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stopped him cold. A few minutes ago, he hadn’t fully considered the implications of his ex’s plan to leavethe country. Had he foolishly agreed to send Fiona east with the nanny as requested, Sabrina might very well have fled with her, and now she’d raised the possibility of snatching his daughter from under his protection. “And you think threats will persuade me to trust you?”
    Sabrina’s tone changed to a cajoling whine. “Her birthday’s next weekend. How can you separate a mother from her baby at a time like this? Remember how excited we were when we found out I was pregnant?”
    Alec had been ecstatic, but worried, too, for his beautiful, fragile wife. When they’d first met, as graduate students at the University of Colorado’s program in clinical science, he’d been dazzled by Sabrina. Tall and slim with dark hair, she’d shared his passion for biology and restored the sense of fun he’d missed since breaking up with Patty.
    In retrospect, he wasn’t sure how much of what he’d seen in Sabrina had been real and how much had been a projection of Patty’s adventuresome nature. Still, they’d had fun together during their courtship, and for a brief time had settled happily into marriage. Then, gradually, Sabrina’s behavior had become more erratic and self-centered.
    After she gave birth to Fiona her mood swings intensified, as did her selfish demands for money and attention. Alec had arranged joint therapy sessions and sought the best medical care for what he’d believed were hormonal fluctuations. A psychiatrist had prescribed medication that took the edge off the mood swings but did nothing to stem what he’d finally realized was Sabrina’s underlying narcissism.
    For two years, Alec had felt as if he were parenting both his baby daughter and his wife, even as he earned his PhD then moved his family to Boston. By then, Sabrina had abandoned her career plans, which would have been fine if she’d taken good care of their daughter. Instead, one day that was etched forever into Alec’s memory, he’d returned home unexpectedlyand found her in bed with another man. In the nursery, Fiona was wailing to be fed.
    He should have foreseen then how untrustworthy his wife was. He should have fought harder for custody right from the start….
    â€œAlec?” Sabrina cooed, pulling him out of his reflections. “She can come visit me, can’t she? I’ll bet the nanny would enjoy a side trip to Boston to see her family. And my parents would love to spend some time with their granddaughter.”
    Her parents, who were highly educated but emotionally distant, also lived in New York. They’d stayed on civil terms with Alec and he knew for a fact that they rarely saw Sabrina.
    â€œYou can come here if you like,” he repeated. “That’s the only thing I’ll allow.”
    â€œOh?” With one sharp word, she returned to vixen mode. “You better keep a close eye on our little girl, Alec Denny, because she’s likely to disappear when you least expect it.” With that, she clicked off.
    His numb fingers fumbled the phone as he put it away. While he didn’t exactly believe Sabrina intended to kidnap Fiona and take her to Argentina, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility, either.
    Now what was he going to do?
    Â 
    P ATTY WISHED SHE HAD a video of Glenn Jerome/Jergens pretending to be affable as he squirmed in his booth. While Judi chattered on, the man kept nodding and fingering the edge of his plastic-coated menu until it frayed.
    From his body language, she gathered he was trying to talk the young woman into leaving with him. She appeared oblivious as she ordered food and accepted refill after refill of coffee.
    Patty checked her watch. Nearly two-thirty. She hoped this pair would wrap it up soon.
    What if Judi left with the guy? It seemed unlikely she’d be imprudent enough to