Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The vultures had arrived.
Delaney pulled back the curtain just enough to peer through the window. Three news vans lined the street, reporters gazing at the Aylett house in search of tragedy. Camera crews huddled nearby, chatting, some laughing as if this were a party instead of the scene of a kidnapping.
Thank heavens for the yellow police tape and the stern-faced officers who kept them at bay.
It didn’t matter that reporters were there. What mattered was that Charlotte was missing, and Delaney was packing her bags because she had nothing else to do with her hands.
She folded another shirt and placed it in her suitcase.
The house had grown crowded with people who actually belonged here—Noah, his friend Richard, Jasper, and Mason—the police officer who’d responded to her car accident and who, she’d learned, was an old school friend of Jasper’s.
They were all downstairs, their deep voices a constant rumble beneath her feet as they shared information and discussed strategy.
The longer the four men had talked, the more of an outsider Delaney had felt. She doubted any of them had noticed when she’d retreated up the stairs. Not that it mattered how they treated her. Nothing mattered except getting Charlotte back.
She slumped onto the side of the bed, gazing at this room she’d loved since she’d first seen it, the old four-poster, the walnut-stained bureau, the pretty chair and table by the window.
It was bright and cheerful, and she’d felt at home here.
Now, everything seemed to carry a pall. The very air was thick with terror, the house empty without Charlotte’s pitter-pattering feet and lighthearted chatter.
Charlotte was out there somewhere, probably terrified, while Delaney sat in her bedroom feeling sorry for herself.
She closed her eyes. Please, dear God, please save her and bring her home.
Tears leaked from between Delaney’s eyelids as she entreated the one who knew exactly where Charlotte was. Take care of her until she comes home, Lord. You are able. Please, please… She didn’t know what else to pray but sat there a long time, begging the Lord for Charlotte’s life.
When she was spent, she stood and zipped the suitcases closed.
If Noah wanted her to go, she was ready, but she didn’t plan to leave Driftwood until Charlotte was safe.
She could get a hotel room. She had a little money saved.
If she had to cash her father’s check, then she would.
She didn’t care about proving anything to anyone.
None of that mattered anymore.
The murmur of male voices grew louder as Delaney descended the stairs and approached the living room. She paused at the threshold.
Noah stood by the fireplace, arms crossed, his face neutral but his eyes blazing with frustration and worry. Richard sat on the couch. Jasper paced. He’d run his fingers through his hair so often that it was standing on end. Mason leaned against the wall, still in uniform, his expression grim.
They were mostly quiet, as if they’d run out of ideas.
“Is someone looking at all of Hayes’s properties?” Richard asked.
“All?” Jasper’s volume was too high. “How many does he have?”
“I don’t know.” Richard’s voice was almost fatherly. “He’s very wealthy, so I’d guess more than one.”
Mason pushed off from the wall. “Someone’s following that thread. The FBI has been called in, and—”
“It’s not enough!” Noah’s voice broke on the last word, the raw pain in it making Delaney’s stomach turn over.
Nobody seemed to know what to say.
She cleared her throat, and four heads swiveled in her direction. Noah’s eyes met hers, and something flickered across his face. Relief?
She was probably projecting.
“What about the place in Norfolk?” she asked. “The one Heather…Violet told me about?”
Mason fielded that. “We’re looking at real estate records for both Hayes and Bosch. If either owns a home—”
“What if it’s rented?”
“That’s…more difficult,” he said carefully.
Noah’s eyes blazed. “You have to—”
“We’re looking into it.” The cop’s tone was reasonable with a touch of impatience. “But without more information, it’s going to take some time. There’s no rental database to search.”
“Utility customers?” Noah suggested. “Can’t they look at those?”
“They can.” Again, Mason seemed to choose his words carefully. “But it takes time to do it legally. We need warrants and—”
“Who cares if it’s legal?” Jasper froze, the words so loud they reverberated off the walls.
“Being the police and all”—Mason kept his tone even—“we tend to get caught up on stuff like that.” He stepped closer to Jasper and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “I promise. We’re doing everything we can.”
Jasper shrugged him off.
It seemed Mason was trying to lean on their old friendship, but Jasper wasn’t interested. He resumed his pacing.
Mason gave her a half smile. “We are looking into it, Miss Wright. It just takes time.”
“I understand.”
Noah stepped toward her, hands shoved deep in his pockets. “Delaney, have you packed?”
She blinked, surprised by the question. “Yes, but…”
He didn’t expect her to actually leave, did he?
She glanced at Jasper, but he was paying no attention, lost in his own torturous world. Richard was leaning over a laptop. Mason had retreated to the edge of the room, observing everything.
She focused on Noah again, lowering her voice. “You don’t think I’m leaving Driftwood, not now.”
“It would be best if you did.”
“What? Why? When Charlotte’s safe, she’ll want me here. She needs to know I’m not going to abandon her.”
Delaney had made Charlotte feel safe. Maybe Noah didn’t want Delaney anymore, but surely Charlotte still did.
Noah took her hand and tugged her down the hall and into the dining room. She hadn’t set foot in here since her first day in the house. Nothing had changed. The Waterford crystal still sat where it had before, dusted by the housekeeper, who came once a week.
Noah drew her away from the door, then took her other hand. “I’m sorry. I know it’s terrible. I know it’s…absolutely excruciating, but you should go.”
Delaney couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes. “But…but I love her. And she needs me.”
“She has Jaz and me. She’ll be okay.”
Delaney’s lips trembled. “I’ll leave if you want, but I’m staying in Driftwood. I’ll go to a hotel—”
“Back to Maine.” His tone was even. “Please.”
“What? You can’t…” Her pitch rose until she sounded like a child. “I don’t understand.”
Noah pulled her into his arms and held her, and her barely controlled emotions burst in a sob.
She wrapped her arms around him, feeling comfort and anger and a million other emotions, too many to count. Too many to handle.
She belonged here, with him. And Charlotte. How could he not see that?
“I know, sweetheart,” Noah said. “I know how hard this is for you. I don’t mean to be cruel, but the news vans are outside, and—”
“Are you kidding me!” She wrenched out of his arms and stepped back.
“Is that what this is about?” Her voice was too loud and she didn’t care.
“You’re going to break my heart—and Charlotte’s—because of your fear of scandal?
Your niece has been kidnapped because of that stupid merger, and now you’re worried my being here is going to… what? Cost you a little money?”
His eyes filled with ice. “You really think I care about that right now?”
“Apparently, if you’re sending me away.”
He pressed his lips closed so tightly they paled. He breathed in through his nose. Finally, he blew the breath out. “Delaney, do you really think so little of me?”
She didn’t know what to think. She swiped her fingers across her cheeks to remove the moisture, though her tears continued to fall.
He stepped close again and reached for her.
She crossed her arms, not willing to give in to him when he was being so cruel.
He ducked to meet her eyes. “I care about you. You know that, right?”
She’d thought so, but now, she didn’t know what to think.
“What happened to Charlotte…it’s killing me. It’s all I can think about. But in the back of my mind, humming like a song I can’t get out of my head, is the fact that I care about you, too, and everybody knows it.”
“So what? Is that so awful?”
“What if they hurt you?” His voice broke. “What if they try to take you too? I can’t…” He swallowed hard, staring into her eyes as if to impart some important knowledge.
Suddenly, she understood.
He wasn’t trying to get rid of her. He was trying to protect her.
“Please.” He gripped her elbows and stepped closer, lowering his forehead to hers. “Please go home where you’ll be safe until this all blows over. If I’m afraid for your safety, I won’t be able to think straight.”
“But I love Charlotte too.” She squeaked the words through her tight throat. “I need to be here—”
“I know you do, and as soon as she’s safe and her kidnappers are in custody, you can come back. But until then, please?”
She didn’t want to leave. She desperately didn’t want to leave.
“Do you promise to take care of yourself?”
His lip twitched at the corner, a smile that said he knew he’d won the battle. “You know I’ll try.”
She also knew he’d do whatever it took to get Charlotte back, even if it meant putting himself in danger.
“I’ll go if you promise to keep me updated.”
“I promise.” He pulled her into another hug and whispered in her ear. “I love the way you love, Delaney Wright. I love the way you…are.”
Love. He’d used the word more than once. He hadn’t told her he loved her, but…but was that what he meant?
Could he possibly return her feelings?
She stepped back to meet Noah’s eyes. Even if this was love, now wasn’t the time for declarations. “Charlotte will never be far from my mind or out of my prayers, and neither will you.”
He embraced her again, and she melted against him. Yes, this was love, much stronger and deeper than anything she’d felt for Owen. Noah was a good man.
Forty-five minutes later, Delaney stared out the passenger-side window of the police cruiser. Noah had asked one of the cops to drive her to the airport to ensure she made it safely. Overkill, obviously. They approached the terminal after an uneventful ride.
The cop had been kind enough to keep the conversation light during the drive, talking about the weather and the upcoming holidays. She hadn’t had much to contribute, and eventually he’d fallen silent.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the apartment Violet had told her about. Based on what Mason had said, the cops wouldn’t be able to find it, certainly not anytime soon.
But Delaney had resources they knew nothing about.
The terminal building loomed ahead. She watched the signage…departures, arrivals, parking, cell phone lot.
One sign jumped out at her.
A few minutes later, the officer parked by the curb in Departures. “Here we are.”
They both got out, and he retrieved her suitcases from the trunk, then set them on the sidewalk.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“Safe travels, miss. I’m sure everything will work out.”
She wanted to ask him how he was sure, how it was all going to work out when a four-year-old girl was missing. Kidnapped, and in the hands of…
Hopefully, her mother, but her mother had lost custody of her once. She wasn’t fit, and if she was working with that rival of Noah’s, that Hayes guy, then who knew what he’d do to the child?
But Delaney didn’t say any of that. Instead, she thanked him again, then turned and headed for the doors.
Inside the terminal, she stared at the crowd in front of the check-in desk, business travelers and vacationers, singles and families.
Delaney could get on her flight. She’d be back in Shadow Cove by evening. She could go home to her parents’ house, where Mom would wrap her in familiar comfort while Noah and the others searched for Charlotte.
Or…
She thought about that other sign.
Rental Cars.
This probably wouldn’t work, but she had to try.
She shifted both suitcases into one hand and rolled them toward the Arrivals area, pulling out her phone. She searched, found the contact she needed.
Was this a good idea?
Maybe not, but if she could do anything to help, if she could play any part in bringing Charlotte home…
She pressed the contact number and raised the phone to her ear.
A moment later, a man answered. “Hey, cuz. How are you? Everybody’s been worried sick—”
“Michael. The girl I’ve been caring for was kidnapped. I need your help to find the woman I think took her.”
A beat of silence, then, “Where are you? What can I do?”
Thank God. Thank God for cousins in the intelligence business.
Delaney reached Baggage Claim, spied the rental car booths, and marched that way while she explained what she needed.