“We are doing quite fine, thank you.”
He never turned around to properly address her. Which gave Paisley plenty of opportunity to glare at Monica before leaving.
“You must forgive her.” Jackson resumed his effusively charming persona, the same one that had seduced Monica when she was young.When he love bombs you in the beginning, it’s like you’ve discovered heaven. Everything you could ever dream of is right in front of you.Yet the honeymoon barely lasted before the teeth came out. Jackson’s vampiric kisses had drained the energy from Monica for far too long. “She’s not as well trained as some of the other women who have lived here.”
Jackson looked right at Monica when he said that. She knew what he meant.
“Where were we? Ah, yes. Your mother-in-law absconding with your young child. How old is dear Abigail again? Five?”
Monica refused to let him see the twitch above her brow. “Seven.”
“Seven.” He released a low whistle. “My, time flies. Then again, I forget how quickly you got pregnant after you left.”
Eva cut in with the low voice she used with men she did not like. “That has nothing to do with what’s happened. Do you know something or not?”
Jackson looked at her as if he had forgotten Eva was there at all. And when hedidremember, nothing vexed him more.
“The Beaumonts. Yes, your mother is quite familiar with them. Just as I am. Who do you think introduced your father to me when he needed a generous line of credit to cover all of his gambling debts?” Jean-Pierre and Lily Beaumont. Isn’t it a small world, Evangeline? Why, even your name… Evangeline is the name of Lily’s sister. Your mother was friends with her as well. Died tragically when they were all young. Who do you think you were named after?”
She did not reveal what she really thought. That was left for Monica to interpret.
“Evangeline…” Monica pinched her nose. “And Lily. You must be joking.”
“Ahead of the times. Who do you think the actress was named after? Evangeline and Lily were quite the show-stopping girls in their day. Or so I hear through Jean-Pierre.”
He’s stalling again.Either he wanted an excuse to keep Monica a captive audience here… or he knew something. It was just a matter of getting him to admit it.
“Well! I will be honest with you two,” he said with suspicious cheeriness, “I do not know for sure what has happened, as the kidnapping of children from other families is not exactlysomething Jean-Pierre calls me up to chat about. But I can do you a favor, Monica. I think you know what that is.”
She swallowed. “If you would kindly call him…”
“Oh, but won’t I have to be sneaky? He knows who I am to you. If I come out swinging, he’ll get spooked. Assuming he knows anything. No, I’ll have to exert some mental energy on this relaxing night to tease information out of him. Get him to open up. Again, assuming he knows anything. You might be all wrong, Monica. And… correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Henry en route to Nice right now?”
“I won’t even ask how you know that.”
“Call it a lucky guess. Anyway, if he’s already on his way there to find your daughter, then why have you come to me? You must suspect something else.”
I cannot stand how he continues to read me so easily.This man was the reason Monica had developed the perfect poker face. For years, she hid her true feelings from him – all to protect what of her soul he had yet to chip away.
“I suspect that Isabella is not an idiot, and would figure that we’re on to her within a few days. She’ll have moved on by the time Henry gets there, and there is no guarantee he will get answers out of the Beaumonts on their turf.”
“Not unless there’s some kind of proof, no. And you can forget extradition. The Beaumonts areveryinvolved with local police and government authorities. It’s often rumored that Evangeline was the mistress of a former prime minister. Oh, she isgreatlymissed.”
“We’re aware that they have the power to cover up most things in Europe, let alone France,” the present Evangeline said. “Which is why we must catch up to where she’s gone.”
“Yes, yes, cut the wolf and cub off at the pass. All right, tell you two what? I shall go into my office and call Jean-Pierre. He won’t expect a thing. And if there’s anything to tell you…”
Monica didn’t want to let on, but she was just atadsuspicious of his generosity. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
With his most conniving smile, Jackson unfolded himself from the couch and went into an adjacent room, where he slid the door shut with a click. Only then did Monica breathe.
“This is good, right?” Eva asked her with a low voice. “I mean, this is why we came here. If anyone knows where they went, it’s that douchebag.”
Monica looked away, hoping to God that her sister-in-law didn’t see the worry on her face. “There’s always a catch with him,” she said. “He might ask something of us. Ofme.Even if he doesn’t have a satisfying answer, he’ll want something from us. We must be prepared for anything.” Finally, she turned her attention to Eva. “Anything.”
“If it’s money he wants, we’ve got plenty between us.”
“He doesn’t care about direct deposits. It will be something that messes with us. Like asking for a stake in one of my businesses. Or requesting thatyouwork for him for a while. Or, heaven forbid, Nadia.”
