Hidden Legacy (3 page)

Ella puttered around the kitchen, pouring coffee nobody drank, making sandwiches nobody ate. Albert sat stiff and somber across from Juliana. As Albert and Ella patiently went over their stories several times, Juliana listened intently, trying to make sense out of the impossible. The only conclusions she came to were that the kidnapper was short, and that he’d probably apprehended Briana from school. In Aubery. In the middle of the afternoon.

All this conflicting evidence gave her a splitting headache. And the wait and the not-knowing and the impotence of the whole situation weren’t helping. Who would make sure Briana ate her vegetables? Who would tuck her in? Who would do all the voices the way she liked for her bedtime story? Would she even have dinner? A bed? Books? He’d promised Juliana he’d take good care of Briana. But he’d also stolen her daughter.

I love you, Briana. I didn’t leave you
. Would Briana know this?
I’ll find you. I’ll bring you back home. Whatever it takes. I promise
.

Carrying the portable house phone, her cell phone, and the envelope, Juliana trudged up the stairs to Briana’s room. She sat on the unmade bed, fingered the pink-and-white sheets, and glanced at the collection of stuffed animals—no dolls; Briana didn’t like dolls—all lined up in a row along the wall. Two were missing—Magic and Smoochy. Had she taken them to school? Were they giving her comfort?

She picked up Briana’s favorite purple nightgown and brought its sweatshirt material to her nose. It still smelled of Ivory soap and no-tears shampoo… and Briana’s own sweet scent.

Briana was gone. She was really gone.

“Please, please…” But Juliana didn’t know with whom she pleaded. “I just want her back.”

She wiped the fresh tears away with the back of her hand.
You have to stay in control. Think. Do something
.

For the second time, she opened the envelope.

The newspaper clipping featured a colored photograph of the Nadyenka Sapphire. She read the words, but couldn’t absorb any of the details. The plans showed a house located in Hopewell on the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border, complete with instructions on how to neutralize the alarm system.

Penned at the bottom of the blueprint, came the punch line that stole her breath away.

Owner: Lucas Vassilovich.

“Oh no, oh no.” Her fist clenched. The paper shook. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t happening. Not now.

Her heart skipped a beat, then pounded hard against her ribs. Memories assaulted her, whirling like a tornado, scattering bits and pieces of painful debris across her mind. She was twelve. She was twenty-two. She was losing her mother. She was losing Lucas.

…
Sun spilled through the window, shining on the jewels spread on the black velvet cloth, making them appear like a pirate’s newfound booty. One by one, the man examined them through a loupe and pronounced a price. Then the pile was gone and her mother slipped the aquamarine off her finger.

“No, Mom, not your wedding ring.”

“You’re my most precious angel. Your welfare and that of your brothers’ means more to me than any jewel.”…

…Lucas, dark savage looks and heart-stopping smile, daring her with a tilt of his head across a crowded university library reading room. She resisted, but not for long. He swept her off her feet and showed her how much love she had to give….

…A handful of dirt on her mother’s grave. “Come back, Mom. Come back.”…

…Lucas lifting her high in the air, whirling her around, laughing after cracking his latest case. “This means a promotion for me, my perfect Jewel.” Lucas kissing her, holding her, loving her…

…The doctor’s office. Him telling her that her genes carried the same disease that had killed her father, erasing all hope for happiness…

…Setting Lucas free…

…Lucas leaving. Never looking back…

…Giving birth to Briana alone, without her mother, without her lover…

…The phone call. I have your daughter…

…I have your daughter…

…your daughter…

…My precious angel…

…My perfect jewel…

…Mommy Mine…

…Mom…

…Lucas…

…Briana…

…All gone…

…All gone…

The phone shrilled, knocking her out of the whirlwind of memories. She answered, pressing the record button.

“Did you find the packet?” the voice asked.

Juliana had no energy left. She lay limply on the bed. “Do you know what Lucas Vassilovich is?”

“Apart from a bastard, you mean. Yes, which only makes this sweeter.”

“He’s FBI. Police. If I get caught in his house—”

“Then you’ll have to make sure you aren’t. Now I’ve determined the best time to find the house empty is during the day. He leaves the house precisely at six-thirty every morning and usually returns between six and nine every evening. Here’s what you’ll do. Tomorrow morning…”

She listened to his instructions, swallowing hard as each step sounded more impossible than the next to carry out.

“Do you think you can do that?” he asked finally.

“I don’t have much of a choice.”

“No, no, I’m afraid you don’t.”

Her gaze caught the angel-shaped night light in the corner of the room. It had come on as daylight had died, throwing soft yellow light into the room. Her chest tightened. “Briana, she doesn’t like the dark. She needs a night light.”

“I know.”

“How could you?”

“Because, my dear, I have nothing but time.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

He laughed. “An honest one.”

The glow-in-the-dark stars came alive on Briana’s pale blue wall, and the prickle of tears burned her eyes. “Once I have the Nadyenka Sapphire, how do I get Briana back?”

“After you take the piece into your possession, I want you to promptly return home. I’ll call you with further instructions.”

“No, wait, that’s not going to work!” Juliana sat up, knocking the envelope and its contents to the rainbow-colored carpet.

“We’ll set up a meeting place for the exchange,” he reassured her. “It could all be over by tomorrow night.”

She hung on to the phone with both hands. “She needs help brushing her teeth. She tries to get away with just a swish. She likes at least two stories. She—”

“I’ll take good care of her.”

Juliana closed her eyes, squeezing out the brimming tears. Her lips trembled. She wanted to end the connection. She wanted to hang on to it.
Briana, my baby, my baby
…. “Let me talk to her,
please
.”

“That would only prove disruptive. I’ll be watching you, Miss Shales. One mistake and you’ll lose your precious Briana.”

She shot up, ready to fight, ready to tear this stranger into shreds if he dared hurt her child. “No—”

But it was too late, he’d hung up again. Juliana pressed the “end record” button, then curled into a fetal position on Briana’s bed. She wrapped the pink-and-white sheet around her shivering body, and through her free-flowing tears, sang a lullaby to the childless room.

She was alone. Only she could save Briana. And the irony of it all was that she’d have to betray the man she’d once loved to save his daughter.

* * *

Lucas watched the image move across the video receiver. Finally a bite. His palms turned sweaty, and he tightened his grip on the gadget.

He sat half a mile from the house in an unremarkable Bureau car—in case the thief recognized his own—parked in front of the local Dunkin’ Donuts for a ready supply of caffeine. Close enough to see the main road and easily follow the suspect once he left the house. Far enough not to appear suspicious to anyone driving along.

He riveted his attention on the fish-eyed view of the black-and-white figure creeping across his living room. Three months ago he’d placed the article on the Nadyenka Sapphire in the
Boston Globe
. With so many crimes and so few street agents to cover them all, he’d long since lost his surveillance team to more active cases.

The thief who’d been stealing precious jewels from museums and private collections all over the northeast was making a fool of him. He’d escaped him twice already. Now catching him was a matter of honor. To lure him out of his safe nest, Lucas had decided to use the Sapphire as bait. He’d known the thief wouldn’t be able to resist. He hadn’t expected
him
to be the woman he’d once loved.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

She wore baggy gray sweatpants, a hooded sweatshirt a size too big, and a dark wig that didn’t fit and certainly didn’t become her, but he’d recognize her anywhere. Even after six years, he could still recall every line of her body, the silk of her long blond hair, the sensual rumble of her laughter, her taste, her scent. And those eyes, sometimes blue, sometimes gray, but always a reflection of her feelings. And those feelings had run deep.

She had loved him. He’d never understood why she’d pushed him away.

She bent over the prize, exposing her long neck. The creaminess of it sprang into his mind fresh and vivid. He caught himself licking his lips at the memory, growing heavy, needy.

Juliana Shales. The last person he’d expected to net in his trap.

Juliana. She still crept into his dreams when he least expected it. He’d wake up hard and hungry for her, hating his weakness for the woman who’d left him.

Jewel. When she broke off their relationship six years ago, it had battered his heart. But if she didn’t want him, he wouldn’t beg. Never had. Never would.

He wasn’t one to wallow in pain either. Instead he’d thrown himself into his work, matching wits with professional criminals and putting the bad guys behind bars. That was him, Prince Valiant. A joke to some of his fellow agents, but his record spoke for itself. He had a reputation for getting to the bottom of any art or jewel theft.

Except this one.

He’d never expected Juliana to fall into the category of shady character. She’d been sweet, gentle, passionate. And unfortunately for him, every woman he’d met since his short-lived relationship with Juliana failed to compare to the woman he’d lost.

Now there she was in the flesh, stealing his family’s legacy—the Nadyenka Sapphire his great-grandfather had died protecting. The jewel provided the only proof he had that his family had once sat on the royal throne of Dunavia—not that he expected to ever return to his kingdom. Dunavia no longer existed.

He deserved an explanation, but he didn’t necessarily want the Bureau to hear all he’d ask of her. Lucas flicked off the screen, and didn’t call for back up.

He rounded the back of the Dunkin’ Donuts, and loped to the woods surrounding his house. Before he’d gone far, he spotted a ruby-red Saturn parked along the logging road leading to private property farther inland from the main road. The crystal cut like a brilliant diamond hanging from the rearview mirror was a dead giveaway. Juliana’s car.

He tried the door. It opened. Her subtle scent of roses and jasmine surrounded him, reviving half-forgotten memories. He shook his head, scattering the pictures of the past, and climbed in.

Jewel, don’t you know that even in a small town like Hopewell you’re supposed to lock your doors. You never know who you might find waiting for you in the back seat of your car.

Chapter 2

Judging by how tightly Juliana hung on to the strap of the oversized bag cradled securely between her right arm and her side, Lucas guessed that’s where she’d stowed the Nadyenka Sapphire. She approached the car with the demeanor of a woman with a purpose, her steps sure and straight, her path true. Though her glance flitted across the surrounding woods, no one in his right mind would have deflected her from her goal.

As she neared, he scrunched down in the back seat that was too narrow for his frame. A not-so-bright thing to do in regular circumstances, but these circumstances weren’t exactly normal. Something, he sensed, was too orchestrated. And he’d worked this business long enough to know there was no such thing as coincidence. He couldn’t quite see the whole picture—yet—but when he did, he’d defeat the Phantom.