Second-Chance Hero Read online

  She smiled slightly as she thought of what it must be like to be married to such a man, and about what had to be a very unusual relationship. Samantha and Ian Gamble were an unlikely but clearly successful pair; everyone at Redstone knew how crazy they were about each other. An inventing genius married to a highly trained and efficient Redstone security agent—

  And there she was, back to Draven again. The security team was his creation, most said it was his life, and some said it was also his soul.

  Trying to shake off thoughts of the man who haunted her nights but whom she thanked by day, she stood up. She reached for the crutch she used at night from where it leaned against the nightstand. She could hop to the bathroom, but in an RV, even a well-built one like this, it tended to make enough vibration to wake Marly up.

  She splashed some water on her face, as if that would wash away the remnants of the dream. She knew better, but at least she felt as if she was doing something.

  She would look in on Marly, she decided. Then she’d just get dressed for work. She was due in about an hour anyway, and she could always find something to catch up on.

  “Catch up, what a concept,” she muttered to herself as she went to the door between the bedroom and the rest of the motor home and pulled it carefully and quietly open.

  A moment later she was through the door and standing beside the converted sofa, her heart hammering as what she’d feared since they’d arrived greeted her.

  Her daughter was gone.

  Chapter 4

  She knew Marly had made it to bed. She didn’t go to sleep herself until the girl was tucked in for the night. Marly told her it was childish, and Grace had managed to disconcert her by telling her that her mother had the right to be childish if she wanted to be.

  She leaned down and felt the bedding. Cool. Well, as cool as it ever was in this tropical climate. But while the pillow held the impression of Marly’s head, there was no body warmth left. And the clothing she’d had on earlier was gone, instead of tossed on the floor in the girl’s usual manner. There was no way to know when she’d left. Nor did it matter. What was important now was finding out where her daughter was.

  And when she’s back, I’m going to read her the riot act about scaring me like this, Grace promised herself. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. It had to stop. But nothing she’d tried so far had had much effect, and she was nearly out of ideas.

  She grabbed the cordless telephone, got balanced on her crutch, then hastened back to her room to dress while she made some calls.

  Draven didn’t think he was imagining the flurry of unusual activity. A construction site was always a busy place, but there was something else going on here. Something different than the usual routine this early in the morning. He watched the various people scurrying around, noticed the pattern of the activity and saw who was pointedly absent.

  When he was sure, he headed for the equipment enclosure to find Nick.

  “What’s missing?” he asked without preamble.

  Nick frowned, then the expression cleared. “You mean who. You didn’t hear yet, I guess. Ms. O’Conner’s little girl is gone.”

  “Marly?”

  Nick gave him a curious look. “You met her, then?”

  “Briefly,” Draven said, his tone wry.

  Nick grinned. “’Bout all most of us can take. She’s been giving her mom a real hard time. But we all think an awful lot of Ms. O’Conner, so we’re looking.”

  And that, Draven thought, said it all. Then, like throwing a switch, he clicked into investigation mode.

  “She have any ideas?”

  Nick shook his head. “They haven’t been here that long, so she doesn’t know where the girl might go. Lots of places to hide out and not be found on this island, if that’s what you want to do.”

  “Any sign it was involuntary?”

  The man looked startled. “You mean…kidnapped? No! Nothing like that. Not here. Why, they only have a part-time cop, or constable, whatever they call it, because they don’t have any crime.”

  Draven thought of the reason he was here; they had some crime now. “Until now.”

  The man blinked as it registered. “Yeah. I guess.” Nick gave Draven a sideways look. “I suppose given your job, you have to think that way. I mean about kidnapping and such.”

  Draven gave a half shrug in answer.

  Nick shook his head. “I wouldn’t like that much.”

  Sometimes neither do I, Draven thought. But right now there were more questions to ask.

  “When was she last seen?”

  “Last night,” Nick said, “around one-thirty, when Ms. O’Conner went back after trying the grader. The girl was there then.”

  “Discovered gone when?”

  “Around five, when she got up.”

  Early riser, Draven thought. Of course, on a construction project, most people were.

  “What’s been searched?”

  “We’ve covered most of the site,” Nick said. “Don’t know where to go from here.”

  “The beach,” Draven said, not putting into words the ugly possibilities there.

  “Okay.”

  “Higher ground, too. Sometimes people want to see what they can see.”

  “Yeah, good,” Nick said, his mood clearly lightening now that there was a plan of sorts.

  “Any vehicles missing?” Draven asked.

  Nick looked startled. “Don’t know, but I’ll check. You think she’d take one of the pickups? She doesn’t have a license yet. I don’t think she’s old enough.”

  “If she’s the type who’d take a vehicle, no license wouldn’t stop her.”

  “Good point,” Nick said with a grimace. “I’ll check for anything missing.”

  Draven nodded. “The inflatable,” he said, referring to the gray Zodiac runabout they used for supply runs to the mainland. “Make sure it’s still at the dock.”

  “Didn’t think of that, either,” Nick said, eyeing Draven with even more respect.

  “Where is…Ms. O’Conner?”

  “Went into town, to look.”

  Draven nodded. When the man had gone, he walked back to the construction trailer, thinking all the way. He’d been involved with missing persons before. Often, in fact. When the son of the Redstone Human Resources director had vanished, Josh hadn’t hesitated to call up the troops. It was part of working for Redstone.

  That one had ended happily, with the child being found safe, but others hadn’t. Reeve Fox, one of his best agents, had been on a leave of absence for nearly a year because they hadn’t found one in time. She’d found the body in pieces strewn across a garage floor, and simply hadn’t been able to deal with the brutality of it.

  Of course, he thought as he went up the steps into the trailer, he hadn’t been asked to help with the missing girl. But Grace was part of Redstone, and Redstone took care of its own. Josh would expect—and accept—no less.

  Grace disconnected her call and put her cell phone back in her purse. She’d contacted Nick to tell him to call off the search, that Marly had been found. Safe, thank heavens, although the sound part was questionable just now, after what she’d been told.

  She continued on her way to pick up her wayward daughter. Moments later she arrived at the town center office she’d been in once before, a holdover from the colonial days when Belize had been British Honduras. She went straight to the office of Mayor Colin Remington, who sometimes also seemed like a holdover from those days. He had been delighted that Redstone was coming to his little island. She couldn’t blame him, Redstone was welcomed almost everywhere they went.

  Now the mayor had tactfully excused himself so she could speak to the other man in the room, although at the moment she was speechless, unable to quite believe what she’d heard.

  “She what?” she finally managed to say.

  “I’m afraid it’s true,” the man in the wrinkled uniform said with apparent reluctance, gesturing at the spread of makeup, perfume, m
agazines and candy on the desk.

  Grace was stunned, and just stared at the man for another long moment. Thin, bowed, very tanned legs emerged from the khaki-colored shorts that were a concession to the tropical climate. Above the left breast pocket of the matching shirt there was a small brass tag, slightly crooked, that proclaimed him M. Espinoza.

  Espinoza cleared his throat and said, “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding, that she meant to pay.”

  Grace wheeled around and looked at her daughter. “You stole all this?”

  The girl glared back at her. “What of it? They weren’t worth buying. They don’t have any good stuff here in bumbleville.”

  Anger spiked through Grace, and she reined it in with an effort. “I have put up with your moods, your rudeness, your sullenness and your temper. I’ve put up with your self-involved, it’s-all-about-me attitude. But I will not tolerate stealing, sneakiness and arrogance.”

  Marly’s smirk vanished.

  “There are some forms to be done,” Officer Espinoza—or sergeant, apparently, judging by the three striped chevrons on his sleeves—said quickly, before the girl could respond.

  “Fine,” Grace said, and quickly sat down in the chair the man indicated. She wondered if she should sit on her hands before she could grab her child and shake her silly. She simply could not allow that attitude to continue. Her daughter might not like her right now, but she would respect her.

  She just wasn’t sure how to make that happen.

  With a sigh she picked up the papers, wondering how they’d gotten to this state. They’d always been so close, Marly had always confided in her, but now—

  When the door to the office opened, Grace looked up, expecting to see the mayor coming back, with the ever-present smile of a man happy to be living in paradise. Instead her breath jammed in her throat as John Draven walked in.

  Nick must have told him, she thought. But why was he here?

  Draven took over the room as surely as if he were a foot taller than his already solid six feet. Even Espinoza straightened up, looking at the newcomer warily, as if sensing something that told him this was a man to pay attention to.

  Or be on guard around.

  The words echoed in her head, and she didn’t know why she’d thought them. She caught herself gaping, and quickly lowered her eyes. She wound up focusing on his feet, but couldn’t seem to stop herself from scanning upward. He wore a pair of faded jeans over boots with what looked like a crepe sole. For skulking around, she supposed. The jeans were snug, but not tight, and tucked into them was a tan T-shirt with the sleeves ripped out, baring tanned, leanly muscled arms. His chest seemed impossibly broad to her beneath the knit fabric. The overall impression was one of leashed power, and she didn’t think she was alone in that assessment; Espinoza was practically standing at attention now. Clearly she wasn’t the only one being affected by the sheer power of John Draven’s presence.

  She flicked a glance at Marly, who looked more wary than anything as she frowned as if trying to figure out why Draven was here. And with her recently developed self-centeredness, how it was going to affect her.

  Exactly my question, she thought as he spoke to Espinoza first.

  “Sergeant,” he said, holding out a hand that the man took rather gingerly. “I’m Redstone security. I’m hoping I can help with this situation.”

  She noted he was speaking genially, unlike the brisk, businesslike tone she usually heard from him. She also noted he didn’t give his name. She knew Redstone security preferred a low profile, and could see the reasons for it, but she hadn’t realized they even tried to keep their names quiet.

  “Excellent!” Espinoza appeared vastly relieved to be able to hand this over to someone other than her; male chauvinism was apparently alive and well in this part of the world. And Draven obviously knew it.

  “With your help, I’m sure we can wind this up and keep Miss O’Conner out of any further trouble.”

  “Mr. Ayuso, he is willing to not press charges if he gets his property back and I can assure him the child will be properly dealt with. Children, they need discipline.”

  “That they do,” Draven said, almost cheerfully. “I needed it so much I joined the army.”

  Espinoza laughed. Grace was in no mood for all this male bonding, however fascinating she might find it under other circumstances. She flicked a glance at Marly, who looked both wary and disgusted, no doubt because she didn’t like being referred to as a child.

  “I’ve signed these,” Grace said, inserting herself back into the process. To heck with male chauvinism, she was Marly’s mother. “What else do I need to do?”

  Espinoza seemed to ponder her question.

  “I’m sure there will be some sort of appropriate punishment,” Draven said, although he was still looking at Espinoza, not at her, or Marly. “It wouldn’t be right to just let this slide.”

  Espinoza suddenly grinned, and she wondered what on earth Draven had done that she couldn’t see. The sergeant nodded in almost fierce agreement.

  “We could put her in our cell,” he said, “but I confess, it’s not a nice place. The local wildlife has no trouble getting in. You know, iguanas, boas, rhino beetles and the like.”

  Marly sucked in an audible breath at that.

  Grace was fairly certain Espinoza was staging this for Marly’s benefit. What part Draven was playing, she didn’t know. But because it was working she kept silent, as if she were considering that cell.

  Her daughter stared at her, looking astounded. “Mom?”

  Grace steeled herself against the shock in her daughter’s voice. “Any other options?” she asked after a moment.

  “I suppose,” Espinoza said thoughtfully, looking at her now, “we could consider house arrest.” He lifted a grizzled brow at her. “You have a house?”

  Her mouth quirked slightly. She quashed it; she didn’t want Marly to think she found anything about this even slightly amusing. “It’s on wheels, but yes.”

  “But you are a very busy woman,” he said. “Who will make certain that she stays where she’s supposed to?”

  She guessed things like monitoring bracelets hadn’t made their way out here yet. She grimaced inwardly; they likely hadn’t been needed before. Until her recalcitrant daughter had arrived to disrupt their little paradise.

  “Her father could be involved, perhaps?”

  Grace stifled a bitter chuckle. “Not likely.”

  Marly made a tiny sound, one that tore at Grace’s heart, and she didn’t dare look at her daughter’s face. She knew what she would see there, and she couldn’t bear it just now. Not on top of everything else. And again she thought of a special place in hell for heartless fathers like her ex-husband.

  “She can be secured at our job site,” Draven said.

  Espinoza turned back to him. The man seemed very relieved to simply hand things over to Draven. She imagined it was an effect he found very useful on occasion. She wasn’t sure she didn’t feel just that way herself.

  “You will be responsible for her?” Espinoza asked eagerly.

  “No.” Draven turned then, looking at Marly straight on. When he spoke, his voice was frosty enough to cool even Marly’s temper. “She’ll be responsible to me.”

  The girl’s eyes widened. For a moment she simply stared at the man towering over her. Then she looked at Grace.

  “Mom!” She yelped it this time, a near-desperate tone in her voice.

  “If you wanted her help,” he said, his voice softer but no warmer, “you should have rethought the way you’ve been treating her.”

  Grace stiffened. What did he know about it?

  Marly started a retort, then stopped. Finally she just muttered, “I don’t have to listen to you.”

  “Your decision. But actions have reactions. Decisions have consequences. About time you learned.”

  He was back to his curt, concise sentences, and Grace suddenly saw why he did it. In part, anyway. Marly had opened her mouth to pro
test, but closed it again the moment he spoke in that clipped tone. Once she was silent, he turned back to the sergeant, who appeared fascinated by what was happening. As, she confessed to herself, was she. She decided then to just let this play out. Perhaps a new element added to the mix might produce better results than she’d had so far.

  “What else?” Draven asked Espinoza.

  “Restitution to Mr. Ayuso, the store owner would be first.”

  “I’ll take care of that right now,” Grace said, reaching for her purse.

  “No.”

  Draven’s tone was sharp. Her hand stopped and her head snapped around, her gaze narrowing as she looked at him. “What?”

  “Marly will pay it back herself.”

  “I don’t have that kind of money,” Marly yelped. “If I did I would’ve bought the stuff in the first place.”

  Draven just looked at the girl. “Would you have?”

  Marly lowered her eyes, and Grace knew lack of money wasn’t the reason for this. Her hand fell back to her side.

  “You’ll work for the money. We’ll decide later what you’ll do and how much you’ll be paid. You’ll bring the money to Mr. Ayuso yourself. In installments. Minimum of once a week.”

  “How’m I supposed to do that?”

  “How did you get here today?”

  “I walked.” Realization widened Marly’s eyes. “You can’t expect me to walk here every week!”

  “You did today.”

  Outrage made the girl sputter. Grace wasn’t sure how she felt about it herself; it was one thing for her to be upset with her own daughter, and something else entirely for this man to be so hard-nosed with her. She was Marly’s mother, she should have the final say. But he had the girl’s attention, which was more than she’d been able to accomplish recently. And that had to be the bottom line, more than who did it. So she kept silent, hoping she wasn’t making the wrong choice.