Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) (2 page)

Abby peered in the backseat. “Let’s let her sleep. She wore herself out. I’ll stay with her while you do your thing.”

Alexa glanced in her rearview mirror as she exited the interstate. The gray van she had noticed off and on throughout the drive was still behind them. “It’s getting dark. There aren’t many cars in the lot.”

“Worry wart alert. Worry wart alert,” Abby blurted out in her familiar, teasing robot voice. “Just go pee, Lex. Olivia and I’ll wait here with the windows up and doors locked. Nothing’s going to happen in the five minutes you’ll be gone.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll even punch nine-one-one into my cell. I’ll keep my thumb hovered over ‘send’ the entire time.”

Alexa pulled into a spot as close to the facilities as possible. The sun was dipping along the horizon, the first stars winking to life. “I’m sorry, did you say you wanted to walk back?” She and Abby grinned at each other as she unfastened her seatbelt. “You sure you don’t want to come?”

“Pee already, Lex,” Abby said with an exasperated laugh.

“Okay, be right back.” Alexa rolled up her window and shut the door, careful to lock her sister and daughter in, and hurried up the path to the bathrooms. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled when Abby made an exaggerated go-ahead motion, as if encouraging her to continue forward. Chuckling, she shook her head. She couldn’t help being the mama bear. Some habits would never fade, no matter how old she and Abby were. She was the cautious one and Abby the free spirit—it was ingrained in their DNA.

Alexa pushed her way into the restroom and into a stall. With her bladder empty, she sighed her relief, yanked up her jeans, and washed her hands. She studied her face in the mirror, noting the slight hint of tan the week of sun had left on her fair skin. The mini-vacation had been the perfect kick-off to an exciting new adventure. Abby had a week-old college diploma in her pocket and two interviews lined up in Los Angeles. Alexa had eight blissful weeks away from her first grade classroom. Lazy, wonderful summer days to spend with her sweet little girl lay ahead of her.

Ready to get on with it, ready to get back to their lives, Alexa pulled the door open, took a step, and stopped short as her heart froze. Time stood still as two men in black ski masks dragged Abby kicking and screaming toward the gray van. From a distance, her sister’s pleading, terrified eyes bore into hers. Staring, blinking, she finally ran forward as the horror of the moment truly sunk in. “Stop it! Leave her alone! Abby! Abby, no!”

Her sister twisted and turned, fighting a useless battle against big hands and powerful arms. Alexa skirted her car as the men stepped into the back of the van, taking Abby with them. Abby’s pleading shouts for help echoed into the night until the door quickly closed and the van screeched off.

Alexa sprinted after the vehicle, screaming until she came to her senses and dashed back to the car. Olivia cried in the backseat, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh, baby. Oh, honey.” Alexa fumbled with Olivia’s buckle. Her hands shook and her breath heaved as she freed her daughter from her booster and clutched her close, rocking them both on the edge of the seat. She reached forward and rummaged through her purse in the center console, searching for her phone. Grabbing it up, she dialed nine-one-one. Her eyes darted around the dark, desolate, parking lot, and her teeth chattered while her body shuddered in sheer terror.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“Someone took my sister,” she gasped between panicked breaths. “Someone
took
my sister.”

It was well after midnight when Alexa let herself into her small home. On autopilot, she carried Livy to the couch, laid her down, and covered her with a fleece blanket, too terrified to put her daughter in her bed, or even let her out of her sight. With her arms empty and suddenly feeling cold, Alexa glanced into the moonless darkness boring through the windows. She hurried around the living room, quickly twisting the blinds and yanking curtains closed, before she turned on every light she could. It was so quiet—too quiet—in her little corner of the woods. Her house, tucked among the trees on the outskirts of town, always brought her comfort, but not tonight.

Head pounding, heart aching, Alexa sat down and pressed a hand to her nauseous stomach. She stared at the lists she’d made before her family left for their week of fun in Virginia. Abby’s small graduation barbeque was supposed to be tomorrow night. She wanted to do more, so much more for her sister, but money was tight. Purchasing streamers, balloons, napkins, and a million other items had been her biggest worry just hours ago. Now she wished juggling a couple hundred dollars was her biggest issue.

Alexa rested her weary head in her hands. “My God,” she whispered, still unable to believe that two men had snatched her sister away. Abby was really gone. This had to be a dream. Glancing up, she looked at Gran’s piano in the corner of the small room, the fireplace with the decorative display of wood and candles in its center, and Livy’s toys and books tucked away neatly in the antique box by the window. Alexa knew she wasn’t asleep; she was in the middle of a nightmare, but she was wide-awake.

Tears trailed down her cheeks one after another as she sighed out an unsteady breath. “What am I going to do? How will I get her back?” Where did she
start
?

The police were doing everything they could. They’d released Abby’s picture to the media along with the few details they had on her case, but it wasn’t enough. There were too many questions and hardly any answers, even after the police interview. She’d clutched Olivia in her arms for hours while she gave the detectives a description of the van and the two muscled men in black masks and jeans who had grabbed her sister, yet she hadn’t been able to give them a license plate number. She never looked as she ran after the Chevy. And although she’d racked her brain, she couldn’t think of a single individual who would wish her sister harm. Abby didn’t have enemies. Everyone loved her. She was so warm and fun.

Restless and too frantic to be still, Alexa stood again, wandering the room like a lost soul. How could she have forgotten to get the license number? She didn’t even know what state the vehicle was from. She’d felt even stupider when she couldn’t give the officers a make and model of the van until she searched the catalog they gave her. She’d let Abby down in so many ways, and as a result, Alexa left the precinct the way she had arrived—powerless and without her sister.

Alexa stopped by the mantel and stared at the photo of her, Livy, and Abby grinning for the camera in their winter gear. They’d had so much fun at the town’s annual Christmas Festival months before. Lips trembling, Alexa gasped for air as she gave in to her depthless sorrow. She crumbled to the floor and wept, drowning in her fear. “Oh, God, Abby. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I let you down.”

On the couch, Livy stirred. “Mommy?”

“I’m right here, honey.” She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes, struggling to steady her voice. “I’m right here.” Alexa used the last of her reserves to walk to her little girl, sit on the corner of the cushion, and smile. “Close your eyes, Lovely Livy.” She stroked her fingers through her daughter’s soft, wheat-colored hair. “It’s late.”

“Where’s Auntie Ab?”

Alexa’s lip wobbled. How much did Olivia see? What did she remember? Would she be traumatized? “She’s not here right now.”

“Why did they make her cry, mommy?”

“Oh, Livy.” Alexa scooped her up and cuddled her in her lap, sweeping her hair away from her forehead. “The police are going to bring her home soon.” She had to believe it. As she held her daughter close, clinging, breathing in the comfort of her baby, she shut her eyes. At moments like this, the heavy weight of raising her child on her own, of having no one else to depend on, was crushing. “Let’s get you to bed. You can sleep with me tonight.”

“Okay, mommy.” Livy kissed her cheek.

Alexa stood and carried Livy with her to check the lock. She struggled to push the sturdy wooden bench in front of the door and left the lights blazing before she grabbed her cell phone and purse, desperately hoping Abby would find a way to call.

As she climbed the steep stairs, Livy’s breathing deepened, evening out. Alexa turned into her room and could only be thankful she’d forgotten to open the blinds before they left on their trip. She didn’t want to face the shadows cast by the scant sliver of moon peeking through the increasing clouds or wonder who might be in the dark, watching. Shuddering, she flipped on the dim overhead light. She pulled the covers back and lay Livy down, gently tugging off her shorts, and covered her against the chill of the still, cool nights.

Alexa settled in next to her, fully clothed in her jeans and Virginia Beach t-shirt, hopeful the police would call and tell her to come pick up Abby. She didn’t want to waste time getting dressed.

She stared at the pictures on her dresser. One of her and Livy moments after she’d pushed her daughter into the world. Livy’s first birthday. Her first steps. Somehow the years had rushed by, and her baby was three-and-a-half. How did that happen?

She looked at the photos hanging on the wall—the last family picture before Gran passed so unexpectedly and the new frame with pictures of Abby in her college cap and gown. She was stunning, with long, glossy, black hair, her classic oval face and flawless complexion, those huge dark blue eyes dancing with energy and fun. Everyone had always said she and Abby could pass for identical twins, but Alexa’s cheekbones were sharper, and she had a good two inches on her sister’s five-four, willowy frame. Alexa closed her eyes again when the pain became too much. “Oh, Ab, please be okay.
Please
.”

Her cellphone rang, and she jumped. She grabbed the phone up in trembling hands and fumbled it. “Abby?”

More ringing.

Frowning, she looked at her phone, confused, before she realized the ringing wasn’t coming from her cell but from somewhere in her purse. She reached forward, yanking her bag off the nightstand, and rummaged through until she discovered the small Verizon flip phone. “Hello? Abby?”

“Guess again,” the sexless computerized voice said.

“Who—who is this?” Her heart slammed in her chest as she realized she was talking to Abby’s kidnapper. “Where’s my sister?”

“I talk. You listen.”

She struggled not to shout her questions, to demand answers, fearful that disobeying might harm her sister.

“You’ve already messed up, sister Alexa. You shouldn’t have involved the police or the press. Now we have to up the ante.”

They knew her name. Did they know where she lived? She rushed out of bed and peeked around the corner of the window shade. Her eyes darted about, scrutinizing the trees surrounding her home. “What do you want? I’ll do anything.”

The mechanical laughter erupting in her ear sent shivers along her spine. She stepped away from the window.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand by Monday morning—2 AM. Leave it in your savings account. We’ll take care of it from there.”

“But…” A quarter of a million dollars? Alexa paced about as cold sweat dripped down her back. She didn’t have that kind of money, not even close, but she didn’t dare say so. “Let me talk to Abby.”

“I do the demanding, not you, bitch. Forty-eight hours. No more police. No more press. Silence will save your sister’s life until we get the money. Keep your new phone handy if you want to see her alive.” The line went dead.

“Wait.
Wait
. Hello?” Alexa sunk to the bed, listening to the dial tone, then sprang back up to pace the room again. Teeth chattering, she sucked in rapid breath after rapid breath. She had fifteen thousand to her name and not a penny more. What was she going to
do
? With unsteady fingers, she pulled the card the detective had given her from her pocket and dialed, then stopped abruptly. Would the kidnappers find out? “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do,” she said out loud as she pressed at the throb in her temple. Every move might be the wrong one. Every move had the potential to harm her sister. Unsure, she stared at the paper in her hand, then shoved it away again. The kidnapper said
no one
.