Page 163 of Noel Secrets

“How could you do this?” she asked her. “Was it you behind these attacks all this time?”

“No, not really. Jeff was right. Your uncle was the one who orchestrated the attacks against you, but when I heard you had all this money, I knew I had to do something.”

A tear slipped from Darby’s eye. All this for money. Let her have it. Darby would be happy to be rid of it. There would always be someone who wanted to take it from her. David’s life was more important than money.

“So you and Chief Dean plotted this together? You kidnapped my son just to get your hands on my inheritance?”

“Not exactly. He would never go along with a kidnapping. My ex-boyfriend, Max, agreed to help me on the promise of a nice payday once I got the money.” She smiled up at Max. “Looks like our plan worked.”

“Sweet,” he said. “It was a little close. We got pulled over by the police.”

“What?” Suzanne’s face hardened. “What for?”

Darby’s pulse quickened at her sudden change of demeanor. She’d always believed Suzanne was unstable. An unstable Suzanne who’d already orchestrated an abduction and now had a gun trained on her …

Darby gulped as David clung to her. They were in real trouble.

“The officer claimed there was a BOLO out on my car. Clay must have panicked when I didn’t answer him. It was just for a welfare check. I convinced him everything was fine, and he let us go on our way.”

“She’s right,” Max agreed. “She made it believable. She did good.”

That didn’t seem to satisfy Suzanne. “They saw you together. Now when something happens to Darby, you’ll be the person they’ll look for.”

He rubbed a hand through his hair as he thought about the mess they’d made. “I used the fake ID you gave me. It should be okay.”

Suzanne shook her head again, disgusted. Being pulled over by the cops obviously hadn’t been a part of her plan.

Darby had to do something convince her that everything was going to work out. “Suzanne, take the money and go. Please. David’s not hurt. You haven’t done anything you can’t come back from. Just let us go. I won’t tell anyone it was you.”

She seemed to consider that for a moment before her expression twisted into a smirk. “Like I believe you. You’ll have the cops on me in a hot second. You’ve been looking for a reason to have me arrested. Now you’ll have it, won’t you?”

“All I care about it is making certain David is safe.” Her son clung to her, still shaking with fear.

Darby meant it. She would happily let Suzanne walk off with her fortune if it meant she and David were safe.

But Suzanne wasn’t convinced. She raised the gun to Darby. “No, you’re coming with me. Once I’m safely out of town, I’ll release David.”

David’s grip tightened. “Mama, don’t leave me.”

“Please, Suzanne, just let us go.”

She grabbed Darby’s arm and pulled her away. “You’re coming with me. If you want to see your son alive again, you’ll do what I say.” She motioned to the suitcase. “Pick it up and take it outside to my car.”

Tears pressed against Darby’s eyes, but she blinked them away. She had to be strong for her son’s sake. She cupped his face in her hands and did her best to calm him down. “It’s going to be okay,” she promised him. “I’m going with Suzanne but I’ll be back. You stay strong. Everything is going to be fine.”

She hated breaking away from him, but she had no choice. Besides, she would rather go with Suzanne than have her take him. Max had been fairly low-key during the time they’d been together, so she hoped David would be safer with him.

Suzanne unzipped the suitcase and pulled out a wad of cash. She handed it to Max. “I’ll call you once I’m safe,” she told him. “You know where to meet me, right?”

He nodded and stuffed the money into his pocket.

Darby grabbed the suitcase and carried it outside to Suzanne’s car. She ordered Darby into the passenger’s seat while Suzanne climbed behind the wheel.

As Suzanne drove away, Darby glanced back as the cabin door shut.

Please, God, keep David safe.

Clay pulled up to the police cruiser parked on the side of the road, and both he and Dean hopped out. The officer had radioed and said he’d stopped Darby’s car and had a conversation with her before letting her go.