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CHAPTER ONE
“Where’s Mommy?” The three-year-old stared up at him, her lower lip trembling, a faded cloth doll clutched against her thin chest.
Zach Forrester looked down into the bright blue eyes shimmering with tears and wished he knew. “She went on a trip, honey. She’ll be back soon.”
For almost the entire day, the child had stood waiting just inside the front door of his condo, as if standing there might make that door open and her mother magically return.
He knelt to the child’s level and opened his arms, willing her to accept comfort, but she lifted her stubborn little chin and kept a wary distance.
Not that he blamed her.
Two days before, his sister Janet had appeared on his doorstep, thin as death, with darting eyes and a high, nervous laugh. He’d barely recognized her, but hope had rushed through him all the same.
It had been ten long years since she’d screamed invectives at him from across a courtroom. Five since she’d been released from prison. He’d been there, wanting to take her home and help her stay clean, but she’d refused to even speak to him.
He’d pleaded with her anyway, until a surly guy with three nose rings and more tattoos than bare skin arrived to pick her up.
But maybe this time...
Those hopes had been dashed the moment she spoke. “We saw a murder and I gotta stash my kid someplace safe, so she can’t be found. We’re both in big trouble.”
So nothing had changed.
He’d looked down into the frightened face of the little girl, a niece he’d never known existed. And he’d fallen instantly and helplessly in love.
From her white-blond curls and blue eyes to the tips of her tiny, ragged sneakers, she was every child he’d ever tried to help, and the image of the sister he hadn’t been able to save from herself. At least, not yet.
“Please, Janet, come in,” he’d pleaded. “I can help you.”
But she’d already shoved the bedraggled child and a backpack through the door, and he barely had time to slip a business card into her hand before she disappeared into the night with an eerie laugh. “Just keep Katie for me, but don’t try interfering with my life again.”
He’d scrawled his e-mail address and newest cell phone number on the first piece of paper he could grab from his pocket—a business card for his cover as a software sales rep—but she hadn’t yet contacted him.
A smudged, notarized letter hidden in one of the pockets of the backpack listed Katie’s full name and birthdate, and gave him custody until she returned. That she’d even thought to consider it was a chilling postscript to her departure.
When she wasn’t back by morning, he’d called the police. Notified some fellow DEA—Drug Enforcement Administration—buddies with skill at locating people. Called in an old favor from his friend, Jerry, a local PI. After leaving Katie in the care of a trusted colleague and his wife for a few hours, he’d even cruised the back streets of Dallas, hoping to see some sign of his sister.
With all of his years as a special agent, he’d hoped finding her would be easy, but forty-eight hours later, there hadn’t been a word.
Now her child’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “I want my mommy.”
So do I. I want her safe and here with you. But I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon.
Zach managed a broad smile and prayed it looked convincing enough to reassure the little girl. “I’ll bet she comes back real soon. She asked me to take care of you, and I promised I would. Would you like some pizza?”
“No.”
“Peanut butter and jelly?”
That combination had been the only food that had worked so far, but now Katie’s lower lip stuck out and a tear trickled down one cheek. Her blond curls bounced as she shook her head.
“Ice cream?”
Katie’s head shook less vigorously at that.
Well...the child had to eat something. “Vanilla?” Careful not to startle her, he rose slowly and headed for the kitchen. “With chocolate syrup?” he called over his shoulder.
Katie didn’t move from her position at the front door, but her white-knuckled grip on the doll relaxed and she jerked her head in a single nod.
