heart-shaped diamond. “To remind you that you’ve stolen my heart.”
It took her breath away. She raised a brow at him. “Where did you get this?”
He gave her that sly look of his. “With my bonus from the Bureau. The one I got for capturing Laroche?”
Paige returned a playful scowl, then grinned. For the first time in a long while, she didn’t doubt him. He was telling the truth. Just as his lips did when they met hers.
They were still kissing when the minister said, “I now pronounce you man and wife. It seems you’re already kissing the bride.”
Mark didn’t let up, not even when Holly clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “Mommie and Daddy are married at last.”
That’s right, honey, Paige thought. And this time, it would last forever. She couldn’t wait to get started on their old, new life.
What an interesting family they were going to make.
THE END
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Steal My Heart
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THE MIRANDA’S RIGHTS MYSTERY SERIES
Someone Else’s Daughter – Book I
OTHER BOOKS BY LINSEY LANIER:
Chicago Cop (A cop family thriller)
–
Don’t let them take what you love, baby girl
. A police thriller featuring GUTS team lead Lieutenant Maggie Delaney, a tough multi-generational cop hunting down a crazed mafia hit man bent on revenge.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linsey Lanier is the author of a dozen novels and several short stories. She writes romantic mystery-suspense, romantic fantasy, and romance—with a dash of sass. She is also a member of Romance Writers of America and the Kiss of Death chapter. Her books have placed in several RWA-sponsored contests.
For updates on upcoming books, join
Linsey’s Fan List
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I love my readers and am truly grateful for all your support!
* * *
She could make it to the trees. She was too far away for him to catch up now.
It started to rain. A soft rain. The kind, somebody had told her, that often came up in Georgia without warning. Beneath her, the ground sloped steeply as the grass grew wet. She slipped, tried to stifle a yelp, but it escaped her lips.
The cop heard her. His light found her. “Stop,” he yelled.
Man, she was having a bad night.
But the rain slowed him down, too. She could hear him grunting and cussing behind her as he struggled down the slippery incline. She reached the bottom and the land became flat again. Almost there. She sprinted across a patch of grass to the first clump of trees. Hesitating, she stopped to catch her breath.
The bright moon cast an eerie glow on the rocks and wild growth. She’d never liked wooded areas. She thought about murders in the forest preserves where she’d grown up. She thought of stories she’d heard about snakes in the Georgia woods. She glanced behind her.
The cop’s light bobbed about halfway down the hill.
No choice. Gritting her teeth, she braced herself and stepped into the tall grass. Her foot went down on a squishy surface of pine straw and matted grass, a twig snapped, but it held. She took another step, reached out and felt tree bark in front of her. She sidestepped and moved around it. The ground was uneven and muddy. The drizzling rain fell against the leaves with a sound like soft cymbals. The air smelled cool and freshly washed. Brush tangled around her shins. Her hair and clothes were wet, but she couldn’t think about that now.
She looked back again, could barely make out the cop. That meant he couldn’t see her, either. She’d done it. She’d escaped. But he’d be hunting her in these woods soon. Probably call out the cavalry, too. Maybe she could make it to the other side. It was part of a subdivision, after all. She couldn’t remember the layout of the forest from her map.
Better move faster. She took a quick step, then another. Found a spot where the trees opened up. She started to sprint. Wrong move. Something caught her foot. Down she went. She tried to catch herself on a tree, but her hand scrapped across its bark. Her palms skidded across the muddy ground.
Damn. She didn’t need this now. What had she’d tripped over? She brushed her hair out of her eyes, hoping she hadn’t landed on a slithering snake.
Then she froze.
Inches away from her face, lay a shape. A familiar shape. She stared at it, her breath coming in snatches. Was she hallucinating? It looked like a kid’s sneaker. Peeking out from a pile of wet twigs and pine straw, like it had been lost there. Or buried. She reached out and whisked away some of the debris covering it.
Her chest tightened. The sneaker had a foot in it.
She got to her knees to sweep off more dirt. An ankle. A sock. A hem of denim. Oh, God. It was a leg. A human leg. She found the other sneaker. She was shaking all over by now.
Her heart choking her throat, she crawled to the side of what she now realized was a mound. Desperately she shoved away the muck and grimy pine straw, the dreck someone had used to…she couldn’t even think it…to bury someone?
Two legs appeared under her hands, clad in a pair of designer jeans. The type hip young girls liked to wear. She kept going and found the bottom hem of a fancy, girlish T-shirt. Then two young hands…tied with thick rope, clasped together as if in prayer. Oh, God. This couldn’t be happening. Tears burned her eyes. She couldn’t stop herself. Madly, she brushed away the rest of the dirt, and at last, the face appeared. Young. Pretty. More than pretty. Beautiful. And perfectly still.
Dead.
Miranda’s mind reeled. This was the missing girl everyone was talking about. This was Madison. Had to be. But how did she get
here?
Her whole body shuddering, she put her hands to her head. She had seen death before, knew the look of a body in a casket. An uncle she barely knew who’d passed away when she was a child, a fallen officer who’d been a buddy of Leon’s, her own mother lying so still in her coffin with her hard, stony face. But she’d never seen death like this.
So close, so stark, so…undeniable.
The air had a dank smell. Long, dark hair lay damp and matted on the ground. Gnats and flies buzzed around the swollen face, glistening with the raindrops that fell on it. Instead of a childlike expression of innocence, there was the whisper of a smile. An air of superiority, as if she had felt far above whoever had left her this way.
But it was the eyes that got her. Open, staring, lifeless. Looking at them, Miranda felt as though a fist had reached inside her chest and yanked out her heart.
She forced her gaze away from the eyes. Her breath caught, as her mind cleared. The girl’s neck. She had to take a look at the girl’s neck.
She crept closer and saw that a wide, white ribbon had been tied around the young girl’s neck. What was that for? She didn’t know, but she had to look under it. She shouldn’t touch it. It was evidence. But she had to know.
Slowly, she reached out with trembling fingers and lifted the soft cloth, moist with the rainwater. Her hands shivered so hard, she could barely slip it down, but somehow she managed.
And then she saw it. The mark on her neck. Dark, round, distinct.
She put the soaking ribbon back in place. Her hands shook violently, shot to her mouth, her head. Her chest felt like it would burst. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mingled with the rain, dropped onto the forest floor.
This was Amy. This was her baby.
Someone Else’s Daughter
is available on Amazon for 99 cents.
