Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Adalyn nervously paced the room, unable to sit still. She couldn’t help but wonder how everything was going. She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling on the ends. The pain shooting across her skull momentarily grounded her, detracting from the agony of not being able to do anything.
She felt weak—absolutely helpless. She prayed to God that whatever plan Jaxon and his friends had in place worked. It felt like she was literally hanging on by a thread. Everyone tiptoed around her like they were walking on eggshells, as if the slightest noise would cause her to break.
It was killing her. She could feel it in the slow way that she moved, the sluggish way her brain reacted.
Still, she couldn’t give up. She forced herself to move on, to keep going.
Jaclyn was depending on her, and she refused to let her down.
She had only slept the previous day out of sheer necessity before her body shut down completely.
She had gotten maybe three to four hours of sleep over the past couple of days, catching little naps here and there.
The past two days had slowly begun to drain the life from her.
Aiden had managed to convince her to catch some rest where she could.
She wasn’t sure why, but she trusted him when he told her they were doing everything they could.
All of the men at Vantage seemed so competent, so sure of themselves.
They came from various military and law enforcement backgrounds and were trained to handle any situation.
It was reassuring, but she still couldn’t fully relax.
The men had insisted she not breathe a word to anyone about the sting the cops had set up that day.
If all went well—and she prayed it would—Jaclyn would be home soon.
Knox had gently explained that, until they knew who was responsible, they couldn’t risk tipping anyone off.
So there she sat, waiting for a single word that her baby was okay.
Mind spinning, emotionally drained, she sank onto the couch and dropped her head into her hands.
She would do anything if someone would just bring Jaclyn back to her.
Every part of her body hurt. Her shoulders ached from carrying the tension of the past three days.
Her eyes burned from sleepless nights and endless tears.
Jenn’s soft voice cut through the silence. “How are you holding up?”
Like crap. “Fine.”
Jenn had insisted on being there with her that day, if for no other reason than to lend silent support. Adalyn could feel her staring intently at her, but she refused to meet her gaze.
“How about some tea?”
Adalyn exhaled heavily through her nose and managed a small nod. “That’d be nice, thanks.”
In her peripheral vision, she watched Jenn stand, her feet carrying her around the couch and into the kitchen. She heard her bustling around, heating the water to prepare the tea, but her mind was elsewhere. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw Jaclyn’s pitiful face, stained with tears.
She had stared at the picture for hours over the past two days, hoping something would come to her.
She felt like she was missing something, and it was driving her crazy.
Suddenly, it seemed vitally important that she figure it out.
Pulling the worn photo out of the pocket of her cardigan, she fingered the edges of the shiny photo paper that had begun to fray.
As always, her eyes were immediately drawn to Jaclyn’s face—huge gray eyes situated in her pale face, cheeks stained with tears.
She didn’t appear to be dirty or hurt—just terribly, awfully scared.
Tears burned the back of Adalyn’s eyes, and she bit her tongue, using the pain as a distraction to keep from breaking down.
How could anyone be so cold and callous as to hurt a baby girl?
Men like this were evil. She would have understood a ransom.
But the fact that no one had reached out was hugely unsettling.
This was something that happened in other countries, to other people.
This wasn’t supposed to happen in the States, surrounded by members of law enforcement and military.
She couldn’t begin to understand why this happened.
She had seen movies like this, read about it in the news.
This was nothing but a business to the evil men controlling the darker parts of the world.
Her child was a transaction to line someone’s pockets.
She might be called na?ve for praying for the best, but she wasn’t stupid.
If Jaclyn hadn’t been taken to be ransomed, there were few other options—none of them good. She prayed right then that Jaclyn was safe in someone’s home nearby instead of being transported across the border or even halfway across the world. Men were horrible, vile creatures.
As she looked at the photograph, something sparked in her mind.
She stared at the hand gripping her daughter’s shoulder, the fingers lean and small.
The nails were bitten down to the quick, lending them an unkempt, masculine appearance.
The longer she stared at them, the more sense it made. A woman had done this.
She stared harder, desperately trying to make sense of this new information.
She had accused Jaxon of bringing trouble to their doorstep when he’d arrived out of the blue, and now shame assailed her.
This was directed at her. Why, she wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t deny that someone had been targeting her specifically.
The rock that had been tossed through the window.
The break-in at the salon. And now this.
Someone wanted to hurt her, someone with a grudge—but who?
Caryn was evil, but always well-manicured. She had the money to hire someone, but Adalyn couldn’t see her stooping that low. She seemed to be the type of person to derive pleasure from verbally abusing others. Adalyn doubted she would let someone else take credit.
Besides, to kidnap a child over a disagreement was a little extreme. She knew Megan was still unhappy that she had fired her. Her words from that day came back to her. Megan had insisted that someone was setting her up. Had she been right all along?
“Here you go.” Jenn moved in front of Adalyn and held out a mug of tea, steam curling into the air. Adalyn started to reach for the mug clasped in Jenn’s hands and stopped dead. Her gaze snagged on Jenn’s hands, the nails jagged and torn.
Like a puzzle, all of the pieces suddenly clicked into place. Thoughts spun through Adalyn’s mind, recounting every moment: Jenn had closed with Megan most nights. She had been at the salon the day the window was broken. She had closed the shop the night of the break-in.
Adalyn dropped her hand back to her lap and lifted her gaze to Jenn’s. “Why?”
Jenn straightened, her shoulders pulling back tense and tight. “God, Adalyn.” The words left her mouth in an exasperated rush, dripping with condescension. “Are you really that stupid?”
Adalyn’s typically mousy assistant was gone. In her place stood a hard, terse woman. Her lips curled into a sneer as she stared down at Adalyn. “Do you really not recognize me?”
The question caught Adalyn off guard, and she skimmed Jenn’s features. She took in her short, sleek black hair, noticing for the first time how unnatural it looked against her pale skin. A sprinkling of freckles dusted across her nose, cleverly concealed by a thin layer of makeup.
Why had she never noticed those before? She tried to focus on the shape of her face, the honey-brown of her eyes. A memory slowly began to take shape.
The wedding.
All of a sudden, it made sense. Adalyn had met Jenn two years ago when she was in Vegas for Rose’s bachelorette party. Except back then, Jenn had long red hair and freckles, and she had been called Jocelyn.
Adalyn kicked herself for not figuring it out sooner.
Jenn had pleaded for a job, and Adalyn had acquiesced just like she wanted.
She even recalled with startling clarity why she never put two and two together—Amy had taken care of all of the paperwork.
She had filed the application and run the background check on Jenn when they hired her.
Now Adalyn knew who Jenn really was. What she didn’t know was why she had lied. “How could you do this?”
Jenn let out a mirthless laugh. “Did you really think no one would find out?” The coldness of her tone sent chills creeping up Adalyn’s spine.
“What do you mean?”
Jenn glared at her. “He never should have married you. You lied to everyone about what happened. You made everyone believe that you and Jaxon married after some whirlwind love affair. But it was no more than a one-night stand. Isn’t that right?”
Adalyn’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “How did you know that?”
Before Jenn even answered, it hit Adalyn. She had been in the lobby that morning when Jaxon and Adalyn had that awful fight.
Jenn shook her head at Adalyn. “I heard everything. I couldn’t believe he’d ever love someone like you, someone who spread her legs for him like a common whore.
I knew he was honorable, but I never dreamed he’d go that far—especially when he didn’t even know about the kid.
I thought that once he found out you’d kept her from him, he’d be done with you for good. But no, not Jaxon,” she said bitterly.
“He always has to do what’s right. God, do you know how good it felt to finally hear that he’d left you?”
Adalyn cringed as Jenn threw the coffee mug against the wall, where it shattered with a crash.
“Until I found out you lied about that, too, and you’re not really divorced,” she hissed.
Adalyn raised her hand in supplication. “I thought we were. I had no idea we were still married until Jaxon showed up.”
“Exactly,” Jenn snapped. “Then you threw yourself right back into his arms, knowing he would have to take you back.”
Adalyn’s mouth gaped open. She couldn’t believe Jenn thought that. She was the one who kept pushing Jaxon away, not the other way around. “What is this really about?”
“It’s about him!” she screamed. “It’s always been about him.”
For a moment, Adalyn was stunned speechless. She had no idea Jenn had even known Jaxon before he showed up the other week. A horrible thought occurred to her. “Were you ever… together?”
Almost immediately, she dismissed it. If Jaxon knew Jenn, he’d have said something.
Anger creased Jenn’s face. “Of course not. I could never get close to him with sluts like you hanging around. But it should’ve been me. I’ve loved him since I was five years old.”
“It was all you.” Adalyn almost couldn’t believe it. “The money, the break-in. Everything.”
Jenn rolled her eyes. “You made it so easy, and you were too stupid to suspect a thing. Even Megan,” she scoffed. “All I had to do was look over her shoulder a couple of times while she was at the register to get her code.”
“You hate me that much?”
Contempt curled Jenn’s lip. “I wanted to make your life miserable any way I could. Getting Megan out of the way gave me the opportunity to get into the salon that night.”
Suddenly, it made sense. Had Megan been there, Jenn would’ve had to leave with her. The security company said the alarm had been set at the normal time; Jenn would have set it without actually leaving the salon, giving her plenty of time to tear the place apart.
“But you helped—”
“That’s right,” she cut over Adalyn. “I helped. It was me in there that morning with Jaxon, me saving the day.”
Adalyn jumped as a loud bang filled the air. Jenn’s head snapped toward the kitchen, and she grasped Adalyn’s arm, pulling her to her feet just as Jaxon came into view. Adalyn’s breath stuttered to a stop as cold metal pressed to her temple.