Josh jotted down all the information and then looked at Kelly. His face held worry, and she felt it pouring off of him. He might act like the tough and capable sheriff, but she knew him to be a worrywart, especially where she was concerned. “Are you okay?”
She wanted to tell him no, she wasn’t fine. She’d been clobbered on the head and her child had been snatched from her arms, but that wasn’t what he needed to hear. “I will be. He blindsided me, but he didn’t do any serious damage.” Not like he might have done to Brady. Who knew what nefarious plans they’d had in store for this little guy?
She owed a great debt of thanks to Zeke for getting Brady back. He’d saved Brady. She touched the baby’s back. He’d once again fallen asleep in the comfort of her arms. She couldn’t lose him. She’d been foolish to let her guard down even for a moment.
This had all been her fault. She’d already lost one child. She couldn’t—she wouldn’t—lose another. It only reinforced that she needed to start trying to find Brady a permanent home, one with a mother who knew how to care for her child.
“I’ll have hospital security pull the surveillance video. Maybe we can identify these men or their car and put some names to these people. Zeke, why don’t you come with me?”
She noticed Zeke hesitate and glance her way. Josh must have noticed it, too, because he quickly added, “I’ve asked security to post someone at the door. They’ll be safe until we get back.”
Zeke’s reluctance was obvious, at least to her, but he agreed. He turned and leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back soon,” he whispered.
As he walked out with Josh, she cuddled Brady to her and took a deep breath, stunned by how the sight of him walking out the door put a knot in her stomach.
She was growing way too dependent on Zeke, but as she stared down into Brady’s face, she knew she wouldn’t change anything.
They both needed him.
* * *
“What is going on with you and my sister?” Josh asked Zeke as they took the elevator down to the security office.
He wanted to use his go-to answer of nothing, but he couldn’t. That wasn’t true any longer. Instead, he answered, “I’m not sure.”
Josh looked like he wanted to question him further, but they arrived at the basement floor, and the elevator doors opened. Josh stepped out, and Zeke followed him to the security office where they showed their badges and relayed what had just happened to the security officer on duty.
“Yes, the charge nurse called. We’ve already sent an officer upstairs to stand guard.”
“I know. I made sure he was there before we came down here. We need to look at your security feeds. The suspects fled in a black four-door car outside the main doors.”
The security guard pulled up the footage and replayed it for them. As Zeke had suspected, the cameras had picked up the man entering the hospital and fleeing it, as well as the car the would-be-kidnappers had sped away in.
“Print that out for me,” Josh instructed the security supervisor.
Zeke stared at the image of the man but didn’t recognize him. “I’m sure this isn’t one of the men who was after Kelly in Austin.”
Josh glanced at the images. “Yes, Detective Shaw sent me those photos, and I have to agree. This is a different guy.”
Zeke scrubbed a hand over his jaw as he realized this entire situation was worse than he’d expected. “There’s only one reason why all these men would be after Kellyanne or Brady.”
Josh nodded his agreement, and Zeke knew they were thinking the same thing. “Whoever Brady’s father is, he has the money and power to hire multiple people to come after Brady and Kelly.”
Lisa had said in her message that Brady’s father was powerful and well-connected, and these attacks seemed to confirm that. He had the power to hire men in separate areas of the state to come after them.
“I’m going to send these images to Detective Shaw and see if he recognizes them. I’ll also issue a BOLO for the car. If it was stolen, I imagine they’ll dump it now that their kidnapping attempt failed. Maybe that will give us some more leads.”
Zeke nodded. “That’s a good idea. You should also send these to Colby to run through facial recognition.”
While Josh was handing out tasks, he gave one to Zeke too. “You stay with Kelly and Brady.”
Zeke was glad for the assignment and wondered if Josh realized he would have done so even without the official word from his boss.
They walked back toward the exam room where Kelly had been placed. There was a turnoff before they reached it. Josh stopped there and gave Zeke a nod. “Keep them safe,” he told Zeke before he turned and headed out of the hospital.
He needn’t have worried. Zeke had no intention of letting anything else happen to Kellyanne or Brady. He was determined to keep them safe.
He heard his phone beep and took it out. It was a text message from Billy Warner, another friend from his group at church asking how things were going. Mandy’s and Joanne’s concerns were apparently spreading. He was grateful for friends that worried about him, but they wouldn’t change his mind about remaining close to Kellyanne and Brady. He was doing the right thing, and he would deal with the fallout later, even if it meant he would nurse another broken heart when Kelly and Brady went back to Austin.
* * *
Every time the door to the exam room opened, Kellyanne flinched and tightened her grip on Brady. The baby was sleeping peacefully in her arms, blissfully unaware of the danger he’d been in. But she was aware of it. And aware of how she’d failed him by not being able to fight off the abductor.
That wouldn’t happen again.
The memory of waking up on the floor and realizing that Brady was gone still burned inside her. Panic, dread and sorrow had filled her, and it was only when the nurse had told her that Zeke had chased after the man that she’d had some hope.
What would she do without him?
She would be dead, and Brady would be in the hands of a killer.
The door opened, and the nurse entered, followed by the doctor. “Time to stitch up that head wound.”
“I’ll hold him for you,” the nurse said, reaching out for Brady. Instead of handing him over, Kellyanne tightened her grip on him.
“I’ll be right here with him,” the nurse assured her, but Kelly was still reluctant. She was grateful when the door swung open again and Zeke entered.
The nurse turned to him. “We need to stitch up her wound but she won’t let me hold the baby.”
“I’ll take him.” He took Brady from her arms and planted a kiss on her head.
If she had to let him go, Zeke would keep him safe. “What did you and Josh discover?”
“Not much. He’s sending the video feeds to Detective Shaw to examine and putting out an alert for the car. Other than that, we’re at a standstill again.” He rocked Brady in his arms as the baby fussed and then closed his eyes and fell back asleep, safe in the big man’s arms. “We’ll be right outside the door while you get fixed up, then I’ll take you home.”
He looked natural with a baby in his arms. Was there anything cuter than a cowboy with a baby? She longed again to tell him that he’d nearly been a father, that he might have had one of his own, but she couldn’t do that. Not when she was relying on him so much.
“He’s very good with the baby,” the nurse said, giving her some comfort as the doctor stitched up her wound.
Tears pressed her eyes. “Yes, he is.” He would have made a wonderful father, but she’d deprived him of that chance.
“I’d like to do a CT scan and have you stay the night for observation,” the doctor stated once he’d finished with her stitches. “Since you lost consciousness, I’d like to make certain there’s no internal trauma.”
“I’m not comfortable doing that,” she insisted. “I’d rather go home. M
y mother was a nurse. She can watch me.”
He sighed and then nodded. “Well, I can’t force you. Come back if you have any symptoms of nausea, dizziness or confusion. Otherwise, you’re both free to go.”
Zeke reentered the room, and the doctor repeated his instructions to him before handing her release papers. He transferred Brady to her to carry and kept his hand on her back as they walked to his vehicle. He wouldn’t even leave her side long enough to go get the truck. It didn’t hurt her to walk, and she preferred having him with her. She didn’t want to be left alone again.
They drove home in silence, but Zeke slid his hand across the seat and held hers. She liked it, liked how connected they’d become even if she didn’t like the reason for it. Protecting Brady had brought them together. She could already imagine how much it would hurt when he left her once he discovered her secret.
Tears burned her eyes, and she turned to glance out the window. She pulled her hand away to swipe at her wet face. “I can’t believe I could be so stupid.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Kelly.”
“I shouldn’t have taken him to the hospital. My mother was right. He didn’t need to go, and I placed us both in danger.”
“You trusted your gut,” Zeke told her. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, if I hadn’t agreed with you, I wouldn’t have taken you.”
She gave him a smile for his attempt at placating her. “Yes, you would have.” The truth was she made the decision to go...and it had been the wrong one.
“You and Brady are safe now. That’s all that matters. Plus, we discovered something important.”
“What’s that?”
His face twisted. “That whoever is after you knows we’re in Courtland. They followed us to town and were watching. We have to be even more careful now.”
This place had always been safe for her. Not anymore though.
SIX
Zeke parked the car, and Kellyanne picked up Brady and rushed inside. Her mother pulled her and Brady into a hug. “We heard what happened. I knew you shouldn’t have gone there.”
“You were right,” Kellyanne admitted. Of course, she was right. She always was when it came to her kids.
Her mother touched the bandage on Kellyanne’s forehead. “Does it hurt?”
“Not much. I was more concerned about Brady than about my head when I regained consciousness.”
“Of course, you were. That’s a mother’s instinct.”
She reached to push her mother’s hand away. “I’m not his mother.” Tears pooled in her eyes because she realized all she wanted was to rescue Brady, to keep him safe, but she kept failing at that.
She hurried upstairs to her bedroom and placed Brady, who was now sleeping soundly, into the portable crib. She heard the front door open and went back downstairs to find Lawson, Paul and Josh entering along with Cecile, Josh’s chief deputy. They immediately turned to Zeke, which irritated her. She was here too. Maybe she wasn’t a deputy, but it was her life in danger after all.
“What did you find?” Zeke asked.
Josh shook his head. “Not much. We haven’t been able to identify the man who tried to abduct Brady based on the image from the security video. I sent it to Colby to see if the FBI might be able to do better. He’ll get back to us if it does.”
“What about the car they got away in?” Zeke asked.
“Stolen,” Cecile confirmed. “From Dallas two days ago. We do have reports of seeing it in town yesterday.”
Kellyanne felt all the blood drain from her face at Cecile’s words. “They’ve been watching us for a while.”
Josh folded his arms and looked at her. “That’s what we believe.”
“We were supposed to be safe here, but we’re still in danger.”
Zeke took her hand and held it. “I know it’s not ideal, Kelly, but we are safer here. They won’t try anything with all your family here.”
Paul spoke up. “Lawson and I will start patrolling the perimeter. No one will get close to the house. We’ll make sure of it.”
Bree came and wrapped her arms around Kellyanne. “Don’t you worry. We’ll all make sure nothing happens to Brady. This is what family is for, right?”
Kellyanne was grateful for their encouragement and security, but she was scared. Cecile was the only one who didn’t seem sure of the plan. Kellyanne knew her well enough to see the doubt in her face. “What are you thinking, Cecile?”
“It’s obvious they know you’re here, and there have been attacks here before. The guys can guard the house, but I still think it would be better if they didn’t know where you were.”
“My grandfather had a fishing cabin out by the river,” Zeke offered. “It’s been abandoned for a while, but I went out there a few months ago to clean it up. It’s isolated. No one would find us unless they knew where to look.”
Kellyanne glanced at him, tears pressing against her eyes. “Would you go with us?”
“Absolutely. I can’t let you and Brady out there alone, Kelly.”
She instantly felt better knowing that Zeke was on her side. She hadn’t managed to completely push him away. At least, not yet.
He nodded and squeezed her hand before turning back to the others. “The road washed out years ago, but I was able to access it on horseback.”
Josh rubbed his chin. “I don’t like the idea of not being able to get away in a vehicle if needed. Plus, I’d still like Kellyanne around here. If we’re going to figure out who Brady’s father is, we might need her knowledge about Lisa’s life.”
Cecile agreed. “Let’s call that plan B. For now, I say we just sit tight and make sure they’re both protected here at Silver Star.”
Kellyanne gritted her teeth in irritation that they were all making plans without even consulting her.
“Don’t I get a say in what happens to me?”
Zeke rubbed a hand through his hair. “Kelly, we’re not making plans without you. We’re just brainstorming ideas.”
“I’m the one in danger.”
Lawson gave a loud frustrated sigh. “Then tell us what you want to do.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. They were looking at her as if she were being unreasonable, but she didn’t think it was too much to ask to be consulted about her own life. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a part of the conversation.”
Josh shot her a look she recognized as his let-me-take-care-of-it face. “We’ll head back to the sheriff’s office and go over the files Detective Shaw sent. Maybe we can locate something he missed.” He slipped his hat onto his head. “I’ll call if we find anything.”
Her brothers left, and Kellyanne fell onto the sofa and covered her face with her hands. “I don’t understand how this is happening. How did I let this happen?”
“You didn’t let anything happen,” Zeke insisted. He walked over and sat beside her, his arm on her shoulder. “You were looking out for your friend and her child. No one can fault you for that.”
“I just want to keep him safe. What can I do to keep him safe?”
“Trust me. Trust your family. We’re all on your side, Kellyanne. Don’t push us away when all we want to do is help you.”
“He’s right.” Her mother appeared in the doorway, obviously having heard Zeke’s statement. “Let your brothers do what they know how to do. We all only want what’s best for you.” She shook her head. “I wish we’d never allowed you to go off to Austin alone, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I’m an adult, Mother. I make my own decisions. Besides, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have Brady. I’m grateful to have known Lisa, and I’m thankful to have him. Who would have watched out for him if I hadn’t been around?”
Her mother shook her head. “I suppose you’re right, but it doesn’t make me feel any better to know my own baby is in trouble
.”
Kellyanne’s cheeks burned. “I am not a baby.”
“Kelly, I didn’t mean—”
She’d had enough of people planning out her life. “You always do that. I’m not a little girl, Mom. I’m a grown woman now. I won’t have anyone making decisions for me or for Brady.” She turned and fled up the stairs, leaning against the wall at the top as tears slid down her face.
Below, her mother’s words filtered up the stairs. “She’s so stubborn. She always has been. I raised five boys, and not one of them gave me the trouble she did.” Her mother’s words stung, but she couldn’t deny the truth in them. She had always been one to defy the rules.
“She is stubborn,” Zeke agreed, and those words hurt worse than her mother’s. But his next words soothed her. “But she’s strong, too, and that’s important.”
“Take care of her, Zeke. You’re the only one who can seem to talk any sense into her. Please keep my daughter safe.”
“I will. I promise I’ll keep her safe.”
Kelly couldn’t listen any longer. She hurried to her room and shut herself inside. She couldn’t allow her brothers and Zeke to put their lives at risk for her forever. Josh had been right when he’d stated that she was the one who knew Lisa the best. She should be the one to figure out who Brady’s father is.
She hurried to her computer and pulled up the social-media site that had images of the fundraiser she and Lisa had attended the night before she’d died. If only she could identify the man who’d threatened her friend. Then they could find their answers.
* * *
Zeke slipped on his cowboy hat and walked outside on the pretense of needing to get something from his truck. But what he really needed was a moment to compose himself. Having Kellyanne’s mother ask him to watch out for her meant something. This family was accepting him as a part of Kellyanne’s life. They weren’t judging him for his upbringing or for being the son of a killer. They accepted him and that made him feel worthy.
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