Texas Baby Pursuit

by Margaret Daley

  The shooter came to a halt, glancing at Dallas holding his gun on him, then at the deputy with his weapon out and pointing at the man. He lowered his Glock, and Dallas’s partner rushed in and took it from his limp hand.

  A blast of gunfire, coming from the first floor on the other side, resounded through the house.

  Dallas struggled to his feet, touching the place where the bullet lodged in his vest. “Let’s get inside the room.” He noticed the other deputy with him had ducked into the library they had cleared.

  His partner took his handcuffs and secured the assailant with his hands behind his back. Then they moved into the sprawling long room with Dallas covering their backs. Inside, he hurried through it, making sure there were no more guards there, then took their prisoner and handcuffed him to a sturdy post. Dallas and his partner needed to be free to finish their sweep of the left side of the first floor while his teammate was keeping anyone coming down the hall from the front of the house.

  He peered into the corridor. At least one person with a gun was in the last room on this side. He needed to make a move.

  “We’ve neutralized three guards in the dining room. No sign of Richard Snapp,” the sheriff from this county said. “All clear on this side.”

  Dallas inched out into the hallway but dodged back into the room when a man poked his head out and fired, striking the wall on the other side of Dallas. “We’re under attack, pinned down in the middle room.”

  “We’re on the way, coming from the back hall.”

  Again, a spate of gunfire resonated through the house, but this time from upstairs. Rachel!

  * * *

  Without hesitation, Rachel dropped to the floor and swiveled at the same time Snapp fired his weapon. She lifted her gun and shot him in the leg. She scrambled forward while Richard Snapp went down. As she yanked his weapon from his hand and tucked it into her belt against her spine, she glimpsed Katie hidden between the wall and toilet, her daughter curled into a ball and covering her eyes.

  A slight movement sent a wave of relief through Rachel as she said, “Mama is here for you, Katie.”

  Katie lifted her head. Her eyes grew wide, but she didn’t move.

  “Sweet pea, you’re safe now. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Rachel’s attention shifted back and forth between her daughter and the lawyer groaning and trying to stop the flow of blood with his hands. “Come here.”

  Katie looked at the man between them.

  “He won’t hurt you anymore.” She kept her eye on Richard Snapp while extending her hand toward Katie. Rachel felt her daughter’s soft, trembling touch as she latched on to Rachel.

  She wound her arm around Katie and lifted her up and over the lawyer while never taking her attention off the man behind the baby smuggling ring. After placing her daughter on the floor behind her, Rachel grabbed a towel and held it against the man’s leg. She wanted him to live and go to jail for all he’d done.

  “Rachel?”

  Dallas is alive! “I’m in the bathroom. I found Richard Snapp. He had Katie. He’s been shot.”

  When Dallas came into the room, Rachel glanced over her shoulder. He swung Katie up into his arms and moved closer. “The house is cleared. The last guard in the den has been neutralized. Only a pregnant teenage girl was found up here besides Snapp and Katie. One of the deputies is taking her in for questioning.”

  “How about Taylor’s team?”

  “The house behind the barn is secured.” Dallas glared at the lawyer. “A lot of women are talking about what’s been going on here at this ranch.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong,” Snapp claimed. “I’m offering a service and helping these women. I’m financially taking care of them until they give birth, then brokering private adoptions for their babies. They have all signed papers to that effect.”

  “You can’t explain away Katie being in your possession. Where are my nephew, Brady, and Chris Rand?”

  Richard Snapp thinned his lips and looked away.

  “If you don’t cooperate with us, I’m sure someone in your organization will, and there’s a paper trail we can follow, too. Where you go and how long you spend in prison is at stake right now.”

  Rachel stood and took Katie from Dallas. The feel of her daughter in her arms once again overwhelmed her. Before she cried in front of Snapp, she said, “I’ll let Sheriff Baker know we need a paramedic up here. I’ll also send a deputy. I need to get Katie away right now.”

  “Agreed. You should take her back to your family ranch. I’ll take care of the cleanup here.”

  “Thanks, Dallas.”

  The adrenaline from the raid had begun to fade. Rachel moved to the exit with Katie resting her head against Rachel’s shoulder. Thank You, Lord. Those words don’t even adequately describe how I feel. Please forgive me for turning my back on You.

  * * *

  Later that night, Dallas climbed the stairs at the Safe Haven Ranch’s main house. Exhausted, but at peace, he walked down the hallway and rapped against Michelle’s bedroom door. He’d seen the light on and knew she was still up, even though it was after midnight.

  Michelle opened the door and threw her arms around his neck. “Rachel told me that Brady was found with a couple, and you were taking him home to Aunt Lenora’s. Is he okay?”

  Tears welled up into Michelle’s eyes. “And Katie is okay. Thanks for finding them, Daddy.” She pressed her cheek against his chest. “I can’t wait to see Brady tomorrow.”

  “Lenora hoped you would come over to her place as soon as possible in the morning. I’ll take you.” Dallas cleared his throat. He could have died tonight without telling Michelle how he felt. “Princess, we need to talk. These past few days have been so hectic, but I want you to know how much I love you. None of what happened is your fault, especially your mom leaving us. You’re precious to me, and I’m honored to be your dad. Don’t ever forget that.”

  Her eyes shiny, Michelle stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Dad.”

  He cupped her face. “It’s your mother’s loss for not being in your life. And I want you to always feel you can come to me about anything. We’re a team, you and me.”

  “Thanks.” Michelle smiled. “Now I can go to sleep. If you want to know where Rachel is, she’s in Katie’s room.”

  As Dallas covered the distance to where Rachel was, his heart beat faster with each step he took. All he’d wanted to do was see her and make sure she was all right. The door was ajar, and he eased it open farther. Sitting in a rocking lounge chair, Rachel held her sleeping daughter against her.

  Rachel’s eyes locked with his, and he felt as though he were an eagle flying high up in the sky with a bright future spread out before him. He smiled as he closed the space between them. He’d kept her informed about what happened after she left to bring Katie home. All the people involved were arrested. Richard Snapp and any other injured people were taken to a hospital in San Antonio. In the weeks to come, he and Taylor would spend a lot of time shutting down all aspects of the baby smuggling ring across the state of Texas, but for the time being he intended to set his life right and get some well-deserved sleep.

  He helped Rachel to her feet, and then she took Katie to her baby bed and laid her down. He came up beside her. “Michelle said she was okay.”

  “I think she will be. I’ll do everything I can to wipe this incident from her mind.” She turned toward him, the soft glow from the night-light nearby emphasizing why he was drawn to Rachel; she was beautiful on the outside and the inside.

  He cradled her face between his palms. “It seems that I never thought I would fall in love again, but I am. I know that we haven’t known each other long, but what I’ve seen in these past days makes it clear the type of person you are. Caring, loving and dedicated to her family and the people of the county she serves. That is so appealing to me.
”

  “That’s how I feel, too. Our partnership went beyond solving the case. When you face what we did together, you see a person in some of the worst situations. Your integrity and compassion are what I want. I never had that with Justin. I love you, Dallas, and hope we can see where this goes.”

  Before she said anything else, Dallas kissed her, pouring all his emotions into it. When they parted, he said, “I’m warning you, Rachel Young, that I intend to marry you when you’re ready.”

  Rachel smiled and wrapped her arms around him, then tugged his head toward her. “I can’t wait.”

  EPILOGUE

  Four months later

  Rachel, in a short white dress, stood next to her husband of less than an hour at their wedding reception at Cimarron Trail Christian Church. The past four months since the downfall of the baby kidnapping ring had been a whirlwind. At the beginning of November, the last person involved in the ring, the one who’d killed the male kidnapper and Lynn Davis, had been captured trying to cross the border at El Paso. Marilyn’s brother had been connected with a Mexican cartel where some of the babies were sent.

  Dallas slipped his arm around her and held her close.

  Then he nodded his head in the direction of Marvin. “I can’t believe you invited him to our wedding after all he tried to do to you.”

  “I’m turning the other cheek. I have a lot to be thankful for, and the least I could do is forgive him.”

  He chuckled. “That’s one of many reasons why I married you. I have no doubt you’ll win that guy over eventually.”

  Rachel’s mother approached them with a wiggling Katie. “I can’t contain her any longer.” She passed her into Rachel’s arms.

  Since the kidnapping, her daughter had been extra clingy, but it was getting better each day and she loved having Dallas and Michelle around.

  Katie hugged her, then leaned toward Dallas. “Dada.”

  Dallas’s eyes widened as he scooped her up into his embrace. When he turned to Rachel, he had a big grin on his face.

  “What can I say? I have a smart daughter.”

  “And I’m one lucky man.” He leaned over and kissed Rachel.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Amish Country Ambush by Dana R. Lynn

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  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for picking up the fourth book in my Texas Rangers miniseries. It’s been my joy to feature these amazing lawmen working on different types of cases, to watch them at work.

  The worst nightmare for a parent is a child’s kidnapping. In this book, I wanted to show the heartache and devastation when a child is abducted from various viewpoints—from the family directly affected, from friends and family members, and from the people who work to bring the child home safely.

  Being a law enforcement officer isn’t an easy job, but it’s especially difficult when a case involves babies and children. I want to thank all police everywhere who work tirelessly to bring to justice those people who think they can take advantage of the helpless.

  I love hearing from readers. You can contact me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. You can also learn more about my books at www.margaretdaley.com. Sign up for my newsletter and get all the details about my current and upcoming projects every month.

  Margaret Daley

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  Amish Country Ambush

  by Dana R. Lynn

  ONE

  The lights flickered as thunder boomed, rattling the windows. Immediately, heavy sheets of rain pelted the glass. Distracted, Elise St. Clair glanced at the lights running the length of the ceiling as she pressed the button to answer the next call.

  Her customary greeting of “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” was swallowed up in the intensity of the noise that blasted back at her.

  The woman on the other end of the phone was shouting, the sound deafeningly loud. And worse, she couldn’t understand a word the woman was saying. She was yelling in Pennsylvania Dutch, the language spoken by the Amish community. Elise didn’t quite recognize the voice, although there was something familiar about it. She glanced down at the screen nearest her and felt her world tilt.

  She might not have recognized the voice on the other end of the phone, but she knew the address that flashed across one of the three computer monitors at her station.

  It belonged to an old, slightly creaky farmhouse on the edge of town. The paint was peeling in places, and there were some shingles missing. It was hidden in the middle of nowhere. The kind of place people would drive by without a second glance.

  It was also her house. The house she had lived in for the past two years with Mikey, her nephew who was now three years old. And the phone number belonged to her babysitter, Diana Mosher, who was definitely not the person on the phone. Where was Diana? Who was calling her?

  Something horrible had happened, and she couldn’t understand a word of it. The urge to throw down her headset and dash out the door was fierce. Her hands were already on the headset, ready to snatch it from her head before she realized that she was the only one who could notify the authorities of the need for help. But who should she call? Police? Ambulance? Fire department? As head dispatcher, it was her job to send the call to the correct department.

  The shouting on the other end eased off as the woman on the line started sobbing. She sounded younger than Elise had first thought. Wait a minute. Her cleaning girl, Leah, was due in today. Elise had hired her because she herself was allergic to dust, and there was dust everywhere in a farmhouse in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. Leah was Amish. She spoke English and was able to communicate with Elise perfectly well—but if she was upset, and she definitely sounded upset, she might default to Pennsylvania Dutch.

  “Leah?” A sob answered her. “Leah...it’s Elise. What happened?”

  “I think she’s dead,” Leah answered through her tears.

  Diana? Fear and grief started to collide. Not again. Please, God. Not again.

  Forcing a calm she didn’t feel, Elise said, “Leah, what happened to Diana? Do you see Mikey? Is my nephew there?” She clamped her lips against the flood of hysteria threatening to break free.

  On the other end, Leah sucked in a harsh breath. In the distance, Elise could make out a crash on the other end of the line. Not thunder—something else. Something more frightening. Then another crash. Something was happening.

  “Leah? What’s going on?”

  Then a whisper. “I think someone’s in the house.”

  The line went dead.

  Elis
e froze for a second, gagging on the fear that closed her throat. She’d been too complacent. Tricked into a sense of false security. And now the danger she should have been expecting all along had found her again. Yes, it was possible that a complete stranger was breaking into her house, but she doubted it. Every instinct she possessed was shrieking that the attack was deliberate, and she was the intended target.

  The memories she’d been running from swamped her. Her sister, Karalynne, murdered. Elise believed with all her heart that her overly possessive brother-in-law Hudson had killed Karalynne. But he’d disappeared. And she’d taken Mikey and moved away from the memories.

  Could Hudson be responsible for this new attack?

  She shook her head. The police had told her Hudson had died, a horrible violent death. She’d seen the report. Part of her had sighed in relief, choosing to believe she and her nephew were safe.

  But now unease returned. As much as she wanted to believe Hudson was dead, there was one fact that had always bothered her. His body had never been found. The police had insisted that the car fire that had killed him had incinerated his remains. What if...

  Enough! She had to get to Mikey. Because someone was after them. Although if it wasn’t Hudson Langor, she didn’t know who would have any reason to attack her home.

  She should have warned Diana about Hudson. And about the brutal violence he was capable of. But without proof, who’d believe her?

  If only she’d stayed home one more day! She’d had a nasty stomach bug that had kept her at home for the past two days, but today she’d felt well enough to come into work. Had she been home...

  Elise couldn’t worry about that. Not now. She had to get to Mikey. He was all that mattered.

  Her coworker Monica Johnson sauntered into the room, a bored expression on her pretty face. She could do the job.

  Elise whipped off her headset and jumped up so fast her wheeled chair was propelled back, slamming into the wall behind her. Monica stared at her, openmouthed. Elise never got emotional at work. When handling frantic emergency calls, she felt that calmness on her end was key. But this wasn’t a normal situation where she had to soothe a stranger into sharing the necessary details. This time, she was the one under attack, and she couldn’t hide how frightened she was.