Page 105 of Coup De Grâce
I drifted in and out until I felt a cool cloth on my forehead, and Eva’s soothing words as she laid down beside me and held my hand in hers.
“No one blames you, Cash. We’re all here for you.”
“I blame me,” I muttered right before I passed out.
31
CLAIRE
I waited by the phone,knowing any day she would call. I never knew when the call would come in or how long we would be able to talk, but that never stopped me from waiting day in and day out. Everything else in my life ceased to exist until she called.
It was the only thing that let me know she was still alive, that all the pain and heartache, while terrible, let me know my baby might still come home to me.
When the shrill ring of the phone sounded, I picked it up, choking on my words as I spit them out. “Isabelle?”
The line was silent for a minute, but then a harsh voice came over the phone. “What would you give for your daughter’s life?”
No one had ever contacted me other than Isabelle. But now…this voice…was he saying he could get her back? “Anything.”
The line went dead and I cried out in agony. Why would someone torture me like that? Why would anyone ask me such a question, give me hope, then leave me dangling?
I cried and screamed, punched the cushions on the couch as frustration welled within me. I was so tired of playing thesegames, of always wondering if she would come home. It wasn’t fair that she was paying for someone else’s sins.
Just when I thought I was all screamed out, there was a knock on the door. I briefly considered not answering. I was in no mood to talk to anyone, especially not after I just screamed myself raw. But then it occurred to me that no one ever rang my doorbell.
No one.
Holding my breath, I walked toward the door, each step feeling like a life sentence in prison. The man on the telephone suddenly felt like an ominous sign of things to come, and I wasn’t sure I could handle too much more, not after all I had been through.
But I forced myself to turn the knob, to open the door and look at the stranger on my doorstep. “Who are you?”
“Someone who’s here to offer you a bargain.”
“For my daughter’s life,” I surmised.
At his nod, I stepped aside and let him in. Nerves skittered down my spine, but I pushed them away as best I could. This was about Isabelle’s life. I couldn’t afford to be afraid when she needed me.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice coming out stronger than I felt.
He spun around, taking in my house before speaking. “Information. In exchange, I will allow someone to retrieve your daughter.”
“When?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could consider everything that might happen if I agreed to this. All I cared about was bringing Isabelle home.
“It’ll take some time, but I hear there’s already someone working on it.”
“Who?” I asked, desperate to know who this was.
“Are you familiar with a man named Rafe?”
“Rafe?” I repeated. The name wasn’t familiar at all. “No, I don’t know anyone by that name.”
The man smirked at me. “Why am I not surprised Shadow didn’t tell you.”
Shadow. I knew that name. My husband Michael went by that name when he was working. I overheard it one time, but the answers I got when I questioned him were few and far between.
“My husband,” I hedged.
“Yes.” His head cocked to the side as he studied me, probably trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. “He really didn’t tell you.”
