Page 144 of Stone

The pictures Robert gave me showed a beautiful, tiny, doll-like girl who smiled and lit up the entire universe. I’d missed everything, and damnit, I was determined I wouldn’t miss anymore.

“Dave,” I murmured. “My husband is a monster. Years ago, he took something of mine and kept me compliant bythreatening to harm her. I’m with him because I need to find her and get her safe. If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, but I need your promise that you’ll do everything you can to help me if I promise the same. I’ve been watching, learning, eavesdropping, taking photographs, and I’ll be honest, I don’t think your sister will be found again. But even if she’s gone, we can stop him and those other bastards from hurting somebody else’s daughter or sister. I’m not a spy, but if you teach me, I’ll do everything I can to help you and Mary if you could do the same for me and my daughter.”

I heard Dave take a sharp breath. “He took your daughter?”

“Yes,” I breathed. “I’ve never even held her.”

He paused for a minute while he thought about my proposition. “I’m working solo on this. The Bureau isn’t involved, but I have friends and resources. I’ll do my best for you.”

My heart soared.

At last, a breakthrough.

“Thank you, Dave,” I whispered, holding out my hand for him to shake. “You’ve got a deal.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Dagger

“Your boys play rough,” Stevie muttered. “Hope they don’t hurt my girl.”

I swiveled my neck to see Layla toddling around after Gage, holding her tiny arms out toward him to be picked up. My boy took her hand and led her to the sandpit, plonked down next to her, and started building sandcastles.

“They’re fine.” I took a swig of beer and shook my head at the wonder of Stevie’s girl. “Them eyes, bud. They take up half her face. One day, she’s gonna rope a man with them eyes, ‘cause those big, silver-grey pools will be a sight he wants… no… the sight heneeds,to wake up feelin’ easy to for the rest of his life. She’s fuckin’ beautiful. How the fuck did you and Kelly make her?”

He grinned. “She looks like my side of the family. Same color irises as me, but she gets their shape from my mom.”

“Your ma still in that little white craftsman down near the south end of the creek?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “She’ll die there too, no doubt, and going by the way she dotes on Layla, I’ll probably get bypassed in the will, and Mom will leave it all to her.”

“You care?” I inquired.

“Not in the least,” he muttered.

We went quiet for a while, watching Gage laugh at Layla doin’ a little shimmy with her ass. She was cute as fuck, a pretty doll, and the apple of Stevie’s eye. He took her everywhere, evento work some days, though he owned the realtor’s office in town now—one of our new investments—so nobody could say a word about it.

Business was good.

Personal life was ticking along.

I’ve got three boys now: Xander, Gage, and Kit. I was waiting for Adele to tell me she was ready to try for a girl. I’d already picked her name out. Freya, the Goddess of love and beauty, war and gold.

It seemed fitting.

We just had to make her, which was a challenge, seeing as we didn’t have sex anymore. Marriage was hard work, even with the one you loved, and, in my own way, I did love Adele, but more like a best friend or a sister. But then that was how we went into our marriage. It was never meant to be the kind of love songs were sung of, and epic tales were written about. It worked for us, though. We were a good team, and she was one of the best women I knew.

I could’ve done worse.

“Seen Elise lately?” Stevie asked quietly.

I ignored the clenching of my heart and took another nonchalant swig of beer. “Not recently. See her around now and again, but I tend to stay outta town and all its bullshit. Iris meets with her all the time, and Adele even has coffee with her occasionally.” I let out a snort.

“Funny how things work out,” Stevie muttered. “Henderson wants me to do the conveyancing on some new buildings between here and Mapletree, which he’s invested in. It’ll be worth a lotta money to us.”

“Go with it,” I told him. “He can afford it.”

Stevie grinned. “You’re doin’ okay, too. You’ve got investments from here to Laramie and Rock Springs. Startingthat construction company was a genius idea, especially with the outcry for properties in the area.”

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