Concealed (21 page)

“What are you thinking in that beautiful head of yours?”

“That you’re amazing.” She devoured the cereal, not realizing how hungry she was.
That’s what a night of wild sex will do to you,
she thought to herself with a smile. They finished their breakfast then Sydney padded around his bedroom wearing nothing more than his T-shirt that hung to her knees as she collected her clothes which were strewn about the room. Hailey’s blouse that she had worn last night was all stuck together from Tara’s nasty drink.

“I’m borrowing this,” she said as she slipped her jeans on underneath. She knotted the bottom of his shirt to give it a better fit. Her face paled suddenly when she glanced at the clock. She shoved her feet into her shoes as she hurried to the door, pulling him by the arm. “Come on, we have to go. We have to get my car before Pete and Cara get to the diner or they’ll know I spent the night with you. I swear I’ll never hear the end of it!” When Wade looked unaffected by the whole thing, she pinned him with a glare. “Um, you won’t think it’s funny when she’s picking out wedding invitations for us, now let’s move.”

They headed out for the diner just as the sun was breaking over the horizon. The beautiful colors filled the sky, giving it a radiant glow. A wonderful night, with a wonderful man and now she was rewarded with a sunrise for the ages.

Life was good.

Sydney’s spirits were high as they pulled into the diner. She was flooded with relief to see the lights were still off inside. They had managed to beat Cara and Pete there.

“Thank you for last night, Wade. It was something I’ll never forget.” She rested her hand on his thigh and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He stopped the truck and gave her a kiss she felt all the way to her toes.

“It wasn’t a one night stand, Sydney. You’re important to me.” She must have let her twinge of panic show on her face, because he pulled her close and smiled. “I know you’re scared, and I know there are things from your past we have to deal with, but I want you to promise me you won’t run without telling me.” He brushed her hair out of her face. “I don’t think I could take it if you left without saying goodbye.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She kissed him again but when his hands started wandering, she moved out of his reach. “Don’t start that again or I’ll never get home in time.”

They were still laughing and making plans to see each other again when Wade pulled around the back of the diner. Something looked off about her recently repaired car from a distance, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. The closer they got, the more obvious it was. The moment Sydney saw it, she shrieked in distress.

Someone had slashed Sydney’s tires and smashed every window in her car.

“MOMMY! LOOK WHAT PETE
made.” Faith came barreling into the kitchen with a beautiful cake covered in tiny chocolate teddy bears. Two of her friends from school were at her side. “This is the best birthday ever,” she squealed on her way out of the room.

Sydney put the cake on the counter and took a deep breath. She looked out into the living room where Cara and Pete stood talking to Agnes. Sam and Hailey were cuddled up on the couch, their heads together, and a warm smile on Hailey’s face. Luke placed himself on one side of the room, as far away from Wade as possible. A couple of the deputies and countless children from school filled the rest of the room, and leaning against the wall with his eyes glued on Faith was Wade, their fierce protector. How had he grown to mean so much to her in so little time?

Sydney’s paranoia was at an all-time high since her tires were slashed. She was obsessive about not letting Faith out of her sight, and even had considered cancelling the birthday party. Her driving patterns had all changed and her safety routines had increased as she did what she could to reassure herself that she and Faith were safe. But it wasn’t helping.

Wade had a few clues on who had vandalized her car. When they went to look at the damage, he was insistent that it had been Tara. ‘Whore’ and ‘Bitch’ had been scribbled on the hood of her car in lipstick. Swearing, he had stormed toward the vehicle, but paused when he found what appeared to be boot prints in the soft dirt beside her car. If that wasn’t enough, Tara had disappeared and left town that night, without a word, so Wade couldn’t question her about any of it.

Every deputy in the area had been called to the diner. They looked for fingerprints, but found none. Then they took photographs of everything they could find. Footprints, sprays of glass, the location of random cigarette butts and the total annihilation of her car were all documented. By the time Pete and Cara arrived at the diner that morning, the parking lot was full of flashing lights and police cars. Pete turned white, probably assuming the worst and flashing back to the night they found Angie’s body. Sydney had rushed over and explained that it was her car that was damaged, but everyone was fine. Once he heard that, anger replaced his worry, and Pete was livid that someone was damaging cars on his property.

That had been two days ago. Since then, Wade had rarely let Sydney out of his sight. During the day, he worked and stopped into the diner as often as he could, always there to make sure she made it in and out of work safely. At night, he’d come to the house, and hang out with them like he’d been doing it for years. Faith was falling for him just as hard as Sydney was. She’d beg him to carry her upstairs and tuck her in. Once she was fast asleep, he’d turn his attention to Sydney. Already she was getting far too attached to falling asleep in his arms.

It was the only thing keeping her in town.

The urge to run was overwhelming. She constantly thought about packing a bag, picking up Faith from school and then just driving as far and fast from town as possible. However she had no functioning car, so that was out of the question. Any thoughts she had of hopping a bus were negated by the promise she made Wade that she wouldn’t leave without telling him, and she’d given him all their emergency papers. But staying was slowly killing her.

With another look around at all the people who had gathered to celebrate Faith’s birthday, she smiled. These people, this eclectic collection of friends—she wanted this. A place to call her own, a life for her and Faith.

A family.

Wade walked into the kitchen and helped himself to a beer from the refrigerator. “You ready to cut the cake? Those kids are about ready to burst over there.”

“Here.” Sydney handed him Pete’s masterpiece. “Go put this on the table and tell them not to touch it until I get there. Use your mean sheriff face if you have to.” He made a playful grab for her but she laughed and dodged him, sneaking around and hiding behind the door of the refrigerator.

“Chicken,” he said with a smile as he picked up the cake and tried to grab her around the door.

“Don’t drop the cake or Pete will have your head. Or worse, Faith will cry.”

“Like I’d let that happen.” He kissed her and then started out of the kitchen just as the phone rang. The sound made her tense.

There had been countless hang ups lately, and with half the town in her living room, there wasn’t anyone else left to call her. Wade must have sensed her distress because he set the cake on the table amongst the screaming girls and made eye contact with her just as she picked up the receiver.

“H-Hello?”

There was a long pause and Sydney was just about to hang up the phone when a male voice finally spoke. “How could you do that to her?” Her heart stopped beating.

“I-I,” she stammered unable to breathe let alone speak.

“I hope you’re having fun with your stolen baby on her birthday. Which do you celebrate more, her birth or the fact that you took her?”

The pale look on Sydney’s face had Wade mowing a path through the crowd to get to her. His deputies picked up on his movements and followed him into the kitchen.

“Who is this?” Her voice came out as a desperate breath. Thick, deep laughter roared through the receiver.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of you soon enough just like I did Marcy, little girl.”

Sydney fell back against the wall and Wade snatched the phone from her ear, but not before she heard the voice yell, “By the way, that red dress makes you look like the whore you are.” Wade wrapped his arm around her and cursed.

He can see me
. She closed her eyes and buried her face in Wade’s chest, praying she didn’t pass out.

“Listen, you son of a bitch, you come near her and I’ll kill you. I won’t hesitate and I won’t miss.” Wade’s voice had a cold, lethal tone to it that terrified Sydney. She knew he was serious. If Ronald came anywhere near her or Faith, Wade would kill him.

How could she ask him to do that? He had a life, a job, a family.

“Damn it,” Wade growled and let the phone drop to the ground as the line went dead. Sydney crumpled into a ball on the floor. Wade sank down beside her and pulled her into his arms. “Listen to me, you are fine. Stay calm.”

Sam peppered Wade with questions. “What’s going on? What do you need?”

“She just got a threatening phone call.”

“The guy who’s stalking her?”

Wade nodded his head. “Probably.” A shiver went down Sydney’s spine as she thought about Ronald being that close to Faith. “He could see her, so he’s got to be outside somewhere. I need you to cover the doors. Look for anyone lingering around outside that you don’t know. A strange car, a dog you’ve never seen before, whatever. I want to know about it. No one goes in or out of the house without us knowing.” Their heads turned when Pete hoisted Faith up to the table to look at her birthday cake. “No one else knows what we’re doing, got it? We aren’t ruining that little girl’s birthday.”

They exchanged a few more words then Sam’s voice disappeared. Sydney braved a look up at Wade who was stroking her back, trying to reassure her with his gentle touch. When she met his eyes, she saw the fierce determination in them. “Nothing will happen to you while I’m here. Do you trust me?”

With a courage she found deep within herself, she nodded her head. There were few things she had been able to count on in her life, but Wade was one of them. He didn’t know how to fail. He was going to keep them safe, or die trying. She just prayed it didn’t come to that because she couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to him.

“Good girl.” He kissed her gently and gave her a little shake. “Faith is ready to cut her cake and then open her presents. Sam and the boys are at the doors and watching out the windows. I’m going to slip outside and see if I can find him.” Sydney clutched his arm, terrified at the thought of Wade going after Ronald or him lying in wait to ambush Wade.

“I’ll be fine. The boys will watch my back.” He cradled her cheeks in his hands. “You can do this, Sydney.”

She dug deep inside and steeled herself, burying her terror and focusing on her daughter. “For Faith.” With a deep breath, Sydney pulled herself together and stood up. “Who’s ready for cake?” Sydney asked with feigned excitement. Only Agnes looked at her funny, picking up on the tension in her voice. The rest of the room, especially the children, exploded with cheers. They hushed as the candles were lit to sing to Faith.

As the birthday girl attacked her cake, Sydney glanced out the window, looking for some sign of Wade. He’d been gone less than ten minutes, but until he was safe and sound in her living room, she couldn’t help but worry. Sam gave her a slight shake of his head to warn her away from the window as he casually took up his position beside the front door. At some point in the last few minutes he’d locked the deadbolts and thrown the chain, probably on Wade’s command. The guests were so engrossed in the party that they hadn’t noticed anything was out of the ordinary.

“Can we do presents now, Mommy?” Faith asked as she bounced up and down with chocolate cake smeared from one end of her face to the next. She’d come so far, this little girl who she’d had thrust into her arms and life six years ago today. Every moment with her had been a blessing. She offered a silent prayer to God asking for many more. Sydney gave her face a wipe with her napkin then agreed.

“You sit down on the floor.”
Away from the doors and windows
, Sydney thought to herself. “I’ll bring the presents to you.”

With Cara at her side, they took the gifts from the table and piled them all around Faith on the floor. Her friends crowded around, jockeying for the best position to see what was being opened. As she picked up each package, she’d lift it into the air and ask, “Who is this from?” ignoring the card that was attach to the gift.

Dolls, games, and everything pink you could find in a store was spread out on the floor by the time she was done. She was wearing the tiara Cara and Pete had bought her along with a whole wardrobe of dress up clothes. Agnes Whittman had gotten her a metal detector and tiny spy camera she refused to put down. Melissa had even managed to send a gorgeous mini Eiffel Tower from France. Sydney missed Melissa so much right now, but was glad to know she was safe and sound, thousands of miles away.

In front of Faith, there sat one last present. It was too big for her to lift up so she planted her hands on her hips and shouted. “Who got me this
giant
one?”

“I did.” Wade’s voice came from behind Sydney, startling her.

She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and check every inch of him to make sure he was whole, but instead, she reached a hand behind her and felt Wade’s strong, warm hand grasp hers. Then she finally relaxed. He was back, and he was okay.

There wasn’t time for questions because Faith tore into the beautiful yellow wrapping without a second thought. As soon as she realized what it was, her excited squeals filled the room. “Mommy, it’s an easel, and paints, and paper, and crayons and brushes and a whole set of markers…and more tape!” Her voice got more excited with each thing she listed. She ran over to Wade and jumped up into his arms. “That is the best present ever.” She placed a big, wet, kiss on his cheek and Sydney swore she saw him blush as Faith gushed on and on about how wonderful it was.

“Glad you like it,” he said as he put her back down on the ground. “Now, go thank your guests for the presents and for coming to your party.” When she was out of earshot, he pulled Sydney into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “You holding up okay?” Sydney nodded her head against his chest, her throat thick with relief that he was back.

Cara and Pete were cleaning up the shredded wrapping paper while Luke tried, unsuccessfully, to hide his displeasure with seeing Sydney being held so intimately by Wade.

“Thanks for coming, Luke.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it. Faith is a sweet kid.” He looked back and forth between the two of them with a curious expression on his face. “What happened earlier? I saw Wade disappear outside and Sam and the boys rushing around? Anything I can do?”

Sydney felt Wade go very still beside her, a warning to not say too much. It was difficult enough thinking about Wade in danger because of her, but the last thing she needed was Luke running around half-cocked and getting himself hurt. Wade surprised her when he asked Luke a question. “See anyone new in town lately?”