Chapter 11

"Yes?" April looked up from the document she was going through to see one of the receptionists standing just inside the doorway of her office, a somber expression on her face.

"Your aunt said she has been trying to call you on your cell."

"Oh. I must have turned it down when I was in the meeting. What did she want?"

"She is on the line, and she sounds panicked."

"Thank you, Angela. Would you please close the door?"

She waited until the girl had done so before reaching for the receiver with a trembling hand.

"Aunt Sylvia?"

"It's Chloe," the woman gasped. She was not home. The bus passed by here, and she was not on it."

"How long ago was this?" She was forcing herself to be calm and not turn hysterical.

"The bus came by at three thirty. It's not four."

"And she might be with friends."

"No! I called all her friends, and she is not with them."

"What about that ice cream place she always goes to?" April could feel her palms sweating and her heart thumping inside her chest.

Don't panic! Don't panic! She is okay.

"She wouldn't just go to that place by herself. I am telling you, something is wrong."

"Have you called the school- "

"I did that just before I called you, and they said she left. I am telling you that something is wrong. My next call will be to the police."

"I am on my way." Hanging up the phone, April sat in her seat, her mind blank, her body refusing to cooperate. There had to be a simple explanation.

Her daughter went off somewhere by herself. She knew she was not supposed to do something like that, but she was a child and was entitled to be disobedient. But something was screaming inside her head, which was not the case. Chloe would never go off on her own like that.

And she was not in the best frame of mind. It had been a week since she last heard from Antwan. He had not called, and she had decided it was for the best. She had not called him either. On top of that, she was not feeling well.

And now she would have to tell Marvin what was going on.

*****

"Why are you still here?" He demanded. "Go! I will arrange for someone to take over for you. And April? I know you never told anyone besides me and a couple of the partners about your daughter, but that will probably change now."

"I don't care. I just want to go and hopefully find out that this is a mistake. That Chloe is playing hooky."

He gave her a level glance. "But you don't think so."

She swallowed the awful lump in her throat. "No." She whispered. "I don't."

"Then go and keep me updated. I will do whatever I can to help."

"Thanks, Marvin." She whispered before rushing out of his office.

But two hours later, there was still no sign of the little girl, and the police had issued an amber alert.

"We take kidnapping of children seriously." Detective Jason Munroe told her in his gravelly voice, dark brown eyes watching as she paced the length of the small living room. A command center had been set up in case of a ransom call.

"Is that why you are camped out here instead of looking for my daughter?" She asked caustically. Shaking her head, she apologized. "I am sorry."

The man nodded. "We are used to worse than that. And I feel you will revise that apology in two seconds."

"Why?" She demanded.

"Because of the questions I will be asking. Your daughter does not live with you. May I ask why not?"

Tamping down the impatience and panic, she forced herself to respond. "I live and work in the city, and the accommodations are not conducive to having her stay with me. Besides, I grew up here, and the schools are some of the best. I wanted her to have the security—"She choked on the word and felt her stomach turning into knots.

"I understand."

April looked over at the wiry woman sitting by the phone with salt and pepper hair.

"I doubt that." The sarcasm was back, and she did not give a crap.

"We have dealt with hundreds of cases- "

"I only care about one; my daughter is not a case." She snapped.

"We are aware of that."

April finally recalled that the woman had introduced herself as a federal agent, Julia Strong.

"Your daughter's father- "

"Is not in the picture." She said rigidly. "He expressed his opinion very strongly when I was pregnant. He did not want anything to do with her."

"Have you called him?"

"Why the hell should I?" She asked, rounding on the man.

"He might have changed his mind about- "

"He has not done that in six years; he sure as hell would not be changing it now."

"Why don't we call him- "

"You are wasting valuable time with bullshit like this! Marcus Livingstone would not kidnap Chloe if a gun were held to his damn head! And besides that, he is a lawyer and would never do anything like that."

"He works at your firm?" Agent Strong asked her patiently.

"No, and before you ask another irrelevant question, we have not spoken to each other in years."

"He would not want to know about this situation?"

April stared at the woman as if she had lost her mind. "Have you been listening? He does not care! Now, how about we concentrate on – "

The ringing of the phone had all of them jumping.

Her aunt rushed out of Chloe's bedroom clutching a giant pink teddy April had won at a fair for her daughter. Ignoring the woman with tears streaking down her cheeks, she backed away, stopping as the wall halted her progress.

"You are going to need to answer it." The agent told her.

"I can't." She whispered, her entire body trembling. "If I do, it's going to make it real."

"Ms. Johnson, we are here to direct you. We have written down some cues for you to work with." The woman's expression softened. "But we need to know what we are working with."

Nodding and taking a deep breath, she rushed over to the table and picked up the phone, her hand trembling. "Hello?"

"Is this Chloe's mom?" The voice sounded disguised and tinny.

"Yes. Where is my daughter?"

"Right here, safe and sound, and will remain that way as long as you do exactly as we tell you. I would advise against calling the cops, but I can see that you already did."

"What do you want?"

"To get rich and be able to go on several cruises." He cackled. "You are going to make that happen. Your daughter is in good hands for now. Now, hurry up with the request, as we are aware this call is being traced – we want five million dollars in untraceable notes, and we will call back with the location of the drop. You have forty-eight hours."

April had to grip the edge of the table when her knees buckled. "I don't have that kind of money."

"I don't have that kind of money!"

"You work at a law firm."

"Work, I don't own the damn place."

"I am sure you can ask for a loan since you are such a valued employee."

"I need to speak to my daughter."

"I am hanging up."

"Damn you. Let me talk to Chloe."

There was a pause when she thought he had hung up when she heard her daughter.

"Mommy?"

Her senses screamed, and she had to sit before her knees gave out. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Mommy, I want to come home."

"We are working on it. Baby- "

"That's it for now." The dial tone sounded, indicating that he had hung up.

"It was not long enough for a trace." One of the officers manning the machine told them.

"We figured as much." The detective nodded. "They seem to know what they are doing."

"Well, isn't that nice? You are admiring their tactics. Where the hell am I supposed to get five million dollars from?"

"We would not advise you to do any payout- "

"I want my daughter back."

"And we have told you we have been doing this for years."

"What's your success rate?" she demanded.

"Pardon?"

"How many children have you united with their parents?"

They looked at each other before the agent responded. "We don't have a percentage- "

"That's an evasive method which gives me my answer." Pushing to her feet, though her knees were knocking together, she started towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To see if I can come up with the money. I have my phone on me, so you can call me if there is any more communication."

"We advise you to stay- "

"And do what, exactly?" she cried. "Sit on my ass like you are doing? I need my daughter home where she belongs, and if I have to beg, borrow, or steal, I will find that money."

"April- "

"Aunt Sylvia, I don't have time- "

"Make time! I know you blame me- "

April rounded on the woman, her heart contracting in pity. Her face was ravaged, and she looked older than her age. "I blame me." She told the woman huskily.

"She should have been with me. I should have been taking care of her; she is my responsibility, and I should- "Shaking her head, she took a breath. "That's beside the point now. I have to go."

"Are you going to contact him?"

Closing her eyes briefly, she nodded. "He is her father and never did anything for her. I am going to him to find out if he has a goddamned heart."

*****

"Have a minute?"

Antwan looked up from the brief to see Alex striding into his office.

"No."

"Take the time."

"Look, if it what I said in there with those goddamned clients, they deserve everything- "

"No, Antwan- "Stopping in front of the desk, he eyed his brother. "You were offline- "

"I don't believe this!" Antwan snapped. "You would have done and said the same thing. Carter was talking about reneging on his agreement with Kellan's Food. And not only that, but he also wanted to pull his delivery trucks- "

"We would not have allowed him to get away with it. You overreacted- "

"I don't effing believe this!" Pushing back the chair, he strode over to the cabinet. Jerking the decanter from the shelf, he splashed the liquor, almost filling the glass.

Alex watched him pick up the glass, his hand shaking.

"How dare you come in here and lecture me- "

"He is not the only one." The calm, deep voice sounded just inside the doorway. He was whirling around and saw his dad, oldest brother, and mother standing there. "We want you to take the rest of the day. Whatever you have on your plate, we will take it- "

"I am not leaving."

"That was not a request, darling," Angeline told him gently, entering the room, her eyes going to the glass in his hand. "You are in no condition- "

"What the hell do you expect me to do?" He was so angry that he did not realize he was speaking to his mother.

"Go home." His father said firmly. "Take the time to – "

"Do what, dad?" he asked caustically. "Get my head on straight?"

"Precisely,"

Glaring at all four of them, he slammed the glass down, spilling the contents. "Fine. I'll go." Stalking over to his desk, he grabbed his jacket and jerkily shrugged into it. Without another word, he walked out.

"What now?" Andre murmured.

"Someone should go after him," Alex suggested.

"He is not going to welcome that." Angeline went around the desk and sank wearily. She had seen him going through the motions for the last seven days and felt helpless and angry at her inability to do anything.

He never smiled anymore unless it was with the children. He would leave early in the morning and return after supper so he would not have to talk to anyone. And he was seen with a different woman every night as if he was determined to forget.

"I am going after him." Alex decided.

"Yes, darling. That's a good idea." She told him approvingly. "Oh, I could wring that young woman's neck for what she is putting him through."

Walking over to stand at her side, her husband rubbed her shoulder gently. "He will get over it."

"Will he?" Andre murmured grimly. "Somehow, I doubt that."

*****

"Go back inside, Alex," Antwan warned. He stood at the side of his car, arms folded on his chest, his expression wintry.

"I thought we could talk."

His eyebrows lifted. "Talk? About what?"

"About what you are going to do." Striding forward, he stood beside him and folded his arms over his chest.

"I don't follow."

"You do. You are miserable, and because of that, you are self-destructing. You are either going to go to the source of your misery and hash it out, or you are going to take someone to bed."

Antwan uttered a sardonic laugh. "That's your grand solution?"

"Yes."

"Did work for you?"

"No. When Andrea decided she did not want to see me, I went mad and looked for trouble."

"I recalled how much of an asshole you were."

"Precisely. Now you are in the same position."

Antwan shrugged, his expression bleak. "I cannot get her out of my head. I cannot sleep, and everything I eat tastes like shit. And I cannot work either. So, what the hell do I do?"

"Go to her."

"No. She does not want me, and I will not humiliate myself by begging for scraps."

"Then what, Antwan? Are you going to stay mired down in misery?"

"I just need time."

"Then, brother, you are either lying to yourself or me. I think the former."

*****

April was tempted to pace the reception area in front of his office. She had not called ahead because she did not want him to refuse to see her. Nostalgia hit her as soon as she stepped into the building, and when she took the elevator and made her way up to the thirtieth floor, the memories became even more vivid.

His name was on the wall in brass and on his glass door. She could see him through the glass walls, his head bent over a folder. The secretary had told him she was there, and he had sent out to say that she should give him five minutes.

"He will see you now, Ms. Johnson."

"Thank you." She smiled at the woman slightly, fleetingly wondering if he was sleeping with the sleek-looking blonde.

Pushing the door open, she stepped into the ample space, her eyes going to the man who had upended her life all those years ago. He had grown a little flabby, she thought in delight, his dark brown hair receding a little. She wondered what she had ever seen in him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked without getting up.

"I have a situation."

His brows lifted. "And you came to me?"

"It's about our daughter- "

"I don't have a daughter."

April felt the swift, sharp pain jabbing into her chest and wished she could toss the paperweight on his desk straight at him.

"Okay, Marcus, it's about my daughter. The one we made six years ago. She has been kidnapped."

"I am sorry to hear that- "His face denied the words, and she knew he was just being polite. The man did not give a damn. He was indeed a monster.

"Are you?"

He nodded. "Kidnapping a child is right up there with murder, as far as I am concerned. What does that have to do with me?"

"They want five million."

His eyebrows lifted again. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"We need your help. I know you don't consider Chloe to be your responsibility- "

"She is not. I told you to get rid of it."

Her anger boiled over, and she approached his desk, slapping her palms on the glass"s surface. "Listen to me, you piece of shit. All I am asking is the money to save your daughter's life. Consider it a loan, and I promise to pay you back every red cent, even if I have to work three jobs to do it."

"I cannot help you, and before you consider calling me more unsavory names, need I remind you that I told you that I wanted no part of the child you were carrying? Now get out of my office; I have work to do."

"You unfeeling bastard."

"That's who I am. Now, please go."

Giving him a hate-filled look, she walked out of the office, not bothering to close the door. She had not hoped for anything positive, but she had been desperate. A call to her firm had netted her nothing positive.

"I truly want to help April," Marvin had told her regretfully. "But we are up to our necks in loans because of our recent expansion. I am so sorry."

Sitting in her car, she stared out the window and felt helpless tears running down her cheeks. There was only one other place she could go, and the idea made her cringe. But it had to be done.