Taken (2 page)

“No, but I was on my way. I found her here. Whoever shot her took Sophie and left Rachel to bleed to death.”

“Do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt her?” he asked.

“No. I’ve already told the police everything I do know, which isn’t much.”

“Like I said, I’m not with the police.”

“Don’t you share information?”

“Yes, but I’m in the middle of a separate investigation connected to her husband.”

“Chad?” The fatigue in her eyes deepened. “Do you think Chad is behind my sister getting shot?”

“At this point, I have no idea. What I do know is that the FBI is currently investigating Chad for possible involvement in an open criminal case where your sister is a potential witness.” Or in his mind, a suspect, but he wasn’t going to bring that up at this time. “Do you think it’s possible your brother-in-law was involved in the shooting?”

“At this point, I’d believe almost anything, but I don’t think so. Chad can be a jerk, but he doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. And besides, I can’t see him shooting Rachel, or taking Sophie, for that matter. He threatened to get a divorce once or twice, but as far as I know he’s never moved ahead with his threats. He wants to see Sophie, without the responsibility of raising her. Bottom line is I can’t see the point of him snatching her.”

“So what do you know?”

“I know that someone broke into this house looking for something.” Her gaze dropped as she fiddled with a loose thread on the edge of her purple T-shirt. Tense. Nervous. “I know that my sister is lying in ICU and my niece is gone. I know I probably shouldn’t be here, but I thought I might find some clue of what Rachel—and Chad—are mixed up in.”

He studied her expression. There was something she wasn’t telling him. “Do you know what they’re mixed up in?”

“No, but someone was clearly looking for something and I want to know what.”

Something unexpected triggered inside him as her expression softened. She might appear strong on the surface, but she was also clearly vulnerable. A part of him wanted to sweep her out of here and protect her from whatever she’d innocently walked into. Which was crazy. One, he had no idea if she really was innocent. And two, his job was to take down criminals, not simply to rescue pretty damsels in distress.

Marcus shoved aside the unexpected attraction. He’d watched his own family struggle to balance the stress of a career in law enforcement with relationships and too many of them hadn’t survived. Those who did, carried their own scars that he wanted nothing to do with. Nicole had managed to substantiate that conclusion when she forced him to choose between her and his career.

He shook his head at the unwanted memory. He needed to stay on track. “Has your sister traveled recently?”

Kate closed the lid of the trunk and sat down on it. “She went to Paris three months ago. I’ve been looking through her photos and journals to see if something happened there that might give me a clue as to what Chad might be involved in—or any suspicions she might have had—but so far, I can’t find anything out of the ordinary, except for one thing...”

“What is it?”

“It’s probably nothing, but I can’t find her passport, which is strange. Rachel’s very compulsive and orderly. She’s going to have a fit trying to put this house back together.”

“Where does she normally keep the passport?”

“At one time she kept it in this trunk, where she keeps a lot of her important papers like birth certificates and financial papers. She probably just moved it.”

“Do you think she’s involved with something illegal?” he asked.

“Rachel? Never.”

But he’d seen Rachel’s financials and knew her credit cards were maxed out and she was behind on her house payments. Money could be a powerful motivator. Which was why he couldn’t dismiss the possibility of her being involved in what happened today. Or that Kate Elliot knew more than she was letting on.

* * *

Kate stood up and started past the red stain on the carpet. Nausea swept through her. The room smelled like death and she needed some fresh air. “I need to return to the hospital. If I don’t take my mother home, she’ll stay there all night.”

“Wait...before you go, I need to ask you a few questions. It won’t take long. I promise.”

She hesitated, then reluctantly sat back down on the edge of the trunk. She was tired. Tired of the questions that she didn’t have answers for. Tired of waiting on an update from the hospital. Afraid of the panic that had yet to lessen. And this man, Marcus O’Brian, was simply adding to that panic.

“You and your sister are close?” he began.

“For the most part, yes.”

“What about Chad? How was their relationship?”

“That was a subject we didn’t talk about often. I didn’t think he was good enough for her and she resented that. So we avoided the subject.”

“Why didn’t you think he was good enough for her?”

Kate hesitated, wondering how her sister’s marital relationship was going to help find her shooter. She might not have thought he was the best choice for her sister to marry, but Rachel loved him and he was the father of their child.

“Please understand,” Marcus continued. “I realize I’m probing into something very personal, but the more I know about Chad and your sister, the easier it will be for me to find out the truth as to who was behind this. And for now, I can’t go to her with my questions.”

Kate let out a sharp sigh. “It bothered me that he put his job above his family. He traveled a lot, which meant he was gone more than he was home, something I know she resented. Especially because of Sophie.”

“Where did his job take him?”

“They have an apartment in Paris. He worked in both the US and Europe as a buyer. Occasionally he traveled to Africa.”

“And his traveling took a toll on their marriage?”

“It was more than just the traveling, but yes. Six months ago, he moved back to Paris. I think divorce was on the table, but there wasn’t anything official.”

“Did they still communicate?”

“Some. My sister went to Paris three months ago to try to see if they could give their marriage one last chance.”

“And when she returned, what did she tell you about the trip?”

“Not much, but it was clear that it didn’t go the way she’d hoped. I think she still loved him—that she still does—but it became clear to her that he had no intentions of settling down and giving her what she wanted.” Her gaze dropped to the stained spot on the carpet.

“What is it?”

Kate grabbed one of the throw pillows off the bed and hugged it against her chest, wishing he wasn’t able to read her so well. “While we were waiting for the ambulance, she told me Chad was scared about something.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. All Rachel said was that they would do anything to get what they wanted.” She looked up at him, the fear she’d been feeling all day gripping her tighter. “Do you know what Chad’s involved in?”

“Let me ask the questions for now. Later, I’ll answer those that aren’t classified.”

“Classified.” Kate shook her head, irritation weaving itself through the fear. “You sound like James Bond.”

“No. Real life doesn’t play out like the movies.”

No, it didn’t. And today had become an extreme example. One couldn’t simply go home once the credits rolled.

“Do you think Rachel knew what he was involved in?” he asked.

She tried not to show her resentment of the question. “No.”

Marcus took a step forward. “Did she ever mention being suspicious about his behavior?”

Kate shook her head. “You have to understand that I want to help, but there is nothing I can tell you that is going to help us find Sophie and my sister’s shooter. We need to talk to Chad. He’s got to know—”

“We?” Marcus shook his head. “What you need to do is let the police—and myself—handle this. We are looking for him right now, in fact, and when we find him, we’ll interview him. But you’re not a part of
we
.”

“But I know Chad.”

“And I know what happens when civilians try to get involved in police business. Trust me, it doesn’t work.”

“So you haven’t been able to locate Chad yet?”

He hesitated. “No.”

“Then what about Sophie?” she rushed on. “You have to know something. Have some lead as to where she might be. Sophie, she’s...she’s four years old, full of energy and has the biggest imagination I’ve ever seen. She’s silly and loves to tell jokes—”

“Kate—”

“She loves macaroni from the box and strawberry licorice,” Kate continued, as if she were pleading her case in court. She might sound desperate, but needed him to realize this wasn’t just some missing person, or some domestic dispute in another case he was working on. “Sophie loves Dora the Explorer, going to Sunday school. She can’t sleep without her one-eyed bunny, Lily.”

Marcus’s eyes widened. “I don’t have an update about your niece, except...”

“What do you know?” she prodded.

“You told me your sister’s passport was missing.”

“Sophie’s has to be missing, as well.”

“We checked airline manifest lists since her father lives in France.” Hands clenched at her sides, she waited for him to continue. “Both passports were used to fly to Paris. A woman and a little girl, presumably your niece.”

A ball of emotion tangled inside Kate as she fought not to cry. “So Sophie’s in Paris?”

“That’s what we believe.”

Chad was AWOL... Sophie was missing...

Kate pressed her lips together, because at the moment, there only seemed to be one solution. No matter what Marcus O’Brian, with his perfect profile and piercing blue eyes, had said, she’d already made up her mind. There was only one person in her mind who had the answers. She needed to talk to Chad. Even if that meant flying to Paris and finding Chad herself.

TWO

A
t nine twenty-nine Wednesday morning, Central European time, Kate was already second-guessing herself and wondering—not for the first time—if flying halfway around the world had been a sane decision.

She clutched the strap of her pink tote bag and pressed through the crowded promenade running parallel to the famous Champs Elysées. Lined with boutiques, chic restaurants and fancy storefronts, it was exactly how she’d imagined Paris. But after thirteen hours of travel, two planes, the RER train into the city and a taxi, her decision seemed impulsive, even reckless. But what choice did she have? She needed answers. Needed to speak with Chad. Needed to find Sophie. Careless or not, she was still convinced that coming to Paris had been her only option. Chad was the key to finding Sophie.

Which was why there’d been little time to think through the consequences of her actions. She’d charged the airline ticket to her credit card, booked a hotel, then pulled out everything she had on Paris in her travel files. A quick check-in at her hotel after landing, along with a shower, had helped clear her mind, but it hadn’t quite managed to squelch the anxiety or the fear. Added to her list of frustrations was Marcus O’Brian, who had yet to give her an update on his investigation.

Not that he owed her one, she supposed, but a phone call from the man would go a long way. And not because he’d appeared in her dreams last night, or that she’d yet been unable to forget those blue eyes of his. She just needed someone on her side. So far the only person who’d seemed happy for her company had been the taxi driver who’d gladly exchanged her Euros for a neck-breaking race from her hotel to Chad’s place of employment.

Kate glanced at her map, then scanned the stone-cut buildings beside her with their decorative ironwork, looking for Anne-Loure, the jewelry shop where Chad worked. The taxi driver had dropped her off short of the shop, but she’d wanted the exercise and hopefully time to get her bearings. But apparently, he’d left her farther from the store than she’d intended. According to her map, the shop was still a half-dozen blocks away. Exploring the famed City of Lights and its history had always been on the top ten of her bucket list. But not this way.

Paris was supposed to be savored slowly while sipping a café au lait. Lazy afternoons strolling alongside the Seine or leisurely digesting the history of a local museum. Even now, she could sense the historic city’s energy. With its offering of historic sites like the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, Paris was a mecca for tourists, artists and historians.

Kate blew out a sharp breath. This wasn’t exactly how she’d expected to spend her first trip to Paris. She and Kevin had decided on a twelve-day tour of Europe’s cities of lights for their honeymoon, including two nights each in Paris and Prague. A scenic river cruise along the Rhine, Heidelberg... It would have been the perfect honeymoon until Kevin ran off and married her best friend, who would have been the maid of honor at their wedding.

She’d always thought the story would make the perfect script for a romantic comedy—if it had a different ending. Something along the lines of jilted bride finds love with lonely best man or something like that, but in her case, there had been no lonely best man or happy ending. Just a lot of embarrassment and explanations as to why her fiancé was honeymooning with her best friend.

At least she hadn’t burned the contents of the honeymoon folder, because today she needed the spreadsheet with travel information, Google maps, online transportation websites, hotels and dozens of other details she’d collected and organized while planning their trip.

She was over Kevin. Their broken engagement seemed like a lifetime ago most days. And maybe now something good was going to come out of the situation. She’d traveled enough outside the United States to feel fairly confident as long as she had a map and cell phone in hand.

But as much as the city might beckon, she needed to stay focused on one thing and one thing only.

Finding Sophie.

She ran her finger across the photos of Sophie she’d stuck inside the cover of her travel guide—a reminder as to why she was here. Brown hair, bright blue eyes and a smile that melted your heart in two. This was why she was here. Because if anything happened to her—

Someone brushed against her shoulder. The hairs on her neck bristled. Kate stiffened as a long-haired teen walked away, not even acknowledging the incident. She shook off the eerie sensation. Marcus flashed through her mind, making her wish he was with her, but she quickly shoved away the image. He might have that classic tall, dark and handsome look going for him, and an overprotective vibe, too, but he was also a federal agent with an agenda. He believed Rachel was involved in something illegal. She’d seen it in his eyes, along with the suspicion toward herself. Which meant the man wasn’t worth the risk of a second look.

And she didn’t need him. Because no one was watching her. No one was after her. Lack of sleep, long hours of travel and the added guilt from being unable to protect her sister were messing with her mind.

But she couldn’t ignore the knot of fear that had settled into the pit of her stomach. She turned and glanced behind her. How was it possible that in a sea of pedestrians, she still felt as if she were being followed? She hesitated beneath the shade of a shop awning. Notre Dame loomed a few blocks away with its stunning stained glass windows and gargoyles. For a moment, she considered running to the safety and quiet of the historic church. But God could hear her constant prayers just as well here as in the middle of a cathedral. She forced her mind to focus. Speaking with Chad was her one priority right now.

Someone’s elbow jabbed her from behind. This time, her bag slipped from her shoulder and crashed to the sidewalk, its contents scattering across the pavement. She lunged for the pink MP3 player that had tumbled out and started to grab it, but the man hovering over her snatched it first.

Shaken, she stood up, hand outstretched, and caught the man’s steel gaze. When he still wouldn’t hand over the MP3, she chanced that he would understand English, and asked, “What do you want?”

He pulled back his jacket revealing the tip of the gun he was carrying. “I want you to come with me.”

The knot in her stomach tightened. She glanced around at the shoppers passing by. She could run, but if he caught her, she’d never be able to fight him.

She decided to scream.

Fingers dug into her arm as he dragged her toward the street. “Shut up and get in the car.”

She continued screaming as he shoved her into the backseat of a waiting car. Her elbow slammed against the door frame. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. They’d shot Rachel...taken Sophie... What in the world did they want with her?

She scrambled across the backseat, then lunged for the handle on the opposite side. The door was unlocked. He grabbed her foot, but she jerked away from his grasp and stumbled out of the car, still managing to grip her bag. But the action threw her into traffic. Cars whizzed by. The man scooted across the seat behind her. She slammed the door on him, but the driver was climbing out of the front of the vehicle.

Kate lunged out into the path of an oncoming taxi, then swerved to the left. There was no way she could cross the busy traffic without getting hit. She ran around the back of the car toward the sidewalk, hoping to lose herself in a sea of shoppers. Brakes squealed and a taxi missed her by inches, but the near accident barely registered.

What did they want with her?

For the first time, she wished she’d listened to Marcus. He’d been right. She should never have come. She had no business tracking down her sister’s shooter on her own. All she wanted was answers and justice and to get her niece back. Instead, she’d gotten herself involved in a situation where not only were her sister’s and Sophie’s lives at stake, but somehow she’d become tangled up in the mess.

A flock of pigeons scattered into the air in front of her. She turned onto a side street, disoriented without the help of the map. But she couldn’t take the time to pull it out. All she knew to do was to keep zigzagging through the narrow streets until she lost them. She could figure out where she was later.

Lungs screaming for air, she forced herself to keep running. She had no one to call. Nowhere to run for help. In a city of millions, she’d never felt so alone.

A car pulled up beside her. “Get in!”

Kate kept running, but something made her pause and turn. Marcus sat in the driver’s seat.

“Get in the car,” he repeated.

Still out of breath, Kate slid into the car and dropped her bag onto the floorboard, too scared to ask questions. Too scared to consider the fact that she might not be trusting the right person.

* * *

Marcus pressed on the accelerator as he pulled into the heavy traffic and tried to bite back his irritation. Kate Elliot was supposed to be five thousand miles away in Dallas, Texas. Not trying to track down her sister’s shooter on her own here in Paris. No. From what he remembered, he’d given her specific instruction that she was to let him and the police handle the investigation of her sister’s attempted murder. Flying to Paris in search of her niece—as she’d clearly done—had not been an option. But for the moment, he couldn’t worry about what she’d done or why she was here. He needed to get her somewhere safe.

Marcus changed lanes and sped down the avenue, weaving in and out of traffic, hoping he’d catch sight of the vehicle that had tried to snatch her. But as much as he wanted to catch whoever had tried to grab her, for the moment her safety needed to be the priority. Because chasing down the bad guys with Kate Elliot at his side wasn’t a good idea.

“Are they following us?” he asked.

She looked back. “I don’t know. The cars...they all look the same.”

“It was a dark compact—”

“They’re all compact cars...or taxis.”

“I need a description, Kate. A license plate number—something I was unable to get. We need to find those guys.”

His irritation grew. They were the reason he was here. He needed to catch those guys and now he’d somehow ended up saddled with Kate and needing to think about her protection.

Which raised even more questions than he had answers. Like how did they know she’d be here in the first place?

“I was on my way to Chad’s store.”

“I was just there. He didn’t come in to work today.”

“You think they’re still after us?” she asked, her voice ragged.

“I managed to find you, and I don’t think they’re simply going to give up. So yes. There’s a good chance they’re still back there.”

“They had a gun...” Her jaw was set, determined, but she still sounded as if she were about to hyperventilate. “They shoved me into a car.”

“I know. I was driving by when you came flying out of that car into the traffic. You’re lucky you weren’t killed. I don’t know what you were thinking—”

Someone smashed into the back of his rental car, shoving both of them forward.

Marcus gripped the steering wheel as he swerved to avoid a collision with the car in front of him. “Hang on, Kate. I think we just found them.”