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The Tessarae Inn |
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Regrets In Jade Tones
CHAPTER 17 Blair tried to ignore the pain in her chest and the churning in the pit of her stomach. Neither she nor Todd had a choice. They each had to do what they thought was best. She couldn’t go home and wait but Todd was right, someone needed to be there. And there was only one person she could think of that made sense. Dorian, Cassie and Kelly were on a different continent. Viki was watching Jack at Llanfair. So if she couldn’t be home when Starr got there then Toni was the next best choice. Starr was very attached to Toni primarily because Toni had spent a lot of time in the last couple of months babysitting and/or supervising she and Jason. Blair had returned the favor and just as often the four of them, sometimes five when Jack came along, did fun things together. So Toni would be a comforting presence not only for Jason but for Starr too. And Blair trusted Toni implicitly. Getting Toni to agree to wait at Dorian’s instead of coming with her was the hard part but she finally prevailed. Someone had to stay put and Dorian’s house was the command center. All of the calls were already being channel through the phones there and it was the logical place for someone to bring the children. “I understand why you feel guilty about lying to him but you have to follow your own instincts, too.” Blair nodded. “I was right about the house. No one had picked up on the fact that Wyatt’s alter had an alter.” “See. Don’t second-guess yourself, Blair. Todd is not the only one with a stake in this.” Blair glanced over at Toni then quickly shifted her gaze straight ahead again. “You don’t like Todd, do you?” “You love him and that’s the only thing that matters.” “Toni.” “It’s not that I dislike him. It’s that we’re too much alike. He’s selfish and self-centered and so am I. Why anyone loves people like us is beyond me.” “But you are loved and you may as well deal with that. You owe RJ at least that much.” Toni exhaled loudly. “Why won’t you fight for him? He wants to forgive you. I know he does but he needs a sign from you.” Toni turned her head and looked out of the window. They were barreling down Fremont at close to eighty miles an hour and neither one of them acted as if that was the least bit strange. “I can’t think about this now.” Blair focused her attention on the road. Toni, she realized, was dealing with a double whammy. Jason was missing and if something happened to him, her guilt over keeping him for RJ for so long would overwhelm her. She was right. Nothing really mattered right now except finding the children. “Did RJ call before I got there?” “No, but Keri is covering the phone at the house. She’ll let me know if he calls and tell him where to find me.” “How’s she holding up?” “Not very well. She adores Jason.” “No sibling rivalry?” “She was sixteen when he was born and that’s a long time to be the center of a parent’s universe. It didn’t help that I let her believe Jason’s father was some man I picked up in a club. So in the beginning she was not thrilled with his entrance into her world.” “But she came around.” “Big time and so will Starr.” If she has the chance, thought Blair. She felt the thought catch in her throat. Where was her baby girl? Where was Starr? Toni seemed to read her thoughts. “You’ll find her. You’ll find them both. I have faith in you.”
======= Téa smiled as she perched on the edge of Antonio’s desk. Who would have thought that an Angel Square thug would one day be head of Special Operations for the LPD? What a world! Of course, Llanview had taken a sharp turn toward the bizarre in more ways than one since her departure. It was hard not to imagine what probably would have happened if she had stayed. For one thing RJ would not be stuck with some gray haired over the hill artsy-fartsy photographer that’s for sure. It was hard enough to think of RJ with a college professor daughter, but the thought of RJ with a geriatric lover was too painful to even think about. She had slipped into a bizarro world that was for sure. And then this Todd and Blair thing. If she hadn’t agreed to go with Todd, he would have had to come back to town to stay and there was no way Blair would have gotten her ugly hooks into him again. The sad truth was that Todd needed Llanview and The Sun. Her mistake was not demanding that they stay in town. After all, when she was here and Todd and Blair were both in town as well, Todd always chose to be with her instead of Blair. So Blair’s supposed good fortune was on shaky ground to say the least. “You haven’t talked to Bo at all?” “Nope. I got off the plane—the Concorde by the way—caught the shuttle to Llanview, dropped my bags off at The Palace and came straight here. Hank made it seem so urgent.” “Well, tell me what you do know.” “Only that Bo and Hank think that Wyatt Cooper may have kidnapped a little girl.” “That’s all?” “They wanted my advice because I defended Wyatt years ago. And I can tell you that he was not guilty then and I don’t think he’s guilty now. He’s one of those men who got a bad rap and was never able to shake it. It’s so unfair the way some people are treated.” Antonio arched his eyebrow. “How well did you know him?” Téa gritted her teeth. What was Antonio implying? Maybe she made a mistake by agreeing to come. It was a calculated risk but she couldn’t resist the thrill of it all. They were all so arrogant and smug. None of them ever appreciated the fact that she could run circles around them with her hands tied behind her back. She had convinced a judge to award custody of a child to a convicted rapist. No one believed it could be done but she did it and reaped some solid rewards. Antonio was watching her with a curious expression on his face. She cleared her throat and said flatly, “He was a client.” Hopefully, her tone made Antonio pickup on the inappropriateness of his question. “I see,” he said in that soft husky voice that always felt like velvet being pulled across her body. Antonio walked around his desk. She followed him with her eyes but she did not move off of the desk. “There’s more to this than Bo or Hank obviously told you. I’m not sure why they didn’t fill you in on all of the details.” “Oh, everything was so rush-rush. I got the call and went almost immediately to the airport. I assumed they would tell me everything once I got here. Where are they by the way?” “A lead came in about Cooper’s whereabouts. They are out checking it out.” “Why is Hank doing grunt work?” “Téa, sit down. This case is bigger and more personal than you realize.” She didn’t like the sound of that. She eased off the desk and sat in the office chair facing Antonio’s desk. Antonio sat is his desk chair and adjusted it slightly. “Two children have been kidnapped. One is Starr Manning and the other is Jason...” A cold sweat beaded across her forehead. Starr!! Holy shit. She noticed Antonio watching her reaction. “Someone has taken my Starr?” cried Téa cutting him off. “And Jason Reynolds--RJ’s son.” “RJ’s son? I don’t understand.” “Jason is Keri’s younger brother and RJ’s son.” Téa thought about that statement for a moment but decided not to press the matter. She steeled herself and forced the appearance of chilly control. “Why would Wyatt take Starr and RJ’s son?” “As far as we can determine it has something to do with Blair.” She exhaled loudly and tried to cover her smile. “Damn it,” she said forcefully. “I should have known that. How could Todd let that woman anywhere near Starr? What is it this time? There’s no telling what that lying piece of trash did to upset Wyatt.” “Don’t make this personal, Téa. A child is missing—two children in fact. Getting them back safe and sound is the only thing that matters.” Téa tried not to feel hurt. Antonio should be on her side, regardless. She crossed her leg and let it bounce. “Mommi will be glad to see you, Téa. She worries about you.” “What about you? Are you seeing anyone?” “I’m dating.” “Anyone I know?” “No and this is not the time to catch up. We can do this later. Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes? Cooper’s file is in Bo’s office. There are few things I want to ask you about.” Téa shrugged her shoulders. Antonio strolled out of the office but not before touching her lightly on the shoulder. “It is good to have you back, Téa.” Téa stood up and looked out of the window of the office. What was she supposed to do? If she had known it was Starr she wouldn’t have come. How much did she owe any of these people? She sure didn’t want to answer a lot of questions about Wyatt Cooper. She covered her tracks but Todd was involved in this. The phone rang. There was something menacing about the sound of it, yet she was drawn to it as if the call was a summons. She waited for a few minutes but no one rushed in to answer it. Finally, she couldn’t resist any longer. She picked up the receiver. “Téa Delgado,” she said briskly. “It’s about time you answered,” Wyatt said in a curdled tone. “East-End Parking Lot at Buchanan Park in one hour.” Téa couldn’t find her voice. “You hear me? No tricks. Fifty-nine minutes.” She turned just as Antonio walked into the office. He immediately picked up on her panic. He took the phone from her and hit the speaker button. “Antonio Vega, Head of Special Operations.” “I want a meeting with Starr’s mother. Buchanan Park No police. No sharpshooters. I want to meet her alone. She understands why. The children are safe but they won’t be for long if my orders are not followed. Get it?” “Where are you?” “She knows. You can try to take me out but I will promise you IF you ever find those children they will be long dead by then. And the last thing I will do before I go down is shoot Starr’s mother between the eyes.” “We can’t put her in that kind of danger.” “I suggest you let her decide. Starr’s real mother. No tricks.” “Téa Delgado is here.” “Why do you think I’m calling there? The park in fifty-four minutes. No tricks.” Click. Antonio hung up the phone. She glanced over at him and was surprised to see that he was studying her. “What’s wrong?” “I’m not sure. He just didn’t seem surprised to hear that you are here, is all.” “I just talked to him, remember? And Wyatt is a psychopath. He believes that everyone in the world will drop everything when he throws a tantrum.” “You just said a little while ago that he was probably innocent.” “I haven’t seen this man in over twelve years. People change but I don’t think he will hurt Starr. I honestly don’t.” “There’s no way I’m going to put Blair Manning into that kind of danger.” “You’re not going to tell her about the call! I think that’s a major mistake.” “Téa, you are here as a consultant. I’m running this investigation and we better get a few things straight right now. I call the shots. You have no authority, moral or otherwise. Do we have an understanding?” “I think you’re wrong not to tell her.” “Letting Blair meet him is just setting up a situation for him to snatch another hostage.” Téa glanced at her watch. There was only fifty minutes before the deadline. “Stay here. I’m going to make arrangements to send a special operations team to the park.” Antonio stopped suddenly. “He didn’t tell me. He told you, right? Where in the park, Téa?” “The West-End Parking Lot. Why don’t you just let Blair meet him?” “Because it goes against police procedure.” “This is all about Blair.” “I’ll say it again. Don’t make this personal.” Téa paced around the office. How could this not be personal? Antonio was a sucker just like everyone else in Blair’s world. She flopped into the desk chair, crossed her legs and threw back her head. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift. “Tired? I bet it was a long trip.” She sat up startled. How long had she let her mind shut down? The clock was ticking. Antonio looked at her and smiled. “It’s all right. You’re entitled to a little down time.” “This is such a difficult situation, Antonio. I can’t believe Starr is in trouble.” “We will get her back.” “It’s all Blair’s doing.” “What is all my doing?” Blair stepped into the office. Antonio whipped his head toward Téa who read his facial expression. He wanted her to keep quiet about the call. “There is nothing going on you should be concerned about, Mrs. Manning. What are you doing here?” Blair raised her eyebrow and looked at Téa. “What’s she doing here?” Téa smiled. This was good. The bitch was already feeling threatened. “I was called in as a consultant,” she said in a syrupy voice. “A consultant?” snapped Blair but then seemed to retreat from attack mode. “Oh, that’s right Bo did tell me that Hank called her. I guess it slipped my mind.” “Perfectly understandable,” said Antonio placing himself so he blocked Téa’s view of Blair. “What are you doing here?” “I just thought about something I wanted to talk to you about.” A young officer stuck his head in the door and gestured to Antonio. Antonio glanced at Blair. “Excuse me for a second. I’m setting something up right now. Give me a few minutes and then we can talk.” Antonio looked over at Téa for a few moments and held her gaze then walked out of the office. Téa eyed Blair. The bitch looked beautiful despite everything. God, she hated this woman. “Thanks for coming I guess, Téa. Do you think you can help?” “He’s lying to you.” “Who’s lying? What?” “Antonio just got a call from Wyatt Cooper.” “What are you saying?” “He thinks he shouldn’t tell you but I love Starr, too, and I don’t think he has a right to mislead you.” “What did he say?” “Are you sure you want to know. It could be dangerous.” “Of course, I want to know. My little girl is in danger not me.” “Does the East-End Parking Lot at the park off of Lancaster mean anything to you?” “Mean anything?” “Some connection to you and Wyatt.” Blair shook her head then stopped suddenly. “We thought about setting up a photo shoot there once for part of the ad campaign. Rick …Wyatt and I walked every inch of the surrounding ground to make sure it would work. Does this have something to do with Starr?” Téa almost forgot to breathe. This was too perfect. “He wants to meet you there alone in forty minutes. He says the children are in danger unless you come alone. Antonio left to send a special police unit but if you leave right now you may be able to get there before…” Téa’s voiced trailed off as Blair ran out of the office. |