Chapter 17
Valentina
Whoever said that a picture was worth a thousand words had never met a formidable judge like Hudson Armstrong.
Were there pictures in his house? Yes, including the ones I’d seen in his man cave.
The vibrant and in your face pictures highlighted a man of adventure, someone willing to take risks.
From hang gliding to rock climbing, he’d experienced the joys of the outdoors through the years.
Usually with buddies.
Guys of similar age, all damn good looking. They were smiling, perhaps joking and half of the photographs had every man holding a beer or a drink. All five seemed happy go lucky, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
In my wicked little mind, I knew these were the men who’d played poker with Hudson only a few nights before. A few things about highlighting his outdoor excursions lingered in my mind.
There were no other pictures anywhere in the house.
Not in his bedroom.
Not in his den or office.
Certainly not in the living room.
Maybe all his favorite photos had been digitized, stored on a hard drive somewhere, but why not have even one in plain view?
The second and even more important aspect that I doubted the five men would admit or even acknowledge was that the pairs of eyes didn’t truly reflect the happiness their stances depicted.
They were all haunted, bordering on despair as if they were living on the edge to try to fulfill some innate need.
That led that brain of mine to determine they had no one special in their lives. Not one photograph had a woman in it. Granted, maybe this was meant to be a guy’s only shrine, but even the most hardcore men usually preferred to have their woman by their side.
They were definitely close.
I backed away from the wall of… shame, smiling as I did.
I’d left my sweet little girl for too long.
Time for a snack and then a nap. After flicking out the light, I headed to the living room where I’d left her with her coloring book and crayons.
Thankfully, with the number of satellite stations on his massive, big screen television, I’d found all her favorite cartoon shows.
Keeping her occupied would help keep my nerves in check.
I was also thankful that he wasn’t a typical bachelor with an empty fridge and pantry. He had actual decent food, even juice for the little princess. “Hey, sweetie. How about a snack?” I asked the question as I walked into the room.
My daughter wasn’t hunkered down on the floor where I’d left her less than five minutes before. Panic struck me immediately. I spun around in the room. “Bella. Where are you?” She adored playing hide and seek. Her favorite game.
Right now, it was one I hated with every ounce of my being.
I checked behind every chair. She wasn’t in the room. While telling myself maybe she’d gone to the bathroom, I fought tears already forming.
The half bath was empty.
No. No. I tore through the house, checking every closet until realizing the door from Hudson’s office leading to the deck was open. Rushing outside, I gripped the railing, searching the mostly deserted beach. She wasn’t there. Oh, my God.
The cop was just outside. I’d seen him through one window seconds ago. Half stumbling over furniture, I made my way to the front door, realizing the security code wasn’t set. Had I been so foolish not to alarm the system after Hudson had left?
Or had someone gotten in?
Panic ripped at my throat until I was suffocating.
With my hand shaking, I jerked open the door. The young guy was several yards away, but as soon as he heard my strangled cry, he turned with his hand placed on his holster.
“Ms. Sciascia. What’s wrong?”
“My little girl is… missing.” I’d barely managed to spit the words from my mouth when he reacted.
“I’ll find her. Get back inside.”
“No. She’s my little girl.” I don’t know who ran faster. All I knew was that my legs were pumping, my heart thudding to the point the sound echoed in my ears. I had to find her. There was no way of stopping the tears. How had I been so stupid to turn my back on her for a single second?
“Ms. Sciascia!” His call went unheeded.
How had I been so distraught that I’d allowed her out of my sight?
I hit the beach running, spinning in a circle, searching.
Praying.
Crying.
I lost sight of the officer for a few seconds, but that didn’t stop me. Everything became a huge blur, my vision completely foggy. “Bella. Bella!”
Time stood still, the entire world fading. There were no people on the beach, no waves rolling against the shore. Just silence.
As despair settled in, tears sliding down both sides of my cheek, a single sound captured my attention and it was one I would recognize from a mile away.
My little girl laughing, giggling as she did when she was so very happy.
Very slowly, I turned toward the sound. Seeing her in the arms of the off-duty officer stunned me at first. Was I seeing things? Only when I noticed her arms and legs were covered with sand did it sink in.
The little munchkin had slipped out all by herself, her determination to get to the beach stronger than her desire to please her mommy.
“Bella.”
Taking long strides, the officer approached. At least he was able to grin. My stomach continued to churn.
“Mommy. Look. I found a shell for you.” Her little voice was the same as always as she held out her arm, her eyes lighting up to show me the prize she’d lovingly picked just for me.
To the officer’s credit, he didn’t say anything, but I could read every concerned thought. He also didn’t need to chastise me. I was furious that I’d been so careless.
“I see.” I took it from her hand, trying to smile and be my normal self while I was surprised I was still standing. The moment I gathered her into my arms, I could tell I was smothering her.
“She was digging in the sand all by herself. Weren’t you, sweetheart?”
I glanced at the officer, mouthing ‘thank you.’
“Yeah!” Bella giggled again, doing her best to push away from me.
“Thank you. I don’t even know your name and I’m sorry I didn’t ask,” I told him.
“Tim. Tim Jenkins. That’s no problem. Just doing the judge a favor and I got to spend a little time with a special girl.” He tickled her tummy and her eyes lit up again. “We need to get you cleaned up. Don’t we?”
“Officer Jenkins. Thank you so much. I’m so sorry.”
“There’s no reason to apologize and please call me Tim.”
“Tim,” I repeated, offering a slight smile, which was all I could do. My pulse had skyrocketed along with my blood pressure. There was nothing worse than feeling helpless.
Tim was trying to keep from alarming her, which I would forever be grateful for, while telling me we needed to go inside.
I’d strayed far enough away from the house, leaving it wide open that I understood his concern.
“Why are you crying, Mommy?” Bella’s little hand touched my face, her gentle caress a reminder of everything that was precious to me.
The act of sucking in my breath to keep from sobbing openly and painfully took every ounce of what I had left of my strength. “Because I love my shell so much.” Now wasn’t the time to remind her about the rules. “Time to get you all cleaned up.”
“But Mommy. I want to play on the beach.”
“Maybe later when Hudson comes home.” Home. I was using his vicariously while wondering when I could return to my normal life.
If that was even possible.
While she wrinkled her little nose while contemplating my offer, Tim was actively scanning the beach.
Exhaling, a portion of the horror and fear faded away as I headed up the beach, tickling her little nose and kissing her rosy cheek as I used to do when I pulled her from a bath.
My daughter was having the time of her life while her mother was still freaking out inside. Not only would I never forgive myself, but Hudson would punish me until a week from Sunday for being so reckless.
And I wouldn’t blame him.
Tim followed closely behind as we climbed the stairs leading to the deck, moving in front of me before I touched the doorhandle.
“Ms. Sciascia. Please stay here while I check the house. Okay? Judge Armstrong wouldn’t be happy if anything happened to you.
I owe that man a lot and I don’t want to disappoint him.
” I had to give the officer credit. He was doing a very good job of keeping his voice even while telling me in no uncertain words not to ignore his command as I’d done earlier.
“Okay. I’ll wait right here. Won’t we, sweetie?”
She nodded her little head, suddenly launching into her jabbering mode about seeing a crab or a fish or something.
Sadly, my mind had drifted, split in half.
One side was still condemning myself with images of what could have occurred likely to linger long into the night.
The other was caught by the respectful way with which Tim had said Hudson’s name.
In complete reverence.
Hudson was risking everything to keep us safe. He was even calling in favors that I’d taken lightly, as if what he was doing was a burden on me.
Seconds ticked by, enough time I was nervous once again. When Tim reappeared, it was obvious my face registered the way my stomach continued to churn.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, every muscle in his lithe body tensing.
“I’m fine.”
He visibly relaxed. “Good. Everything is in order.” As soon as I walked inside, he closed the door. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
“Tim,” I said as I faced him. “Do you mind hanging around? I’d like to ask you a few questions. Besides, you must be thirsty. I haven’t seen you drink anything since you arrived early this morning.”
“I’ll be happy to stay but I’m fine. I’m not trying to interfere with your life.” He seemed surprised. Did no one else bother to show him an act of kindness? Sympathy tugged at me. While the reason was simple and I was highly emotional, I was determined he’d agree.