Reckless Hours: a Romantic Suspense novel (Heroes of Providence Book 3) (25 page)

“Yes,” Serena said. “He told me about you. He even showed me pictures of you that Connie sent.”

“When Serena turns thirty years old, she’ll be able to do as she pleases with the money Eleanor had set up in trust. Your father urged her to give it all to Turgis—the house, the money, everything. It’s the family fortune, but Turgis wants it all. He’d never hurt Serena, because she holds the key to the money. But anyone connected with her is fair game.”

Serena started to cry again. “That’s why he took my Ellie. It was his insurance.”

“And Cash?”

Aurore shook her head. “When they took the baby, Cash was completely beside himself. With his work in the DEA, he knew these people. He’d already been arrested on that drug trafficking charge. So when Serena posted his bail, he went after them. He didn’t care what the danger was. He just wanted to get Ellie back. He’s quite a brave man.”

Dylan couldn’t have agreed more. But the word
stupid
came to mind, as well. Why hadn’t he asked for help? This was too big for him to tackle alone. But he could see Cash walking through fire, fueled by his love for his wife and his baby, if it meant he could save them.

“If you kept your relationship a secret, I’m assuming you kept the baby a secret as well.”

Serena nodded.

“How’d they find out about the baby? How did they get her?” Dylan asked, pacing, unable to sit.

“That’s just it,” Aurore said. “We have no idea how they found out. But one morning, the baby was gone from her cradle.”

He swung around and looked at the women in the room. “What do you mean, no one knows how it happened? You have to have some idea how they did it. Was the baby ever alone?”

“Never.” Serena shook her head. “Cash didn’t want us to leave the house.”

“And there were no signs of a break-in?’ Tammie asked.

Aurore shook her head. “I don’t know how they’re getting into the house. Byron had a security system put in place years ago. If he could have afforded an armed guard, he would have done that, as well. But it’s not the only time. Every so often, one of these statues appears here in the living room.”

Tammie’s eyes widened. “What do you mean appears?”

“Just that. It isn’t there when we go to bed, but it’s there when we wake up.”

Realization showed on Tammie’s face. “That’s why you wanted me to lock the bedroom door at night.”

Aurore sighed bitterly. “Not that it would have helped. Turgis seems to have men everywhere.”

“Why did Connie and Aaron take Tammie?” Dylan asked.

Trudie closed her eyes and stood. “I can barely stand the memory of it. Eleanor called me. The stress must have brought labor on early. I raced right over to help her. Aurore helped Eleanor deliver Tammie in the upstairs bedroom.

“Byron said there was no time. He knew Turgis’s men were coming. So he had already fled with Serena and brought her to the church. When I got to the house the fire had already started. Aurore met me outside with Tammie in her arms. Meanwhile, Aurore had gone back into the house to help Eleanor, but the fire was already out of control. I didn’t know just how bad it was because I brought Tammie straight to the church expecting that Eleanor and Aurore would be coming right after me. Byron and Eleanor had to leave right away, leave everything they had, or Turgis would kill them all.”

Tears rained down Aurore’s cheeks, and she could hardly speak. “Eleanor was so weak when I made my way through the smoke to her room, she could barely move. I tried to pick her up and help her, but when the smoke became too thick, she begged me to leave her, to save myself. She made me promise I’d take care of the babies, and I’ve dedicated my life to keeping that promise.

“This whole room was engulfed with flames and the exits were blocked.” She touched her face. “It was so hot, I almost didn’t make it. I ended up running through the tunnel out back. By that time, the fire department had arrived, but it was too late to save Eleanor.”

“When they didn’t make it to the church, we feared the worse,” Trudie said. “And we were right. Byron went back to the house to get Eleanor, but he was too late. When he returned to the church to get the girls, he was completely distraught and we learned Eleanor had died and they’d taken Aurore to the hospital for her burns.”

“They thought the baby had died with Eleanor and Byron wanted them to think that,” Aurore said. “It was safer that way. It made sense for Connie to take Tammie. She and Aaron had no children of their own. It was easier that way.”

Tammie pointed to the portrait on the wall. “How did the portrait survive the fire?”

“It had only been delivered the day before the fire, and it was in the barn with a bunch of other paintings Byron had waiting to ship. The fresh paint made Eleanor nauseous. She’d wanted to air it out before putting it up. Byron loathed it but he also treasured it. He said it was the only thing he had left of his beloved wife and his baby girl.”

“Where’s this tunnel?” Dylan asked.

Aurore waved a hand. “It’s gone now. It was part of the original structure, a way for the servants to get to the barn in bad weather. The original mansion dated back to the late 1700s. It was one of the first homes in Eastmeadow. Most of the older homes had tunnels to the barns so servants could take care of the animals. After the fire, it was destroyed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. The opening was cemented shut after the fire and the tunnel was filled in. There’s nothing but an ugly sc—” Aurore touched her face. “There’s a black scar on the wall in the basement now.”

Tammie handed Dylan the letter. “Why would Turgis come after the family after all this time? If he’s been paid and was quiet—”

“Oh, he was never quiet. Never!” Aurore said. “He took pleasure in taunting Byron, reminding him what a fool he’d made of both of them.”

“Daddy made yearly payments to Turgis. It wasn’t payment for the money that was lost. It was in exchange for our safety,” Serena said. “Yours and mine.”

“Manuel Turgis is a greedy man. It was never enough.” Aurore paused. “Then Byron got sick.”

When Aurore couldn’t go on, Trudie continued. “He was going fast, and he knew it.” She motioned to the letter in Dylan’s hands.

“When was that?” Dylan asked.

“Two or three years ago. Maybe a little longer. His business started to falter. He lost control of it and could no longer manipulate the books to his advantage. That’s when the payments stopped.”

Tammie was quiet. Dylan could see the wheels in her head spinning.

“My parents knew this?” she asked.

Trudie nodded. “I called your mom. You’d just finished graduate school and moved to Vancouver. Since you weren’t in Winchester with them, we all thought you were safe.”

“Until the boat explosion,” Tammie said.

No one said a word, but the message was clear. Tammie looked at each of them one by one. “Turgis was behind the boat explosion, wasn’t he?”

“I can’t be certain,” Aurore said, a look of sympathy in her eyes.

Trudie added, “He’s a very powerful man. He manages to stay under the radar of the law here in the U.S.”

Aurore threw up her hands in disgust. “He’s considered a hero in Colombia. He works with high-level political leaders. There are those who wish they could run him out, but no one will cross him for fear of what he’ll do.”

* * *

Tammie sat silent. She could barely remember the explosion, but it was still in the back of her mind. She could almost feel the physical pain of it.

She wanted Dylan to come to her, to tell her the pain would go away, tell her she was safe and make her feel like she’d felt when she was in his arms. But it would be a lie. He could guarantee none of that. And she knew he wouldn’t lie to her.

He was standing across the room, looking at her. For a moment, he looked helpless, but then his face turned hard. “He hasn’t met me yet,” Dylan said.

“What? Don’t be foolish like your brother, young man,” Trudie said. “You don’t know what you’re up against. I don’t care how many years you’ve spent in the military.”

“I’m not going to be foolish. But I’m not going to lay down and die, either. If Turgis is the reason my brother and his baby are missing, then I’m going to find him and I’m going to find my family.”

“At what cost?” Aurore said.

“Do you think you’ve done better here?” Dylan asked her. “Drugging Serena to keep her quiet? Keeping Tammie away from her family her whole life?”

“We did what we had to do.”

“Well, it wasn’t enough because they’re still here. Still in this house controlling and threatening you all!” His anger had gotten the best of him, and Tammie could see that he knew it.

Dylan closed his eyes, as if the realization of what was happening to his brother hit him. Colombian gangsters weren’t kind, and Tammie guessed he had a clear image in his head of what might have happened.

Dylan had spent years in the military. He’d probably seen more horrors than Tammie could ever imagine. He knew that if Cash had gotten in over his head with people like Turgis, there was no reason for them to spare his life. Or the baby’s.

# # #

• Chapter Fourteen
  

The stair creaked beneath Tammie’s bare feet as she quietly took each step down. She didn’t bother to look at the portrait of her mother.
Eleanor.
The painting haunted her.

She should be falling-down tired, giving in to sleep. But her emotions were at war with each other. One part of her told her to run, that nothing here was safe. Another told her she had no choice but to stay and fight to the end. She wondered if her parents had felt that way when they made the decision to leave with her.

She hadn’t left the house for two nights. Aurore had invited Dylan to stay at the house, rather than at the campground. It made sense. There were too many strangers in town for the auctions. Too many people who could easily hide their motives. Even though no one had said anything, Tammie knew they all felt safer with Dylan in the house. She certainly did.

In the past two days, Dylan had been in constant communication with his sister and his friend in Providence, Jake Santos, trying to get more information they could use to find Cash and Ellie. As he did, Tammie would look at Dylan from across the room when he was busy talking on the phone. It was hard to imagine that she hadn’t known him a week ago. It seemed as if he’d always been in her life.

In the evenings, when it was quiet, she’d sit with him
in the living room and he’d hold her. Despite the seriousness of what they were facing, he remained lighthearted during those quiet moments. She loved his laugh, and the stories he told about his brother and sister.

Every once in a while, when he got quiet, she’d turn to look at him and see the pain on his face. A quick kiss and hug were enough to erase it. At least for the time being.

It was hard to expect more than that. Her feelings for Dylan were growing beyond measure. There were times when she’d climb the stairs to her bedroom and wish he’d follow her upstairs to her room so he could hold her all night. It was all moving so fast and yet, so much of what was happening made her feel as if they were standing still in limbo. How could anything move forward with so much in their lives a mess?

She would lay in bed and think of Dylan downstairs. He insisted. He wanted to be where he could hear and see what was happening and move quickly if someone somehow managed to get into the house. But what she wanted was for him to be in her bed with her. She wanted to feel his naked flesh against her skin and feel herself burn with him. She wanted him. Wanted so much more than the quiet moments they shared.

But it would have to wait. There was too much at stake. For now, she’d have to be content to have these quiet moments with Dylan.

As she walked through the house, the moon shone bright through the large picture window and the French doors at the back of the living room, giving Tammie a clear view of the backyard. Slowly, she moved toward the window, only to be startled by the large, dark form sitting back in a wing chair that faced the backyard.

“Dylan, you scared me,” she said, putting her hand over her heart.

“Did I? I didn’t think anyone was awake.”

His voice was low, but seemed to boom in the quiet room.

“What are you doing up?” he asked.

“The same as you, I suppose. I wanted to be with you.”

Tammie didn’t have to see his face to know how the day had worn him down. He was slumped back in a large chair that overlooked the garden that Sam Watson had so painstakingly taken care of.

He opened his arms for her to sit with
him
. There wasn’t much room in the wing chair, so she sat on his lap, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. They weren’t naked in her bed. They weren’t making love the way she’d dreamed they someday would. But the world didn’t seem as scary when Dylan was holding her like this.

“Do you think they’re still alive?” she asked, her voice cracking. They hadn’t spoken of it and yet, somehow, she knew that was what Dylan was thinking of now.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I hope they are. But I know what we’re dealing with here, and that doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”