by Rita Herron
“I tried to stop him, but he hit me, so I ran after him. I caught his arm on the steps, but he threw me down them. Then he ran by me on the stairs.” Tears leaked from her eyes and rolled on her cheeks. “I grabbed his ankle, but he kicked me in the face and chest. I was dizzy but I tried to get to him, but he kicked me again and I must have passed out.”
She dropped her face into her hands. “Oh, God, Derrick…Ryan is gone and it’s all my fault.”
DERRICK TRIED TO STEEL HIMSELF against the torment in Brianna’s voice, but if there was one emotion he understood, it was guilt. And hers was genuine. No act.
Her sobs tore at him, and he couldn’t resist. He pulled her into his arms and held her. It was a cop thing to do, a human comforting another. He’d done it a thousand times on a case.
But never had the person’s pain made him ache inside like a knife had ripped open his heart.
And never had he felt so connected with anyone in his life.
The thought scared the crap out of him.
The connection had to do with the missing baby—the baby he thought might be his.
Grasping onto that reality, he gently lifted her away from him. “Brianna, I have to call the sheriff.”
“What time is it?” she whispered.
His expression turned grim. “A little after 6:00 a.m. What time did you wake up and hear the baby crying?”
She swiped at the tears streaking her pale, bruised cheeks. “I’m not sure, maybe four, four-thirty.”
A siren wailed outside. About damn time, Derrick thought. She could have died before help arrived. If he hadn’t stopped by, she might have been lying there for hours.
He stood and reached for his phone. “I’ll meet them and call the sheriff. We need to issue an Amber Alert.”
“Yes, of course.” She clutched his hand. “Please, Derrick. We have to act fast.” She caught her lip with her teeth on another sob. He wanted to console her again, but time was of the essence.
She leaned back against the sofa looking stricken as he hurried to meet the ambulance. The paramedics jumped from the vehicle, and walked toward him.
“We got a 9–1-1 call.”
His training kicked in. “Yes. Brianna Honeycutt was attacked by an intruder during a baby kidnapping. The perpetrator knocked her unconscious before he escaped. She’s awake now, but probably has a concussion. And she may be going into shock.”
The medic in the lead nodded. “And you are, sir?”
He produced the ID that Gage had given him. “Guardian Angel Investigations. Before that, I was with the Raleigh P.D., Special Victims Unit.”
The medic nodded. “We’ll check her out and prepare to transport her to the hospital for tests and observation.”
“Thanks. I’ll call the local authorities to report the kidnapping.” He breathed in the early morning cold air, needing to clear his head as he punched in the sheriff’s number. On instinct, he’d immediately programmed into his phone the pertinent numbers he’d need in the area. He’d done his homework, too, and knew that Beau Cramer had taken over as sheriff after Charlie Driscill had resigned. He didn’t know the full story there, but he would find out. Driscill’s resignation had something to do with Gage and his wife Leah, but he hadn’t pushed yet. But if it pertained to a case, he would.
Friends with Gage or not.
“Sheriff Cramer.”
“Sheriff, this is Derrick McKinney of Guardian Angel Investigations. I’m with Brianna Honeycutt at her house. You need to get out here. She was attacked, and the baby she adopted was kidnapped.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks.” Derrick phoned GAI to inform Levi he had a case, then snapped his phone shut, and went back inside to check on Brianna. Hopefully, they hadn’t wasted too much time while she was unconscious.
Every second, every minute counted.
And every one that passed meant their chances of finding the baby decreased exponentially.
BRIANNA DIDN’T WANT MEDICAL treatment now. She wanted to scream and shout and cry.
She wanted to find her baby.
Pain robbed her breath. She might not have given birth to Ryan, but he was hers.
Only what if Derrick was the father…?
And if he wasn’t? What if the birth father found out about Ryan and decided to take him from her? What if he’d been the man in the house?
But why sneak into her house in the middle of the night? Why not come forward and claim his son? DNA tests could have been done….
Unless there was something about him, maybe a criminal record that would keep a judge from giving him custody? Or if he wanted to get rid of the child.
That horrible possibility sent nausea rolling through her again.
Damn Natalie. Her friend should have told her the truth about the baby’s father. And if she was in danger, she should have confided the reason.
“Miss Honeycutt.” The medics introduced themselves as Adam and Joe. “We need to check you over.”
“I’m okay,” Brianna said. “I just need to find my baby.”
“One step at a time, ma’am,” Adam said. “Let us check your vitals and transport you to the hospital for tests.”
“I don’t want to go the hospital.” Hysteria bubbled in her chest. “My son is missing. I have to find him.”
The medic gave her a sympathetic look but coaxed her to lie back down on the sofa. The other one brought an ice pack for her cheek. “I understand, ma’am. But you’re injured, and we need to do our jobs. Mr. McKinney has called the sheriff.”
Fear overwhelmed her. “But my baby could be anywhere by now….”
The medics exchanged looks, then Adam strapped on a blood pressure cuff while Joe listened to her heart. Frustration knifed through her, but she finally conceded and let them do their jobs.
Another siren wailed in the distance, and Derrick jogged outside to meet the sheriff. By the time they came inside, the medics were insisting that Brianna go to the hospital.
She gave Derrick a determined look. “I’ll sign a release. I refuse to go the hospital.”
Derrick’s dark gaze met hers while Sheriff Cramer folded his arms. Cramer was shorter than Derrick, and stockier. The last time she’d seen him had been at Natalie’s funeral where he’d seemed quiet and withdrawn.
“Brianna, are you all right?”
“No,” she responded. “Someone kidnapped Ryan.”
“We want to take her for tests,” the medic explained. “She probably has a concussion and may have some cracked ribs.”
“No. The only thing they’ll do for a concussion is to tell me to rest,” Brianna said. “I’m not going to the hospital.”
“Brianna,” Derrick urged.
She threw up a warning hand, cutting him off. “What I need,” she declared firmly, “is to find Ryan. Now let’s stop wasting time and do it.”
The medics exchanged frustrated looks, but Derrick finally nodded. “I’ll bring her in later if I think she needs it. You guys can go now.”
She signed the release form and sighed in relief as they left. Her head and ribs were the least of her problems. The pain in her heart was robbing her breath.
Sheriff Cramer sat down in the club chair beside the couch. “Tell me what happened.”
Brianna repeated the story, this time on autopilot.
“We’ll find the baby,” he assured her. “I’ve already issued an Amber Alert. Can you describe your attacker?”
She shook her head. “Not really. He was medium height, beefy, wore dark clothes and a ski mask.”
“Did he say anything?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let go, you bitch.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see what kind of car he was driving?”
“No,” she whispered. “He broke in while I was asleep. I chased him down the steps but he knocked me out. I never made it outside.” She drew in a deep breath. “Why would someone take Ryan?
I don’t have any money.”
“How about the baby’s father?” Cramer asked.
Brianna’s gaze shot to Derrick. “I’m not sure who he is.”
“But he could have come after the baby.”
She shrugged. “It’s possible.”
“The baby might be mine,” Derrick said, his jaw tight. “I want to run a DNA test.”
Cramer’s brows shot up in surprise. “You might be the baby’s father?”
Derrick gave a clipped nod. “You need a crime unit out here to check for forensics. Maybe this guy left a stray hair or fiber or a print.”
“He wore gloves,” Brianna said, despair weighing on her.
“I’ll get GAI to set up a trace on the phones,” Derrick commented. “In case the kidnapper calls wanting a ransom.”
Beau stood. “This is my town, McKinney. I’ll run the case.”
“I don’t intend to get into a pissing contest with you,” Derrick countered. Good God, the man was years younger than him and probably green when it came to this type of work. “Finding missing children is my specialty, Cramer. It’s what I did in Raleigh, it’s what I’m doing at Guardian Angel Investigations now.”
Cramer puffed up his chest. “I can handle it.”
Derrick grunted. “You’ve only been sheriff, what—three or four months? Have you ever worked a child abduction?”
Cramer gritted his teeth. “No, but I’m perfectly capable.”
“Then you’ll let me work with you,” Derrick said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Cramer and Derrick stared at each other for a tense moment, but finally Cramer must have realized the futility in arguing and excused himself to call the crime unit.
Derrick joined Brianna on the couch. “Brianna, we have to examine all possibilities. Finding out who Ryan’s father is may be the key.”
“There’s a baby brush upstairs,” she said, knotting her hands.
He touched her hand to calm her. “I’ll get it in a minute. But I need to ask you something else. Is there anyone in town who might want to hurt you by taking Ryan? Do you have any enemies?”
Her first instinct was to say no. But the memory of her encounter with Dana Phillips flashed back, and her gut clenched.
“You thought of someone, didn’t you?” Derrick asked.
Brianna hesitated. She hated to throw suspicion on one of her clients, especially one so vulnerable and desperate for a child. But that desperation could also prove to be a motive.
“Brianna, tell me the truth. Who are you thinking of?”
“This young woman I’ve been working with,” she answered quietly. “She and her husband have been trying to adopt, but we haven’t found a baby for them.”
“You think she might have kidnapped Ryan?”
“I don’t know,” Brianna replied. “I hate to accuse her and her husband. I’m supposed to be helping them.”
Derrick gripped her arms. “Listen to me. If they’re innocent, you can apologize. But every second we hesitate gives the kidnapper a chance to get farther away.”
She bit her lip but nodded. “Dana was upset with me yesterday. She wanted me to give her custody of Ryan. She said two parents were better than one.”
Derrick shot up from the couch. “Give me their names and address.”
Brianna scribbled down the information, her pulse racing. If the Phillips couple had taken Ryan, at least she knew he was safe, that they wouldn’t hurt him.
But if they hadn’t, then some madman might have Ryan.
And there was no telling what he might do.
Chapter Three
Derrick jogged up the stairs, found the baby brush, plucked a couple of strands of hair from it and bagged it to send to the lab.
He found a Q-tip in the bathroom, swabbed his mouth and placed the swab in another bag, hurried down the steps, then stopped in front of Brianna. “I’m going to call the tech specialist at GAI and place a trace on your home phone, and have him forward any calls to your cell as well so we’re not stuck here waiting.”
She nodded and gave him her home and cell numbers, then he stepped outside to meet the sheriff. “Cramer, will you send this to the lab with the CSI team and have them run the DNA for a paternity test?”
Cramer frowned but agreed. “Where are you going, McKinney?”
Derrick shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather bomber jacket. “I just got into town. I have a couple of things to take care of.”
Cramer narrowed his eyes. “What kind of things?”
Derrick debated whether to tell him the truth. But if the sheriff showed up at the Phillipses’ door, they might panic and run. Unless they’d already left town…
He’d check them out on his own.
“I have to meet my boss before he leaves town. And I’m going to get a trace put on Brianna’s phone, and have her calls forwarded to her cell in case the kidnapper calls.”
“You’re working for Gage McDermont?”
Derrick nodded. “He and Leah are going on a second honeymoon. I need to fill him in on what’s happened.”
“You’re not holding out on me, are you?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize this case.”
“Did Brianna give you some idea who might have kidnapped the baby?” Cramer asked.
He shook his head. “No. What’s your next move?”
Cramer glanced at the woods. “I’ll call in some deputies from the county and form a search party to check any abandoned houses and cabins in the woods.”
Derrick nodded. “I’ll ask Brock Running Bear from GAI to help with the search. Check the hotels, too.”
Cramer pulled at his chin. “I planned to.”
Derrick strode to his car, climbed in and started the engine. He hated to leave Brianna alone, but she should be safe with the sheriff there. And the clock was ticking. He quickly called GAI. Ben agreed to set up the trace and have Brock join the search parties.
Early morning sunlight filtered through the trees, glistening off the snowpacked ground and mountaintops as he drove toward town. The Phillips couple lived in a small ranch in one of the older subdivisions on the edge of Sanctuary, a redbrick with neatly trimmed boxwoods lining the front. A fenced-in yard encased the back. He checked for a dog, but didn’t hear one barking or see an animal as he glanced around the corner of the house.
The lights were off, and he wondered if the Phillipses were still in bed, or if they’d already left for work. Suddenly a light flicked on at the end of the house in the front room, and he stepped to the side to look inside, and saw a man in the kitchen.
He debated on whether to confront the couple, or stake them out, and decided on the latter. He crept back to his car and slipped inside so he could watch the front.
If they exited with the baby, he’d catch them red-handed.
BRIANNA SAID A SILENT PRAYER that the Phillips couple had Ryan. At least she would know that he was safe, not with some dangerous child molester or someone wanting money.
Money she didn’t have.
And if Derrick wasn’t Ryan’s father, who was? Natalie hadn’t mentioned being involved with anyone else. Although Natalie had always been freer about sleeping around than she was.
In fact, she was shocked when Natalie turned up pregnant. Her friend had always been careful and insisted she didn’t want to settle down.
Sheriff Cramer strode back downstairs. He’d been showing the CSI team the nursery. They were dusting for prints and combing the rooms and stairs for evidence.
Arms folded, he crossed the room to her. She was still resting on the couch and pulled her robe tighter around her, anxious for the men to leave so she could shower and dress. Maybe by then, Derrick would call.
Or return with Ryan.
“Brianna, I know McKinney asked you this, but can you think of anyone who’d want to kidnap the baby?”
She shook her head. Natalie had seemed worried at the hospital. But maybe she’d imagined that fear.<
br />
“You don’t happen to have some money stowed away somewhere? Maybe an inheritance?”
A sarcastic laugh escaped her. “No, I grew up at Magnolia Manor,” she said. “Mother left me there when I was seven. Never knew my father.” She fiddled with the strap of her robe. “And if I did have money, I’d donate it to Magnolia Manor to help the other needy kids.”
“Do you have a picture of the baby? I’ll need it for the media and so I can fax it to the Web site for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.”
She’d taken dozens in the last six weeks. Had even bought a new digital camera so she could download them to her computer.
“Yes.” She pushed herself up. “Let me get you one.”
She walked over to the table, then glanced at the assortment of photographs. First the one from the hospital the night Ryan had been born. Another photo two weeks later in a sailor’s outfit. Another the next week in a baseball hat. But her gaze rested on the photo she’d snapped the week before.
She’d propped Ryan up in the infant seat, and dressed him in a soft blue terry cloth sleeper. The picture showed his pale blond hair, his toothless grin and his chubby cheeks. He’d already changed from birth. In fact, he seemed to change every day.
Grief assailed her. Natalie was missing it all. But she’d trusted Brianna to care for him, and she’d let her down. What would happen if they didn’t find Ryan soon?
He might change so much she wouldn’t even recognize him….
Swiping at fresh tears, she handed the picture to the sheriff. “Here, this one is the most recent.”
“I’ll get it sent ASAP.” He offered her a tight smile. “Try to hang in there, Brianna. I’ll send a deputy here to watch the house if you want.”
She shook her head then hugged her arms around herself. “No, I’m fine. Besides, if that man had wanted to kill me, he would have. He obviously just wanted the baby.”
“Now we just have to figure out the reason,” the sheriff said. “And wait for a ransom call.”
Brianna twisted her hands together, praying the kidnapper would phone. Or that Derrick found Ryan first. That he brought him back safely and this nightmare would end.