Burned (33 page)

Lincoln wiped the tears away from her face with a napkin. “Everything you’re saying is right. I should have kept Nick, Orlando and Jon out of my personal business. I should have been woman enough to accept that Anthony was fucking another woman. I could’ve easily walked away from him instead of attempting to save a dying relationship he didn’t even want. Now I have screwed up Nick’s life.”  She freely let the tears fall.  “You don’t think I realize how reckless, dumb, and irresponsible it was of me to get pregnant and marry him on a whim. I have taken his life away. He had no worries before I came along. Because of me, he is stressing over how to care for a family he wasn’t prepared to have.”

“Lincoln, stop! I’m not trying to make you feel like dirt.”

You have succeeded in doing that
she thought.

Lincoln paused and looked at her. With a scowl on her face, she said, “I’m glad we had this conversation, Regan. I need to face the reality of what I’ve done and own up to the lives I’ve ruined.”  She got up from the table and took her purse from the empty chair next to her. “Thank you for being valiant enough to say it to my face and not behind my back.”

“Get back here! I want to know where you are going.”

“Why should you know that?  That would have you involved in my business, and I don’t want to engage you in any more of my nonsense.”

“This is different, Lincoln, and you know it.”

Other patrons in the restaurant had stopped what they were doing and were staring at them arguing. Lincoln looked around and only saw blank faces staring back at her. She couldn’t focus. The anger building inside her didn’t leave room to feel the embarrassment of humiliating herself in public. Her body was shaking, and she wanted out of the restaurant and away from Regan. She wanted away from everyone.

“Bye, Regan,” she said and turned and left.

After driving for an hour, Lincoln turned off the car and reclined the driver’s seat to relax. It was quiet at the park. The lake was still, and the rows of docks to moor boats for the summer sat almost empty. The stars were bright in the dark sky and surrounded the moon to form a beautiful picture. She wondered why not many people were taking advantage of the warm summer night. The conditions were just right for a moonlight boat ride or camping outside. She remembered this being the spot to come for teenagers seeking a romantic evening with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

 She opened the bag of potato chips she purchased from the drugstore. Her stomach was growling since she didn’t eat dinner with Regan.

From her side vision, Lincoln thought she saw a figure of a man standing in the distance watching her. She turned and saw nothing but a huge tree with limbs that hung like human arms.

She turned up the radio and tried to keep the tears at bay.
I’m doing what’s right for everyone involved
. She reasoned as she settled into the seat. She let out a breath and pulled out her cell phone turning it off and leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. Nick’s face came into view as the babies started to move around in her womb. She rubbed her stomach to calm them. Nick used to do that for her. He got giddy every time he felt them move. He would talk to her belly so the babies would get used to his voice.

Tears slid down her face, and she wiped them away.
He’s better off without me
.

Chapter Thirty Six

“Dammit, where is she!” Nick threw his cell phone on the kitchen table. One hundred times — he had to have called her cell phone at least a hundred times, and she would not answer. He dropped heavily into the chair and massaged his temples. The police had found her car parked at the lake, but no signs of forced entry or any blood indicating she had been abducted. So far, no one remembered seeing her at the lake last night, but he was praying someone would remember and contact the police.

If Lincoln wanted to disappear without leaving a trace, she forgot she was pregnant. People would recall seeing a distressed pregnant woman. For now, her trail ran cold at the lake, and police were working the area to see if anyone had seen her after she left Regan at the restaurant around eight o’clock last night.

Isadora set a cup of coffee in front of him. “Nicky, what can I do for you?”

“Snap your fingers and have my wife be home where she belongs. What is she thinking taking off like this?  Why did she do it?”

“Did you have a fight last night?” Isadora asked.

He shook his head. “Mom, you were here when she left last night. Did you hear us fighting?” he said snidely. He saw the hurt in his mother’s face. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.” He bounced out the chair, knocking it over. “She is out there somewhere. I don’t know if she went on her own of if some idiot has her against her will.”  He dropped to his knees at his mother’s feet. “What if I have lost my wife and babies?”

Isadora stroked his head. “She is okay. I don’t have a feeling anything terrible has happened to her.”

A loud knock on the door startled him. “Maybe it’s the police.” He ran to the door and yanked it open. “Jon, Orlando, come on in.”

Jon and Orlando entered the apartment and stood not far from the door. Jon spoke first. “We came to let you know we’re joining the search for Lincoln. Some of the guys from the firehouse are already at the park looking for her.”

Nick chewed the inside of his jaw and lowered his head to avoid his emotions from spilling forth. “I appreciate what you and the guys are doing.”

Orlando placed a hand on his shoulder. “Stay strong, man. We won’t stop looking until she is safely at home. Regan recorded a public service announcement to air on the news today. She hopes someone will come forward with any information.”

“How is she doing?” Nick asked.

“Regan isn’t doing well. She hasn’t slept since Lincoln went missing, and she blames herself for running off at the mouth.”

Nick blamed her too, but he would keep that to himself for now. He hadn’t asked or needed Regan to be an advocate for him. When the guys had disagreements in the past, they worked them out. This one would have eventually worked itself out if she’d left well enough alone.

Nick turned his back to his friends.

Jon held a steady hand to his back as a show of support. Jon knew what it was like to have a loved one kidnapped. Gabrielle was kidnapped by a deranged woman and almost burned alive when the building was set on fire. “Never give up hope, Nick.”

“I have to call Lynette. I can’t keep this from her and Carter. They need to know what is going on.”

Orlando nodded. “I agree. Once it hits the airwaves, they are bound to get calls from relatives who live here. Do you want me to be here when you call?”

“No. I will do it myself.”

“We’re here to support you, Nick. Don’t feel you are alone,” Jon said.

Nick’s eyes glossed over. “I know you all want to help me. I’ve done some shit in my life, and this is my payback. What was I thinking that I could be a family man? Shit, an honest man,” he snorted.

“Nicky, don’t talk that way!” Isadora shouted. “You have to have faith. We will pray for Lincoln's safety. She will be back.”

He yanked the crucifix from around his neck and threw it on the table. “I have, and she still isn’t here,” he said walking away.

They heard the bedroom door slam. Orlando started to go after him, but Jon stopped him. “Let him go. Let him have the privacy to break down without us hanging over his shoulder.”

“Right,” Orlando said, scrubbing a hand down his face. “We better get to the park to help search.”

Jon turned to Isadora and handed her a card. “My phone number is on the back of the card. If Nick needs me, call me. I don’t care what I am doing or what time of day it is. Call me.”

She nodded, giving him a big hug. “Thank you for being here for Nicky. He needs all of you.”

A light tapping on the front door came, and Orlando opened it. Anthony was standing there. “Good grief, Ant. Do you think it’s wise for you to be here?”

“I saw Lincoln last night,” he said in one breath.

Orlando shouted to the bedroom, “Nick, get out here now!”

Nick rushed from the bedroom. His face was red, and his eyes puffy. He laid eyes on Anthony. “What the hell does he want?” Then he snapped. “You got her! You have Lincoln! What have you done with her?” He attempted to bum-rush Anthony, but Orlando and Jon dragged him back.

“I don’t have Lincoln, but I saw her last night! I saw her car at the lake.”

The men continued to hold him back as he struggled to get from their grip. “Let me go! The sonofabitch is lying; I know it!”

Anthony stepped inside the apartment. “I swear I don’t know where Lincoln is. When I saw her last night, she was alone in her car.”

Jon asked. “What was she doing, Ant?  Why were you at the lake?”

“Come on, Jon. You know I go there a lot. That place is not new to me. Anyhow, Lincoln was just sitting in her car. It appeared she was eating at first then she laid the seat back and was just chilling.”

“Why didn’t you ask her if she needed help?   You could have called me if you didn’t want to call Nick.”

Jon blasted at him. “She has a restraining order on me. I can’t go near her. And she didn’t look as if she needed any help. She was just sitting there. I left thinking Nick might show up any minute, and I didn’t want any problems. I swear I’m telling the truth.”

Nick freed himself from their clutches and approached Anthony. “The one fucking time you should have opened your big mouth and you didn’t. Thanks for nothing.”

Anthony lowered his voice. “Nick, how was I supposed to know anything was wrong?  I didn’t even know she was missing until Gordon called me this morning. I came to tell you what I saw hoping it would help you locate her.”

Nick narrowed his eyes. “I swear, if you’ve had a hand in Lincoln’s disappearance, I’ll kill you.”

Anthony sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t have anything to do with her disappearance. Melanie and my son are in Michigan visiting her parents and have been there for a week. I would be there too, but because I’m on bail, I can’t leave Ohio.”

Jon walked over to Anthony. “Thanks for the information. You should go, and we’ll let the police know what you saw. They might want to talk to you.”

“I’ll be at home if they need to contact me,” he said. He shifted his look from Nick back to Jon. “I was there when you went through the same hell with Gabby. I wouldn’t do that to Nick. I hate to admit it, but he does love Lincoln.”

Isadora called to them. “They are talking about Lincoln on television.”

They went over to the television to see Regan sitting behind the anchor desk. Tears streaked the makeup on her face. Her voice was shaking, and her co-anchor comforted her as she spoke:

“
I’m asking the public for help in locating my sister who went missing last night. Her name is Lincoln Hathaway Barona. She is twenty-eight year old African-American. She stands five-feet, eight-inches tall with shoulder-length black hair and light-brown skin. She is also four months pregnant. Please, if anyone has seen her, please contact me here at the station or call Cleveland police at the number on the screen. We promise to treat any information confidentially, and a cash reward will be given to the person who leads police to my sister’s whereabouts. I’m begging
you to, please, help. Her husband and my family are desperate for Lincoln to be home where she belongs. Thank you.”
 

Nick slumped on the sofa. He heard his cell phone ringing in the distance. Isadora didn’t hesitate to retrieve it for him. She handed it to him, and he slid his finger over the screen to answer. “Hello.”  He sat straight as a pencil as he talked on the phone. “Where and how long ago?  Tell her thank you for me,” he said to the caller as he hung up.

 Orlando waited patiently for Nick to clue them in on the caller. When he watched Nick leap to his feet, he asked. “Nick, what the hell is going on?”

“That was Ryan, the new candidate taking Anthony’s place at the firehouse. He said a woman stopped him while he was searching and said she saw a woman fitting Lincoln’s description getting into a cab around 2:30 this morning.”

Orlando got excited. “Getting in a cab where? Where?”

“She was picked up at the park. If I can locate the driver, he’ll be able to tell us where he dropped Lincoln off.”

Jon headed to the door. “We’re wasting time sitting here. We’ll call the police on the way to the cab company.”

On the way out of the apartment building, Nick ran into the detective working Lincoln’s case coming inside the building. “Detective Moore, I have a lead…”

“Mr. Barona, I know about the cab driver if that’s what you were going to tell me. But I have more news for you. Is there somewhere we can talk alone?”

Nick felt his hopes deflate. He his cell phone rang.  He dug the phone from his pocket as he motioned for the detective to follow him. “Yeah, we can talk in my apartment.”

Chapter Thirty Seven

Lincoln sat at the island musing over a cup of tea in her sister’s state-of-the-art, gourmet kitchen. The kitchen could be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The smooth granite countertops were a rich golden-brown and walls painted to play off those colors made the kitchen airy and welcoming.

At precisely 8:30 that morning, a healthy breakfast of oatmeal topped with golden raisins, and scrambled eggs with aged cheddar cheese, and toast was served to her. The meal, especially prepared for her by a personal chef hired to take care of the family meals was delicious. She understood why Carter had the additional help. The driver, personal chef, nanny, and housekeeper were not there to show off their wealth but served a purpose. Carter and Thomas both had careers that called for them to travel. Sometimes they were both away from home at the same time.  And since Lynette moved out, their kids needed the extra supervision.

 Carter entered the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. She leaned her hip against the sink and crossed one arm over her body. “Lincoln, you’ve been here over twenty-four hours and I haven’t seen you attempt to call Nick. Don’t you think he is worried about you?”

Her lips twitched at the corners. “I know he is worried. My voicemail is full with calls from him.”