Claiming His Unexpected Baby (Assassins Guild #2) - Michelle Howard Page 0,10
into the headmistress’s voice now. “We cover what to do in situations like this and she followed them exactly.”
Breathing in spurts, Amelie gathered the keys to lock the garden center, grateful there were no customers inside. “I’m on my way.”
A pause, then a sigh. “I feel like that would be best. While she seemed okay and is having her daily snack with her playgroup, this was clearly a scary disruption to the day.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Nothing would have kept her away. Amelie ended the call and was out the door in less than five minutes. The learning academy wasn’t far, making it a convenient choice for Fleur to attend. Even though she wanted to run, Amelie briskly walked to the building so as not to draw attention to herself.
By the time Amelie arrived and rushed up the walkway, sweat had stuck the back of her shirt to her skin.
She burst through the front door, gaze frantic. Thankfully the headmistress was already waiting in the toy shrouded lobby and came directly toward her. Seeing the older woman with her gray hair smoothed back in its customary bun, her crisp white shirt and gray pants, took some of Amelie’s fear away. Tessa had sounded jittery on the phone but appeared calm now.
“Where is she?” Amelie asked.
Tessa gestured to her private office on the left. “I brought her in here when she finished eating.”
The office was more like a corner of space with walls and a door. Fleur sat on the floor with a data pad in her hand, head bopping to childish music bumping through the tinny speakers. She looked up at their entrance and her eyes widened.
“Mommy.”
She dropped the data pad and was on her feet, racing toward Amelie. Bending over, Amelie scooped her daughter in her arms and held her tightly, twisting side to side. Her relief was immeasurable. The scent of fruit, grass and toddler sweat soothed her senses.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Amelie?”
Amelie fell into the nearest chair still holding Fleur. Her daughter kept her arms around Amelie’s neck and wrapped her legs about her waist. “How are you, sweetie?”
“The bad man wanted to take me.”
Chills peppered Amelie’s spine. That was pretty specific. “What did the bad man say?”
Fleur looped a finger through a loose green thread hanging off the apron Amelie had forgotten to remove. “He asked my name, but I said secret. His face got scrunched up and he asked if my mommy was here to talk to him.”
Fleur lifted her head. “I said he better go away because my daddy would get him. Was that okay?”
Amelie squeezed Fleur’s face to her chest and let out a shaky breath. “It was fine.”
They didn’t talk about Fleur’s dad. For safety reasons, Amelie stuck with the false story that enabled them to stay and live on Corvard. She hated lying to her daughter but didn’t dare tell Fleur anything about Roan for fear he’d try to finish his first attempt to destroy the little girl’s life.
Tessa watched them closely before saying, “Maybe it would be a good idea to go home and let things calm down a bit. We have the security company reviewing the vids and hopefully, they’ll have more information for us tomorrow.”
Amelie nodded and rose with Fleur in her arms. “Thank you so much. I think I’ll take her to work with me tomorrow until I hear back from you.”
Tessa’s gaze gentled. “Perhaps it was a family member. Someone who knows you and was hoping to track you down through Fleur.”
There was a slight inquiry in the headmistress’s tone as she made the suggestion. Amelie cleared her throat already moving toward the door. “I don’t think so. My family wouldn’t come here without letting me know.”
The rest of the evening, Amelie watched over her daughter for any signs she was bothered by the stranger approaching her at school. Once they were home, she seemed to resort to her lively self and didn’t cling at all.
Making sure Fleur wasn’t listening, Amelie called Scarlett, who answered right away. “What’s up, favorite and best friend? How’s my awesome niece?”
A tremulous smile broke Amelie’s face and she leaned back on her bed, bare feet up on the covers. “I think someone tried to snatch Fleur today.”
“What?! Was she hurt? Do I need to come by?” The questions flew out in rapid succession.
Scarlett’s instinctive reaction mirrored her own, which assured Amelie she wasn’t overreacting. “No! It’s okay. At least I think it’s okay. She says