* * * *
The unfamiliar man, dressed in a black suit, held up Tamar’s cell phone, which Seth had left on the kitchen counter, and in English, heavy with a French accent, he said, “Breach of contract is very bad form. Where is Tamar?” His tone left no room for question or equivocation.
“She’s gone. Japan, I think. She left Tobias with Seth two months ago. Who are you? What do you mean, breach of contract?”
Staring at her speculatively, he seemed to arrive at some sort of decision. “You may call me Henri. I’m completing the deal I struck two months ago. Thank you for turning on the cell phone. We’ve been hoping to track the GPS signal. The couple I made the bargain with was growing impatient.” His words were sharp and overarticulated as though he was finally able to vent frustration he’d been holding in.
Jayne’s heart dropped in her chest when another, larger man appeared behind the one speaking, holding a very wary, haunted-looking Toby. He also spoke with a thick French accent. “The diaper bag on the counter is already packed.”
The baby leaned as far away from the man as he could, and when Toby saw her, he reached for her and whispered her name. He stared warily at Henri, and it was then that she recognized the name.
Henri, Tamar’s business acquaintance. Nefarious. Blackmailer.
The memory of the dream Seth had described returned to her. Her fingers shook as she held the ladder with one hand and surreptitiously pressed the volume control on her phone, where it was lying inside the shallow tool tray on the top of the ladder, until the ringer was muted.
Unsure where the bravery came from, she stepped down from her high position on the ladder, sliding her phone into the front of her jeans, praying they hadn’t noticed. Maintaining eye contact with the man holding the baby, she didn’t beg or cry or plead.
She turned to Henri, and with the strength of the conviction that coursed through her blood she said, “You might as well kill me now, because you’re not leaving with my baby.”
Henri chuckled and pursed his overly full lips and glanced at the other man and then at her, nodding thoughtfully. He tugged at the wispy goatee that did a poor job of hiding his weak chin and said, “Why would I do that? I need you to care for the baby. Then I can deliver him in well-cared-for condition.”
Over my dead fucking body. “Where are we going?”
“Back where he belongs. Paris.”
“And what then?”
“Then I see how much you bring. Lovelies such as yourself disappear every day.” He shrugged. “Of course, if you struggle or fight, we will shoot you and still take the baby.” He tsked as though that would be an unfortunate outcome. “But we wouldn’t want that to be his last recollection of you, now would we?” He held that over her head knowing she’d never want that for Toby.
Cold fear congealed inside of her, even as her anger bloomed. She still had her phone. She had friends who could help her.
Be cool, Jayne.
She glowered at the man holding Toby and reached for the baby, taking him as though it was her right and they weren’t about to be kidnapped.
Henri gestured, looked around her home dismissively. “Bring the diaper bag. She will care for him on the trip to Lusty. Those hicks had better have the Learjet repaired and ready. I want no more delays.” The other man retrieved the diaper bag as Henri removed a revolver from his pocket and poked it painfully into her ribs. “Make one sound once we step outside, draw attention to yourself in any way, and I will shoot you and leave you bleeding to death on the front lawn and take Tobias anyway. Do you understand? There is no reason for you to be injured. Do not tempt me, because I won’t hesitate. I made a deal involving this little boy and I’m seeing it through. You just sweeten that deal and will help me recoup my investment in this trip.”
Lusty. Lear repaired and ready. Lusty. Wait a minute. Julián Alvarez is from Lusty.
“What deal? Why are you doing this?”
“Why? Because Tamar owes me. When her financing for our little moneymaking arrangement dried up, she and her brat had been freeloading off of me for months. My employees cared for this one”—he gestured at Toby—“and Tamar owes me for that. It was obvious she didn’t care much for him, so I found the perfect solution to pay her debt.”
Henri gestured for her to follow. She reached for the diaper bag, which the man handed her. Quick as a wink, she shifted Toby as though making him comfortable and slipped her phone from her jeans and into one of the deep pockets in the diaper bag.
She followed quietly to the sleek, black SUV waiting outside, head bowed, holding Toby, who was deathly silent, against her. She prayed that one of their neighbors was home and would see. She had gotten to know all the neighbors in the time she’d been around Seth’s house, and they might find her demeanor odd.