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“What about my hotel?” Rebecca asked. “What if the man who has him calls me? I’m a television personality. Maybe someone wants to hurt me.”
“We’ll look into that angle,” Ethan conceded.
DeeDee cleared her throat and dropped to her knees in front of Rebecca, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen. “I’ll wait in the hotel room for the call. I won’t leave the phone for a second. I swear. I’ll do everything I can to help get Jesse back safely.”
Ethan glanced at Rebecca with questions in his eyes. For a brief second, Rebecca’s chest tightened with another thought. What if DeeDee had something to do with the kidnapping?
She had checked the girl out before she had hired her. She’d had an impeccable reputation, excellent references and had worked as a nanny for two years for another family until they’d moved abroad. Ethan had also used his connections with Eclipse to make certain she was trustworthy. DeeDee was even studying early childhood education and wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.
Still, Rebecca had to ask. She wiped at the tears blurring her eyes. “DeeDee, how do we know that you didn’t have something to do with Jesse’s disappearance? Maybe you need money for school or…or something else.”
DeeDee jerked back as if Rebecca had slapped her. “Miss Rebecca, you can’t think that. I love Jesse.” She hugged her arms around her waist as if to hold herself together. “I would never do anything to hurt or endanger Jesse. I swear. He’s like my own little brother.”
Ethan gave her a concerned look. But they’d be foolish not to question DeeDee. “Rebecca…there was a text message on my phone from last night. I think it may have something to do with the kidnapping.”
“What did it say?”
He showed it to her and she gasped. “My heavens, Ethan. Whoever took him knows that he’s afraid of the dark.”
“And that I was when I was a kid,” Ethan said.
She gripped his hand. Ethan had been trapped in a storm drain when he was four. He had had nightmares for years about the incident.
“We need to hurry. I want to check the house.” He gestured toward DeeDee. “Wait in the hotel room, and let us know if anyone calls.”
She nodded, pushing to her feet. “I promise I’ll do whatever you tell me.”
“You’d better,” Ethan said harshly. “Because if I find out that you conspired in the kidnapping of our son, then I’ll make sure you pay.” His eyes darkened. “And trust me, Miss Archer, you won’t like the punishment.”
ETHAN FORCED HIMSELF INTO combat mode. His military training and work with Eclipse had taught him how to channel emotions, to compartmentalize and focus.
Damn lot of good it was doing him.
He kept seeing his little boy’s innocent, terrified face in his mind, and panic shot through him. What was Jesse thinking? Was he okay? What had the sick person who’d taken him done to him?
Stop it, he ordered himself. He’d told Rebecca they had to think positively, and he had to heed his own advice. If he fell apart, she definitely would.
He had to take charge and get their son back. He couldn’t let anything happen to Jesse.
“Let’s check your room first.” He helped Rebecca to stand, and she seemed to summon her courage and led the way to the stairwell. The three of them climbed the five floors, sweating, the tension thickening as Rebecca removed her key and let them into the plush room. Ethan glanced quickly around but saw nothing amiss. Rebecca had chosen a suite for her and Jesse with an adjoining room for the nanny. She checked the hotel phone for messages and found none.
Of course, the power had been out. He surveyed the room, his heart tugging painfully at the sight of Jesse’s toy cars and the walkie-talkie set he’d given him for his last birthday. He wished Jesse had it with him now.
To cover the bases, he insisted on checking DeeDee’s room. She immediately acceded, and within minutes, he confirmed that the room was clean.
Still, he’d phone his contact at Eclipse and put someone on her. They’d follow her every move, check her phone records, her computer, e-mails, just in case…
“Stay here and don’t leave for any reason,” Ethan told DeeDee. “I’ll send over a bodyguard.”
“A bodyguard?” DeeDee looked even more shaken.
He nodded. It was as much for his peace of mind, to have someone watch her, as it was for her protection, but he didn’t tell her. If the kidnapper had wanted her, he would have forced her to go with him, too.
The minute hand on the wall clock turned. It seemed like hours since DeeDee had made the announcement about Jesse being missing, but in fact, it had only been minutes. Precious minutes, though, that counted.
Ethan raced down the steps, pulling Rebecca along behind him. Outside, he scanned the streets for any signs of his son as they climbed in his car and slowly made their way through the traffic to his brownstone.
Rebecca was pale, her eyes glassy, her body rigid with shock. He pulled into his driveway and parked, took her hand and they jumped out, then hurried up the sidewalk. The sight of a note tucked beneath the brass doorknocker made him halt.
“Ethan?”
He yanked the note free and opened the folded piece of paper. His heart slammed against his ribs as he read the message he’d feared.
I have Jesse. You’ll never see him again if you call the cops.
“OH, NO. ETHAN…” Rebecca had tried to hold on to the hope that Jesse had simply wandered off in the crowd. That a Good Samaritan had found him by now and that they had called the police. Or that Jesse had told them where he was staying and that he was on his way back to the Ritz.
But the note confirmed her worst fears.
Ethan made a low sound of pain and frustration, then curved his arm around her and pulled her up against him. “Bec…”
His strangled voice sent another shiver of terror down her spine.
Then he spun around as if scanning the area to see if the person who’d left the note was nearby. The realization hit Rebecca, too. The kidnapper or a conspirator might be watching to make sure they found the message. To see if they phoned the police.
She blinked back tears and studied the passers-by. Due to the blackout, the streets looked grim. People walked in a hurry, shaken and wary of others. Cars still clogged the street, creating a nightmare for drivers. And two uniformed officers tried to direct the mob and clean up the congestion at the intersections. Another one walked the streets as if to announce his presence in case burglars or vandals decided to take advantage of nonfunctioning security systems in the moneyed Beacon Hill section.
But she saw no one who stuck out as watching them. No one with a scared little boy in tow.
“There’s no ransom,” Ethan mumbled. “I don’t understand why there’s no ransom.”
“There will be,” she said, battling terror at the distress in his voice. “They’re going to call, Ethan. They have to.”
He gave a clipped nod, removed his keys and unlocked the door. They rushed inside, and he hurried to check his machine, then cursed. Of course, the blasted thing wasn’t working because of the blackout.
“Let me check the brownstone. Stay put, Rebecca.”
Shaking, she sank onto the living room couch, and twisted her fingers together while he searched the rooms on all three stories. Last night she’d assured Jesse there were no monsters. But today, in broad daylight, one had stolen him.
Ethan returned, shaking his head, but he was already on his cell phone. On the coffee table, she spotted the photo of Ethan with their son at a baseball game, picked it up and traced her finger over Jesse’s smiling face. Disbelief warred with hopelessness, but she fought through it, grappled for strength.
Their baby had to be all right.
She couldn’t survive losing her son.
ETHAN PRAYED SILENTLY AS HE phoned Eclipse teammate Ty Jones, whose day job was as a Secret Service agent. The note had said no cops, and Ethan would comply. But he needed help, and his cohorts from the Eclipse team were the best. He didn’t intend to sit idly by while some maniac stole his son and got away with it.
Fear niggled at the base of his spine. Why hadn’t there been a ransom note or a call yet?
What did the kidnapper want if not money?
Ty sounded winded when he answered the call. “Ethan, I’ve been trying to reach you. Dana phoned me and told me about your son.”
“There was a note warning me not to call the cops,” Ethan said gruffly. “But no ransom. Ty, I don’t understand.”
“Sit tight. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Ethan hung up and moved to the window to study the street, searching the crowd and shadowy corners. He didn’t expect to see Jesse outside, but maybe he’d get a glimpse of someone watching the house. Someone he would chase down and beat into telling him where he had his little boy.
His fingers ached from gripping the cell phone in his hands. He willed it to ring, to be the kidnapper with a message relaying his demands. Where to make the drop.
How to get his son back.
His chest tightened painfully. He had to be strong for Rebecca. For Jesse. Had to hold it together until he found the bastard who’d done this.
Fury raged through his veins like fire ripping through dry kindling. Then he’d kill the maniac with his bare hands, making sure he suffered before he died.
A pounding on the front door jarred him back to motion. He rushed to let Ty in. His friend looked disheveled, rough around the edges as if he hadn’t slept all night.
Ty said hello to Rebecca, then leaned against the fireplace wall with his hands fisted by his sides. “I think I know who kidnapped your son.”
The air froze in Ethan’s lungs. Rebecca started to stand, but Ty gestured for her to remain seated.
“Who?” Ethan asked. “What’s going on, Ty?”
“I tried to reach you earlier, Ethan. To warn you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ethan’s patience snapped like a thin wire beneath too much pressure. “I want to know who has Jesse, and I want to know now.”
Ty sighed. “I believe Liam Shea is behind Jesse’s disappearance.”
“Liam?” The name caused a cold ball of dread in Ethan’s stomach. “What? Why?”
“Who is Liam Shea?” Rebecca asked.
Ethan scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Ten years ago, a group of us formed a select coterie of Special Forces servicemen in a high-profile rescue mission. Fifty-eight people had been taken hostage in a civil war-torn Middle Eastern nation, most of them American, including the Secretary of State, Geoffrey Rollins.” Ethan paused. “Commander Tom Bradley recruited seven of us to get them out alive. Liam Shea was the electrical expert, Shane Peters the security expert, engine man Chase Vickers, me and Ty, the demolitions man. Vice-President Grant Davis was the tactical specialist then, and Frederic LeBron, a prince from Beau Pays, was the language expert.”
“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with Jesse,” Rebecca cried.
Ethan sat down beside her and took her hands in his. “It’s a long story, Bec. Suffice to say the mission went awry. The timing was off, and the mission blew up in our faces. Cyanide gas was released. By some miracle, we lost only three hostages. Liam was wounded but Grant saved his life. When all was said and done, Grant was hailed a hero.”
“And Liam?” Rebecca asked.
“He was court-martialed, dishonorably discharged and has spent the past ten years in prison.”
“He’s out of jail now,” Ty cut in. “And he wants revenge.”
Rebecca gasped and dropped her head into her hands, breathing deeply as if she might pass out. Ethan stroked her back, although his own chest ached and his pulse raced with fear.
“The blackout,” Ty said. “We think Liam is responsible.”
“For the entire blackout?” Rebecca asked.
Ty nodded. “Liam has blown up two BP and L power plants in town.” He turned to Ethan. “He’s just beginning. Last night LeBron’s daughter, Princess Ariana, was in town for the celebration of an international trade agreement. She joined dignitaries from around the world at the John Hancock Tower. President Stack and the vice-president were there, too.”
Ethan’s stomach turned to lead. “Ty works as Secret Service for the vice-president,” he explained to Rebecca.
“I still don’t see what this has to do with Jesse,” she whispered.
“It’s part of Liam’s master plan of revenge,” Ty said. He angled his head toward Ethan. “Shane was there last night, too. He planned to test the security surrounding the Beau Pays sapphire on exhibition from Prince Frederick. The party was in full swing when the blackout occurred. It was a freaking nightmare for all of the Secret Service and guests.” Ty made a disgusted sound. “Shane received a message about that time. It said, ‘Are you afraid of the dark’?”
Ethan gripped his phone with shaking hands. “I received the same message.”
Ty didn’t seem surprised. He continued, “As soon as the lights went out, goggled men swarmed the building and took everyone hostage. They threatened to kill the attendees if the president and vice-president didn’t show themselves.”
“What happened?” Ethan asked.
“Stack and Grant handed themselves over. The men tried to leave with them, but in the confusion, the president escaped. He’s fine now, but Grant is still missing.”
“This crazy man has the vice-president?” Rebecca asked in horror.
“We think so,” Ty confirmed.
“Liam targeted Grant for revenge,” Ethan said, the full picture forming in his mind.
Ty nodded again. “The entire Special Forces team is being targeted, Ethan. Shane and Chase have already been hit.”
Ethan dreaded the answer to his next question. “Are they all right?”
“Shane survived. But not before having to deal with Colin Shea, one of Liam’s sons.”
“His sons are involved?” Ethan asked.
“Up to their eyeballs.” Ty shifted.
“Liam’s sons were close to their father,” Ethan continued, “and blamed the Eclipse team for his arrest. They think we betrayed Liam.”
Ty sighed. “Colin wanted the sapphire. Shane tried to protect the stone, as well as Princess Ariana. Thankfully, Ben Parker, one of the FBI agents Shane has worked with in the past, managed to divert the shooter and Shane escaped.”
“Thank God,” Ethan said. “What about Chase?”
“Liam’s other son, Aidan Shea, climbed into Chase’s limo, pretending to be a dignitary. He pulled a gun, threatened Chase, then escaped.”
Ethan propped his elbows on his knees and leaned into his hands. “Is Chase all right?”
“Yes. But Aidan claimed he’d lose everything that mattered to him.”
Ethan contemplated the threat. For him, it meant Jesse. For Chase? “Lily?”
