Authors: Lisa Harris
But that meeting had ended in tragedy. She couldn’t let anything happen today. Five million dollars’ worth of diamonds and a little girl’s life were at stake. This had to work.
“Sophie!”
“Auntie Kate—”
Kate watched the woman holding her hand cut her off and shake her head. Kate glanced around her at the crowd. No one had a clue what was going on.
Surely they wouldn’t do anything to Sophie here. Not in front of hundreds of witnesses.
Please, God. Get us through the next few minutes until I can get Sophie out of here safely.
The woman holding Sophie’s hand approached her with a frown on her face. “Do you have change for the binoculars? My niece hasn’t seen the view before, and I forgot to bring any change.”
Kate nodded, her hands shaking. She set her bag down beside her then started digging for the coin she’d left in her pocket. “I’ve got some... It’s here somewhere.”
She wanted to scream at the guard to help.
“I wouldn’t try anything if I were you. I’m not here alone. And you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your niece.”
Kate nodded, then handed her the coin before taking Sophie’s hand. “I think you have what you need now.”
* * *
He had watched the woman approach her. Kate nodded. Marcus snapped a photo. Two could play this game, as well. Sophie’s smile had broadened as she’d caught sight of her aunt. The woman holding her hand had pulled her toward her, causing Sophie’s smile to vanish. But not for long. The girl looked as if she hadn’t been harmed, but there was no way to tell at this point.
The woman glanced at the binoculars, and said something to Kate.
Kate nodded, set down her bag, then dug for a coin in her pocket.
The woman picked up the bag, quickly inspected the contents of the bag, then let go of Sophie’s hand.
“Describe her to me, Kate,” Marcus said as the woman walked away.
“Twenty-five...maybe a bit older. Reddish-brown hair that looks as if it’s been colored. A narrow scar above her right eyebrow. Dark blue capri pants. White T-shirt.”
“Good girl. What’s she doing?”
“Walking toward the stairs.”
“Keep your eye on her, team. We don’t want to lose her, or those diamonds.” Marcus had his attention on Kate and Sophie. “It’s the easy part now, Kate. Head for the elevator. I’ll meet you down below.”
Marcus saw her walk toward the elevators. A large group of Japanese tourists congregated in front of him, blocking his view.
“Kate? Kate? Can you hear me?”
“Yes. We’re headed to the elevators.”
Marcus was right behind her. “Jocelyn...have you still got our kidnapper in your sights?”
“Got her. So far everything seems to be going along as planned.”
“Pierre?”
“I’m right behind her.”
Someone bumped into him. Kate had vanished from his sight.
“Kate? Where are you?”
They’d been less than twenty feet from him three seconds ago. He scanned the growing crowd, trying not to panic. Everyone was headed for the stairs. The loudspeaker blasted out instructions for everyone to calmly take the stairs.
He spoke into his microphone. “What’s going on, Pierre?”
“They’re evacuating the tower.”
“I can see that. Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Security was signaling people toward the stairs, ordering everyone to calmly leave the tower.
“Do you see her, Jocelyn?”
“I lost her, and she’s not responding.”
“Kate?”
Why wasn’t she answering? She had to be here. Somewhere. There wasn’t anywhere else for her to go except down the flight of stairs with the rest of the tourists.
* * *
Kate grabbed Sophie tightly as she walked toward the elevators. “Sophie...I’ve missed you so much. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“No. They fed me macaroni and cheese.” Sophie clutched her one-eyed bunny and nodded. “Where’s my mommy?”
Kate’s heart tripped. “You and I are going to take a long plane trip and see her, okay?”
“I don’t like airplanes.”
“But this time, you’ll get to see Mommy, okay?”
But not until they got out of here. The quickest way down was probably the stairs, but with Sophie, the elevators would be the easiest. Marcus would meet them below. Everything had gone as planned. She had Sophie and they’d both be on the next flight out of here.
The announcement blasted over the loudspeaker system. “Ladies and gentlemen, the tower is closed. We need you to take the stairs down to the ground.”
The crowd grew around her. Bumped into her. Glancing down below, she could see where police had set up a barricade. She tugged on the arm of one of the security guards who was passing by her. “I’m sorry...what’s going on?”
The guard turned to her and frowned. “Everyone must evacuate the tower immediately. There’s been a bomb threat.”
A
bomb threat?
Kate’s mouth went dry. She’d gone through all the possible scenarios over and over with Marcus and Jocelyn. But not a bomb. Why had they not thought of the possibility of a bomb?
She knew the authorities took threats seriously, but surely this was just a coincidence. She glanced around them, looking for the team of security Marcus had brought with him. They had to be here, but no one looked familiar.
She squeezed Sophie’s hand. She’d simply stick to the plan and meet Marcus at the bottom of the tower. The line to the elevator had dissolved as everyone crowded toward the staircase. Kate felt a wave of nausea as she looked over the edge. They were a hundred and fifteen feet above the ground. A bomb could destroy the entire tower in a matter of seconds.
There isn’t a real bomb. It’s just a ploy by the kidnappers to add to the confusion...
“Marcus...Marcus...” She pressed her hand against the wire they’d placed under her scarf. It was gone. No...no... It must have fallen off in all of the chaos.
Sophie tugged on Kate’s arm. “I don’t want to take the stairs.”
“Just think of it as another game, Sophie.” Kate forced a smile. Without any way to communicate, she was on her own. “It will be fun, don’t you think?”
“Where’s my mommy, Auntie Kate? I want to go home.”
Tears spilled down Sophie’s cheeks.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetie. Those bad people who took you are going to go to jail, but you’re safe.”
Sophie’s lip quivered.
“But to go see your mom, we need to walk down the stairs.”
“Okay,” she said finally.
“Did you come up on this tower when you were in Paris with your mother?” Kate asked as they started down the stairs.
Sophie nodded. “We ate lunch at the restaurant, where Mommy took lots of pictures with me and
Grand-père
.”
Kate helped maneuver Sophie through the heavy crowds. “Would you like to see your
grand-père
again?”
“He always buys me ice cream, and promised to take me on the carousel.”
“Well, I think that would be fun.” People were pushing against them again. Kate tightened her grip on Sophie’s hand, making sure she still had her bunny. “Can you guess how many steps to the bottom?”
Sophie shook her head.
“How high can you count?” Kate asked instead.
“One hundred.”
“Then let’s start there. Just hold my hand tightly, and count.”
They continued down the stairs near the back of the crowd. If the woman who had taken Sophie was in the crowd, she couldn’t see her.
An explosive detection team with dogs was coming up on the elevator.
If there really were a bomb...
Kate tried to swallow the worry. Worry they’d grab Sophie again. Worry this wasn’t just a threat.
Please, God...You brought us this far safely. I need You to keep us safe.
Kate looked down at her niece, who’d quit counting. “Stay close to me, okay, Sophie? And hold tight to your bunny.”
Seven million visitors a year.
Up to 30,000 a day in the summer.
Was this part of the kidnappers’ plan, or just a coincidence?
Kate considered the question as they continued down the stairs.
Bomb threats weren’t uncommon, but there was no doubt in her mind that this had been their plan all along. They’d likely have passed off the diamonds into a different package and in the chaos, expect to make a clean getaway.
You can’t let that happen, God.
Kate looked for Marcus as they exited the tower at the bottom of the stairs a few minutes later and melted into the crowd. Two policemen on bikes crossed in front of them. A large roll of tape, like for a crime scene, but with red writing, had been stretched out across the entrance.
Jocelyn appeared in front of her among the hundreds of tourists. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. We need to get you out of here. I’ve got a car waiting out on the street.”
“Where’s Marcus? This wasn’t the plan.”
He was supposed to be here. She needed him here.
“Neither was a bomb threat. Please. I know you’re scared, but I want to get you out of here and keep you safe. And you must be Sophie,” Jocelyn said as they wove through the crowds.
Sophie nodded and gripped Kate’s hand even tighter.
“Did you get them?” Kate asked.
“We will. We have photos circulating and arrest warrants out for the woman who had Sophie.”
Kate’s stomach soured. The kidnappers’ plan had worked. They’d gotten away.
“I’m working to get you a flight out of the country,” Jocelyn said.
“And Marcus?”
“He’ll meet us at the safe house,” she said as they hurried across the crowded plaza.
Sophie stumbled. “I can’t walk so fast.”
Kate picked her up, and hurried behind Jocelyn. Sophie nuzzled against her shoulder, her bunny tucked tightly beneath her chin.
“How is she?” Jocelyn asked as they hurried through the mass of tourists where police were trying to make order of the chaos.
“She seems okay,” Kate said, “She misses her mom.”
“I don’t blame her. It’s hard to imagine what she went through.”
A man stopped in front of them, blocking their way. Kate started to move around him, then froze. It was him. The crowd...the tower...everything began to spin around her. The redheaded man who had grabbed her along the Champs Elysées. The man who’d grabbed her on the Bateaux-Mouche.
He grabbed Kate’s arm before she could react, then pulled out a gun. “Don’t move, or I’ll shoot the little girl.”
She tried to turn her body to shield Sophie. His grip tightened. Someone behind them screamed, “Gun.” The crowd around them scattered.
“I’m here to collect the diamonds.”
* * *
Marcus searched the crowd for the woman fitting the description Kate had given him of the kidnapper. Pierre had seen the woman hand off the diamonds to a man wearing a white dress shirt and gray suit, who had slipped the jewels into a leather pouch. Whether the bomb threat was real or simply staged didn’t matter at this point. Kate was out of harm’s way and headed to the safe house with Sophie and Jocelyn. His role was to find the kidnappers and put an end to all of this.
“You’re going to miss having me on your team after we close this case, Pierre,” Marcus said over his radio, searching through the crowd for the kidnappers. They had to find them before they disappeared for good.
“Or maybe it’s Kate Elliot whom you’re going to miss,” Pierre came back.
“I’m sure once she gets back home to her family she’ll forget all about me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
At least she was safe for now.
“I’ve still got Kate, Marcus,” Jocelyn broke in, “but we’ve got company. South side, near the street—”
Their communication went dead.
“Jocelyn?”
Marcus pushed his way through the crowds that were slowly beginning to disperse after the evacuation.
“Pierre, did you hear that? We’ve got a problem.”
“I’m on my way.”
They were walking toward the street when Marcus found them. The description of the gunman matched the redheaded man who’d tried to grab Kate along the Champs Elysées. And the same man who’d approached her on the boat. Kate carried Sophie in front of the man. Jocelyn walked beside them.
This was not going to turn out well—at least it wasn’t for the gunman. Did the guy really think the chance he was taking was worth five million dollars?
Marcus pushed his way through the crowd, came around in front of them, then caught Jocelyn’s eye and nodded. A moment later, she flung herself around, taking the man by surprise, and forcing the man’s arm with the gun into the air. Marcus grabbed the gun while Pierre snatched Sophie and dropped to the ground, pulling her out of the line of fire.
It was over before the gunman had a chance to realize what had happened.
“Where are the diamonds?” he shouted. “Chad and Davin promised me a cut of the diamonds.”
Pierre handcuffed the man’s hands behind him. “Too bad, because she doesn’t have them. She never did have them, though I’ll give you credit for your persistence.”
Marcus turned to Kate. “Let’s get you out of here.”
* * *
Kate helped Sophie down from the old-fashioned carousel with its green roof in the middle of the Jardin du Luxembourg. She breathed in a deep breath of warm, summer air. She and Chad’s father had brought Sophie to the park while Marcus worked with Pierre and Jocelyn to finish up their paperwork.
Seven hours ago, French police had arrested a French couple hired by Chad’s boss to kidnap Sophie as leverage to get the diamonds Chad had been skimming. Thanks to the work of Marcus’s team and Chad’s paper trail and list of contacts, five more had been arrested and the diamonds seized. Which meant she and Sophie were safe. A fact Kate had to keep reminding herself, over and over.
Sophie was safe.
Rachel was going to live.
Kate smiled up at Sophie, catching the young girl’s wide grin. “What did you think?”
“Can I go again?”
“Again? You’ve already gone three times.”
Emotion tugged at Kate’s heart as she ran her hand across one of the weatherworn wooden animals dating back to the late nineteen hundreds, before stepping off the carousel with Sophie.
She squeezed her niece’s hand. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet first. He’s standing over there with your grandfather.”
Sophie stopped. “Who is he?”
A shadow crossed Sophie’s face. It was going to take time for her to feel secure again, especially around new people.
“His name is Marcus O’Brian. He’s a...a friend of mine.”
“Is he nice?”
Kate nodded. “Very nice. Remember, he’s one of the men who helped rescue you.”
Kate’s heart tripped as they walked up to the pair, her eyes on Marcus.
He pulled off his sunglasses and smiled. “Kate. Sophie. I’m sorry it took so long for me to get here.”
“That’s okay. We’ve been having a great time, haven’t we, Sophie?”
Her niece beamed. “We played at the playground and rented a toy sailboat and pushed it around with a long pole.
Grand-père
taught me how to do that. And I rode the carousel.”
Kate laughed. “Three times.”
“Sounds like fun.” Marcus winked at Kate then knelt down in front of Sophie. “It’s nice to meet you, Sophie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Auntie Kate told me about you, too.”
“She did, did she?” Marcus looked up at Kate, who felt her face blush. “And what exactly has she been telling you?”
“That you are nice, and handsome, and—”
“I believe ice cream was next on our list, wasn’t it, Sophie?” Kate broke in.
“I did promise Sophie I would take her for some ice cream.” M. Laurent grasped Sophie’s hand. “Why don’t you and Agent O’Brian enjoy the rest of the afternoon together, Kate. It’s a beautiful day, and Sophie and I will be fine on our own for a while.”
Kate glanced at Marcus, who looked keen on the idea, before turning back to Sophie’s grandfather. “Are you sure you don’t mind, M. Laurent?”
“Not at all. I’m planning to soak up every moment we have together.”
Sophie beamed at her grandfather.
“Don’t worry about us,” the older man insisted. “We can meet up later this evening. I have a granddaughter to spoil.”
Kate watched Sophie and her grandfather walk away hand in hand as if they’d been friends forever. “Aren’t you busy wrapping things up here?”
“I have the afternoon and evening off, actually, and I understand your flight was delayed.”
“We won’t be able to leave until the morning.”
“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”
Her heart fluttered. As much as she wanted to get home, her heart wasn’t ready to say goodbye. “Really? And why is that?’
“I don’t know. Paris has always been a magical place, but one that’s always more enjoyable to spend time in with someone else. So I wondered if you were up to a bit of sightseeing. M. Laurent wants to spend some extra time with Sophie, so the timing seems perfect.”
Kate folded her arms across her chest. “Did you arrange this, Agent O’Brian?”
“The flight delay? I don’t have that kind of power.” He shot her a sheepish grin. “But after everything that has happened, I’m glad I don’t have to say goodbye quite yet.”
She looked up at him, suddenly feeling shy. “I’d like that.”
Because she couldn’t have chosen a more perfect setting than the timeless garden. Its green lawns spread out around them, along with winding paths, and flower beds laid out in a geometrical pattern.
“How do you think she’s doing?” Marcus asked as they started walking.
“Amazing after all she’s been through. We spent the morning together, took a walk and played in the sunshine. I haven’t told her everything about her mother, or her father, for that matter. Just that her mother is sick, and we’re going to go see her very, very soon.”
“It won’t be easy, but she has a wonderful support system,” Marcus said.
“My mom has a great trauma counselor lined up for her once we get back to Dallas. I want to let Rachel tell her about Chad, and in the meantime, until we leave, either I or her grandfather will be with her.”
“Did you know that this garden was created in 1612?” He stopped as they came to the octagonal pond in the middle of the park. “There is an old orchard, an apiary if you want to learn about beekeeping and even a spectacular collection of orchids and roses.”
Kate laughed. “You really could have been a tour guide. It’s beautiful here. Peaceful.”
“I’ve always loved history. Paris was the perfect classroom.” His expression softened as he looked out across the manicured grounds. “But what about you? How are you doing?”
“Honestly,” she said, “my emotions seem to swing from moment to moment. Relief. Fatigue. Mainly I’m just anxious to get home. I woke up in the night terrified until I prayed and reminded myself this was over. But today, I’ve noticed that I haven’t stopped looking behind me to see if someone is following me.”
“Those feelings will eventually go away.”
She looked up at him and caught his gaze. “You got them...all of them.”