Her Mistletoe Protector(14)

Margie let out a sigh. "I highly doubt Frankie's entangled in something like that," she said without hesitation. "It's not really his style."

"What is his style?" Rachel pressed. "I divorced Anthony a long time ago, so how do I know Frankie's not holding some sort of grudge against me?"

Margie tapped one long, lacquered nail against the end table. "Frankie has been splitting his time between Phoenix and Chicago, but I can't imagine he's holding the divorce against you. Why would he? Our divorce wasn't that big of a deal."

The news that Frankie Caruso could be right now in Chicago made her pulse race with a mixture of dread and excitement. Frankie had to be the one behind Joey's kidnapping...it was the only thing that made sense. "I have to tell you, I admired how you and Frankie seemed to get along, even after your divorce," Rachel said.

"Yes, well, we had some business ventures together, which helped," Margie replied evasively. Rachel tried not to show her distaste-certainly, those business ventures were likely Mafia related.

"Like I said, it's just amazing that you both managed to stay friends," Rachel added. "Obviously, that wasn't exactly the case with me and Anthony."

"I know. Anthony wasn't shy about telling us how upset he was at how you managed to keep him from your son." Margie's gaze was challenging, as if daring Rachel to disagree.

The mention of Joey kicked her pulse into high gear. So Frankie and Margie knew about Joey. Knew that she'd kept Anthony away from his son. Was this the motive behind the kidnapping? A way to show her the power of the Caruso name?

"Me and Frankie didn't have kids," Margie continued, clearly oblivious to Rachel's spinning thoughts. "I guess it was a good thing, considering how we didn't stay together."

Rachel couldn't decide if Margie was putting on an act for her benefit or not. She didn't dare glance at her watch, even though Nick had been gone for what seemed like a really long time. She didn't want Margie to wonder where he was, either. "I guess maybe you're right," she murmured. "Divorce is much easier without fighting over kids." Before the other woman could ask anything more, Rachel quickly changed the subject. "Are you going to see Frankie anytime soon?"

Margie's eyebrows lifted. "Maybe. Why?"

Flustered, Rachel strove to keep her tone light and casual. "I thought maybe you could just mention to him that I'd like to talk to him. If he has some time. Nothing urgent..."

Margie stared at her for a long moment, as if trying to gauge what Rachel really wanted. "Yeah, sure. I might see him. Maybe you should give me your phone number so that he has it if he wants to get in touch with you."

"Of course. Do you have a pen and paper handy?"

Margie rose to her feet at the same moment Nick walked back into the room. "Wait here for a minute."

After their hostess left the room, she looked at Nick. "Well?" she asked in a low voice.

"Nothing," he murmured with a slight shake of his head.

Nothing, as in he didn't get to search very much? Or nothing, as in he truly hadn't found anything?

Before she could ask anything more, Margie returned. Rachel hastily scribbled her number on the slip of paper the older woman handed her. "Thanks so much, Margie. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."

"No problem." Margie walked them to the front door. "Take care."

"You, too," Rachel said, before slipping outside. Nick followed her, grabbing her hand as they strolled down the sidewalk to the street. "We probably shouldn't have parked far away," she murmured under her breath. "Margie will think it's odd that we didn't pull up right in front of her house."                       
       
           



       

"You might be right," Nick said. "But you did a good job of convincing her that your reason for being there was related to Frankie. Maybe she'll think we're just paranoid."

Once they turned the corner, Rachel relaxed. "I was there because of Frankie. He's been here in Chicago, Nick. I think he must be involved in Joey's kidnapping."

Nick didn't say anything more until they were in the car. "Frankie might be involved, but as far as I could tell, Margie isn't. I looked around and didn't find anything. I even managed to sneak down the basement stairs. There weren't any hiding places down there that I could see, so I didn't spend a lot of time searching. I was afraid she'd hear me."

Rachel couldn't believe he'd managed to get all the way into the basement. "What would you have done if she had heard you?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "I would have claimed that I took a wrong turn."

She put a hand over her knotted stomach, glad she hadn't known what Nick was doing while she chatted with Margie. Her nerves were already at the breaking point. Time was running out; they were due to be at the bank in the next twenty minutes.

Soon, they'd be one step closer to getting Joey back, safe and sound.

* * *

Nick glanced at Rachel as he navigated the traffic, taking the fastest route to the bank. He couldn't say he was surprised that they hadn't found anything at Margie Caruso's house. He still believed that Dr. Karl Errol might be the missing link. But no matter what he thought, there wasn't enough time to keep searching for Joey. He knew that once they'd finished their transaction at the bank, Rachel would contact the kidnapper.

There was no way she'd risk anything happening to her son. Not that he could blame her. Easy for him to say the kidnapper was bluffing. If Rachel found a single mark on Joey, she'd never forgive him.

His phone rang and he picked it up, recognizing Jonah Stewart's number. "Hey, are you in town?"

"Yep, sitting in the parking lot of the hotel down the road from the bank."

Nick could feel Rachel's curious gaze on him. "Good. We'll be at the bank within the next ten minutes or so. I'll be in touch as soon as we're finished."

"Sounds good. I'll be waiting."

"Thanks, buddy." He disconnected from the call.

"Was that the cop buddy you told me about?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, Jonah Stewart is a Milwaukee detective who helped build a case against your ex-husband. Anthony tried to kill him. Thankfully, Jonah and Mallory escaped, and Anthony was the one who'd died that night."

"So he was the one responsible for bringing down Anthony," Rachel mused. "I always wondered exactly what happened."

The last thing he wanted was for Rachel to hear the gory details. "None of that matters now. Just know that we really can trust Jonah."

Rachel nodded and looked away, staring out the window as if lost in thought.

He mentally kicked himself for reminding her of Anthony Caruso, especially at a time like this, when her son was still missing. Didn't she already have enough to worry about? Right now, she needed to stay focused on the task of getting the money together. That was the first step. The second was to exchange the money for her son.

With the kidnapper calling the shots, they'd be lucky to get Joey back without incident, even with Jonah's help. "Nick?"

He dragged his gaze to meet Rachel's. "Yes?"

"I want you to promise me something."

Uh-oh. He braced himself, certain he wasn't going to like this. "Promise you what?"

She locked eyes with him. "Promise me that you'll get Joey out of there safely. I don't want you to worry about me-I want you to focus on keeping my son safe."

Every instinct in his body protested, but he knew very well that if the situation was reversed, he'd ask the exact same thing. Children were a cherished gift from God and they deserved a chance to be protected. As much as he didn't want to lose Rachel, he knew he had to give her this much.

"I promise," he vowed, silently asking God to spare both Rachel and Joey so he wouldn't be forced to make an impossible choice.                       
       
           



       

* * *

Rachel rubbed her sweaty palms on the sides of her jeans before picking up the pen to sign over her shares of the company stock to Gerry Ashton. She couldn't help glancing at her watch, wondering if right now, the kidnapper was somewhere close watching them.

"Are you sure about this, Rachel?" Edward Callahan asked. The poor bank manager had been beside himself since they'd arrived. She wanted to believe he cared about her, but she suspected the large withdrawal of cash was the main source of his concern.

"Absolutely." She wasn't nervous about selling off her company; she was worried about Joey. Because the moment Edward handed over the cash, she'd have to call the kidnappers.

Please, Lord, please don't let them hurt my son.

The transaction was completed with ridiculous simplicity-she was sure she'd completed far more paperwork when she'd bought her house eight years ago.

A house that she'd have to sell, once she had her son back. She shoved the thoughts away, refusing to dwell on her decision. She'd give up everything she owned to get Joey back.

"I have the cash pulled together in the vault," Edward said as Gerry finished his portion of the agreement. "It wasn't easy... I had to send couriers to several other branches to get what you needed. I-uh, put it all in a large duffel bag for you. I didn't want it to look too obvious as you left the building. A cashier's check would be much safer," he added, even though he'd already lectured her on the perils of walking around with so much money.