Free Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos by Carolyn LaRoche

her. “Nope. Not gonna be late. Trust me.”
    Cyndi fell back against the pile of throw pillows she painstakingly arranged on the bed every single morning, and let out a quiet moan as Jason undid his belt and uniform pants before tackling her jeans. Ten minutes later, she lay on the bed drained and satisfied as Jason left her with one last lingering kiss before grabbing his duty belt and running out the door. True to his word, Jason had some mad skills. How did other women get through their days without a man who could make love like her J.J. did?
    Her cell phone buzzed. It was still in the pocket of her jeans. Cyndi rolled over and hung her head off the side of the bed in search of her pants. She found them in a crumpled heap and dug out her cell phone. She opened the new message and saw it was from Jason.
     
    Jason: Love you. See you when I get home.
     
    Cyndi: Love you too, stay safe.
     
    Cyndi tucked the phone in her pocket after wiggling back into her favorite jeans.
    Harper would be up soon, and she would be annoyed that her daddy left without her getting to say goodbye. Cyndi felt a twinge of guilt for forgetting her little one in lieu of her crazy hormones. After a decade, Jason still had the ability to dominate her completely with his touch.
    Her ankle was still sore and quite ugly looking, but it was considerably better than the previous day. She could almost walk without limping into Harper’s room, where she found her daughter standing by the bedroom window clutching her favorite worn-out old teddy bear.
    “Daddy’s gone.” She looked up at Cyndi with sad brown eyes.
    “He was in a hurry, sweet pea. He didn’t want to disturb you.”
    “He left and didn’t say goodbye. Daddy always says goodbye.”
    Harper was working up to a full-fledged meltdown. Cyndi recognized all the tell-tale signs from the quaking bottom lip to the rubbing of her eyes that would bring on the tears. Cyndi started to prepare for the temper fit that was about to happen, when inspiration suddenly struck. Grabbing her cell phone from her pocket, she opened it to her last incoming text.
    “Daddy sent you a message. Told me to show it to you when you woke up.”
    “What’s it say, Mommy?”
    “He says he loves you and he will see you when he gets home.”
    Harper broke out in a beautiful grin. “I knew he wouldn’t forget!”
    Cyndi scooped her little girl up in her arms and hugged her close. “Daddy could never forget you, muffin. He loves you more than anything in the world.”
    “Let’s go outside and take a walk, Mommy.”
    “I wish we could, baby, but Mommy has a hurt foot, remember?”
    Harper’s face fell instantly before she pulled herself together and stood firm. “I want to go outside, Mommy.”
    “How about we go out back and you can play in the yard?”
    “But I want to go on a walk!”
    “That’s not going to happen, Harp. Out back or stay in, your choice.”
    Crossing her little arms over chest, Harper stamped a foot and scowled. “Fine. I’ll go out back, then.”
    “Grab your sweater!” Cyndi called after her daughter, who was already halfway down the hall by the time she said the words.
    The only answer she received was the slam of the back door. When Cyndi joined Harper outside a few minutes later, the little girl was hard at work in her sweater, digging holes in her sandbox. Cyndi smiled as she settled in the chair swing and watched Harper play. They spent a quiet afternoon and evening entertaining each other until it was time for Harper’s bath and bedtime. By the time her little one was tucked in bed, Cyndi was chomping at the bit to get on her computer and search for Jade’s mother in Maryland.
    She started with a basic search first, running the name Shannon Mallory through the search engine. Page after page came up. Links to missing person’s posters, Amber Alert announcements, and news story after news story after news story rolled across the screen. Clicking on the top one, Cyndi gasped