“Thirty miles,” she repeated, focusing on the drive and not on the driver. Nate put his attention back on the call.
That was too many miles between her and her baby, and the panic surged through her again. Nate was already going as fast as he could, but at this speed and because of the narrow country roads, it would take them at least twenty, maybe twenty-five, minutes to get there.
An eternity.
Nate cursed, causing her attention to snap back to him. She waited, breath held, until he slapped the phone shut. “Grayson just found another empty black van on a dirt road near the creek. Only one set of footprints was around the vehicle.”
So, not a call from Kade. Just news of another decoy van. Or else the team of kidnappers had split up. Did that mean they’d split up the children and Marlene, as well? Darcy hoped not.
“Shouldn’t you have heard from Kade by now?” she asked.
He scrubbed his hand over his face. “My brother will call when he can.”
Nate looked at her again, and his eyes were now a dangerous stormy-gray. “The person behind this has a big motive and a lot of money,” he tossed out there. He was all cop again. Here was the lieutenant she’d butted heads with in the past. And the present.
“You mean Wesley Dent,” she supplied.
Darcy didn’t even try to put on her lawyer face. Her head was pounding. Her breath, ragged. And her heart was beating so hard, she was afraid her ribs might crack. She didn’t have the energy for her usual power-attorney facade.
“Wesley Dent,” Nate verified, making her client’s name sound like profanity. “He’s a gold digger, and I believe he murdered his wife.”
Darcy shook her head and continued to keep watch in case she spotted another black van. She also glanced at the odometer, remembering to keep her hair away from Nate’s arm. Twenty-five miles to go.
“I won’t deny the gold-digging part,” she admitted, “but I’m not sure he killed his wife.”
Though it did look bad for Dent.
A starving artist, Dent had married Sandra Frasier, who wasn’t just a multimillionaire heiress but was twenty-five years his senior. And apparently she often resorted to public humiliation when it came to her boy-toy husband, who was still two years shy of his thirtieth birthday. Just days before what would have been their first wedding anniversary, Sandra had humiliated Dent in public at Dent’s art show.
A day after that, she had received a lethal dose of insulin.
“Sandra was diabetic,” Darcy continued, though she really didn’t want to have this conversation. Twenty-four miles to go. “So, it’s possible this was a suicide. Her husband even said she wrote about suicide in her diary.” But her death certainly hadn’t been accidental because the amount of insulin was quadruple what she would have normally taken.
“There was no suicide note,” Nate challenged. “No sign of this so-called diary, either.”
But that didn’t mean the diary didn’t exist. Dent had told her that his wife kept it under lock and key, so maybe she’d moved it so that no one would be able to read her intimate thoughts.
“The husband is often guilty in situations like this,” Nate went on. He had such a hard grip on the steering wheel that his knuckles were white. “And I think Dent could have orchestrated this kidnapping to force me to stop the investigation. I’m within days of arresting his sorry butt for murder.”
Darcy wished the pain in her head would ease up a little so she could think straighter. “There are other suspects,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, the dead woman’s ex-husband and her son, but neither has as strong a motive as Dent.”
“Maybe,” Darcy conceded. Another glance at the odometer. Twenty-three miles between the ranch and them. “But if Dent masterminded this kidnapping to stop the investigation, then why take Noah? I’m his lawyer, the one person who could possibly prevent him from being arrested.”
Nate shook his head, cursed again. “Maybe he thinks if he has your son that you’ll put pressure on me to cooperate.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but that kind of fight just wasn’t in her. Besides, there was a chance that Nate could be right.
In some ways it would be better if he was.
After all, if Dent took the children, then he would keep them safe because he would use them to make a deal. Darcy was good at deals. And she would bargain with the devil himself if it meant getting her son back.
Nate didn’t tack anything else on to his speculations about Dent, and the silence closed in around them. Except it wasn’t just an ordinary silence. It was the calm before the storm because Darcy knew what was coming next.
“Charles Brennan,” she tossed out there since she knew Nate had already thought of the man. Over a year ago Brennan had hired the triggerman who’d murdered Nate’s wife.
“Yeah,” Nate mumbled. “Any chance he’s behind this?”
Well, Brennan was dead, but she didn’t have to remind Nate of that. Because Nate had been the one to kill Brennan in a shoot-out after the man had taken a deputy hostage.
“Brennan made me executor of his estate,” Darcy volunteered. “I’ve gone through his files and financials, and there is no proof he left any postmortem instructions that had anything to do with you. Or me, for that matter.”
“You’re sure?” Nate pressed.
“Yes.” As sure as she could be, anyway, when it came to a monster like Brennan.
Nate made a sharp sound that clipped from his throat. It was the sound of pure disapproval. “Brennan was a cold-blooded killer, and you defended him.”
She had. And two months ago she would have argued that it was her duty to provide representation, but that was before her client had nearly killed a deputy sheriff, Nate and heaven knows how many others.
Darcy kept watch out the window. She didn’t want to look at Nate because she didn’t want him to see the hurt that was in her eyes. “There’s nothing you can say that will make me feel worse than I already do,” she let him know.
Silence again from Nate, and Darcy risked touching him so she could lean in and see the mileage. Just under twenty miles to go. Still an eternity.
Nate’s cell buzzed. “It’s Kade,” he said and flipped open the phone.
Just like that, both the dread and the hope grabbed her by the throat. She moved closer, until she was shoulder to shoulder with Nate. Darcy no longer cared about the touching risk. She had to know what Kade was saying.
“I’m on the side of the hill with a good binocular view of the Lost Appaloosa,” Kade explained. “And I have good news and bad.”
Oh, mercy. She wasn’t sure she could handle it if something had happened to the children. Nate’s deep breath let her know he felt the same.
“The good news—there’s a black van parked on the side of the main house,” Kade continued. “Something tells me this one isn’t a decoy.”
“How do you know?” Darcy asked before Nate could. She wanted to believe that was good news, but she wasn’t sure. “Do you see the children?”
“No sign of the children,” Kade told them. His voice was practically a whisper, but even the low volume couldn’t conceal his concern.
Kade paused. “Nate, call Grayson and the others and tell them to get out here right away. Because the bad news is—there are at least a half-dozen armed guards surrounding the place.”
Chapter Five
Nate parked the SUV near Kade’s truck—a good quarter mile from the Lost Appaloosa ranch house.
This had to work.
He’d already set his phone to vibrate and had Darcy do the same. Now, he slid his gun from his shoulder holster, eased his SUV door shut and started down the exact path his brother had instructed him to take. A path that would hopefully keep them out of sight from those guards patrolling the place.
Nate glanced back at Darcy and put his index finger to his mouth, even though he had already made it clear that they had to make a silent approach. Not easy to do considering Darcy was wearing t
hose blasted high heels. Still, she’d have to adjust. The last thing he wanted was to give anyone a reason to fire in case the babies were nearby.
Part of him prayed this wasn’t another decoy—even though, according to Kade, the half dozen or more guards were armed to the hilt. At least if Noah and Kimmie were here, then Nate would finally know where the children were. Of course, that was just the first step.
He had to get them out—safe, sound and unharmed.
Even though it was late afternoon, it was still hot, and sweat began to trickle down his back. So did the fear. He’d never had this much at stake. Yes, he’d lost Ellie, but that had been different. His wife had been a cop, capable of defending herself in most situations.
Kimmie was his little girl.
Nate choked back the fear and followed the beaten-down path until he spotted Kade on the side of a grassy hill. His brother was on his stomach, head lifted so he could peer over the top. Kade also had his gun drawn.
Kade glanced at him, but his brother’s eyes narrowed when he looked at Darcy.
Yeah.
Nate wasn’t pleased about her being there, either, but he hadn’t had a choice. If he’d left her at the sheriff’s office, she would have just tried to follow them. And he couldn’t have blamed her. If their situations had been reversed, he would have done the same.
“The others are on their way,” Nate whispered. He dropped down next to Kade.
Darcy did the same, her left arm landing against Nate’s right one. Close contact yet again. Contact Nate decided to ignore. Instead, he took Kade’s binoculars and looked at their situation.
It wasn’t good.
Nate didn’t need but a glimpse to determine that. All the windows had newspaper taped to the glass. No way to see inside.
Outside was a different set of problems.
There were armed gunmen milling around the ranch house. All carried assault rifles and were dressed in black. Nate counted three, including the one standing guard at the front door, but then he saw one more when the man peered out from around the back of the house. There was yet another on the roof and one on the road near the cattle gate that closed off the property.
The gunmen had an ideal position because they controlled the only road that led to the ranch, and they obviously had good visibility with their comrade perched on the roof. Plus, there was a lot of open space around the ranch house itself. There were barns and a few other outbuildings that could be used for cover, but it wouldn’t be easy to get to the house without being spotted by one of those armed goons.
“Are the children there?” Darcy whispered.
“Can’t tell.” Nate handed her the binoculars so Darcy could see for herself.
“Grayson and the others should be here soon,” Nate relayed to Kade. “I called him just a few minutes before we got here, and he’s bringing an infrared device so we can get an idea of who’s inside.”
And how many. That was critical information so they would know the full scope of what they were up against.
“How many will be with Grayson?” Kade asked.
Nate mentally made a count. Grayson, Dade, Mason and Mel. “Six total with you and me.”
Even odds. Well, even odds for the gunmen outside the house, but Nate was betting there was some firepower inside, as well.
“The FBI should have a choke hold on the surrounding area in place in about an hour,” Kade let him know.
A choke hold. In other words, the agents would be coming from the outside and moving in to make sure no one got away if the gunmen scattered. Nate was thankful for the extra help, but an hour was a lifetime. Besides, he didn’t want the gunmen spotting the agents and opening fire.
“This is San Antonio P.D.’s jurisdiction,” Nate reminded his brother.
Kade nodded. “I want family calling the shots on this.”
Yeah. Because for Nate and the rest of the Rylands, this was as personal as it got. Nate trusted the FBI, had worked well with them on many occasions, but he didn’t want anyone thinking with their trigger fingers or their federal rules. But he also didn’t want emotions to create a deadly scenario.
That included Darcy.
Beside him, her breath was still racing, and she had the binoculars pressed to her eyes. “How do we get in there?” she asked.
“We don’t,” Nate quickly corrected her. He took the binoculars from her and had another look. “You’ll stay here.”
“And what will you be doing?” she challenged.
That would be a complicated answer so he turned to Kade. “I need a closer look at the house. A different angle so I can try to see in one of the windows.”
Kade gave him a flat look. “Grayson is bringing infrared,” he reminded Nate.
Yes, but Nate didn’t think he could just lie there waiting for his brother and the equipment to arrive. “I have to know if Kimmie is all right,” he mouthed, hoping that Darcy wouldn’t hear him and echo the same about Noah.
Kade huffed, glanced around and then grabbed the binoculars. “You stay here with Ms. Burkhart.”
Nate caught his arm. “It’s my daughter. I should take the risk.”
No flat look this time. This one was cocky. “Won’t be a risk if I do it,” Kade assured him. “Stay put, big brother. My head is a lot more level than yours right now.”
Nate couldn’t argue with that, but man, he wanted to. He wanted just a glimpse of his baby to make sure she was okay.
Kade hooked the binoculars around his neck, shot a stay-put glance at them and began to crawl to the left side of the hill. He went about twenty feet, ducking behind some underbrush and then behind an oak.
Nate kept his eyes on Kade until he disappeared from sight, and he turned his attention back to the gunmen. He wouldn’t be able to see as well without the binoculars, but at least he could detect any movement that might indicate if one of them had spotted Kade.
“They have to be all right,” Darcy mumbled. She, too, had her attention nailed to the patrolling gunmen.
Nate heard the sniffle that she was trying to suppress. This was obviously ripping her apart, and he wanted to comfort her.
Okay, he didn’t.
He didn’t want to be pulled into this strange bond that was developing between them. He couldn’t. But then Darcy sniffed again, and Nate saw the tear slide down her cheek.
Hell.
So much for cooling down this bond.
He couldn’t slip his arm around her because he wanted to keep his gun ready, but he did give her a nudge, causing her to look at him.
“I’m a good cop,” he reminded her. “So are my brothers. We will get the children out of there.”
Darcy blinked back fresh tears. Nodded. And squeezed her eyes shut a moment. She also eased her head against his shoulder. It wasn’t a hug, but it might as well have been. Nate felt it go through him. A warmth that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He recognized the emotions, the comfort, that only a parent in Darcy’s position could give.
But there was also some heat mixed with that warmth.
Even though she was still the enemy on some levels, she was also a woman. An attractive one. And his body wasn’t going to let him forget that.
She opened her eyes, met his gaze. Until Nate turned his attention back where it belonged—on the gunmen.
“I could go out there,” Darcy whispered. “I could offer myself in exchange for the children. Hear me out,” she added when he opened his mouth to object. “If they kill me, then you’d still be here to save Kimmie and Noah.”
“Admirable,” Nate mumbled. “But stupid. We don’t need a sacrificial lamb. We just need some equipment and a plan.”
And apparently both had arrived.
He heard movement—footsteps—and Nate took aim in that direction just in case. But it wasn’t necessary because he spotted Grayson, Dade, Mason and Mel inching their way through the grass toward them.
Nate eased away from Darcy, putting a little space between them, but
it was too late. He knew from Grayson’s slightly raised eyebrow that he’d taken note of the contact and was wondering what the devil was going on.
“Kade’s trying to get a look inside the windows,” Nate said, ignoring Grayson’s raised eyebrow. He tipped his head in the direction where he’d last seen Kade.
“This should help.” Grayson handed Nate the handheld infrared scanner, and all four crouched down on the hill next to Darcy and him.
Nate didn’t waste any time. He put his gun aside, turned on the device and aimed it at the house. The human images formed as red blobs on the screen, and the first thing he saw was an adult figure.
And then two smaller ones.
“The babies,” Darcy said on a rise of breath. She probably would have bolted off the hill if Nate hadn’t latched on to her and pulled her back to the ground.
Yes, the smaller figures were almost certainly the children, and the person who appeared to be holding them was probably Marlene. Judging from the position of the blobs, Marlene was sitting with the babies on her lap. They were in a room at the back of the ranch.
Mason mumbled some profanity, and Nate didn’t have to guess why. Marlene and the babies were alone in the room, but they weren’t alone. There were two larger figures at the front part of the house. Men. And judging from the placement of their arms, they were holding weapons.
“At least eight of them,” Nate supplied. That meant whoever was behind this had some big bucks and a very deep motive.
Dade took the infrared and aimed it at other outbuildings, no doubt to see if there were guards inside.
The movement to their left sent them all aiming their weapons in that direction, but it was only Kade.
“The windows of the house are all covered,” he relayed to them. “But I do have some good news. No cameras or surveillance equipment that I can see mounted on the house or anywhere near it. Plus, four FBI agents are in place on the outside perimeter of the property, and more are on the way. The ones here are waiting for orders.”
Nate Page 4
