by Elle Kennedy
Now he just needed to win over Sarah.
“What do you mean, I have to stay here?” Sarah demanded after he’d told her where he was going.
Finn smothered a sigh as he noticed her outraged expression and the determined slash of her mouth. Damn it, he knew that stubborn look. It probably mirrored his own.
They’d received the news from Cole’s investigator ten minutes after Finn strode into Sarah’s house. Valerie Matthews had purchased groceries eighteen hours ago at a gas station in Holliday, a small county two towns over from Serenade. The purchase might not mean anything—could’ve been a pit stop on her way out of state, making her long gone by now—but they couldn’t very well ignore it, either.
Holliday was a tiny township, consisting of a handful of cabins nestled deep in forested areas. It was home to loggers and hermits, the ideal place to live among nature and escape the world. As far as hiding spots went, it was damn perfect. The homes were isolated enough that neighbors wouldn’t hear the cries of a three-month-old baby, and Finn knew for a fact that several of the cabins were owned by a property agent who handled rentals through an internet site. Use a fake name, a bogus credit card, and you have a place to stay for a few weeks.
According to the investigator, Valerie hadn’t rented any property using her card, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in Holliday. She’d seduced a lab tech at the adoption clinic, for chrissake. She could’ve easily figured out a way to pay for a cabin without using her credit card.
“You can’t come with us,” Finn said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice.
Sarah’s brown eyes flashed. “I don’t believe this. You’re actually keeping me away from—”
“I mean you can’t come,” he interrupted, running a hand through his hair. He shot a pointed look at her ankle. “You physically can’t.”
Sarah’s gaze dropped, her mouth trembling as she stared at the electronic monitor clamped around her ankle. Her entire face crumpled in disappointment, sending a hot rush of pain to his gut.
With her lips quivering like that, he knew it was a matter of time before she started to cry, and so he quickly placed his hands on her slender waist and pulled her close. After a moment of hesitation, she sank into his embrace.
“I know you want to be there,” he said, threading one hand through her silky dark hair. “And I wish to God I could take you with us, but if that monitor starts beeping, the D.A. will be alerted and you’ll be thrown back in jail. You won’t be of any use to Lucy if you’re behind bars, sweetheart.”
“I know,” she whispered. Pulling back, she locked her gaze with his. “Do you think she’s there, in Holliday?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “This could be a total dead end. Valerie’s credit card might have been stolen, or if she did use it, she might have just been stopping along. But if Lucy’s there, we’ll find her.”
Parsons would probably kill him for taking the credit away from the federal agent, but Finn had no intention of involving the FBI during this search. He’d spoken to Jamie about it, and she’d agreed, warning him that Parsons would go in guns blazing. Since he had no desire to see Lucy—or hell, even Valerie—get hurt, Finn had opted to keep this road trip from the special agent. He and Anna would be taking one car, Jamie and Max would take the other, and the four of them would do this on their own. Holliday was a minuscule county, not even on the map, and with only forty or so houses in the area, they could be in and out of there before Parsons even figured out they were gone.
Finn just prayed his gut wasn’t steering him in the wrong direction. He didn’t want to waste manpower looking in the wrong place, but he couldn’t ignore the information from Cole’s P.I., either. If Lucy was in Holliday, he damn well planned on finding her.
“Will you call me the second you know?” Sarah asked, her hurt voice making his chest squeeze.
“The second I know,” he echoed, stroking her hair.
He gazed into her eyes, swallowing when he noticed that a new emotion had joined the angst and grief on her face. He saw a flicker of heat, even a burst of pride.
“You’ll get her back for me, won’t you, Finn?”
“Even if I die trying, sweetheart.”
She searched his face once more, and then her lips were moving against his own as she kissed him so deeply, so passionately, he couldn’t take a breath. She tasted like coffee and sugar and something distinctly Sarah. Her tongue pushed its way into his mouth and he was helpless to hide his immediate reaction. She let out a soft moan when she felt the hard ridge of his arousal against her belly, kissing him even harder.
His heart was slapping against his ribs when they finally pulled apart, and he almost didn’t hear her as she whispered, “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he asked gruffly.
“Die trying.” She gave a little sigh. “I want Lucy back, but I don’t want you to get hurt. Just…promise you’ll be careful, okay?”
It was hard to speak through the monstrous lump in his throat. “I’ll be careful.” He swept his gaze over her one last time, smiling at her red, swollen lips, her silky smooth cheeks and delicate chin. “I have to go now. I’ll call you when I know something.”
As he left Sarah’s house and walked toward the driveway, his chest was full of emotion. His mouth still tingled from that surprise kiss, the taste of Sarah imprinted there. It drove him mad, that she was right there in front of him, yet so out of reach. It had taken him four years to realize his mistakes, to grow up and become the man Sarah had wanted him to be back then.
Now that he was ready, she wasn’t, and he had no idea how to change her mind.
Find her daughter, then worry about the rest.
It was a sobering thought, one he held on to as he hopped into the Jeep and drove away from Sarah’s house.
Anna was waiting for him in the parking lot of the police station when he pulled up ten minutes later. He’d asked her to wait there, just in case Parsons was peeking out the window. According to Max, the agent was in Finn’s office, preparing a statement for the press about the status of the investigation.
“Jamie and Max already left for Holliday,” Anna said as she got into the Jeep. She unfolded a square of paper and handed it to him. “Jamie said they’d check all the houses she marked in blue. We’re in charge of the red ones.”
Finn glanced at the map, pleased to see there were only about two dozen red circles. The clock on the dash read twelve-fifteen. It would take about forty-five minutes to get to Holliday, where they’d have the entire day and night to dig around. His gaze dropped to Anna’s feet, and he gave a pleased nod when he saw she’d changed into hiking boots as he’d requested. Some of those cabins required a trek and a half through the forest, which he wasn’t particularly looking forward to.
Yesterday’s rain was nowhere in sight as they set off in the direction of the highway. The sun was high in the sky, bright enough that Finn grabbed his aviator sunglasses from the cup holder and slipped them on his nose. He checked the rearview mirror, spotting the baby seat he’d taken from Sarah and buckled in the backseat. Was he placing too much hope on this? Maybe. But his hunches rarely steered him wrong, and from the moment Cole told him about the grocery purchase on Valerie’s card, the nape of Finn’s neck had been tingling.
“Okay,” Anna said, her nose buried in the map. “The first house is right after the exit ramp, so don’t miss the turnoff.”
They didn’t say much during the long drive. Finn was too tense. Too chock-full of adrenaline. He kept thinking of Sarah’s anguished face when he told her that she couldn’t come with him. He wished she could be here with him. He’d been wishing it for four years.
He slowed the Jeep when the exit for Holliday County came into view. Just as Anna had instructed, he turned right at the first turnoff, steering onto a dirt path that led to a sprawling ranch house in the distance. Ten seconds later, disappointment crashed into him, as he realized they’d struck out on the first try. Five towheaded chil
dren, ranging from toddler to preteen, were playing in the front yard, shrieking with delight as they dashed through an arch of water created by the lawn sprinkler. A woman with a big straw hat sat on the porch, reading a magazine.
Anna looked equally disappointed. “I don’t think we’ll find anything here.”
Finn concurred, but they still had to be certain. Hopping out of the Jeep, they approached the porch, where they spent five minutes chatting with the woman in the straw hat, while Anna watched the children in the yard with faint longing in her eyes. They didn’t linger long, just enough for Finn’s gut to tell him that this perfect family wasn’t aiding and abetting a kidnapper, and then they were off to the next house. And then another. And another.
It was nearly three o’clock when Anna crossed off yet another address on their map. They’d visited thirteen houses, and no Valerie or Lucy at any of them. Jamie and Max were striking out, too, each phone call causing Finn’s spirits to sink a little bit lower.
“Maybe she really did just pass through here,” Anna said, sounding glum as they drove toward their next location.
“It’s starting to feel that way,” Finn confessed.
“Turn left there.”
He followed her directions, and they ended up on yet another dirt path, this one winding several times before abruptly ending in front of an iron gate. The two halves of the metal barrier were chained together at the middle, a No Trespassing sign nailed to one of the wooden posts on each end of the gate. Beyond it, the terrain was rocky, surrounded by tall trees letting in flashes of sunlight through the thick leaves.
“Looks like we’re walking,” Finn remarked.
Anna grumbled under her breath as they got out of the car. “Well, hopefully we don’t find ourselves facing down the barrel of a shotgun again. That guy at the last house was totally scary.”
He grinned. “You could have taken him.”
“Is that why you hid behind me? Because you knew I could take him?”
“Naah, I just forgot to bring my bulletproof vest,” he kidded.
Laughing, she followed him into the trees. Finn kept his hand on the butt of the Beretta poking out of his holster, but he knew they probably wouldn’t encounter any threats. So far, the visits had been harmless, except for the shotgun man who lectured them for trespassing.
The sun shone up above, making beads of sweat pop up on his forehead. Even with the shade of the trees, it was damn hot outside. They walked at a brisk pace, sidestepping fallen logs and the occasional poison ivy bush, until the trees thinned out and Finn glimpsed a small, A-frame cabin through the branches.
His instincts hummed.
“Stay behind me,” he told Anna in a low voice.
She immediately fell back and he took the lead, keeping his gaze trained on the innocuous-looking cabin a few hundred yards away. The cabin had a tin roof and a narrow wraparound porch, the weathered logs at its exterior gleaming in the afternoon sun. There was no driveway, just yellow-green grass and broken lawn furniture. The sagging porch swing creaked as the breeze hit it.
The place looked abandoned, and with no car in sight, he doubted Valerie would have chosen this as her hideout. Walking through the forest with a three-month-old infant wailing in her arms? He couldn’t picture Valerie having the patience for that, and he was about to tell Anna they should turn around when she suddenly hissed out a breath.
“There’s someone at the window, boss.”
He followed her gaze, instantly seeing what she had. A pale face in the window, unrecognizable from this far away. They picked up the pace, staying in the trees as they advanced on the cabin. The closer they got, the more excited he felt. There was definitely someone standing in the window. A woman, judging from the long hair. Long black hair.
Valerie.
“Stop,” Finn ordered, pausing next to one of the thick redwood trunks.
From this point on, they would no longer have the cover of the trees. They would enter the clearing in front of the cabin, completely visible to the woman in the window. Finn was debating whether to run for the door when a baby’s cry sliced through the air.
“Lucy,” Anna whispered.
Finn let out a soft expletive. His fingers hovered over the butt of his gun, but he couldn’t bring himself to draw the weapon. What if Valerie was armed, too? What if she freaked when she saw them and hurt herself or the baby?
“What do we do?” Anna demanded in a hushed voice. “Should we break down the door?”
“She’ll see us coming before we could even make it to the door.” Tension knotted around his muscles. “Okay. We walk up, slowly.” He unholstered his weapon and gestured for Anna to do the same. “Follow my lead.”
Finn uttered a silent prayer, then stepped away from the trees, his stride cautious. There was a flurry of movement in the window. Valerie had bolted away from it.
He took a breath. “Valerie!” he shouted. “It’s Finn—I’m just here to talk!”
He and Anna approached the cabin, but he signaled for her to stop before she could climb the porch steps.
“Valerie, we’re putting down our weapons, okay? We’re not armed.”
Although Anna looked reluctant, she mimicked his actions by placing her weapon on the grass, next to his.
Finn swore he saw the tattered curtain at the window move. “Valerie!” he shouted again. “Come out here. I just want to talk.”
There was no response, no face in the window, and then a baby’s distressed wails came from inside the house. Finn sprang to action, leaving his weapon on the grass as he charged to the door. He was prepared to kick it in, but a try at the doorknob and he realized it was unlocked.
He burst into the musty-smelling cabin and found the main room empty, but Lucy was still crying, the high-pitched shrieks pulsing from the back of the house. Finn took off toward the corridor, his heavy boots thudding against the weathered wood floor. He heard another cry, a muffled female curse, and skidded to a stop in front of the door at the end of the hall.
His heart jammed in his throat as his gaze registered everything. Valerie Matthews stood by a white-painted crib, clutching Sarah’s daughter to her chest. Her raven hair was falling into a pair of wild gray eyes, which widened in shock and anger when she spotted Finn in the doorway.
“No!” she cried, her voice sizzling with fury. “I won’t let you take her away from me, Finn!”
He took a cautious step forward, then halted when Valerie clutched the baby even tighter. “Valerie,” he said softly. “Val, look at me.”
Those silver eyes looked out of focus as they connected with his. “You can’t take her, Finn.”
To his shock, tears slid down her ivory-pale cheeks. Lucy opened her mouth and belted out another shriek. Valerie looked down at the baby as if she couldn’t comprehend why the child would be crying.
“She’s always crying,” Valerie whispered. “She’s always crying. Maybe she knows…” She stared at him in misery. “Do you think she knows I’m not her mother?”
Finn had no idea what to say. From the corner of his eye, he saw Anna entering the hallway, holding the gun he’d ordered her to drop. He gave an imperceptible shake of the head, silently ordering her to stay put.
This situation was too perilous. Valerie didn’t look like she was going to hurt Lucy, but she was obviously distraught. She was shaking, crying even harder now, while the baby shrieked and wiggled in her arms.
“Valerie…why don’t you put Lucy in the crib so you and I can have a little chat?”
Her jaw hardened. “Do you think I’m stupid? The second I put her down, you’re going to shoot me!”
“I’m not going to shoot you.” He raised both arms, then did a little spin. “I’m not armed. My gun is sitting outside on the grass. I don’t want anyone to get hurt here, especially you or the baby.”
She blinked rapidly, her face stained with her tears. “I know you probably think I’ve gone insane, but I had to take her, Finn. There’s so much you don’t
know about—”
“I know Teresa is Lucy’s biological mother.”
Valerie gasped. “You do?”
He nodded.
“Then you understand why I had to do this!”
She shifted the baby so that Lucy’s head rested on her shoulder, but that didn’t abate the child’s wails. Finn’s temples were beginning to throb from those shrill noises.
“Lucy belongs with me,” Valerie said, gently patting the baby’s back in a soothing motion. “I’m her aunt. My little sister would want me to take care of her daughter. You understand, right, Finn?”
He swallowed. “I do understand. But Val…Lucy is Sarah’s daughter now. She adopted—”
“She stole her from Teresa!” Valerie roared.
Evidently picking up on the anger vibrating from the body of the woman who held her, Lucy’s cries kicked up another notch, the ear-splitting volume making both Finn and Valerie flinch.
“That nutcase knew Teresa was the birth mother!” Valerie went on. “That’s why she killed her! So Teresa wouldn’t take the baby back!”
Her growing agitation worried him, and he took a few more steps toward her. She growled at him and he halted again, speaking above Lucy’s shrieks. “Sarah didn’t kill your sister. And she didn’t steal Lucy. Teresa gave up her legal rights, Val. She gave her baby away.”
Valerie hiccupped, her hand moving to cup Lucy’s downy head. That only got Lucy going even more, and the frustration swimming in Valerie’s gray eyes grew. “Please stop crying,” she begged the screaming, red-faced infant. “Just stop crying. You’re safe, little girl. I’m here, baby.”
Finn took her momentary state of distraction to make his move. He bounded across the room, ignoring Valerie’s shocked gasp as he plucked the baby from her arms. With Lucy tucked against his chest like a football, he stepped away, temporarily losing the function of one eardrum as Lucy howled into it.
“Give her back!”
Valerie’s enraged snarl had him hurrying to the doorway where Anna was waiting. As adrenaline coursed through his blood, he deposited Lucy into his deputy’s arms and snapped, “Go! Get back to the Jeep.”