Bringing Benjy Home (Security Ops) (18 page)

Her teeth came down hard on her bottom lip, as compassion warred inside her with an innate need for self-preservation. The wall of humanity was as frightening as a nightmare come to life. It had been years since the scene in the concert garden. The time hadn’t faded the horror. Trey would find Benjy. He had to. They couldn’t get this close, only to lose him again.

She wheeled around and walked deliberately away, toward the fence Trey had indicated. Her steps stopped after only a short distance. She turned her head, as if compelled, back to the crowd.

Benjy
.

His name shrieked through her mind on a howl of desolate yearning. Her lips trembled in response; her heart raced. She stood uncertainly for a moment longer, her legs shaking with indecision. Then slowly, reluctantly, she retraced her steps and cautiously circled the crowd. She thought she caught a glimpse of Trey’s dark head once, before the sight was swallowed by the mob again.

Jaida took a deep breath, trying to fight the nausea rising at the thought of what she was about to do. And then with conscious effort, she walked into the crowd.

Trey used his superior size with ruthless efficiency. Ignoring the complaints and mumbled remarks about his rudeness, he shouldered his way into the middle of the throng. He scanned the sea of faces, looking for one small boy with a mop of dark hair and glittering green eyes. He bent down to look in each stroller, earning himself several gasps and more than a few obscene remarks. But when something finally caught his eye, it wasn’t the black-haired little boy he was seeking, but a beacon of pale hair that reflected the bright overhead sun with blinding brilliance.

“Jaida,” he muttered with frustration. “Jaida!” he shouted, starting through the crowd after her. His heart iced at the thought of what she was experiencing right now. Damn her, why hadn’t she stayed put? He pushed through the people, following glimpses of that white gold hair. The crowd seemed to be surging forward. He fought the rising swell of people, impelled by the fear of Jaida lost in their midst.

“I’m warning you, lady, let go or I’ll scream this place down. Are you crazy? Let go!”

Trey stumbled at the sound of the words, his head whipping around in the direction of the voice. Pushing aside the people in his path, he found Jaida on her knees, her hands tightly wrapped around the bar on a stroller. He faltered to a stop.

The stroller was easily recognizable. He’d pushed it himself many times through a park or a zoo. The navy blue canopy was folded down, revealing the padded white and blue striped lining.

And inside sat the most precious sight in the world.

“Benjy.” He uttered the name with the reverence of a priest in prayer. The child was oblivious to the wall of people around him. He seemed mesmerized by the glowing halo of hair surrounding his confines. As Trey watched, his nephew clutched some of the strands in his chubby hand, then smiled beatifically.

“Lady, this is your last warning. Do I have to get the police?”

Trey’s hand clamped around the speaker’s forearm like a vise. “I think that’s exactly what you’re going to have to do. As a matter of fact, I’ll help you.”

The woman jerked frantically, but was unable to free herself. “Help, someone help me!” she yelped.

“Get security,” Trey snapped to a couple gawking at the scene that was unfolding. Raising his voice, he ordered again, “Somebody get security over here.” The next few minutes were a jumble of events. Jaida hadn’t moved when she’d heard his voice, and he shot her a concerned look. “Honey, are you all right?” he asked, reaching down for her arm. The strange woman picked that time to shove a fist into his midsection and broke free of him. She got only a few steps before he had her arm again, and by that time several unobtrusively dressed men were surrounding them. Security had arrived.

“Let me go!” the woman screeched when one of the men took her by the elbow.

Trey released her. “Call the police,” he commanded the guards. He walked back to the stroller and Jaida. Bending down, he looked into the face of his nephew for the first time in almost a month. Even now, he couldn’t believe the search was over. He reached out with one long finger and stroked the baby-soft cheek. “Hey, big guy,” he said, his voice cracking with suppressed emotion.

Benjy looked up and his eyes widened with delight. “Tay!” He released the hold he had on Jaida’s hair and clapped his hands excitedly. “Tay—Tay—Tay!” He thrust his arms in the air demandingly. “Up, Tay, up!”

Trey reached in and took his nephew into his arms. He hugged the wiggling child fiercely, a flood of emotion filling him. Benjy was here, and he was safe. He was safe. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, he rested his face against the small, silky head. As many times as he’d dreamed of this moment, he was unprepared for the reality of it.

He opened his eyes, needing to convince himself that the small body he held wasn’t the product of yet another dream. The boy clasped his uncle’s face in his small hands, and Trey looked down in wonder at the face that seemed a miniature of his own. Then he hugged the boy to him again and threw his head back, letting out a shout of laughter. The world had never seemed more perfect, or life more precious.

“You’re going to have to come with us, sir.”

The voice in his ear was polite, but firm. So was the grip on his arm. Trey’s head snapped around, his shoulders automatically hunching to defend his nephew. Recognizing the man as one of the security personnel who’d appeared, he relaxed slightly. The woman Jaida had found with Benjy was already being escorted away.

“I’ll take the boy,” another guard said, reaching over for Benjy. Benjy immediately set up a howl, but Trey relinquished him voluntarily. Jaida hadn’t moved during the entire scene, and he cursed himself now for forgetting everything for a few seconds except for Benjy.

He pulled away from the man who’d apprehended him, squatting down to where Jaida still knelt, her hands tightly wrapped around the stroller. “Jaida, honey, open your eyes,” he commanded in a soft voice. “Look at me, now.”

Her eyes slowly opened, but he knew she was barely conscious of his presence. Cursing under his breath, he snapped at the guard still hovering above him, “Get those people back from her!” The crowd seemed to have expanded, as attention shifted from the performance on the stage to the real-life drama taking place in its midst.

The guard hesitated, looking at the other two security personnel standing by. “I’m not coming without her. Now, do as I say and get those people away.” Trey’s voice cracked like a whip, and after a moment, two of the men obeyed the command implicit in his tone.

Trey covered Jaida’s hands with his, talking to her continuously in a soft, soothing voice. He watched awareness flicker in her eyes, their brilliant blue dulled now with pain and something else, something he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Gently he released her fingers from their grip on the stroller. He rubbed them in his, speaking in dulcet tones. He wondered if he was doing the right thing. He didn’t want to burden senses already overloaded. He wanted to push that psychic bombardment from the crowd away for her, engrossing her only in their touch, in the chemistry between them.

Long minutes ticked by. Finally, she blinked. “Trey,” she said in a faint voice.

“That’s right, love, I’m here,” he crooned, relief rolling through him. She was starting to come back to him. Tenderly he began to lift her to her feet.

“Benjy?” Her voice was no stronger this time, but fear was lacing it.

“He’s all right,” he soothed. Triumph filled his voice. “You did it, honey. You found him.” A slight smile crossed her face, before her body crumpled and he caught her in his arms.

“Does she need a doctor?” one of the security people asked.

Trey rose with Jaida cradled against his chest. “No,” he said tersely, hoping like hell he was right. “Bring that stroller.” One of the guards did as Trey bade him, and Trey looked at the one who had been trying unsuccessfully to apprehend him for the past several minutes. “Now, take me to my nephew.”

The man obediently turned and led them away. “Mister, you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do,” he said.

“Get the police here first,” Trey said shortly, gazing down into Jaida’s pale face. “It’s a long story, and I’m only going to tell it once.”

Sergeant Mitch Garven hung up the phone and turned to the group assembled in the Kids’ Kingdom Security Office. “Well, I spoke to Detective Reynolds of the LAPD. Your story checks out, Garrison. He’s faxing us the information we need to finalize the identification, although I can’t imagine any kid resembling an adult as much and not being related.” He frowned and looked at Trey. “He does have some questions about how the heck you managed to track your nephew here, and I admit I’m curious myself.” His attention was diverted by the fax machine.

Benjy struggled down off Trey’s lap and made his way cautiously over to the noisy machine. He turned back a couple times, as if to assure himself Trey was still there, then proceeded to satisfy his inquisitive nature. Soon he was peering up at the machine, his eyes widening when he recognized the likeness of himself emerging. He ran back to Trey quickly. “It Benjy!” he announced, clambering onto his uncle’s lap.

Trey scooped him up with his free arm. He had the other wrapped around Jaida, and she was leaning heavily against him. Her eyes were closed, but he doubted she was sleeping. He needed to get her back to the motel quickly. He’d remembered the medication she carried with her, but her purse, along with Benjy’s toy, was missing. A security officer had been dispatched to find them both, but hadn’t yet returned.

It had taken an interminable time to summon the police, tell his story to the sergeant and then wait while contact was made with the LAPD to verify the story. Through it all he was aware of how much the woman at his side was suffering, while he’d been unable to do a damn thing about it.

The door pushed open then, but the guard who walked through it carried only the small bag with Benjy’s elephant inside. “Sorry, sir,” the young man said. “I even checked lost and found, but the purse you described wasn’t there. Still could show up, though.”

Sergeant Garven ripped the sheet free from the machine. He studied it for a minute, then came over to where Trey was sitting with Benjy. Squatting in front of them, he turned Benjy’s head with a gentle hand and pushed aside the silky, black curls that had grown longer over the weeks he’d been away. He found the lone freckle in back of the boy’s left earlobe and got up, satisfied.

“It’s Benjy, all right,” he said with a chuckle, reaching down to ruffle the boy’s hair.

Benjy ducked away shyly, hiding his face against his uncle’s chest.

The man turned his attention back to Trey. “I’d still like to have you come downtown later and make a statement.”

“Right now,” Trey responded evenly, “all I want to do is get back to the motel with Benjy and Jaida. I need to call my sister as soon as possible.” He didn’t want to do that here, though. Not with the curious security guards standing around listening, and certainly not before he got Jaida to a bed. “I’ll want to be kept informed about what you find out from that woman in there.” He jerked his head toward the adjoining room, where the woman had been left with the head of Security and a couple of guards.

“She’s got some explaining to do,” Garven agreed. “I’m kind of eager to hear what she has to say myself.”

“She’s not working alone.” Jaida’s voice was strained and quiet. She didn’t open her eyes as she spoke.

“What’s that?” Sergeant Garven asked, startled.

“We don’t believe the woman was alone,” Trey said. “We have reason to believe that she was working with a man.”

“Did you see anyone with her today?” The man’s voice was sharp.

“No,” admitted Trey. “But it would have been easy for him to fade back into the crowd once he saw the way things were going.”

“Maybe,” the sergeant said dubiously.

He promised to call Trey as soon as he was finished questioning the woman and then Trey gave him the phone number of the motel they were staying at. “I need to get these two back there,” he said. Looking down at the boy he held in his lap, he added gruffly, “This little guy wants to call his mama.”

The sky was just beginning to turn a dull gray, signaling dawn’s approach. Mac and Trey sat on the balcony outside of Trey’s room. Inside, Lauren and Benjy slept on one of the beds. Lauren held her baby close, even in sleep. The men had crept outside hours before so as not to disturb them.

“You were able to get here in record time,” Trey observed.

“It cost us a fortune, but it was worth it. Lauren would have run here if she’d had to.” Mac nodded toward the terrace doors. “You did real good, buddy.”

“Jaida did it all,” Trey corrected. “Most of the time I felt like I was just along for the ride.” He frowned then. He had summoned a doctor to their room, who’d given Jaida a sedative. But he’d been aware even at the time that their efforts would be woefully inadequate. He’d put her to bed and piled her with extra blankets to still the trembling in her limbs. She hadn’t seemed to have moved in any of the times he’d checked on her.

“Who would ever have believed that we’d find Benjy with a psychic’s help?” Mac said, shaking his head in disbelief. “You know, Raine and Lauren were convinced all along that Jaida would be able to help us.” At Trey’s silence, Mac turned to look at him. “I know you had your doubts at first. But somewhere along the line you must have changed your mind about Jaida.”