Always and Forever (23 page)

“I remember you from Rory’s kidnapping. And Clay’s. Come on in.” After they settled in the living room, Pat asked, “What’s goin’ on, Agent Masters?”

“Call me Jack. It seems your brother Liam discovered some information my agents hadn’t, for which there will be hell to pay.”

“Liam left a message on my cell to call him, but I haven’t had a chance to. What information?”

“One concerns the pub.”

“There’s a problem at the pub?”

He told Pat about Gale Sullivan’s marital problems.

“Is Sullivan a suspect?”

“No, we’ve had our New York agents check him out in the last five hours. He has alibis for most of his time, allowed us easy access to his apartment.
We don’t believe he’s involved.”

Pat quelled the disappointment.

When Masters brought up Sweeney, Pat shook his head. “I knew about that. His wife was a drug addict. No charges were brought.”

“Still, we checked it out. He’s clean, too.”

“Then what did Liam find that brought you here?”

“Phillip Carson, the agent in charge, is on suspension as of eight tonight, pending investigation.”

A chill skittered up Pat’s spine. “What for?”

“Why didn’t you tell us he and your wife had an affair?”

“I—I don’t know. I guess because Carson told me he was head of kidnapping in the city. I wanted the top person.” And he’d put his damned pride, damned hurt feelings aside to do what was best for her.

“Are you sure that’s all?”

“Why?”

“Your brother knew about her and Carson
because he’d overheard a conversation between you and your wife. One that revealed she might be pregnant with his child. Liam confided that to President Wainwright. I’m sorry, Pat, but Clay forced him to tell us everything.”

“Carson didn’t know anything about the pregnancy.”

“Are you sure? He can count. He might have figured it out.”

Pat ran a hand through his hair. “What does this
all mean?”

“Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot. As an agent, Carson never should have accepted this case with a history like that with a victim. He’s in a whole lot of trouble.”

“I don’t give a shit about that. Just keep him away from us.”

“That’s why I’m in charge now.” Jack scowled. “There’s also some question about why he didn’t search the premises of the clients you isolated. Our behavioral
specialist was to go back with him to revisit the houses this afternoon, but Carson put all that on hold.”

“I asked why we weren’t going in, too.”

Jack patted his pockets. “I’ve got warrants now. We’re on our way to do what he should have done today. The president wanted me to brief you and to make sure you know he’s trying to maintain your privacy about the personal matters.”

“Jack,
can I come with you? Waiting around is killin’ me.”

“Clay said you might ask that. I don’t see the harm. Can you leave now?”

“Yes. Let me just tell the nanny.”

He sat in the dim room, watching her sleep. His face was scratched all to hell, but his heart hurt more. All he wanted was to be with her, then rescue her and be her hero. He’d put the blindfold on her so she
couldn’t connect him with the kidnapping after this was all over. But she’d fought him until Harlan had come running upstairs. Damn the guy.

He rose, left the room and went down to the first floor to find Harlan in the kitchen. Drinking. A bottle of Jack Daniels sat next to him, a third of it gone. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Drowning my sorrows.”

“Over what?”

Harlan looked
up at Phillip. “We heard her screaming. I had to sedate my grandfather. You said you were going to pretend to rescue her, and we’d blame a deluded old man. You didn’t say anything about rape.” His eyes narrowed on Phillip’s face. “At least she put up a fight.”

He slammed his fist on the table. “That’s none of your goddamned business. You were paid well so you could get rid of those gambling
debts.”

Though in reality, he had a lot more planned for this imbecile in order not to be implicated himself.

“Let’s just get it the fuck over with.”

“There’s one issue I have to deal with first.”

“What?”

“It’s none of your business.” He got a glass from the cupboard and filled it half up with bourbon. He gulped back the bitter liquid. “I’m leaving again, but tomorrow I’ll
end this.”

Harlan nodded, and Phillip walked out of the house. But when he stepped into the garage, he stopped short. Several black vehicles parked at all angles surrounded his car. Four agents strode toward him.

The fucking head honcho of the FBI, Jack Masters, pushed back his coat and placed his hand on his Glock. “What the hell are you doing here, Carson? You’re suspended from the case.”

“I…sorry.” He turned his face to the side so Masters wouldn’t see the scratches. “I realized I should have searched the Forbes’s place, so I came back. I scoured it from top to bottom. No sign of Mrs. O’Neil.” What else would convince them? “But I do have suspicions about Harlan Smith, the nephew.”

Masters stared hard at him. Then he turned to the other agents. “Handcuff him. Keep him in
a secured vehicle, Thomas; the rest of us will search the house.”

Knowing he couldn’t draw his gun in time, Phillip used his charm. “That isn’t necessary. I haven’t done anything wrong, but I’ll go peacefully.” And escape, he thought, when they weren’t paying attention. Now his life was on the line.

Masters studied him, then walked close, his hand still on the gun. He grunted when he saw
the scratches on Phillip’s face. “No way.” He nodded to the others. “Restrain him. I got a bad feeling about him being here.”

Phillip was shocked—he’d been caught? The idea never occurred to him.

Everybody gloved up, and Pat went with Agent Masters when he split from the others. They’d found Harlan Smith, the nephew, drunk in the kitchen and cuffed him to the table, where
he’d stay until they were done. Next, they discovered Jonathan Forbes, obviously drugged, in his bedroom. There was another door across from the old man’s and Masters and Pat entered the suite.

Pat said, “This must have been his wife’s. Brie and Annie cleared it out and told me what it looked like.”

Masters went to the bed. It was made up tight, like a drum. Pat walked to the bathroom.
He could smell something sweet. A toothbrush was in its holder. It looked wet. Instead of touching the thing, even with his gloves on, he called Jack. The agent sniffed the brush. And said, “Recently used. Since a dead woman wouldn’t be brushing her teeth, it could have been Brie’s.”

“Then where is she?”

“Let’s keep looking.”

After finishing the second floor, Pat walked next to Masters
down the hallway to the staircase. As he reached it, Masters looked up. “Huh, no attic ladder.” His brow furrowed. “Hold on. The top panel of the wall is loose.”

Pat felt a shiver go through him. Masters jerked the heavy wood to the side, where they found another door. Masters opened it and drew his gun. “Stay here.”

Frustrated, Pat nonetheless watched the agent climb the stairs. Then
try a door handle, then kick the door open. “Get up here, Patrick.”

Pat took the steps two at a time. He reached the third floor, entered a room. And in the bed was Brie. He rushed to her side. “Brie, baby. It’s me Patrick.”

She was awake but almost unseeing. She tried to raise her hand, but it fell listlessly to the mattress. Her forehead sported a purplish bruise.

Grasping both of
her shoulders, he whispered, “It’s okay,
leanbh
. I’m here. I’m here. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Blinking several times, she stared at his face. “Are you a dream again?”

“No, honey, I’m with you. There’s nothing to worry about anymore.”

And as he gathered his wife into his arms, Patrick began to cry.

When Brie awoke, her head was clearer and her body more…alive, though she was achy all over. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to face the nightmare her life had become. But instead of
the awful stale and musty room she’d been locked in or the horrific suite of her dead doppelganger, she saw white walls and brighter lights than she was used to.

“Hello,
a ghrá
.”

Patrick! Or was it another mirage? Tears welled in her eyes, but when she turned her head to the voice, she saw his beloved face. “Pat. Oh, God.”

Gentle fingers swiped at her cheeks. “You’re safe, I’m here,
and nobody’s gonna hurt you.”

She gripped his strong, safe hand. “I can’t believe it.”

Sitting in a chair next to the bed, he hunched forward and kissed her forehead. His scent, woodsy, was so familiar, she wanted to weep. “Do you wanna talk about what happened?”

“Jonathan Forbes and his nephew Harlan kidnapped me.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“He kept calling me Francesca, his dead
wife’s name. So did Jonathan.”

Her husband stilled. “We’ll need to tell the FBI that.” He watched her. “There’s more to it, though. Phillip Carson orchestrated the whole thing.”

“
What
?” Brie’s pulse sped up. “How can that be?”

“Apparently he’s been obsessed with you for a long time. He called you to clean his mother’s house so he could be with you and track your movements. He found
a way to kidnap you and after he took you, he got himself put on the case. He was the investigating officer. We all trusted him.”

Once again, her eyes filled. “I’m so sorry, Pat.”

“None of that. No more.”

“H-how did you find me?”

“Questions arose about some things he left out of the investigation, and also his former relationship with you came to light. He was taken off the case.
We were searching your clients’ homes. Carson was leaving Dr. Forbes’s mansion when the FBI arrived. They arrested him on the spot. Then Harlan Smith, who’d been workin’ with him, told us the whole story after he was arrested, too.”

“What
is
the whole story?”

“Carson thought it would be suspicious if he took you while you were working at his mother’s house. Somehow, he found out about
the Forbes job.”

She swallowed hard. “I told him about Jonathan back in June when I went to evaluate his mother’s house—how he was a sweet old man who thought I looked like his dead wife.”

“He must have set the plan in motion then.” Pat shook his head. “Harlan Smith had gambling debts, and when Carson found out, he bribed the man. Smith convinced Jonathan you were really Francesca, to
make him go along with the idea of keeping you there.”

“That’s bizarre. What was Phillip going to do with me?”

“Rescue you. Be the hero.”

“That doesn’t make sense. How did he plan to handle Jonathan and Harlan?”

“We don’t know all that yet, love. But the FBI found evidence of all this in the house. And your car was in a back shed.”

She rubbed her temples. “I can’t believe it.”

“Right now all you have to do is get better.”

“I want to go home.”

“Not yet. They gave you drugs for three days. You need to stay in the hospital to wean off of them.”

Brie felt like crying again, but she stalled the tears. She was free, and that’s all that mattered.

He took her by the chin. “I’ll be here the whole time, I promise. I told my family not to come tonight, but our
children are all in the waiting room with your parents. They have to see you, honey.”

“I want to see them. Go get them.”

“Nope, I’ll call Joseph. I’m not leavin’ you for a second. I need to be with you.”

“I need to be with you, too. And our family.”

When Pat and Brie’s family came through the doorway, Joseph and Mariana stayed back so the kids go could go to Brie.
Sinead carried Isabella, who clapped her hands and said, “Ma-ma-ma-ma” when she saw her mother.

His oldest son let Sean and Kathleen hug her first, though. Sean took her hand and leaned over her, kissed her hair. Pat could tell he was crying. Kathleen burrowed into Brie’s chest, and the little one broke down, too. Brie’s face turned red in an effort not to cry as she held them.

When the
younger ones were composed, Sinead approached next and set the baby on her lap. He stayed close, touching Brie’s shoulder, while she covered Isabella with kisses. Pat took the baby, and Sinead just stood by the bed. Silent tears ran down his cheeks. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I’m here, honey. Come, give me a hug.”

After the emotional reunion, the children moved back and her
parents approached her. Mariana sat down next to her, and Joseph circled to the opposite side. Both reached out and took one of Brie’s hands. “We were so worried,” Mariana got out in a choked voice.

“I can’t…” Joseph turned his face away, to hide his emotion, Pat guessed.

Her mother took a deep breath. “We love you, Brie. We don’t tell you that enough.”

“I love you, too, Mom.” She
squeezed her father’s hand. “You too, Daddy.”

She hadn’t called him that in years.

“We have to see you more, baby,” Joseph finally managed to say.

“I want that.”

Mariana glanced over at the family. “We think it might be best if you came to stay with us in the Hamptons after you get out of the hospital. The beach is soothing. You’ll recuperate better at our house.”