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“What’s crazy is that you’ve pulled me into this. I need to cover your tracks somehow. What phone did you use to call me?”
“It’s a burner phone I bought yesterday. No one would know I called you.”
“That was smart anyway. You realize you can’t collect that money. The cops will be all over you. You need to disappear and not come back. And don’t ever call me again.”
“I need help to get away. And I’ll need the money to care for Kylie.”
“You have to give the kid back. That’s not negotiable.”
Taylor gave a slight shake to her head. This had turned into such a huge problem. She hadn’t thought this through. Maybe the problem was she’d gathered her facts about life only from TV shows and her mother. She’d had very little input from real people.
She twisted her hands together. “What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll take the girl back to the edge of town and let her go. You’re going to call her mother and tell her where to find her. And then I’ll take you somewhere so you can disappear.”
At least she wouldn’t have to face Annie. The longer this had gone on, the more Taylor regretted it. She should have chosen to be Sarah and become part of the family again. Now she’d have no one. She’dbeno one. The only time her sister would remember her would be when she recalled the terror of having Kylie disappear.
Tears burned her eyes, and she wished she could go back and change what she’d done. Her mother had always said there wasno use crying over spilt milk, but then she’d made sure to punish Taylor. Would Annie look for her to punish her too?
“Who were you talking to?” Taylor asked.
“Just a friend. I needed advice on what to do. You realize the girl will be able to identify you. And me. I have to make sure she never sees me again so she can’t call me out. I’ll have to move away from the place I’ve lived all my life. I hope you’re happy you’ve ruined my life.”
“I’m sorry,” Taylor whispered. “I never meant to get you in trouble.”
Lissa wrinkled her nose. “Let’s get this done. Go get the kid.”
“She’s asleep.”
“Well, wake her up! Good grief.”
Taylor gave a jerky nod and rushed to the bedroom door. She scooped up the sleeping child and planted a kiss on her damp blonde hair. Hurting Kylie had never been part of her plan. She loved that little girl. Her niece. A part of her flesh and blood. What had she been thinking? She’d been so consumed with rage that she hadn’t realized the consequences of what she’d planned to do.
She carried Kylie out of the bedroom and found Lissa holding open the front door. They exited out to the porch. The breeze teased strands of Kylie’s hair, and she stirred. Her beautiful blue eyes opened, and she blinked.
She started to struggle, and Taylor put her down so she could walk. “We have to leave, honey.”
“I need to go potty.” Kylie turned and raced back inside.
Taylor sat on a porch chair to wait. The air smelled fresh and clean after an afternoon shower, and she wished she could feel as new as that smell. She’d made a terrible mistake.
She rose and went to stand at the steps. What was taking Kylie so long?
Lissa drummed perfectly manicured fingers on the porch railing. “Too bad you couldn’t get the money from the kid’s dad. Jon had plenty of it, and I think he would have raised it. But we can’t risk waiting.”
“No, I suppose not. She doesn’t know Jon is her real dad yet, so don’t mention it in front of her.”
Taylor turned at a gasp behind her and looked into Kylie’s horrified face. The little girl had heard every word.
Thirty-Three
Mason’s office reeked with its usual stench of burned coffee. Agent Cheng took out a tablet and stylus. “Let’s start off with a physical description of your daughter.”
Annie had printed out a recent picture of Kylie in her bathing suit on the dock and slid it across the desk to the FBI agent. “She’s eight years old with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was forty-seven inches tall at her last checkup with the doctor a few weeks ago.”
Siela picked it up and studied it. “Small for her age. She resembles you.”
“She was just diagnosed with celiac disease, and I’m hoping the gluten-free diet will spark her growth.” Annie hesitated. “That’s actually how we discovered my deceased husband was not her father. No one in his family has celiac, and when I heard Jon had it, I began to wonder. I had been engaged to Jon nine years ago, and we broke up when he left town to go to med school. I married Nate almost immediately after major problems at home with my parents. When I got pregnant right away, I assumed the baby was Nate’s. I was wrong.”
