by Elle James
“Those must have been the trucks we were following.” Marco joined them. “The tracks led right to here.”
“Did the tracks lead from the destroyed Cruiser?” Abby asked.
“We found the tracks while we were trying to figure out how the Cruiser ended up in that wash,” Marco said.
“But how did you two end up here without the Cruiser, and with a baby?” Carmen asked.
“It’s a long story.” Abby sighed. She was hot, tired, hungry and thirsty. “Right now, we need to get this child to a safe place.”
She followed them to Marco’s vehicle and climbed into the backseat. Angelique fussed and squirmed. “Somebody’s not happy,” Carmen said.
“She’s hungry and her diaper needs changing,” Abby said. “And she probably misses her mother.” Mariposa probably missed her baby, too. Where was she now—and why had that man wanted her?
“Who’s the guy Graham and Michael took off after?” Marco asked.
“He was in charge of the workers in the camp. He supervised the move. We hid and watched them hook up the trailers and drive off. I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was there, and had a gun on Michael. He demanded we give him the baby. When I refused, he threatened to kill Michael, but Michael broke his nose and took his gun. Your arrival distracted us enough he ran off.”
When they reached the road and phone service, Carmen called headquarters. “Lance, I need you to run into town and buy a couple cans of baby formula, bottles and nipples, some baby wipes and a box of diapers.” She looked over her shoulder at Angelique. “Size two.” She grinned. “Yes, they’re for a baby. Now, don’t waste time arguing. We need these right away.” She hung up the phone. “That’s probably the oddest thing anyone’s ever asked him to do. I wish I could see his face when he gets to the store and finds out how many different kinds of diapers there are. Let’s hope he gets something that will work.”
“You seem to know a lot about them,” Marco said.
“I’ve got six younger brothers and sisters and half a dozen nieces and nephews,” she said. “I’ve changed plenty of diapers in my day.”
Abby cuddled the fussy baby closer. “We’re going to make you more comfortable soon, little one,” she said. She only hoped they’d be able to find Mariposa and reunite mother and child before it was too late.
* * *
MICHAEL STARED ACROSS the empty prairie. They hadn’t found so much as a tire track that they could link to the man who had held him at gunpoint and tried to take the baby. “He couldn’t have just vanished,” he said.
“If he is the man in charge of the workers, he probably knows this country a lot better than we do,” Graham said. He put his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go back to headquarters.”
“We need to go back to the campsite first. There’s a bucket there that may have this guy’s fingerprints on it. Maybe we’ll come up with a match.”
They returned to the camp and Michael retrieved the bucket from under the bush. “I’ll get a team out to go over this place,” Graham said.
“It’s pretty clean, but maybe they’ll find something,” Michael said. He didn’t like giving up the search for El Jefe so soon, but he doubted more time wandering around out here would bring them any closer to the man. He followed Graham back to the Cruiser.
“What happened to your face?” Graham asked.
Michael put a hand to the gash on his cheek. “I fell into a drainage. That’s when I lost the phone and radio.”
“Was that before or after you acquired the baby?”
“After.”
“Where did the baby come from?”
“One of the workers gave it to Abby, when the bosses showed up to move them. Then we were spotted and had to make a run for it.”
“But the guy in charge caught up with you?”
Michael shook his head. “That was later. Without the GPS or a phone or maps, we were lost. We needed water, so staying near the creek made sense. I knew you’d send someone to look for us when I didn’t report in this evening. In the meantime, I figured the boss man might come back to look for us. I knew he’d stolen my truck, so he probably guessed we couldn’t go far. I planned to get the jump on him when he returned, but it didn’t work out that way.” He fought down anger at himself for making such a hash of the whole day. Had his attraction to Abby distracted him so much he’d been less diligent?
“We’ll find him,” Graham said. “What did he want with the baby?”
“No idea. He said he would return her to her mother, but Abby got the impression the mom thought the baby would be safer with her.”
“The two of you can fill us in on the details when we get back to headquarters.”
At ranger headquarters, they found Carmen feeding the baby a bottle while Abby, dressed in a black task-force polo and hiking shorts she must have borrowed from Carmen, ate a deli sandwich from a tray in the middle of the conference table. She set aside the sandwich when he walked in. “Did you find him?” she asked.
Michael shook his head and sagged into the chair across from her. He glanced toward the baby. “How’s Angelique?”
“She is living up to her name and being a little angel,” Carmen said. She positioned the baby over her shoulder and patted her back.
“She’s happier now that’s she’s eaten and had a fresh diaper,” Abby said. “Though I don’t think you’re going to want your bandanna back.”
“I have more where that came from.” He helped himself to a sandwich. Abby’s leaves and roots hadn’t tasted as bad as he’d feared, but they hadn’t been very filling.
Graham pulled out the chair at the head of the table. “Tell me about this man,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure he’s the one who was ordering everyone else around,” Michael said. “I didn’t have binoculars, but he was tall and thin, and was the only one wearing a white shirt.”
“And he didn’t say why he wanted the baby?”
“He said he would return her to her mother,” Abby said.
“Maybe he’s the father,” Carmen said. When the others stared at her, she shrugged. “Even criminals can love their children. Or maybe he loves the mother and she changed her mind about giving up her child, and she sent him to retrieve the baby.”
“Or maybe he sees the child as a tie to him and his operation and he wants to get rid of her,” Marco said.
Abby shuddered at the idea. “What harm is an infant going to do?” she asked. “She can’t testify against him.”
“She might share his DNA, and that might tie him to a crime we don’t even know about yet,” Marco said.
Abby tried to push away the thought that the man might have wanted to harm Angelique. But a man who made slaves of other people might not balk at killing a baby.
“You said you were following tracks,” Michael said. “Where did they lead?”
“Nowhere,” Marco said. “Once they reached the highway, we lost them.”
“But now that we know what we’re looking for, it won’t be so easy to hide that many people and trailers,” Michael said.
“Unless they dismantled everything and took everyone straight to Denver or another big city,” Carmen said. “Your guy could be long gone.”
Michael shook his head. “I don’t think so. He wanted Angelique badly enough to come back by himself to retrieve her.”
“That part doesn’t make sense to me,” Marco said. “He had to have others helping him when he moved the camp.”
“He had at least five other men with guns,” Michael said.
“Then why didn’t he bring them with him to retrieve the baby?” Marco asked. “Even one other man with him would have increased his chances of success.”
“Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know about the baby,” Abby said.
“But they already knew about the baby,” Michael said. “Mariposa didn’t try to hide her from the others, that I could tell.”
Abby stood and went to take the sleeping infant from Carmen. Angelique hardly stirred as Abby cradled her close. “Maybe Carmen is right and he came back for Angelique because she’s his child,” she said. “If that’s true, he might not want the others to know, or to suspect he had a soft spot for the baby.”
“We don’t know that,” Michael said. “He might have intended to kill her.”
“Then maybe he didn’t want the others to know that, either.” The idea made her sick to her stomach, but they would gain nothing by refusing to consider all possibilities.
“Whatever the reason he wanted her, it doesn’t really matter,” Carmen said.
“Why not?” Michael asked.
“Because we know the baby represents a weakness or a secret he doesn’t want anyone else finding out about,” Graham said. “If you know a man’s weakness or secret, you can find a way to exploit it.”
“But if he’s already on his way to Denver...” Abby sent a questioning look to Graham.
“I think Michael’s hunch is right and he won’t want to leave without the baby,” Graham said. “We can use that against him.”
Abby smiled down at the child, who had fallen back asleep. She’d never seen a more beautiful baby, with such long, dark lashes, and a perfect Cupid’s bow of a mouth.
Aware that the room had fallen silent, she looked up to find everyone else looking at her—or rather, they were focused on the baby. “What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Graham cleared his throat. “If we spread the word around that you’re keeping the baby for a while, and make you seem vulnerable, we could lure our guy out to take another chance. Only this time, we’d be waiting to capture him.”
“You mean, use Angelique as bait to catch him?” She stared, sure she couldn’t have heard them correctly.
Graham nodded. “You and Angelique, yes. Bait to catch what could be a very big fish.”
Chapter Twelve
“No!” Abby and Michael spoke at the same time.
“It’s too dangerous.” Michael shoved back his chair and stood. “She could be hurt.”
“He’s right. You can’t take that kind of risk with a baby,” Abby said.
“I wasn’t talking about Angelique.” Michael moved around the table to stand beside her. “It’s too dangerous for you and the baby.” His eyes met hers and she knew he was speaking not as a law enforcement officer, but as a man who cared for her. The realization moved her, but she looked away. This wasn’t a time to let sentiment cloud her judgment.
“We’d have someone from the team with you 24/7,” Graham said. “And other team members stationed nearby. If our man makes a move, we’d be on him.”
“It’s our best chance to catch this guy,” Marco said. “If we get to him, we’re that much closer to finding the person in charge of the operation. We can stop him from enslaving other workers.”
“Can you help Mariposa and the others?” she asked.
“There’s a good chance we can,” Graham said.
Abby looked down at the sleeping infant. As much as she cared for the child, she wasn’t in a position to take her permanently. The baby needed to be with her mother, as long as her mother could take care of her.
Michael’s hand rested heavy on her shoulder. “Abby, don’t do it,” he said. “Don’t risk it. We’ll find some other way.”
“I can’t risk anything happening to Angelique,” she said. “We don’t know what this man’s intentions are toward her.”
“She’s right.” Carmen spoke up. “We’ll need to use a decoy for the baby and move Angelique into temporary foster care.”
“Agreed,” Graham said. “I don’t want the child to come to harm. And I don’t want you harmed, either, Abby. I promise we’ll protect you. But the final decision is yours.”
Michael’s hand on her shoulder tightened, but he remained silent. That silence—his faith in her ability to make the right decision—moved her more than any words could have. “I’ll do it,” she said. “As long as Angelique is somewhere safe.”
“Abby...” Michael spoke so softly she might have been the only one who heard.
She turned to face him. “I want to stop these people,” she said. “I want Mariposa and Angelique to have a better life. If I can do something to help them, then I have to act.”
“I want that, too,” he said. “But I want you to stay safe.”
“I’ll be safe,” she said. “I know you’ve got my back.” She deliberately repeated the words he’d told her earlier.
“Carmen, you take care of transferring Angelique to foster care,” Graham said. “We’ll have to manage the switch without anyone who might be watching realizing what’s going on.”
“They make some pretty realistic-looking baby dolls,” Carmen said. “I’ll get one of those and a layette. Abby will pretend to care for it as she would Angelique.”
“I might as well go back to my trailer in the park campground,” Abby said. “That will make it easier for this guy to get to me, and put me closer to all of you.”
“I’ll go with you,” Michael said.
Graham gave him a hard look. “It might be better to send someone else.”
“No, sir. I can do this.”
Graham’s expression remained grim, but he nodded. “All right. Go on to the trailer. Carmen and Marco will meet you there later to pick up the baby and substitute the doll. Randall, you and Lance can take turns watching Abby’s trailer. I doubt this guy will try anything so soon, but stay on your guard.”
“Yes, sir.”
Abby carried Angelique, while Michael gathered up the diapers, formula and other baby supplies, along with an overnight bag from his locker. “I’ll be sure to bring a car seat when we come to get her,” Carmen said, following them to her Cruiser, which Michael was borrowing until his could be replaced. “Right now, you don’t have far to go to the campground.”
Everything at her trailer looked just as she’d left it, though Michael insisted on searching all around the outside and checking out the inside while she waited with the baby. “I don’t think anyone’s been here since you left,” he said at last, and held the door open for her to enter.
The baby started crying before they were through the door. “I think it’s time for a diaper change,” Abby said.
“I’ll get the stuff out of the car.”
When he returned, she was still standing in the middle of the room with the wailing baby. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know where to put her. I’m not exactly set up for a baby.”
Michael looked around at the compact space, then set the box of supplies on the table and began emptying it out. “We can put her in here. It’s about the size of a bassinet, and she won’t fall out.”
“You’re brilliant.” She grinned at him.
“I have my moments.” He grabbed a towel from the counter and used it to line the box, then slid it toward her. “Instant cradle.”
“Hand me a diaper first.”
While she changed the baby, he put away the formula and other supplies. She wedged the box between the dinette and sofa and settled the baby inside. Michael sat beside her on the sofa. “Now what?” he asked.
“Why don’t you take a shower, then I’ll grab one,” she said.
“Are you suggesting I need one?” He pretended to look offended.
“No comment.” She stood. “I’m going to make some tea. The bathroom is kind of small, but I think you’ll find everything you need.”
While she filled the teakettle and took a mug from the cabinet, she listened to the water beating against the wall of the shower and tried
not to think of Michael, naked, just on the other side of that barrier. But once the image was fixed in her mind, of his sculpted shoulders and arms and muscular abs, she could think of nothing else. Her imagination filled in the rest of the picture, until desire settled over her in a languid heat.
She forced her mind away from the fantasy and savored the memory of the kiss they’d shared earlier in the day. In that moment, kissing him had seemed the most natural thing in the world—the thing she had wanted most. She’d lusted after men before, but she couldn’t remember ever feeling so close to one. She hadn’t been in a serious relationship in years—before she went to war. A lifetime ago, when she was a different person.
Was it only because circumstance and danger had thrown them together that she felt this way? Did she feel so comfortable with him because they were both veterans? Or because he’d saved her life when she was injured in Afghanistan? Was he right, and fate had somehow brought them together? She slipped her hand into her pocket and caressed the little rabbit figure. All these years, she’d held on to the token, feeling it was somehow important. Had the caring the gift of the rabbit represented now grown into something more—even into love?
The bathroom door opened and he emerged wearing only a pair of low-slung jeans, toweling his hair. She stared at the drops of water glinting in the dusting of brown hair across his muscular chest and her mouth went dry. Michael Dance in uniform was an impressive sight, but Michael Dance half naked was enough to make her forget her own name.
He tossed the towel aside and grinned, and she blushed, sure he had caught her staring. “I feel almost human again,” he said. He moved toward her at the same time she tried to leave the kitchen area, and they collided. The trailer suddenly felt too small to contain them. She mumbled an apology and tried to slip past, and he put out a hand to steady her, freezing her in place.
He smoothed his hand down her arm and a tremor rocked her. Her skin burned where he touched her, and she fought the urge to lean into him, to lose herself in the feel of his body against hers. She looked up and realized he’d shaved, the scent of his shaving cream filling her senses.
