Cathy Marlowe [Out of Darknes Comes the Night (epub)

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.The man had simply stared with a troubled expression, then, apparently shaking off whatever bothered him, he’d left the room with a farewell wave.The door to the room burst open and he forgot all about the doctor as an older man strode toward the bed, a smile on his face, welcome radiating from his green eyes.“Thomas, my son,” the stranger exclaimed in a booming voice, “I’ve been so worried about you.”His father had arrived.He should have felt relief, but, instead, as the door slowly closed, he heard a child crying down the hall.For reasons he couldn’t explain, the sound haunted him.Chapter SixBy the evening of the third day, when Zach and Daniel had been missing for over forty-eight hours, Lizzie couldn’t stand being in the house any longer.Handwriting analysis indicated that Zach had indeed written the letter, and although Lizzie insisted it must have been forged or written under duress, she knew the police now suspected he’d left willingly with the baby.Because late that afternoon Kyle, as second-in-command at Weston Security, had been notified that $1 million was missing from the company accounts.The firm had been successful beyond Zach and Lizzie’s dreams, creating a good life for their growing family.Now two-thirds of their cash reserves had disappeared along with Zach and Daniel.The police were working with WIC, the Westchester Intelligence Center.The group of highly technical specialists working out of White Plains had found nothing.No cell phone records, no credit card use, no plane tickets.There’d been no sign of Zach’s car.They’d flagged Zach’s passport.Nothing.Lizzie sat alone in their bedroom, looking at pictures of her family as she pumped breast milk.A box of tissues sat close by.She’d continued to pump on schedule in preparation for Daniel and Zach’s return, the small act both comforting and heartbreaking.In these moments she missed them so badly she thought she might die from it.Wiping the last tears from her face, she put the pump away and took the milk to the freezer.Then she joined Sam in the playroom, where she found her daughter lying on her stomach, knees bent, feet kicking idly in the air, and looking at her favorite book, a story about a princess who saves the day.Only she wasn’t reading the book.She was staring at the inscription.For Sarah Ann, my princess.Love, Daddy.Sarah Ann Marko, who’d convinced them to call her by the nickname S.A.M.when she was just two, spent hours acting out the story with Zach.He would never leave her.Lizzie knelt in front of her.“Sarah Ann, sweetie, let’s go for a walk.”After bundling in their winter coats, they strolled across the yard with Cole and Reade following a discreet distance behind.Sam scooped handfuls of the sparkling white snow and tossed them into the air and Lizzie paused to take in the snow-laden branches.When did the snow fall? The first snowfall was a major event in their family, and she hadn’t even noticed its arrival.They followed the little path until they came to Lizzie’s Lake.Too big for a pond, but too small for a lake, Zach had christened it Lizzie’s Lake, saying it was beautiful like her.She’d laughed and accused him of trying to win her support for his hockey plans by whatever means necessary.Her lips curved in wistful memory of how he’d protested his innocence and then unveiled a sketch of his plans for a small heated shed near the lake’s shore to house ice skates, sleds, and miscellaneous hockey gear.She’d laughed, telling him it would be at least a couple of years before their children were ready for the ice.Zach had pulled her into his arms and told her that as soon as the lake would safely hold their weight, he’d be taking her out on the ice.On the ice! She was a sun and sand girl, despite being raised in New York.She’d protested, but he was persuasive.“Don’t think of it as skating, Lizzie Lou,” he’d whispered in his sexy voice.“We’ll be dancing across the ice.” She’d looked into his eyes and known what he was really saying…it would be yet another way of making love, and she’d sighed, admitting to herself that one day she’d be on the ice with her husband.In that uncanny way he had of understanding what was in her heart, he’d read her response in her face, rewarding her with his gorgeous smile.Then he’d kissed her.Lizzie knelt in the snow next to Sam and pulled the little girl into her arms as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.…Thomas finished his breakfast, a savory omelet, crispy bacon, fresh squeezed orange juice, and best of all, no Jell-O.A delicious meal, yet he had little appetite.He wasn’t exactly comfortable with the man who called himself his father, but he appreciated the improvement in the food since the older man arrived.Also, having learned that his full name was Alistair Thomas Forrester Jr., he was thankful to be called Thomas and not Alistair Jr.or A.J.or—he cringed just thinking about it—Junior.Pushing the food tray aside, he picked up a paper cup containing two small pills and washed the medicine down.A dull pain in his temples let him know he’d waited too long to take them.He hated taking any kind of drug.A humorless laugh escaped his lips.How could he know this and yet not know anything important about himself?He leaned back in the hospital bed and closed his eyes.He had no knowledge or understanding of what had happened, who he was, or his place in life.He was at the mercy of others, and the need to manage his own life, make his own decisions—even over something as mundane as his breakfast—gnawed at him.It bothered him enormously that the stranger who was his father was in control of his life, and maybe it made him a terrible son, but he could summon no emotion, no loyalty for his father.Lying in the quiet room, all he could think about was getting the hell out of this place.With a sigh, he looked around for anything that might reveal information about his identity.He thought he was in pretty good shape, could feel his leashed strength.But he had no idea what he looked like.A small mirror sat on the bedside table, left there earlier by a gum-snapping nurse.He reached for it, hesitated, then peered cautiously into the mirror.Suspicious green eyes stared back.His resemblance to the old man was striking.He had short medium-brown hair.A slight tan line along his forehead indicated a recent haircut.His eyes were dark green and fringed with stubby black lashes.He frowned [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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