by Sable Hunter
“We couldn’t use your blood, Sir. It wasn’t compatible.”
He didn’t really understand everything about blood types, so he asked. “So, a father’s blood isn’t always a match?”
“Not always,” the doctor spoke slowly, as if being careful with the information he was doling out. “Sheriff, we checked the boy’s blood type with his mother’s and with yours. You are the child’s legal guardian, but you’re not the child’s father. You couldn’t be.”
“He’s not my son?” Kane was shocked. He had no idea if he was supposed to be happy or sad. “But my ex-wife said...” Kane stopped and dry scrubbed his face with his hands. Lisa, of course he should have known it wasn’t true. In fact, he’d doubted her the first time he heard the announcement she had borne his son. The problem was, once she’d planted the idea in his mind that he had a child, some part of him hoped it was true.
“You seem to have a high percentage of DNA markers in common with Dwayne, but not enough to be his father. The more likely scenario is that you’re related by blood to his biological father.”
What the hell? Kane was flummoxed. Who had Lisa slept with? Damn! Well, he didn’t have time to worry about it now. He had to save Lilibet. “Look, Doctor, I’ve got to go. I have a personal crisis and a crime in progress, but I want you to tell Dwayne something for me, if you will.”
The doctor stepped closer to Kane, concern in his eyes. “Of course, I will. He’s very young, but he’s been asking for his mother.” That knowledge hurt Kane. He didn’t want the little tyke to feel like he was all alone.
“You tell him he’s not gonna be by himself very much longer. You let him know that the Sheriff has asked about him and that I am his friend. Tell Dwayne I will be by to see him as soon as I can.” Kane knew how little boys were about police officers and cops. “Give him this for me. It might make him feel better.” Kane removed his badge, a six pointed silver star, and handed it to the doctor. “Tell him to keep this safe for me till I come back after it.”
The doctor seemed touched. ”I’ll do it, Sheriff.”
“I need to see Cady Renaud. I believe she’s been admitted?” The news that Joseph McCoy’s physical therapist had nearly been killed had come as a shock, no pun intended. The last time Kane had seen Cady, she’d told him where to begin looking for Lilibet. And although he hadn’t found her, Kane had every confidence in Cady. That was why he needed to talk to her again. Plus, he owed it to Joseph to check on her. They were in love. Anybody with an ounce of sense could see it. Joseph was probably the last to figure it out, but not every man was as smart as he was. Kane smiled a bittersweet smile. He’d known he loved Lilibet right off and if he didn’t get her back, he didn’t know how he could go on.
“Room 301 in the step-down ICU.” The doc pointed him in the right direction. “That was one lucky woman. It was a miracle she survived so much voltage, or it might have been magic, I’m not sure which.”
With the Renaud’s, Kane wouldn’t doubt either one. He hurried in the direction the doctor pointed and when he got there, he tapped on the door. It didn’t surprise him to see Joseph McCoy at her side, and the way he was holding Cady’s hand led him to believe the daredevil had finally come to his senses. “How is she?” Kane stepped in quietly.
“She’s gonna be all right Kane. She saved my life.” Joseph stood and slapped him on the back. “I’m the lucky one. Any word on Lilibet?” Joseph had been on a wild ride himself. It had only been weeks since he’d been in a wheelchair, but thanks to Cady, Joseph was now standing on his own two feet.
“No, we put up a road block on the main highway into Austin, just like Cady said, but we came up empty.” Joseph looked sympathetic and Kane glanced over at the hospital bed. Cady’s eyes were open and she was listening to every word they said. “Most likely, they stopped before they got to the main road. But, I haven’t got a clue where to look. I was wondering if Cady could help me again.” Joseph looked uncertain, but Cady overrode his concern.
“Oh, Kane, I’m so sorry.” Cady held out her hand and Kane went to her. “Did you bring the necklace? I don’t have the map with me, but maybe I can pick up something just from holding it.”
Kane bent down and gave Cady a kiss. “I heard you were out there trying to be a lineman for the county,” he teased her. “Don’t you know you may be magical, but you’re not invincible?” Joseph groaned at the reminder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Cady gave Joseph a tender look. “I couldn’t let anything happen to Joseph.”
Kane understood what she was saying. They’d been herding cattle back into the pasture during a rainstorm, when lightning struck a tree. One of the massive branches had broken an electrical line and it had fallen, almost on Joseph. Cady had seen what was happening and grabbed it before it could make contact with his body. She’d literally put herself between him and death. Such was love. Kane just wished he could do the same for Lilibet.
“Are you sure you feel like it?” Kane was trying to be courteous and at the same time he was pulling the tiny locket from his pocket.
“Yes.” She took it and enclosed it in her palm, pulling it to her chest and closing her eyes. Kane watched her, hopefully. Joseph stepped close to them both and stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb Cady’s concentration. There were a few moments of tense silence and then an exasperated huff from Cady. “It’s like looking at a blank chalkboard.” She tried once more, the effort showing on her face. “Kane, I’m so sorry. I don’t know if it’s the accident or what, but I am getting no reading, whatsoever.”
Hell! What was he going to do now? “Don’t worry, Cady,” he reassured her, even though his heart was breaking. “I’ll just have to rely on good old-fashioned police work.”
* * *
“Brien!?” Lilibet was shocked and overjoyed to see her brother. Had he come to rescue her… or…she wouldn’t even let herself consider any other possibility.
“Shut up, Bitch!” he yelled at her in one breath and then whispered in the next. “Trust me, I love you.”
Lilibet was speechless. She was weak from hunger and fright. Before she could put a thought together, he pulled her by the arm. “Let’s go!” he yelled at her again, but his touch wasn’t as harsh as his voice.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Don’t you worry about that none, Missy,” the bald man snarled. “Where you’re headed, you won’t need to know the way back.”
“I thought we were going to wait for the ransom?” a voice asked from behind her. She couldn’t tell who was talking. All of her energy was on trying to read her brother’s face and to keep putting one foot ahead of the other.
“Oh, we’re still gonna bleed Saucier for every dime we can get, but we’re gonna cover our asses while we wait. The heat’s too close here. Those road blocks are making me nervous. Our contact in Houston has sent the ultimate get-away vehicle. We’re gonna stow her in a safe place and get the hell outta Dodge. That way, if Saucier comes across with the five mil, that’s good. And if he doesn’t, Miss Crip is already in place for the slave auction.” He leered at her and she wondered what he meant by slave auction. There was no way it could be good. Kane! She screamed in her mind. I need you!
“Damn!” Morton breathed as he saw the big black hearse waiting by the motel door. Both men laughed. Brien didn’t.
“Brien,” she wheezed. What were they going to do to her?
“Nobody will stop us in this, Boss, that’s for sure.”
“True,” their cruel ring-leader agreed. “Nobody likes to disturb the dead. Get her in the back and secure the package.”
What did he mean? Lilibet was about to panic. Frantically she looked at her brother. A whispered, “help me,” was all she dared.
Brien didn’t say anything, but the look he gave her was one of understanding. As the doors to the hearse were opened, a silvery casket s
lid out on rollers. “No!” she screamed. Brien hesitated, but the others took over and before Lilibet could comprehend her fate, she was stuffed inside a coffin and the lid was slammed in her face.
Panic. Pure unadulterated panic. Lilibet felt along the sides of her prison. She ran her hands over the fabric above her. Funny, she’d never felt the inside of a coffin before. When her folks had died, she had chosen their caskets, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do more than kiss their foreheads. Death was so final. But she wasn’t dead! Railing against her fate, Lilibet beat on the sides of the top and screamed to the top of her lungs! “Help me! God, please help me!” With heavy gasps of breath, she tried to push on the lid, but it was locked. It didn’t even give against the meager amount of pressure she could exert. “I don’t want to die,” she wailed.
Everything within her wanted to scream and call for Kane. But what good would that do? Kane wasn’t here. He had no idea where she was, and she had no hope of contacting him. The only thing her screaming would do would be to use up what remaining oxygen she had left. Lilibet tried to control her breathing, but her whole diaphragm felt paralyzed, and she realized she was having an anxiety attack. There had to be air holes, there just had to be. God, she had to get a grip. Think. Think. If they intended to ransom her or sell her for money, surely they intended to keep her alive. She wouldn’t be worth much dead. An abrupt laugh tore from her throat. How sad that the comfort she found was whatever horrors her captors had in store for her.
For a few seconds, she closed her eyes and imagined herself in Kane’s arms again. Had the last few weeks really happened? Or was it all a dream, a wonderful, impossible dream.
A growing darkness provided a cloak around them, hid their evil deeds and kept them safe from detection. Brien watched them load the coffin with his sister inside into the back of the hearse. This result of his greed and poor judgment horrified him. His mother and father had always cautioned about running with the wrong crowd. Now his current circumstances were a clear example of the worst that could happen when forces stronger than you took over your life.
“Ladner, you and Morton follow us as quickly as you can and keep your eyes peeled for the cops. I’ve given Saucier clear instructions about where to leave the money. Either he will or he won’t, but we’ll get our due either way. So we’re going to stash our not-so-dead corpse, and go lay low and see if the Sheriff calls his old man for the money or if we go to Plan B.” Hanks tossed the room key to Morton. “Check the room and make sure we didn’t leave anything, then leave the key on the dresser. And stay out of sight. We’ll be in touch.” Brien stood there with his partner in crime and watched as the hearse pulled out and headed for Houston.“Hey, asshole.” Morton threw Brien the motel room key. “You go check out the room, and lock up. I’ll drive.” Morton turned his back on Brien and he weighted the possibility of making a run for it. He was just desperate enough to try anything. If he got in the car with this slick cowboy, he might not have another chance. Glancing to the left and to the right to see which way to go, he noticed a fist size rock that just seemed to be calling his name. Hell, he had to do something, and here was the answer. Lilibet deserved a chance at a good life and he was determined to see that she got it.
“Sure.” Brien let him take two steps. He picked up the rock and brought it down on the side of the other man’s head. With a single groan, Morton collapsed like a fallen tree. Checking to make sure he was still alive, Brien was relieved to feel a pulse. That’s one thing he didn’t need. A murder charge hanging over his head. And as his luck was running, that was exactly what would happen. Hurriedly, he opened the motel room door and drug Morton in. He didn’t follow the instructions and check out the room. He didn’t care what clues were left. All he was interested in was finding Kane and telling him where Lilibet was before that long black limousine she was riding in got too far down the road.
* * *
“What do we know, Sheriff?” His deputy stood there, wanting to help in any way he could. Kane had come back to the office to coordinate the search efforts.
“We’ve still got the road block in place. I’d love to catch them red handed. And I’ve asked Austin to send out a team to start checking hotels, motels, warehouses, anywhere they could be holed up.” Kane looked out the window and into the distance as if he could draw Lilibet to him just by the power of his love. “The tip line has been ringing off the wall, and of course we’re checking all of that, too.”
“What about the ransom demand? Five million is a lot of money. Are you going to let the deadline go by or what?”
“No, if we haven’t caught them by noon tomorrow, I’ll be at the designated locale with whatever money I can rack and scrape together.” Kane felt his guts wrench. If he wasn’t mistaken, he had an ulcer that was eating clean through to his backbone. No one would ever know how much he wanted to walk up to that dumpster and lay out the money and just wrap his arms around his beloved and walk away. But he knew who the kidnapper was…that voice had haunted him until he remembered. He had clashed with Kyle Hanks and his brother, and the younger Hanks had died in the New Orleans warehouse. That one fact had him convinced he had to make sure all his bases were covered. This was about more than Lilibet, that’s why he couldn’t trust their ransom demand. Nevertheless, Zane was working on liquidating everything the two of them had. He knew it wouldn’t be five million, but it would be a start, and Aron McCoy had promised him they would give him whatever more he needed. He didn’t like the idea of taking money from his friends, but it was better than calling the old man. Meanwhile, he was planning on doing everything he could to catch the bastards and make sure they paid for their crimes.
His phone began vibrating in his pocket and Kane pulled it out, hoping against hope it was good news. “Saucier.”
“At least you’re still using the family name.”
Every muscle in Kane’s body clenched up. “Dad.”
“I’m surprised you recognize my voice. It’s been awhile.”
The elder Saucier knew how to punch his buttons, but now wasn’t the time. He had more important things to worry about that a decade’s old family feud. “What can I do for you, Dad? I’m kinda busy.”
“I think it’s what I can do for you. It’s time to let by-gones be by-gones and let me help you. You aren’t going to like it, but Zane called me. He’s scared to death for you and your fiancé, so don’t you hold it against him.”
He loved his brother, and he knew Zane would do anything for him. Regardless, old feelings of resentment clashed with his fear for Lilibet and he flat-out didn’t know what to say. “Dad…uh…I appreciate the offer.”
“Don’t let hard feelings between us keep you from doing the right thing.” His dad made sense. Kane couldn’t deny that.
“Did Zane tell you what I needed?”
“Yes, and it’s yours. No questions, no strings.”
“Dad, I don’t know what to say.” Kane couldn’t turn down an offer which might save the love of his life. “Thanks, Dad. I’ve got to get her back. She’s the most important thing in the world to me.”Another voice broke into the conversation and Kane turned, shocked at what he saw. Brien, Lilibet’s brother had walked in the door.
He looked tired and scared. “I can help you get her back, Kane. I know where she is.”
* * *
“Deputy, has a hearse passed through the road block?” Kane asked with his heart in his throat.
“Yes sir, we let it go right through. And we were professional, hats over our hearts and everything. You can’t be too respectful to the dead, that’s what I always say.”
“Lilibet was in that vehicle, hopefully very much alive. Send cars to follow it and stay a good distance behind, but don’t let it out of your sight. I’ll be there ASAP. Don’t dare intercept it until I arrive or you hear from me.” Kane turned on the sirens and broke every speed rec
ord getting there. Conferring with his men on the radio, he noted the mile markers and turned off his lights and noise maker before he got within hearing or seeing distance of the hearse. He didn’t want the assholes who had his baby to have any forewarning the Calvary had arrived. Since it was dark and they held back awaiting his arrival, the element of surprise was on their side.
As he passed first one patrol car after another, he relived the moment that Lilibet’s brother had come forward to help him save her. It had been Kane’s first inclination to knock the man on his ass, but Brien had poured out his heart, wanting to confess his role in this sad mess. Kane knew most of the story, but hearing it from Brien clarified a few points. He’d asked to borrow money from his sister to invest in a deal that turned out to be a criminal scam. She tried to talk him out of it, since she was still counting her pennies to pay back another loan he’d stuck her with. So, he’d gone behind her back and hooked up with this loan shark. Finding himself over his head with organized crime, Brien had been picked clean and then they’d turned to his sister for recompense. Kane was horrified to learn they intended to sell her to a white slave trader if they couldn’t get money from the Saucier family.
Little had he known, but when he and Lilibet began dating and had fallen in love, Kane had sealed her fate. She’d become a valuable commodity, placing her in untold danger. Now he was going to tear Hanks limb from limb. There’d been bad blood between him and the thug ever since he’d worked vice in New Orleans. Kane clearly remembered the look on Kyle Hank’s face as he had stood over the body of his dead brother. Before the last bullet had been fired in the gun battle, Hanks had sworn to dance on Kane’s grave. Now that madman had his Lilibet, and there was going to be hell to pay if he had harmed even one hair of her head.
The three deputies let their vehicles fall back as Kane maneuvered his truck in behind the hearse. And with one barked order, they turned on the sirens. Of course, the big, black bulky vehicle tried to make a run for it, but it wasn’t built for speed. A shot rang out and Kane’s windshield popped and a crack spread like breaking ice on a pond. Dodging the impact, he was thankful for shatter-proof glass. Several more shots were fired, and he cautioned his men to hold off. He couldn’t be sure where Lilibet was in the vehicle. He knew what Brien had said, but he didn’t want to take any chances with her life. “Let’s take them out,” he instructed. As one unit, they flanked the hearse on every side. More gunshots plinked off the sides of the cop cars, but they finally forced it off the road and into a parking lot. In a matter of seconds, the members of his department had pulled the men from their seats and had them in cuffs.
