Chasing Second Chances Read online

  Chasing Second Chances

  By Shelly Logan

  Copyright © 2013 Blue Ribbon Books

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact us at [email protected]

  Chapter One

  Stamford, Connecticut

  9: 13 P.M.

  Lena couldn’t sleep.

  Wide-eyed, she stared up at the chandelier her Mommy had bought for her fifth birthday, the crystal stars hanging from it gleaming in the moonlight like the diamonds on her Mommy’s favorite necklace, the one she wore only with pretty gowns that made her look like a princess.

  Lena had once loved looking at stars, believing that they granted wishes. Now, she knew that wasn’t true. She had wished on a star for her Daddy to stay, after all, and yet one day, he had simply left the house without saying goodbye and never come back.

  She turned on her side and hugged her stuffed pink bunny, Miss Sophie, tighter, wishing that her Mommy was here so she could read her a story or stroke her hair until she fell asleep, but she knew her Mommy wouldn’t come. She was far away with the man with the brown hair and the shiny white teeth, the man who often brought home flowers and started sleeping in their house after New Years.

  Lena didn’t like him.

  The only other people in the house were her younger brother, Jack, who was no doubt sound asleep and dreaming of race cars—the only thing he ever talked about these days, and Charlene, the babysitter, who often complained that she was only working for the money, carried her phone everywhere and liked to try on Mommy’s perfume when she thought no one was looking.

  Lena didn’t like her either.

  Knowing that she had no choice but to put herself to sleep, she closed her eyes and started thinking about her favorite make-believe place—a cottage hidden somewhere in the mountains with a huge garden and a beautiful carousel in the backyard, and plenty of bunnies. Lena had always wanted a bunny, but her Mommy had never let her keep one because they were both allergic.

  She thought about being in a bedroom surrounded by real bunnies, two of them on each side while the others huddled on her bed, on the nightstand, the shelf, the window sill and the floor. She would read to them softly and sing them to sleep, then…

  Bang!

  Lena got up with a jolt, eyes wide and heart pounding. What was that sound?

  Curious, she got out of bed, Miss Sophie tucked in one arm, and opened the door just a bit. When she didn’t see anyone there, she walked down the dim corridor and started going down the stairs, stopping just a step above the landing when she saw a strange person wearing a mask standing over Charlene’s sleeping form on the floor—why was Charlene sleeping on the floor—and holding something shiny in his hand.

  A gun.

  Lena froze but her arm must have moved because Miss Sophie fell to the floor with a light thud, the sound enough to make the masked stranger look up at her.

  She ran back up the stairs as fast as she could, back to her bedroom where she closed the door firmly behind her, leaning on it before frantically looking around for somewhere to hide because that was what the small voice inside her was telling her to do—hide.

  Finally, she decided on the toy chest, which was nearly empty since her dolls were still lying around. She fit herself inside, tucking in her arms and legs, before pulling the lid down.

  For the next several seconds, she could hear nothing but the sound of her own breathing. Then, she heard the door open.

  “Where are you, little girl? If you come out like a good girl, I promise I won’t hurt you. I’ll even give you some cookies.”

  For a moment, Lena was tempted to come out, the sweet voice making her think that perhaps whoever was in her room was not going to hurt her. She remembered, however, what had happened to Charlene, which was enough to make her shiver, and so she stayed inside the chest, trying her best to be very still even though her legs were starting to hurt.

  “Where are you, little girl? Come out, come out wherever you are.”

  She heard the closet open, heard her musical plush unicorn being stepped on and starting to play. As she heard the footsteps come closer, she held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that the toy chest would transport her to her enchanted cottage now, promising that she would never again stick her tongue out at Charlene or call her Mommy mean if only it did.

  Please…please…please…

  The lid opened.

  “I found you.”

  Lena opened her eyes and did the only thing she could do then—scream.

  Chapter Two

  Labadee, Haiti

  09: 52 P.M.

  No!

  Kate placed her trembling hands over her ears, the sound from outside the window deafening and shaking her to the core.

  She had always been afraid of thunderstorms, of the loud sounds and the bright flashes of light which seemed like they could reach her anywhere. Other people, including her own parents, had tried to convince her there was nothing to fear from them, but she knew better. Her aunt Marceline, whose warm smile and perfectly cooked Southern-fried chicken she still remembered, had died in the shower during a thunderstorm.

  She crouched lower beside the bed so that she was almost in a fetal position, her face close enough to the carpet that she could smell the lemony carpet deodorizer.

  It will be over soon. It will be over soon. It will be…

  At the next crash of thunder, even louder than the previous one, she pressed her palms tighter against her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Why? Why did there have to be a thunderstorm on the last night of her vacation?

  She tried not to think of the storm, instead focusing her thoughts on the amazing experiences she had had so far on this Caribbean cruise – the rainbow landscape of coral reefs and ethereal schools of fish she had seen while diving, the exhilarating views from the parasail, the romantic dinners, the horseback rides at sunset…

  Crash!

  She buried her face in the carpet, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. How she wished she had her favorite pillow—that large pillow with the fluffy yellow case that she always hugged at times like these—or that she was in the basement of her house where she did her arts and crafts instead of in a room in a cruise ship with large glass windows. Or even…

  “Kate!”

  The sound of her name in that familiar voice seemed like a lifesaver being tossed out to her in the middle of a chaotic ocean and she looked up, her expression hopeful and then relieved.

  “Bryan!” She clung to him, feeling the dampness of his shirt but not minding it. At once, his arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe.

  “Shh, it’s okay now.” He planted a kiss in her hair. “I’m sorry I took so long. The moment I realized there was a thunderstorm, I came rushing here but it was raining so hard that it took me a while.”

  She shook her head. “It’s all right. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  She heard another clap of thunder but strangely, it was not as loud or as frightening as before. She buried her face against his chest, savoring the strength and the softness which she both found there.

  After her marriage had failed, she had thought she would never again feel the love of a man. She had begun to tell herself she didn’t need it, in fact. Bryan, however, proved her wrong, and now that they had been dating for nearly two years, she was gla
d that she had given him the chance, glad that she had given herself a second chance. Some things, after all, were far too precious to be obtained the easy way or the first time around.

  They stood still, hugging each other in comfortable silence and with each minute in Bryan’s arms, Kate found her fear fading, or perhaps she was simply becoming less aware of it as she became aware of something else—of his heart pounding against her cheek, of the warm, smooth skin and taut muscles of his back beneath his wet…

  She stepped back abruptly. “Bryan, you’re soaking wet.”

  “I guess I am,” Bryan said, looking at the mirror and running his hands through his drenched brown hair. “That was quite a downpour.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Shh.” He took her hand, squeezing it gently. “It’s not your fault that a storm cooked up while I was doing some last-minute shopping for souvenirs. Besides, like you said, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re all right.”

  Kate squeezed his hand in turn, then looked outside just in time to catch a glint in the distant horizon, which was all the lightning had been reduced to now that the storm had faded. “I’m all right now. You should probably go take a shower and change into dry clothes before you catch a cold.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Kate nodded.

  He planted a kiss on her forehead. “All right, then. I’ll just be quick and when I’m done, maybe we can go to the bar to get a drink. It’s our last night on this ship, after all, and we should enjoy it.”

  She smiled. “That sounds great.”

  She watched him head towards the bathroom, then went to the closet to pick a dress. After a few moments of indecision, she went with the sequined little black dress, convinced it was the perfect outfit to end her vacation in.

  As she slipped into the dress, she could not help but feel a tinge of sadness at the fact that her Caribbean cruise with Bryan was almost over, which was strange, considering she hadn’t even wanted to come.

  Well, it wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to come, exactly. It was just that she had been reluctant to leave her kids, Lena and Jack, especially since this was the first time she would be away from them for more than twenty-four hours and she wouldn’t be able to get in touch with them while on the cruise. Bryan, however, had told her they would be all right as long as they had a good babysitter, someone to check on them regularly, plenty of food, an emergency fund and the number of their pediatrician on the refrigerator door.

  When that had failed, he had given her a bunch of flowers and an elegant geisha figurine to add to her collection—originally her half-Japanese grandmother’s collection which she had decided to continue since college, begging her to come.

  She had not been able to refuse him.

  That didn’t mean she didn’t feel bad about leaving her kids, though. In fact, she missed them so much that during the first night away from them, she had had trouble sleeping.

  She could not wait to see them again.

  At the thought of their faces lighting up while they rushed to welcome her back home, she, too, felt her face light up.

  Tenderly, she ran her manicured fingers over the golden locket that hung from a chain around her neck which contained the pictures of a little girl in pigtails and a baby boy in diapers.

  By this time tomorrow, she would have them in her arms and everything would once more be right with her world.

  Chapter Three

  Something was wrong, Kate thought as soon as she opened the front door.

  When Kate had called earlier—the first thing she had done after stepping out of their plane from Florida—and no one had answered, she had the feeling that something wrong, but she tried not to jump to the worst conclusions. Now, she was sure of it, the heavy silence and the smell of stale milk clear indications.

  “It seems like everyone’s asleep,” Bryan said, shattering the silence.

  Kate ignored him, the voice of her maternal instinct speaking louder. Following it, she rushed to the living room where the television was on but no one was watching.

  “Charlene?”

  She took a few steps, stopping when her shoe hit something hard.

  A smashed phone.

  Holding her breath, she leaned over to pick it up, which was when she noticed a dark red drop on the living room rug, along with another and another…

  Blood.

  She straightened herself up and stepped back, her hand covering her mouth just as her lips parted to let out a gasp.

  “Kate, is everything all right?”

  Again, she ignored him, rushing up the stairs as soon as she could move again.

  “Lena! Jack!”

  At the landing, she stopped, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she picked up Miss Sophie.

  “Lena…”

  She ran up the rest of the stairs, throwing Jack’s bedroom door open as soon as she reached it. Finding it empty just as she had feared, she ran down the hall to open Lena’s, tears trickling down her cheeks, and finding it empty as well, she collapsed on her shaking knees on the carpet, both hands clasping over her mouth to suppress a scream as she realized what was going on.

  Every mother’s worst nightmare.

  “Wake up, Nick!”

  Lt. Nicholas Paulson opened his eyes as he sat up with a jolt, the realization that he had fallen asleep on his desk just as surprising as his subordinate, Sgt. Lisa Manning, waking him up. He had never fallen asleep on his shift before. Then again, he had never had to take care of a baby who was less than a week old before while his wife caught up on the sleep she was deprived of the previous night.

  He opened his mouth to mumble an apology but upon seeing the worry in Lisa’s wide brown eyes, he was reminded that he had more important tasks at hand.

  “What’s the matter, Lisa?”

  “There’s a missing persons case at 21 Pine Street.”

  “21 Pine Street? That’s a rich neighborhood, isn’t it? Kidnapping?”

  “Possibly,” Lisa answered. “The owner of the house, Kate Evans, said she returned from vacation and the house was empty.”

  Nick leaned forward on his desk and reached for his pen and began to twirl it between his fingers—a habit he had never been able to get rid of, not that he ever seriously tried. “Her child is missing?”

  “Two children, Lena Evans and Jack Evans, aged seven and a half and four,” Lisa said, her eyes on the slip of paper in her hand. “And the babysitter, Charlene Morrow, 19.”

  The pen fell. “Shit.”

  * * * *

  Bryan muttered another curse as he slipped into the driver’s seat of his black SUV, slamming the door shut before gripping fistfuls of his hair in frustration.

  He had never felt so helpless in his life.

  He had only been trying to help Kate, to comfort her somehow, but she had pushed him away, telling him to leave her alone and when he didn’t, she lashed out at him, telling him that everything was his fault.

  That had hurt, especially since he knew she was right, and for a moment, he felt a tinge of regret, but shoved it aside.

  He was not going to give up.

  For now, he was going to back down, to give Kate the time and space she was asking for, not only because she had asked but because she could not stand the sight of her in this disarray, in despair, which reminded him sorely of someone else.

  Someone he didn’t want to remember.

  He would be back, though, and when he did, perhaps she would have calmed down enough to need him, to trust him, to let him love her just as she had before.

  He needed her to keep trusting him or everything would be in vain.

  Chapter Four

  It was in vain, Nick thought as he watched Kate pull another sheet of tissue from the box beside her to dab at her leaking eyes from the chair across her. No matter how hard he tried to restrain the discomfort he felt at the sight of the woman crying in front of him, he could not help but be bothered. He didn’t like seeing women cry�
�a fact which his wife, Jody, sometimes used against him.

  “I’m sorry, Lieutenant. I just can’t…”

  “It’s all right, ma’am.” Nick told Kate as he twirled his pen and shifted in his seat. “Please take your time. I have a kid, too, so I can imagine the horror you’re going through right now.”

  “You do?” Kate crumpled the used tissue and added it to the heap on the coffee table.

  Nick nodded, grinning. “She’s only five days old but she’s my kid all right. She seems to know it, too.”

  The corners of Kate’s lips curved up into a smile. “Just you wait until she can crawl and put things in her mouth, then you’ll wish that she was still in her crib sleeping more than sixteen hours a day.”

  Nick chuckled. “It would be great if she slept sixteen hours straight.”

  “That would be great, all right. I remember the first day I brought Lena home from the hospital. She was…” Kate stopped, her smile vanishing and another tear rolling down her cheek. She buried her face in her hands. “Oh, I hope they’re all right. If they’re not, I don’t think I can ever live with myself, or that I can live at all.”

  Nick frowned. He wished he could say her children were all right, but he did not want to get her hopes up, not when he knew from nearly seven years of experience as a cop that most missing children were never brought home, at least not alive.

  “Tell me everything you can about what happened, then we can do our best to help you get your children back,” he promised instead.

  Kate nodded, pulling out another sheet of tissue from the box. She wiped her tears and blew her nose, then, straightened her shoulders. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  Nick stopped twirling his pen so he could prepare to write in his notebook. “Let’s start with when you found out your children were missing.”

  “Around eight-thirty,” Kate answered. “That was when we arrived. I knew at once that something was wrong and as soon as I found out the children were missing, I called the police.”