Authors: Lynette Eason
So, here he sat. Listening to how much God loved him. Enough to die for him. Him. Gabriel Sinclair. The preacher went on to describe the Crucifixion in detail, telling about the suffering Jesus endured in order that people might be forgiven to live and see heaven one day. The crown of thorns. The mocking and humiliation. Cat-o’-nine-tails ripping the flesh from His body. The nail-pierced hands and feet. The sword in His side. Buried three days to rise again. Unconditional love even from the Cross for the men who’d crucified the one who only wanted to love them.
A punch in the gut wouldn’t have been any more effective than this sudden realization. Oh, he’d been to church and prayed to God and had a lot of the head knowledge, but this overwhelming heart knowledge bowled him over. And then he flashed to that day when that madman, Cruz, pulled the trigger and the hammer fell on an empty chamber. Gabe remembered his prayer right before that.
God, I want to come to heaven!
All of a sudden he knew that his prayer had saved his life. God had spared him
that
day so that he could live to see
this
day. Like he told Cassidy in the jungle, he had believed there was a God all his life. He just hadn’t believed Him. Believed Him when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me.”
Gabe believed Him now.
He didn’t need fanfare or a big production. He didn’t need to go forward at the end of the service. There was no need to wait until then. He needed to get his heart right with God right now.
God, I know the prayer. But I don’t think I’ve ever prayed it. In all these years I never asked You to forgive my sins. I never stopped to understand the extent of Your love. I’m sorry, God. I’ve done some really rotten things. You know I’ve killed. And You know I’ve only done that in order to defend myself, my country or my team. God, forgive me. I’m sorry. You’ve given me more than a second chance. This time let me make a difference. For you.
Lightness filled him. He couldn’t wait to tell Cassidy and he would, just as soon as they had some time alone. Then came the crashing thought.
What do I do about Micah?
Telling Cassidy was a must if he wanted their relationship to progress. He wasn’t even shocked when he pictured himself standing at the front of this very church waiting for his bride to come down the aisle.
Gabe knew he didn’t deserve Cassidy, but he wanted her beside him.
But Micah stood between them.
What do I do, God? We’re in this together now. I need to lean on You and I’m not very good at leaning.
“Gabe?”
He jerked his head up at Cassidy’s voice. “What?”
“The service is over. Are you okay?”
Gabe smiled as he thought about the peace he’d just experienced. “Better than okay.”
Relief swept her pretty features and she nudged his shoulder. “Then could you let us out?”
Parishioners milled about, heading for the back of the church. Gabe gave her a sheepish grin and stood to slide out of the pew. Cassidy followed and she took Alexis from her mother. The child had been entertained with coloring books and paper throughout the service, but she was ready for some action now. Cassidy set her on the floor, but kept a tight grip on her hand.
People stood around to talk and make lunch plans. It had been a packed service, as it usually was on Easter. Gabe watched Anderson struggle to keep Cassidy within his line of sight. Gabe moved in closer to her and saw Alexis pulling on Cassidy’s hand while Cassidy tried to talk.
A woman bumped into him and muttered an apology. Another person shook his hand and told him how glad he was that Gabe had come to visit. Gabe lost sight of Cassidy for a brief moment, but knew Anderson was close by, along with the ambassador and his bodyguards, so Gabe smiled through gritted teeth and begged God to get him out of here.
“Alexis?”
Cassidy’s voice caught his attention.
“Alexis!” Sharper now, worry snagged the edge of her call. Gabe hurried through the mass of bodies, not caring if someone thought him rude.
Frantically, Cassidy locked her eyes on his. Gabe caught her by the arm. Christina McKnight stood next to Cassidy twisting her necklace as she turned in circles looking, searching. “What’s wrong? Where’s Alexis?”
“I don’t know! She was just right here.”
“Did you put her down?”
“She wanted to go to my mother, so I handed her over. Mom held her for a moment then put her down for just a second so she could adjust her purse. She bent down to pick Alexis back up and she wasn’t there.” Tears sparkled on her lashes.
Gabe decided not to waste any time. He stood on the nearest pew, stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. Silence claimed the church. Everyone stared at him.
“Sorry, folks. I need your attention. We seem to have a missing little girl. Could you look around you and see if you can spot Alexis Foster? She’s wandered off somewhere. She’s wearing a pink dress with white tights and a pink hat with a yellow ribbon on it.”
Immediately, everyone pitched in to search the area, under the pews, up in the balcony. Even in the baptismal. Anderson Wilmont moved to stand in the door, guarding it as he kept his eyes on Cassidy, who frantically moved from one pew to the next, calling the little girl’s name.
Gabe was on his hands and knees looking for tiny feet when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Cassidy stood there, shoulders slumped. “She’s not here, Gabe. She’s gone. Oh God,” she cried out her despair in a desperate prayer, “she’s gone. Someone took her. How did Anderson let this happen? Why wasn’t he watching?”
Amy rushed up to them slightly out of breath and grabbed Cassidy by the hand. “Cass, someone said they saw a lady carry a little girl out the side door of the church about ten minutes ago. The little girl had on a pink dress with a matching pink hat. She also described the woman who was carrying her—and it sounds like Kara’s sister, Susan. And get this. She got into a silver Mercedes.”
Susan Cooper drove a silver Mercedes.
Amy paced the sidewalk. Cassidy watched her and felt like throwing up. Her parents had finally left, but not without giving strict instructions to call as soon as they heard anything.
How had this happened? With all the bodyguards and all the careful attention, how had Alexis been snatched from right under their very noses? Cassidy looked up from her seat on the church steps. This was where Alexis had disappeared. How could she move?
She and Gabe talked to the police for over an hour. The questions swirled endlessly in their monotony. Who could have taken her? Do you have any enemies? Why would Susan Cooper kidnap the child when you were open to visitation rights?
She clutched her head and choked back her desperate scream.
Craig Monahan had arrived within minutes of Gabe’s call and as soon as he realized that Susan Cooper was a possible suspect, he’d put in a call to the FBI, who’d gotten right to work.
Pastor Bridges had offered his condolences and told Cassidy to call him if she needed anything. He’d offered to stay, but Cassidy told him there was no need. The police were here and would handle it. He left reluctantly, and only because he had someone in the hospital having emergency surgery. He promised to be in touch as soon as he could.
Gabe and Craig came to stand beside her. Gabe looked so secure, a shelter from the storm. She wanted to climb into his arms and forget the world existed, if only for a few precious moments. A headache pounded behind her eyes and she rubbed them, wishing for some relief. Gabe sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. Grateful, she leaned into the comfort while Craig stood in front of them.
Cassidy sniffed back tears. “She was suing for custody.”
“What?”
Cassidy looked into Gabe’s shocked eyes. She nodded. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you. They filed Friday.”
Craig frowned. “But if they’re suing, why would she kidnap the child? Filing suit Friday and then kidnapping the child on Sunday doesn’t suggest this was a planned thing. If she’s the one who took Alexis, then she must have just come upon an opportunity. I mean, all she had to do was bide her time and let the court decide. She could have won without worrying about anything.”
“Unless she was afraid she wouldn’t win.” A tall man with thick black hair and reflective sunglasses came up to the three and said, “We’re waiting on Brian Cooper to arrive. He agreed to meet us over here.”
Cassidy looked up, hope written on her features. “Does he know where Susan and Alexis are?”
“Cass, we don’t even know if it was really her or not.”
“I wish there was some way—” She broke off and sat up straight. “Wait a minute. The security cameras.”
“What?”
“Look.” She got up and walked to one of the poles that marked a parking-lot row.
Gabe looked. A camera mounted at the top. Craig caught their excitement. He said, “Where’s the control room?”
“Follow me.” She ran into the media building. Not bothering to knock on doors, she called out, “Hello? Mr. Dewitt?”
Gabe and Craig thundered up after her.
“Hey, what’s all the commotion?” Mr. Dewitt emerged from the men’s bathroom to her left. Cassidy gasped, “We need to look at the security tapes from just after the service ended today. Can you help us?”
“This about that little girl that’s missing?”
“Yes, please.”
“Sure, come on.” He walked down the hall at a quicker pace than normal. He was in his late fifties, with gray hair and a wide girth. He was one of the nicest men on the face of the earth and had been weekend security for the church as long as Cassidy had attended.
Craig said, “I’m going to get the FBI guys. They’ll want to be in on this.”
Gabe nodded. “I’ll stay here with Cass.”
Mr. Dewitt opened a room to reveal TVs set up, each depicting a different part of the church, and about three angles of the parking lot.
The men from the FBI arrived with Craig and the viewing began. It was so simple, it was silly. A flick of a switch. Rewind the tape to about twelve-fifteen and push play. The first tape showed the parking lot with cars lined up to exit the premises.
Nothing on that one.
Mr. Dewitt shoved in the second one.
A view of the second parking lot.
“Hey, what about that?” Cassidy pointed to a car parked along the curb just outside of the lot. Since the video was in black and white, she couldn’t really tell what color the vehicle was, just that it was light with a Mercedes symbol on the trunk.
“Can you enhance that?” one of the FBI agents asked.
Mr. Dewitt responded, “Well, I don’t have all that fancy equipment you fellows have, but I can do my best.” He zoomed in on the light-colored car.
“Got the license plate. Let’s see who it’s registered to. I’ll call it in.” The dark-headed agent stepped into the hall to have a brief conversation with someone on the other end of his cell phone.
The tapes kept rolling.
Finally, the mass exodus from the church.
“Stop right there. We don’t need the license-plate confirmation,” Gabe said. “I’ve never met Susan, but I’d know Alexis anywhere. That’s her.”
“And that’s Susan.” Cassidy let out a pent-up breath as she watched the woman clutch the child as she hurried down the front steps of the church while glancing back over her shoulder.
Craig called it in. The FBI put out an APB on Susan Cooper and arranged for another agent to go to the home and question Brian Cooper since he hadn’t bothered to show up at the church.
Cassidy slumped to the floor to have a good cry.
April 17
Monday morning
C
assidy stared at the phone willing it to ring by sheer mental willpower; she held back the tears with the same thing. Her throat ached with the need to release the emotion.
It was raining again. The dreary day fit. Breakfast had been a handful of grapes and a cup of the strongest coffee she’d ever brewed. The FBI had questioned Brian yesterday afternoon and gotten nothing from him except that to his knowledge his wife was visiting an old college friend in North Carolina. He vehemently denied any knowledge of Susan even thinking about taking Alexis and stated there was no way she would have acted on it if she
had
thought about it.
Craig entered the living room of her house and shed his coat. The FBI were officially on the case. Craig was there as a friend. She looked up, trying to assess the expression on his face.
“Well?”
He shook his head. “Mrs. Cooper’s not there. The friend that she was to visit said they had no plans to get together and she hadn’t heard from Susan since Kara’s and Jacob’s funerals.”
Cassidy wilted.
Amy’s voice called from the foyer. “Cass?”
“In here, Amy.”
Amy came over to sit beside Cassidy and grasp her hands. “Nothing, huh?”
“Craig just said Susan wasn’t at the friend’s house.”
“Where’s Gabe?”
“On his way. He’s been at work at the hospital all night and now he’s coming here.” Cassidy frowned and shook her head. “He needs to go home and sleep.”
Amy patted her shoulder. “He’ll be where he wants to be. And besides, you didn’t sleep last night, either.”
That was true. She’d prayed and paced. “Any phone calls?”
Cassidy grimaced. “Just from Dad asking if we’d heard anything. I really expected Susan to call.” She shrugged and sighed. “Although, I don’t know why. She’s not going to ask for ransom.” Cassidy swallowed hard. “She wants Alexis, not the money.”
“Brian wants it, though.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Anderson entered the room and Cassidy looked up. After Alexis disappeared, Cassidy learned that Anderson had been in conversation with her father at the church. Distracted for half a minute. Which is all it had taken.
Gabe followed him into the room and Cassidy felt her heart trip then skip into a faster rhythm. He’d come. But of course he would. Gratitude swam through her and she wanted to run to him and bury her face in his chest. She realized she often wanted to do that. He offered a weary smile although his eyes sparked when he saw her.
Two FBI agents stepped in behind him. Cassidy had learned their names were Adam Greene and Mac Smith. Adam stood about three inches over six feet and had piercing green eyes. She had a feeling he didn’t miss much. He would also win any bodybuilding contest he entered. Mac was about an inch shorter and had close-cropped red hair and freckles. He looked to be an easygoing fellow with a sense of humor. When he wasn’t involved in a kidnapping.
She stood and walked toward Gabe. Before she reached him, he was stepping around Anderson to pull her into his arms.
She didn’t resist; she relished the feel of him, the comfort his touch held. Finally, she pulled back and asked, “Gabe? What is it?”
He let her go and scrubbed a hand over tired eyes. “Nothing. I just needed a hug.”
“And a nap.”
“Yeah, that, too, but first things first.”
“What?”
“Come here.” He spotted Amy on the couch and said, “Hey, Amy, glad you’re here.” Amy scooted over to make room for Gabe and Cassidy. Anderson stood by the fireplace and the agents settled onto the love seat that faced the couch.
Gabe pulled papers from his pocket and showed them to his audience. “Craig did some background investigating of the Coopers. I know he already gave you everything he found, but I dug a little deeper. On a whim, I did a search on Brian’s parents and their real-estate holdings. I hit the jackpot. A house in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. According to Brian’s father, Susan uses it more than anyone else in the family. I’m guessing this is where she’s run to.”
Mac leaned forward and took the papers from Gabe. He asked, “You got an address?”
“Right there on the back.”
“I’ll get on it.” Mac left the room to use his cell phone.
Adam scooted to the edge of the couch. “And her bank records show she withdrew five thousand dollars on Friday afternoon.”
Cassidy gasped. “So she was planning this!”
Adam nodded. “Maybe. Probably. I don’t think she meant to snatch the kid this soon but was just watching you. Going places she knew you would go. And, like we said earlier, when she saw a golden opportunity Sunday morning, she couldn’t let it pass by. I don’t think she knew about the cameras or she would have been a lot more careful. This is the act of a desperate woman.”
Cassidy felt the tears clog her throat again and forced them back.
Mac came back in and announced, “We’ve got a team headed up the mountains to this address to check it out. They’ll get back to me when they know something. Should be within the next couple of hours.”
Gabe cut loose with a jaw-popping yawn.
Cassidy ordered, “Go lie down in the guest room, Gabe. You’re exhausted.”
He gave a quick laugh and said, “And you’re not?”
“Yes,” she agreed, “but I didn’t work all night. I just sat up praying.”
Gabe’s expression softened and he pulled her into another hug. “That’s probably the best thing you could have done for Alexis.”
Amy stood. “Cass, I’m going to head on home, but call me as soon as you know anything. Oh, and Mother said to let her know if she could do anything.”
“Your mother is too busy running the Senate,” Cassidy tried to joke. The attempt at humor fell flat, but Amy gave a courtesy laugh. Cassidy grimaced. “Sorry. Tell her I said thank-you.”
Amy smiled her understanding and leaned over for a hug. “Bye.”
She left, and Cassidy wanted to curl back into Gabe’s arms. Instead, she stood and tugged on his hand. “Come on. These guys aren’t going anywhere soon, so you might as well catch some sleep while you can.”
“Should we drive up to the house ourselves?” Gabe asked.
Mac spoke up. “I wouldn’t suggest it, sir. We don’t even know that’s where she is yet.”
Cassidy gave him a nudge. “I’ll wake you when we know something.”
Gabe smothered another yawn. “That should be my line.”
Cassidy didn’t bother offering any more orders, she just pointed to the room down the hall.
“Right. Got it. Just for a few minutes, though, okay?”
“Sure.” She walked with him down the hall. He stopped in the doorway and looked at her. He needed a shave and still he was incredibly attractive. He pulled her close and kissed her…like a husband kisses his wife after coming home from a hard day at work. It was a kiss that said, I care about you, thanks for being here and I’m here for you if you need me.
Cassidy leaned into it and felt cherished; protected. Loved. Everything all rolled into one. She immediately missed him when he stepped back. He placed one last kiss on her forehead, quirked a tired smile and shut the door.
Two and a half hours later, Cassidy occupied herself with washing the dishes by hand. She could have used the dishwasher, but then she would have had to find something else to do while she waited. In short order, her house sparkled. She’d even scrubbed the floor on her hands and knees.
Knuckles rapped against wood. Mac stood in the doorway, a smile on his face. Her heart leaped with hope. “You heard something?” she asked, drying her hands on the towel.
“Gabe called it. They’re there. North Carolina police just confirmed it. A woman matching Susan’s description and a small girl matching Alexis’s are in the house. Plus, there’s a silver Mercedes parked in the garage.”
Cassidy wilted with relief. “Did they say how Alexis looked? Was she okay? Crying?”
“They said she looked fine. She was eating a bowl of cereal when one of the policemen snuck up and looked through the kitchen window.”
Tears threatened to overwhelm her for the millionth time that day. “Thank You, God,” she whispered.
She went to wake Gabe.
Gabe drove with focused concentration. Cassidy sat next to him twisting the antenna of her cell phone as she stared out the window. Unscrewed it, screwed it back on. Off, on.
He reached out with his right hand and gently removed it from her grasp and set it in the cup holder.
She gave a tremulous smile. “Sorry.”
“We’ve got about fifteen more minutes.”
“I can’t wait to hold her. My arms feel empty.” Cassidy worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Gabe’s heart twisted at the pain on her face.
“We’ll get her back, Cass.”
Cassidy shook. “You don’t think she’d do anything to hurt Alexis, do you?”
Gabe reached over again, but this time it was to grasp her hand in his and hold on tight. “I don’t know, Cass. I won’t lie to you. Desperate people do desperate things, but God’s got it under control.”
I won’t lie to you.
Gabe’s own words echoed in his ears.
But you are lying, aren’t you? I can’t tell her about Micah,
Gabe reminded himself fiercely.
But,
he argued with himself,
you could tell her it was your fault he was even there.
That was worse.
He could lose Cassidy forever.
Help me, Lord.
Then he was out of time. He saw the exit just ahead. Ten minutes later, he was parked on top of the mountain facing a beautiful log home. Police surrounded the area. A SWAT team stood on alert. No doubt a sniper had a bead on one of the windows in the house.
Curious neighbors stood behind the yellow police tape. Gabe stepped out of the car, and Cassidy came around to walk with him to find the officer in charge. He was tall with a commanding presence; an aura of authority clung to him. He introduced himself as Jackson Devereaux. He reminded her of the head army ranger from the television show,
The Unit.
She shook his hand and said, “I’m Cassidy, Alexis’s guardian. How is she?”
“Ma’am, our hostage negotiator’s working on getting Ms. Cooper to talk, but she’s not having much to do with him. The child seems to be unharmed.”
Gabe spotted Brian sitting in a police car. “What’s going on with him?”
The man raised a black eyebrow and said, “He wanted to bust in there to get to the woman. He was fired up mad, screaming at her. We had to restrain him. I really don’t think he knew anything about her plans to kidnap the little girl. But he sure had a lot of other stuff to talk about.”
Cassidy marched over to the car where Brian sat, eyes closed, with his head resting against the back of the seat. The window was down. “Brian! Did you know about this?” she demanded.
“That stupid woman ruined everything,” Brian spat. “It was all supposed to be so simple. Finally, things seemed to be going our way. Kara and Jacob dead through some freak raid on their village, the grandmother incapacitated, and the one remaining sister, Susan, is available to collect the kid and the money that came with her. And then Oliver tells her there’s no way a judge is going to grant custody, so she pulls this stupid stunt. Unbelievable.”
“I promised her visitation rights!” Cassidy was so furious, she could hardly think straight.
“Visitation. Ha. She’d never settle for that. Susan can’t have children. She’s been begging me to adopt a kid for years.” He gave a short laugh. “Alexis would have kept her busy and out of my hair. And all that money would have been enough to—” Brian clamped his mouth shut.
“Pay off most of your gambling debts,” Cassidy finished for him.
Brian looked shocked, then groaned, “I owe some pretty nasty people some big-time money. If I don’t get my hands on some cash soon, I’m dead.” He looked ill at the thought, then looked up at Gabe and asked, “But how…”
Gabe answered the man’s unspoken question. “We had you checked out when someone kept threatening Cassidy. We suspected you all along. So was it you? You and Oliver schemed it together after you got word that the Fosters had been killed, right? You hired Rafael to get rid of Cassidy and all your problems would be solved, true? You’d get Alexis and all the money, too.”
Now Brian looked confused. “Get rid of Cassidy? What are you talking about?”
“But how did you know the contents of the will?” Cassidy asked, ignoring his question. “I know Kara and Jacob wouldn’t have shared that with either you or Susan.”
“No, Oliver did. After he got word that Kara and Jacob were dead, he called us up and told us about the will. He decided to see if he could get his hands on some of the money. He said that Cassidy would get custody, but if he lost the codicil then he might be able to work around that. We promised him if he’d get us custody, we’d cut him a nice deal financially. Then after Cassidy showed up with the original codicil, Oliver said that the will was pretty cut-and-dried and the only way we’d get custody is if something happened to Cassidy before she had a chance to write a new will.”