Hidden Legacy Read Online Free PDF Page B

task. “I’ve told you everything I can.” Given you everything I dare .
    He leaned back against his chair, appraising her with new curiosity. He saw too much, knew her too well. Fear propelled her forward again.
    “This is a woman’s house,” Lucas said. “No man lives here with you. Where’s your husband?”
    The floor needed cleaning. A slosh of dried coffee from the cup she’d overfilled this morning stained a yellow tile. “I don’t have one.”
    “Divorced?”
    Crumbs littered the counter from the toast she’d tried to eat, but choked on, and fed to the birds instead. Absently she swiped at them. “You heard the tape. You know this isn’t a case of parental dispute.”
    “Why isn’t he by your side at a time like this?”
    She remained silent, not trusting her voice, pacing twelve tiles up, twelve tiles down. He was FBI. She couldn’t let him get involved, so she couldn’t let him know the truth.
    “Come on, Jewel, you’re missing the point here. I say something, then you say something—”
    “I really don’t want to talk about this.” She spotted the box of Cheerios she’d taken out of the pantry out of habit and her heart grew heavier. Had Briana had breakfast? Was she all right? Tears brimmed. She sniffed them back.
    “Okay, then let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about why you dumped me six years ago.”
    Oh God, he was rushing her. She wasn’t ready for this. She wanted her baby safe in her arms before she faced them both with her lies, with her fears. “I can’t, Lucas. Not now. Not with this going on.”
    “Let’s talk about your daughter, then.”
    “She’s my life. I need her back.”
    “Why won’t you let me talk to your caretakers?”
    Because it’s too dangerous for me . His resemblance to Briana would have Ella spilling her observations with the flow of Niagara Falls. Briana’s parentage had been a strictly taboo subject. Juliana couldn’t stop the questions on either side. “Because Ella’s been traumatized enough.”
    “I’ll need a picture.”
    She stilled, her breath frozen in her chest. Oh no, the photos in the living room! She couldn’t let him see them. She’d have to keep him in the kitchen. She’d have to get rid of him somehow and fast. Exhaling, she turned back to face him. “Later.”
    “You won’t talk about the kidnapping. You won’t talk about your marriage. You won’t talk about your daughter. You have to give me something to go on. How can I help you, if you don’t give me the information I need?”
    “By leaving.”
    “I can’t. Not this time.”
    This time? She’d left him .
    “What’s a safe topic of conversation then?” he persisted.
    “Nothing.”
    A long moment of taut silence stretched. “Okay, we’ll talk about me. I got a promotion after solving the Stack Stalk case. Got sent to Miami—the U.S. capital of jewelry thefts. Stayed there for three years, then thought I’d try the executive route. Spent a couple of years in DC. Found out shuffling papers wasn’t really my bag.”
    “Can’t imagine why you thought it would.”
    He looked up at her. A strange intensity glittered in his eyes. “I’ve been restless, Jewel, wanting something, but not knowing what. I asked for a transfer back to the field. That was about the time the Phantom started making a fool of the Bureau, so they sent me to Boston.”
    “The Phantom?”
    “Briana’s kidnapper. He’s like a crow—can’t get enough of shiny jewels. Doesn’t matter that they belong to someone else. He’s in and out like a ghost.”
    “Has he kidnapped before?”
    “No, this is a first. But he’s always played games. A clue here. A taunt there.”
    “How can you be sure it’s him?”
    He took a long breath in, let it out slowly, and speared her with a look of certainty. “Because.”
    That frustrating “because” again. She could understand why he had mentions of warnings as well as letters of praise in his file. How could a superior deal with