Taken in Texas

by Susan Sleeman

  Cord stopped. No way could he catch the suspect on a bike. Better to find Eve and help Kendall. Eve first, as he had no idea if she’d been injured, and Kendall appeared stable. Panic rioting within him, he forced it down to go back inside and search Eve’s bedroom.

  He took a quick swing of the flashlight over the kitchen, coming to rest on a rusty red spot on the linoleum floor. Blood? Was that blood?

  He swallowed hard and hurried across the room. Squatted. Yeah, it was, all right. As much as he didn’t want it to be, he’d seen blood far too many times in his job to question it.

  He shot up and rushed out of the room. Kendall still lay on the floor. As he passed her, the urge to help her almost overpowered his concern for his aunt. Almost.

  Holding his breath, he pushed into Eve’s room and flipped on the light. The room was undisturbed, the bed made, but she wasn’t there or in the spare room, either.

  He sighed out a breath of relief before a bead of worry took its place. He hadn’t found Eve’s body. That was good. Really good. But Eve was still missing, there was blood in the kitchen and an intruder who was willing to kill a deputy with a rolling pin had fled the home.

  Something was wrong here. Terribly wrong.

  TWO

  Kendall’s head swam, and a murky black pool covered her eyes. Where was she, and what had happened? She had to climb to the surface and figure it out.

  She raised herself up on her elbow. The room spun, and she lowered herself down. She slowly turned her head, saw a rolling pin on the floor next to her.

  Right. The intruder had hit her. Hard. So hard. She’d dropped her gun and flashlight before she tumbled to the floor. Her flashlight must have turned off when it landed, leaving the hallway dark.

  Her gun.

  Where was it? She had to find it.

  She dug deeper for the strength to move and eased up on an elbow again. The room whirled, and her stomach heaved. She swallowed and pushed harder. Backup was on the way, but her life might depend on retrieving that gun, if the intruder hadn’t already taken it.

  She got on her knees. The front door stood open and headlights beamed into the front room. Maybe the intruder fled the property through that door. She could only hope he was gone.

  She swept her hands over the floor, moving sideways so she could keep an eye on both doors. In a dark corner, she hit something metal and reached out.

  Yes! Her gun. She palmed it and got to her feet. She staggered down the hall. A shadow moved outside the door. The intruder? Maybe coming back?

  She raised her weapon. A man stepped into the headlight beam. Not the same man who’d clocked her. This guy was taller. Broader shoulders. More foreboding. She widened her stance, wishing the room would quit spinning.

  The man stepped closer.

  She blinked hard and saw a gun in his hands. Her heart lurched.

  “Hold it right there,” she warned. “And put your gun on the ground, nice and easy.”

  “Kendall, it’s me. Cord Goodwin.” His familiar voice settled over Kendall like a soothing balm.

  “Cord,” she whispered as her mind raced to find an explanation for why he was there.

  Was she still sleeping? After all, she’d dreamed of him over the years, and there had been a few when he’d come to her rescue like a knight in shining armor.

  A flicker of apprehension peppered her brain. “What are you doing here, Cord?”

  “Eve’s my aunt.”

  “But your name,” she started to say, but then realized she hadn’t seen Dylan’s report. She’d gone right to the source instead. And he hadn’t worked in the department when Cord had been on the team, so he wouldn’t think anything of seeing his name. Besides, no one, including Dylan, knew she and Cord had had a relationship. They’d kept it a secret, as it was frowned on for fellow deputies to date and they never got to the point where she met his family. Since Eve lived on the far side of their big county, Kendall had never run into her.

  “I’m going to holster my gun now.” Cord bent, tugged up the leg of his jeans and revealed an ankle holster.

  She could only stare at him as he moved with fluid and effortless grace. With the headlights glaring at her, she couldn’t see many details, but she could tell he was still broad-shouldered, had a trim waist and was well over six feet tall, something that, at her height of five-nine in bare feet, she’d once appreciated.

  He rose back to his full height. “The guy who knocked you out is long gone.”

  “Figured as much.” She holstered her gun, too, and as she bent to her radio to put out an alert on the guy, the world spun. She was going to fall to the ground. No way she’d embarrass herself in front of Cord. She quickly dropped onto a chair in the combination living and dining room.

  She clutched the table and willed the accompanying nausea to subside before she lost the quick dinner of tacos she’d grabbed on the way out to Eve’s house. She rested her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands.

  Cord came inside, flipped on a light and sat in a chair next to her.

  “Look at me,” he insisted.

  Right. He demanded as he always had. She would point that out, but what would arguing with him accomplish?

  She faced him, thankful her stomach was no longer churning. Blue eyes the color of her sapphire birthstone locked on her, sending a shock of awareness through her body. She’d never been able to resist those eyes. Or that chiseled face.

  He took her chin in his fingers and tilted her head to stare into her eyes. That familiar warmth of his touch and the concern in his gaze fired off the few senses that still lay dormant. Nothing new. He got to her as usual.

  The urge to jerk free and take off before he could hurt her again was nearly overwhelming, but she held still and had to admit she liked the feel of his fingers against her skin.

  “Looks like you have no problem focusing.” He released her chin. “That’s a good sign.”

  “It’s just a bump.”

  “Hah! A bump. More like a mountain protruding from your forehead.” He sat back, his eyes narrowing even more. “So, I searched the house for Eve. She’s not here. There’s blood in the kitchen. Can you shed any light on where she is?”

  “No. I knocked on the front door. No answer, but your aunt’s car was here. I looked in the windows, saw someone moving in the house and then heard a crash. I was worried for Eve, so I called for backup. But like I said, I didn’t want to wait, so I entered through the back door. The guy hit me with a rolling pin, and the last thing I remember before waking up was dropping to the floor.”

  He frowned. “Did you get a good look at him?”

  “Yeah. Good enough to have a sketch made. I can arrange to meet with an artist first thing in the morning.” Kendall watched Cord for a moment, and the magnitude of his aunt being missing finally hit her. “I’m sorry about your aunt. You must be freaking out.”

  He nodded.

  “Are there...any other relatives or children we should notify?”

  “Just me.”

  Odd. He didn’t mention his parents, but maybe he’d already called them. “When was the last time you talked to her?”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. “In person? Ten days or so. But I spoke to her on the phone four days ago. She said she needed to talk to me, but she had to see me in person. I couldn’t get away.”

  He shook his head and clenched his fists on the table. “She probably wanted to tell me what was going on. About whatever caused her to go missing. But I was too busy. I’m a detective now and was buried in a murder investigation. I said I’d call her back and now I can’t reach her. If I’d known... This is all my fault.”

  “No. No, it’s not, and beating yourself up won’t help find her.” Kendall started to reach out a hand to cover his hand, but a siren in the distance caught her attention.

  What? No way. H
er backup wouldn’t come racing up to the house with sirens running. The responding deputy couldn’t know the suspect was gone and wouldn’t risk alerting him that backup had arrived.

  “That’ll be your dad,” Cord said. “Or your brothers.”

  She blinked a few times as she tried to process his comment. “Why would you think that?”

  “I used your radio to report you down, and we both know every McKade within radio range will be on their way here.”

  She sighed. He was right. Her father was sheriff, her brother a deputy and her sister a crime scene investigator. Not to mention two cousins were deputies, too. She took a long, slow breath and mentally prepared herself for the arrival of her overprotective family as sirens wailed closer.

  It was only moments until that family member, likely her father, rushed into the house. He’d treat her like his little girl instead of the deputy and aspiring detective she’d become. She wished he wouldn’t do so, but she understood. He was a good father, and the worry carried over to the job. At least he didn’t call her “Peanut” like he did with her younger sister, Tessa.

  Regardless, Kendall wasn’t going to let her father find her sitting here instead of working the scene. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but also, Eve was missing and it was Kendall’s job to find her.

  She pushed to her feet and held on to the back of the chair to wait out a rush of dizziness. As long as she didn’t make any sudden movements, she should be able to hold up under her father’s scrutiny long enough to ease his concern and convince him to leave. Then she could get started on the investigation without him hovering over her.

  “You’re not fooling anyone, you know.” Cord rose to his full height, and she couldn’t help but remember when she’d had bad days at work, how he’d held her against that firm chest and the world had righted itself again. “You’re injured, and you’ll have to let the medics take a look at you. Maybe head to the ER to get checked out.”

  “I’m fine,” she said, but he could be right. Still, she would seek medical attention because she knew it was the right thing, not because Cord or her father insisted on it.

  She’d had a lifetime of overprotective men. Her dad. Older brother, Gavin. Even Matt, who was a year younger. The McKade men couldn’t help it. They were fierce defenders, and that meant they wouldn’t back down and let the women in their lives get hurt. So they took charge.

  “Man,” Cord said. “Whatever I said has you seriously upset. You’re working your jaw like crazy.”

  “It’s nothing.” Headlights joined hers in the driveway, and she turned to watch for the first McKade to arrive.

  Her father came barreling through the door. Six foot two, he was still fit and trim and wore his county uniform well. “Kendall, honey. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Dad. Just a bump on the head.”

  He took hold of her chin and studied her face, the look far more clinical than when Cord had examined her injury. She could feel the worry rolling off her dad in big waves, and she felt bad about getting caught up in her thoughts of Cord and not radioing in that she was okay. Her father rectified that by leaning down to his radio and reporting in. She was thankful he did so, as that meant the rest of the marauding McKades wouldn’t show up.

  He pinned his focus on her again. “You’ll let the medics check you out.”

  “No problem,” she said, though inside she cringed at his demanding tone.

  Cord snorted.

  Her father released her chin and shot Cord a look. “Cord Goodwin. Well, I’ll be. Didn’t expect to see you in Lake County again.”

  “This is my aunt Eve’s house.”

  “She okay?”

  “She’s missing, and we found blood in the kitchen.”

  Her father clapped Cord on the back. “I’m real sorry to hear that, son.”

  Her father had always liked Cord and had taken it hard when he’d left. Not that her dad knew the real story. Cord thought it best not to bring his personal life into the job and explain that he had to leave because emotions were running high with her. So he’d said he was looking for a different challenge.

  “I’ll get a team out here,” her father said. “And we’ll do a grid search of the immediate area.”

  Cord’s face paled, but he didn’t say anything. What could he say? Her father basically said that he thought Eve might be hurt or dead somewhere nearby. Either thought had to be messing with Cord’s emotions. She wished she could provide some comfort—offer the reassurance that she might offer another family member, but as a detective, Cord knew all too well that his aunt could be in peril. Her best way to help him was to do her job and do it well.

  “Our suspect is long gone,” she said. “But I can put out a clear description on him.”

  “You got a good look at him?” Her father’s eyes widened.

  She nodded and radioed in the suspect’s details as her father frowned at her.

  The moment she finished with dispatch, her father took a step closer to her. “As much as getting a look at the suspect will help the investigation, I don’t like the sound of it. He might panic and want to silence you.”

  She hadn’t thought of that, but she wasn’t going to let fear get in the way of investigating her first case. “Then the sooner I figure out his identity and where Eve is, the better. I’ll get started investigating right away.”

  “Wait, what?” Cord shot her a look. “You’re investigating? I don’t understand.”

  She faced him. “Dad’s retiring, and Matt’s running for sheriff. He’s on a leave of absence to work on the campaign. If all goes well, he’ll be taking over Dad’s spot in a few months, and I’ll be stepping into his detective role. So I’m handling investigations in his absence.”

  “No. No.” Cord shook his head hard. “I can’t have a rookie detective in charge of finding my aunt.”

  Before Kendall could offer a rebuttal, he swung his gaze to her father. “You have another detective, a more seasoned one, who could work this investigation, right?”

  “I do.” Her father faced her, and he didn’t have to say a word. His apologetic expression said it all. He was going to side with Cord. “What with your injury and the potential for this suspect to come gunning for you, maybe it’s a good idea for you to sit this out, honey.”

  How could he take Cord’s side, and equally as bad, talk to her like she was still a little girl?

  “Honey. No. No. You wouldn’t call Matt ‘honey.’ It’s Kendall or Deputy McKade. But not ‘honey.’” She crossed her arms, anger starting to mount. “I caught this case fair and square, and it will be mine. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have any experience. I’ve worked with the tri-county cybercrimes task force for five years and successfully headed up complicated investigations.”

  She saw Cord curl his fingers on one hand and shove the other in his hair that was the color of wheat bread, but with blonde highlights from all the time he spent outside. At least she thought he was still an outdoors kind of guy, but then she didn’t know him anymore, now did she? She did know the old Cord would have made the same suggestion and maybe even gone a step further to actually find a way to have her removed.

  He released his hair and looked at her dad. “I have an idea, Sheriff. I have some vacation time coming. I could take time off to work alongside Kendall. I’ve been a detective for four years now and might even be able to teach her a thing or two.”

  “No.” She couldn’t work with Cord. The attraction was still there, and he’d just proved he hadn’t changed. He was still too controlling for her liking.

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” her father said. “Nothing better than getting firsthand training.”

  “Cord is not going to be training me,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “You’re right.” His lips quirked up in a devastatingly handsome smile. “But if you learn someth
ing along the way, what’s the harm in that?”

  “Good.” Her dad clapped his hands. “It’s all settled, then. You and Cord will partner on this investigation.”

  Wait, what? Settled?

  Right. She’d failed to reaffirm her stance of not wanting to work with him. She’d only voiced her unwillingness to let him take over as her trainer, and her dad took that as acceptance. Now there was no changing his mind. Not when he was even more stubborn than she was.

  She fixed her gaze on Cord. “This is my county. I’m in charge. We do what I say, when I say it. No running off in your own direction and cutting me out.”

  “Me?” he asked, feigning surprise. “I’d never do anything like that.”

  Yeah, right. I know you, bud. Don’t forget that. How she wished she could say the words aloud, but with her father standing there, she’d have to settle for a look that put Cord in his place.

  He held up his hands and took a step back. “Message received.”

  Her father glanced between them. “Am I missing something here?”

  “No,” they both answered at the same time.

  Her dad continued to eye them, but finally shook his head and muttered, “Young people.”

  A tall medic carrying a backboard stepped into the doorway, and he looked at them for direction on how to proceed.

  Kendall crossed over to him. “Thanks for responding. You were called for me, but I’m fine.”

  “No, she’s not.” Cord joined them.

  “Doesn’t matter,” she said, keeping her focus on the medic. “I’m not going to take the time to be checked out until after this scene is processed, so you might as well take off.”

  The medic glanced at her father. For her entire life, everyone had looked to her dad for answers. As a kid, she’d appreciated that. Was even glad for it a lot of the time as an adult. Just not when it came to something she could handle on her own.

  Kendall met his gaze. “I’ll go to the ER when I’m done.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go on, then,” he said to the medic, who all but ran from the house like a guilty child finding reprieve. Her father turned to Cord. “My wife, Winnie, would have my hide if I didn’t invite you to stay at the ranch while you’re in town.”