“The Billings brothers are clean, as far as I can tell,” he replied. He leaned closer to her. “Brad called Cody a snot-nosed kid and I punched him in the nose. I couldn’t help myself, Allison.”
“Did he call the sheriff?”
“No, he just told me to get off his property. What about here? Is there anything new?”
“We’ve gotten several phone calls. One man reported that he saw Cody standing on a corner in Austin.” Allison’s eyes were deep pools of anguish.
“We contacted the authorities in Austin to check it out,” Wendall said and then shook his head. “Another caller said they saw Cody shopping in the Shadow Creek Mercantile. An officer responded but nobody in the store had seen Cody.”
“You never know how many crazy people live in a town until something like this happens,” Knox replied.
“According to Sheriff Jeffries the tip line has also received several calls and every one is being followed up on,” Deputy Baker added.
“We now have posters,” Allison said. “Jason dropped them off about an hour ago and several people are working to get them up all over town.”
“I put them up along Main Street,” one of the women standing by the table said.
The idea of Cody’s smiling face on a missing child poster tortured him. And he knew Allison felt the same way. She wore her agony in the taut lines of her face, in the fragile cast of her shoulders.
“Thorne came by with clothes for you. I put them in Cody’s room,” Allison said.
“Thanks.” Knox jumped as his cell phone rang again. He stepped out of the kitchen to answer it. It was Mac.
“I just thought you’d want to know that Leonor is back in town,” Mac said. “She arrived here about an hour ago and asked if she could stay in the apartment above the stables.”
Knox was stunned. “Did she say why she’s here? I thought she was happy in Austin working at the museum.”
“She didn’t tell me why she’s here and I told her she could stay in the apartment for as long as she needed. I just thought you might want to know.”
“Thanks, Mac. I appreciate it.”
“Anything new about Cody?”
“No, nothing.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Mac said.
“I will.” The conversation ended and Knox sat in the chair, his thoughts on his sister. After Livia had been arrested, Leonor had completed her art degree and moved to Austin for an unpaid internship at a museum. She’d worked hard and eventually became curator.
More important, out of all the children Leonor had been the closest to Livia. She’d turned a blind eye to Livia’s faults for years and had defended her to the bitter end.
So why was she here in Shadow Creek now...when his son had been kidnapped? Did she think Livia was here in town? The timing of her return here was damned strange.
The next few hours passed far too quickly. Somebody brought in pizza and others checked in to get more posters to distribute. Allison remained in the kitchen, talking to several women Knox didn’t know while he paced the living room floor.
It was obvious from how many people had called or come to offer support that Allison was well liked and respected in the town. They were people her business had served, or from the church and the school. She’d obviously touched a lot of people’s lives with her kindness.
Then it was dusk and once again it was just the deputies and him and Allison as another long night began to fall.
Knox sat in a chair in the living room and watched Allison pace from the sofa to the front window and then back again. Instead of her usual grace, she moved like a jerky robot.
“Was Cody a good baby?” he asked.
She stopped and turned to look at him. Her eyes were wild with fear, but the wildness slowly dissipated as she held his gaze. “He was a very good baby.” Her voice was soft. She walked back to the sofa and sank down. “He was good-natured and only fussed when he needed a diaper changed or was hungry.”
“How old was he when he took his first step?” Knox was suddenly ravenous to know everything about all the years he’d missed.
“He was eleven months when he started walking. He did everything early. He was such a smart baby boy.”
As darkness fell outside the window, Knox listened as Allison recounted every milestone their son had reached so far in his life. He heard about his first word, his first smile and when he got his first haircut.
They were immersed in all things Cody when the phone rang. Allison shot out of the sofa and Knox stumbled up from the chair. They both raced into the kitchen where Wendall was ready with the recording device. It was another private caller.
Allison jerked up the receiver. “Hello.”
“I know where your boy is,” the female caller said. “He’s in a shed on the old Miller property. I was driving by and saw somebody dressed all in black shove the boy inside. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.”
“Who is this?” Allison asked, her gaze locked with Knox’s.
“I saw the posters of your boy and I’m just a concerned citizen.” The line went dead.
“I know the Miller place. I’m going to check it out.” Knox headed for the kitchen door.
“Wait, I’m coming with you,” Allison replied.
“Allison, if this is the real deal, then it could be dangerous,” Knox protested.
“Don’t tell me I need to stay here. I am coming with you. Just give me a minute.” She ran out of the kitchen and thundered up the stairs.
“I’m going with you both,” Wendall said and rose from the table. Knox and Wendall got to the front door when Allison came running back down the stairs, a gun in her hand.
“Where did you get that?” Knox asked in stunned surprise.
“I’ve had it for a couple of years and I know how to use it.” A steely strength radiated from her eyes. “Let’s go get our son.” She stormed out of the door ahead of the men.
This was a woman Knox had never seen before, a slightly dangerous woman who almost stole his breath away with her love for her son, with her determination to do anything necessary to get him back.
They got into Wendall’s patrol car and as they drove away from the house a cold wind blew through him. With Leonor’s sudden appearance in town, he was more convinced than ever that his mother had Cody. Knox knew better than anyone what Livia was capable of...and that scared the very hell out of him.
Chapter 11
The patrol car couldn’t go fast enough for Allison. She sat in the backseat, leaning forward and straining against the seat belt as if to hurry Wendall faster.
Her gun was a familiar weight in her lap. Five years before, her father had encouraged her to buy a gun and learn how to shoot it. He’d known that he wouldn’t be around forever and had wanted her to be able to protect herself and her child.
She’d wanted a gun. With Knox’s dangerous mother, she’d felt better knowing the weapon was in the house. She’d spent hours on the range, making sure she was comfortable shooting it and she kept it locked in a box in the highest dresser drawer near her bed.
She’d never really believed she could shoot somebody until this moment, but she would easily kill for Cody and have not a single regret. She would walk through a firestorm if that’s what it took to get her son back safely.
Knox had grabbed his own gun out of the glove compartment of his car before they had left, and she had no doubt that he felt the same way she did when it came to saving Cody.
The old Miller place was on the southern outskirts of town. John and Marlene Miller had lived there for as long as Allison could remember, but three years ago John had passed away and then last year Marlene had followed, and the ranch had been empty since then.
The couple had no children, and last Alliso
n heard the house and the land were still in some sort of litigation between John’s sisters and brothers. It had remained empty since Marlene’s death.
She was grateful that nobody spoke, that the car was filled with nothing but the aching anticipation of finding Cody. The night had never seemed so dark and the minutes had never felt so endless as in this drive to nowhere in hopes of a miracle.
Although in the back of her mind, she knew this might be nothing but another crank call, this one had sounded so real. She had to believe this was it, and that before the night was over Cody would be in her arms once again.
The caller had said she couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. Was it Livia? She didn’t want to visit the sins of the mother onto the son again, and she hoped if Livia was behind all of this Allison wouldn’t blame Knox. But at this moment she wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t.
“Kill the lights,” Knox said, breaking the silence as they approached the Miller driveway.
Wendall shut off the car lights and instead of turning into the driveway he pulled to a halt on the side of the road. “I should call for backup,” he said.
“You’ve got a Texas Ranger and a pissed off mother in the car. I think that’s all the backup you need,” Knox replied curtly.
Allison followed his gaze out the window, where the moonlight was bright enough to see an old, wooden shed a little distance from the dark house.
Was Cody in there? Was he crying out for her right now? Her stomach clenched and she fought the impulse to explode out of the car and run to the shed.
“What’s the plan?” Wendall asked.
“We go in slow and quiet. We have no idea who exactly is in the shed,” Knox replied. “The last thing we want is any kind of a hostage situation.”
Hostage situation? Allison shuddered at the very thought. How many times on the news had she seen such situations with the hostages not making it out alive?
Within minutes they were out of the vehicle. Knox led with his gun drawn, and she and Wendall brought up the rear.
The yard was overgrown and thick with weeds as they moved slowly, each footstep unable to keep up with the pace of her thundering heart. The cold night was silent around them, but a fragile hope whispered with a warm breath inside her.
Let him be there. Let him be there. It was a mantra that repeated itself over and over in her brain.
When they got closer to the small structure, Knox turned around and motioned for Wendall to go to the left. “You stay behind me,” he whispered to her.
She nodded, but held her gun at the ready. Now all she could hear was the sound of her heart beating loudly in her ears. She kept her gaze on the shed door, praying that Cody was behind it and that he was all alone.
Knox eased up to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. Wendall moved to stand just behind him. Knox shrugged, indicating that he heard nothing from inside.
As she saw there didn’t appear to be any lock on the door, some of her hope withered. Why would anyone put a nine-year-old boy in a shed with no lock? Unless he was tied up and gagged. The vision that suddenly exploded in her mind nearly cast her to the ground.
Wendall pulled a flashlight from his belt and as Knox grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, Wendall flashed the light inside.
The last of her hope hissed out of her and she stumbled backward as Knox cursed. Nothing. The shed was completely empty. She turned and headed to the car, her body and her mind completely numb.
She got into the car, pulled her seat belt around her and then leaned back and closed her eyes. She couldn’t think anymore. She was utterly and completely empty inside.
A few minutes later the men joined her and Wendall started the engine to make the long drive back to her house.
She remained strangely numb after they arrived home, where Jim told them the phone had remained silent and there was nothing new. She carried her gun upstairs and put it away and then returned to the living room and sank down on the sofa.
“Allison, are you okay?” Knox’s forehead wrinkled in obvious concern as he gazed at her.
“I’m fine.” Her voice sounded distant even to herself.
“It sounded so damned credible,” he said angrily.
“It did, and we had to check it out,” she replied. She got up from the sofa, still feeling oddly detached from the world. “I think I’m going to go up to my bedroom for a little while.”
He jumped out of the chair. “Allison, are you sure you’re all right?”
She cast him a faint smile. “I will be.”
Once again her feet were ridiculously heavy as she climbed the stairs. She just wanted to sleep...to escape from this world without Cody. She didn’t know what to do to find him. Nobody knew how to get her baby back where he belonged.
Shock. She had a feeling she was experiencing some sort of emotional shock to her system. When she reached her room she didn’t bother to turn on a light. She got out of her clothes, pulled on the nightshirt with the horse on the front and then crawled into bed.
Darkness surrounded her, but no place was it as deep as in her heart, in her very soul. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift in a place where no thoughts could intrude. She couldn’t think anymore because her head would take her to frighteningly dark places. She couldn’t handle that. She didn’t want to feel anymore, either.
She must have slept, for when she opened her eyes the house was silent. A glance at her clock told her it was just after midnight.
A piercing ache shot through her entire body. The blessed fog that had previously fallen over her was gone, leaving only raw, painful emotions to shoot through her.
She got out of bed and moved to the window. Chad still hadn’t shown up anywhere and she was convinced he had Cody. It was just too coincidental that he and Cody had disappeared at the same time. She just couldn’t believe what Knox believed, that his mother had made her way back there from Mexico to kidnap their child. She was so afraid to believe that was what had happened.
Tears began to ooze from her eyes, tears she’d been unable to shed when Knox had opened up the Miller shed door to reveal nothing. Pain gnawed at her stomach and her chest felt too small to contain her aching heart.
She needed...she wanted...something to ease some of this killing pain. She needed...she wanted Knox. She swiped the tears off her cheeks and turned from the window. She didn’t care what was right or wrong right now. Knox would make her warm, even if just momentarily.
She left her bedroom. She had no idea if Knox was awake or asleep, downstairs or in Cody’s room. All she knew was she wanted his strong arms around her. She wanted him to kiss her until she was mindless and the pain inside her subsided, if only for a few minutes.
With shafts of moonlight to guide her, she went down the hallway to Cody’s room, where Knox was stretched out on his lower bunk and the glow-in-the dark stars on the ceiling were lit with brilliance.
“Allison?” he said immediately, letting her know he hadn’t been sleeping.
“Knox, I need you.” She didn’t wait for his response but instead turned and went back to her bedroom and into the bed.
Moments later he appeared in her doorway and hesitated there. “Allison, what do you need?” he asked.
“I need you to make love to me. I need you, Knox.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” His voice was soft, yet filled with gruff tension. “I know the night has been difficult and I don’t want us to go there and then you hate me for it afterward.”
Was that what would happen? Would she regret what happened between them tonight? Every time they’d made love in the past, she’d expected him to keep loving her, to be committed to her, but she had no foolish expectations now.
This was a one-night deal, driven by emotions she couldn’t even name and couldn’t beg
in to process. “I promise you that isn’t going to happen, Knox.”
In three long strides he was next to her bed. He pulled his shirt over his head, his taut chest muscles gleaming in the shaft of moonlight that danced through the window. He then took off his jeans, leaving him clad only in a pair of navy boxers.
He was beautiful. He’d always made her ache with desire at the sight of his naked body, and that hadn’t changed over the years.
She scooted over and he slid into the bed with her and immediately drew her into his arms. His mouth found hers and he stole her breath and then gave it back to her in a searing kiss.
His hands caressed up and down her back and tangled in her hair, evoking flames of desire whenever he touched. Within minutes, her ache for him was so huge it left no room for any other thought but this single moment in time.
Yes, this was what she had needed. A mindless coupling with the man she loved, the man she had a feeling she would always love.
“Ally,” he breathed against her neck as his lips nipped teasingly on her skin.
The nickname brought up past memories of their lovemaking. He’d been her only lover, but she knew with certainty that no man would ever move her the way he did.
She completely surrendered to them and him, aching with the need to alleviate the utter emptiness that threatened to engulf her. She needed a mindless respite from the fear for Cody that had been a living beast inside her.
Her hands caressed his muscled back, the familiar contours both comforting and enflaming her. His heart beat rapidly against hers as she pressed against him.
He suddenly pulled back from her, his eyes glittering as he held her gaze. “Are you sure, Ally? I need for you to be absolutely sure before this goes any further.”
The fact that he was giving her a chance to halt things before they went to the place of no return only made her want him more. Instead of verbally answering him, she sat up and pulled her nightshirt over her head and tossed it across the room.
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