Erica Spindler - Cause for Alarm

"Oh, yes we do." Luke's jaw tightened. "If Morris doesn't give me what I want, I'm going to the press. We have enough to shake a few trees over at Langley. Think about it. A dead senator. A cover-up. A government assassin running amok. A little black book filled with nasty secrets. At the very least we can make Morris's life damn uncomfortable. That was what Condor was trying to tell me, they don't want the attention."

"Who told you?"

"A contact." Luke shook his head. "A friend."

The cabby pulled to a stop in front of their motel. Kate threw open the door and ran for the stairs that led to the rooms on the second level, ignoring Luke's shout to wait.

The metal stairs shuddered as she pounded up them, Luke only steps behind her.

She landed on the second level. Their adjoining rooms were located at the far end of the row; the door to their's stood ajar. Kate stopped, her life passing before her eyes. She opened her mouth to call out, but Luke grabbed her arm, silencing her. He bent his head close to hers. "Stay behind me."

She nodded, stepping back slightly to allow him in front, although her every instinct screamed in protest. He proceeded slowly, inching toward the pair of doors.

He reached them. A finger to his lips, Luke eased the door open.

The interior of the room was dim. The curtain had been drawn tight, the lights were off. Luke reached inside and flipped up the wall switch. Light flooded the room.

It was empty.

Emma! Kate rushed to the crib. It, too, was empty. A cry flying to her lips, she spun toward Julianna's room. Luke was already there. Kneeling on the floor, bending over something. Or someone.

He looked over his shoulder at her. At his expression, a cry ripped from her lips. She raced to his side.

Not Emma, she saw. Julianna. She lay in a crumpled heap, naked, her pale skin bruised. Blood trickled from her nose and mouth.

She opened her eyes.

She was alive, thank God.

Kate knelt by her side and Kate took Julianna's hand into her own. The younger woman looked into Kate's eyes, her mouth working but no sound coming out.

"When, Julianna?" Luke bent close. "When did John come?"

Her gaze shifted to Luke's. "Here already…when you…" A spasm of pain shook her, contorting her features. Her fingers convulsed against Kate's. "I…fought… too…strong…I-"

Kate swallowed hard, fighting panic. "Where is she, Julianna? Where's Emma?"

Julianna coughed, spitting up blood. "…be like you. Wish I…" Kate had to bend her head close to hear. "…please…forgive…"

She coughed again, the sound frighteningly weak, wet as she bled internally. Kate gathered her in her arms. "Don't die, Julianna," she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Please, hold on."

Her body convulsed again, a shudder rippling over her, as if the last of her life force fought to survive against outrageous odds. Her eyes shut, and Kate tightened her arms. "No, dammit! Open your eyes. You're not going to die, I'm not going to let you! Open them!"

Julianna did as Kate commanded, the once vivid blue irises pale now, dull with approaching death. Kate could see her fight to pull away from the darkness, struggle for consciousness. She plucked at Kate's shirt, her mouth working. Kate bent close to her again.

"Please…believe…I… Save my…save Em…"

A breath shuddered past her lips. Her muscles went slack, and her head lolled back against Kate's arm.

For a moment, Kate simply held her, a kind of numbness stealing over her limbs. Then Julianna's words, their meaning, sank in. Kate lifted her gaze to Luke's.

"He can't have her," she said. "He can't!"

She got to her feet and stumbled to the adjoining room and empty crib, tears blinding her. She gazed down at the small bed, at the rumpled blanket and the soft, bright-colored stuffed bear. Emma's favorite.

"Why didn't he bring it for her?" Kate whispered. "Who's she going to hold on to? When she's scared, who's she going to hold on to?"

Kate picked up the toy and brought it to her face. It smelled like Emma. She breathed deeply, her heart breaking, her despair yawning, unimaginable.

The phone rang. They both swung toward it. It rang again, and Kate lunged, grabbing the receiver before it jangled a third time.

"Kate, love, it's John. Or as you know me, Nick."

"Where's my baby?"

He ignored her. "Surprised? Or did you figure it out?" He paused. "You did, I suppose. When you saw that photograph." He paused again. "What you did to my home, that wasn't nice. It made me very angry, Kate."

"You sick bastard. I want my daughter."

Luke came up to stand beside her. He bent his head close to hers to try to hear what John was saying. From the corners of her eyes, Kate saw that he had laid the bedspread over Julianna. She saw, too, that he had a gun.

"I like that about you, Kate. Your single-minded loyalty. But I've told you that before." He sighed. "I'm sorry I've had to involve you and the people you love. Julianna left me no choice. She was young and impulsive. And like most disobedient children, she didn't take my warnings seriously. And you were made to suffer."

Kate gripped the receiver tighter, her stomach rising to her throat. "What about Tess?"

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like the good senator. Sylvia always did have a penchant for paunchy old men with power. Go figure."

"But why?" Kate managed, voice quaking. "What did Tess ever do to you?"

"She caught me stealing your Rolodex, Kate." He made a sound of pain. "Your glass work was an impulse. One I deeply regret. That I destroyed works of art…it haunts me, Kate."

He was a monster. And he had her baby. "I don't care about that, I just want my daughter back."

"She's with me. Her daddy. " He laughed then, the sound flat, without warmth or life. That a human could make such an emotionless sound frightened her to her core. She fought to keep from crumbling, from simply falling to pieces. The only thing that kept her from doing so was knowing that Emma needed her.

"Such a shame about Julianna," he continued. "Though I think you'll agree, she had it coming. She betrayed me, Kate. Me. I gave her everything, and she betrayed me."

"You didn't give her everything," Kate said, unable to contain her revulsion. "You took everything from her, you son of a bitch."

"Such language." He clucked his tongue in admonishment. "Kate, you of all people should understand betrayal. After the way Richard treated you? I would think you'd be thanking me."

"What have you done with Emma? I want her back."

"Funny you should say that. Because you have something that belongs to me. Something I want back." In the background she heard an infant begin to cry.

Emma. Kate brought a shaking hand to her mouth. She would recognize Emma's cry anywhere.

She was alive.

"And now I have something that belongs to you. Something you want back, rather desperately I believe."

"Don't hurt her," Kate begged. "Please don't hurt her, I'll do anything you ask. Anything!"

"Just what I was counting on, love. But please, let's save the pleas and histrionics. This is a business arrangement. If you want your item returned intact, you and Dallas meet me at 2:00 a.m. at the Bay Harbor Yacht Club in Annapolis, pier twelve. Call the cops or the feds and the little baby bitch dies."

Annapolis, Maryland, was located on Chesapeake Bay, about an hour from Washington, D.C. Founded in 1646, the town was known to most Americans for the navel academy of the same name. Historic and quaint, the capital of Maryland was also the sailing capital of the nation and sported no less than four yacht clubs-including Bay Harbor.