by Donna Grant
“They make a lot of money, though,” Jace said. “Won’t they live in affluent areas?”
“I don’t think so. Wealth draws attention,” Marlee told him.
Danny nodded in agreement. “She’s right. We’ll take a look at all the houses, but I don’t think it’ll be in the wealthier neighborhoods.”
Caleb dropped his arms. “Guys, I’m not trying to argue here, but if these people are how Marlee says, how will we know if we’ve found them?”
It was a valid question, one Marlee had been asking herself. “I don’t have an answer. I’d hoped after ten years I could give you one, but I can’t. Just make a note of everything about each of the residences.”
“And take pictures,” Cooper said. “Lots of pictures of everything.”
Marlee smiled at him. “The more information we have, the more we should be able to use to at least start marking people off the list.”
Clayton divided everyone up into teams as Danny walked away to take a call. But he returned quickly.
“That was Ryan. He’s on his way. I’ll ride with him,” Danny told them.
Clayton handed Danny the tablet after everyone knew their areas and said, “Let’s get going. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
As Marlee and Cooper walked to his truck, she saw Caleb climb in with Jace, and Brice return to the Suburban with Clayton. In minutes, they were headed out, going in different directions. All Marlee could think was that she really hoped something came of this. She’d never had such an amazing team helping her.
It had to be time for the bad guys to lose for once.
Chapter 27
“I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this,” Danny stated.
Ryan Wells glanced at his friend and nodded as he drove to their section of the county to search. “Same for me. Ever since we discovered who Marlee is and why she’s in town, I’ve known this wouldn’t be good. What really burns my ass is that these people have been here, and we didn’t know.”
“Because they’ve been smart. They didn’t commit any crimes that brought attention to them. So, what do you think the odds are that we’ll catch them?”
“Before your wedding to Skylar?” Ryan asked as he glanced at Danny and shrugged. “Slim. I think it’ll take our combined offices months to get any information and evidence to go after them.”
Danny blew out a long breath. “I don’t think we have that kind of time.”
“They’ve been here this long, why would they leave if they didn’t think we were on to them?”
“Marlee.”
That one word was all Ryan needed to understand that Danny believed the criminals knew of Marlee’s arrival. In which case, they would either be looking to move on or retaliate. “The criminals have been here for some time. A year minimum. If I were them, I’d pack up and leave. All their hiding will have been for nothing if they go after Marlee now.”
“If the agency in Dallas sent her here, then they want her to find something,” Danny replied.
Ryan turned down a road and drove slowly through the residential area. “Since we know that Nate wasn’t the newborn she was searching for, I have to agree. It appears as if someone sent her here. Too many variables had to line up just right for her to be here. That usually means that someone set it up.”
“If only we knew more about this ring of baby snatchers. We might be able to piece together who the adoption agency sought to get rid of by sending Marlee after them. And if Marlee, who has been doing this for ten years, doesn’t know, then I don’t guess we will either.”
Ryan pulled up next to a stop sign and waited for the car across the street to turn before he continued on. “We have very little to go on. That’s nothing new for either of us, but we also aren’t even sure what to look for. A needle in a pile of needles is what we have. Hence why I said we wouldn’t have this done before your wedding.”
Ryan spotted Danny’s smile at the mention of the upcoming ceremony. Danny had been single not that long ago, but all that changed one December night when Skylar found her way back to her hometown and into Danny’s arms.
“I still can’t believe Skylar is mine,” Danny said.
Ryan shrugged. “Yeah, none of us can either.”
Danny laughed and shook his head. “Keep cracking jokes. I bet it won’t be long before you have yourself a woman.”
It was all Ryan could do to keep his grin in place. “Bite your tongue. I’ve got enough on my plate. I don’t need anyone in my life trying to change me or fix me or whatever it is that women want to do when they’re dating a man.”
“Not all women are like that.”
Ryan issued a loud snort. “It could be throwing out your favorite shirt that they hate. It could be rearranging the pantry to suit how they like it. It could be forgetting to buy your favorite bacon or buying you a different cologne than you asked for. They always try to change a man.”
“Maybe they’re just trying to make things better.”
“You’re cute,” Ryan said sarcastically. “But you’re so in love with Skylar, you probably wouldn’t care if she threw out all of your clothes and bought you new ones.”
“I sure wouldn’t. I’ve got other things to worry about. Like catching baby snatchers and murderers.”
Ryan parked on the street and pointed to the house up ahead and to the right. “There’s our first house.”
“Looks normal.”
They sat in silence as Danny took pictures of the building, the vehicles, and anything that might be important later. After about five minutes, the front door opened, and two boys ran outside with a soccer ball. They looked to be about seven and nine. A woman came to the door and shouted at them to be careful. She was smiling and wiping her hands on a kitchen towel before she closed the door and went back inside.
“What are the odds that a criminal who takes babies has kids of their own?” Danny asked.
Ryan watched the boys for a few minutes. “We both know of cases where serial killers had a family and children and otherwise lived normal lives except for their penchant for killing.”
Danny lowered the camera and met Ryan’s gaze. “Yeah.”
Once Danny returned to snapping pictures of the kids, Ryan opened his computer and keyed in the address. “This house was bought seven months ago by Luis and Mandy Aguillar. They have two sons, Adam and Aaron. Luis is a welder by trade, and Mandy works as a cashier at the supermarket.”
“Anything come up about either of them?” Danny asked, continuing to take pictures.
“Both clean as a whistle.”
Danny sat back and looked at the paper with their next address. “You drive. I’ll enter this one.”
“It’s going to be a long day,” Ryan said as he pulled out and drove away.
* * *
“It’s going to be a long day,” Caleb said.
Jace glanced at their list of addresses. They had been to a handful already with nothing that seemed out of the ordinary to him, but Marlee might see something different. Besides the pictures Caleb was taking, Jace made notes about each place they visited, just in case. It would be a lot easier if they could use either Ryan’s or Danny’s computer to key in each address and pull up information on the people, seeing if they had records or not, but they didn’t have that luxury. That would have to happen once they all met back up later.
“What do you think of Marlee?” Caleb asked.
Jace grinned. He’d been waiting on Caleb to ask about Cooper’s new lover. “I think she’s pretty and smart, but more importantly, Cooper likes her.”
“That much is obvious,” Caleb said with a grin as he turned his head to Jace. “Does he have it bad?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve never seen Cooper act like this with a woman. Ever. I think he’s falling for her.” And that didn’t bring Jace happiness as it should have.
Caleb’s brows drew together. “Those words are meant to be joyous, but your expression says otherwise.”
“She isn’t from here
. Her parents are in California. I can’t see her staying.”
“And you think Cooper will leave?”
Jace set down the pencil and closed the notebook since there was nothing else to write about this location. “He’s not said anything, but you’ve not seen how they look at each other. It’s the way you and Audrey look at each other. Or Clayton and Abby. Or—”
“I got it,” Caleb said with a chuckle. But the smile died. “Even when the four of us joined the military in different branches, we always knew we’d return here. We have roots.”
“Would you have stayed if Audrey’s home was elsewhere?”
Caleb sighed and looked forward. “I honestly don’t know. My family is here, but I’d have wanted to be with Audrey. A lot of people move away from family and only see them a few times a year. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I know. I just always thought we’d all stay here, and our children would be friends,” Jace replied.
“No matter what, we’ll remain friends, and our children will be friends. I promise you that.”
Jace let the subject drop as he drove to the next house. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Cooper to be happy. What he didn’t want was for his best friend to get hurt. And anyone who dared to give their heart away put themselves in that kind of predicament. Jace knew that all too well.
But he didn’t need to ask Cooper how he felt about Marlee because Jace knew Cooper that well. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if Cooper realized that he was already in love with Marlee. As for Marlee? Jace was positive that she was falling for Cooper, if she hadn’t already. They were good for each other. Really good.
That was enough for Jace. He wasn’t even jealous of the fact that their friendship had changed because Cooper found his woman. But if he were honest, everything had changed the day Brice fell for Naomi. They were no longer the Four Horsemen. It was a nickname that others used for them because the four of them were always together.
He would really miss things as they were, but he knew that the only thing guaranteed was change. He was used to that. Maybe, one day, he would even accept it.
“You’re quiet. You good?” Caleb asked.
Jace slowed as he reached their next house. “Just focused on finding these assholes.”
“Man, you’re really into this.”
Jace glanced at Caleb. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he said with a shrug. “I’m just pointing out how into finding these people you are.”
“I’m always here for friends, and this is about helping old friends. As well as a new one.”
“It’s more than that.”
Jace opened the notebook and began writing things down about the tan house with the black trim and shutters. He didn’t like when his friends turned their attention on him. They saw things he’d rather them not see.
Caleb stared at him for a long time before saying, “I think it’s that you like bringing down bad guys. I’m surprised you never wanted to be a cop.”
“I like helping my friends, as I said. If that means I get to bring my military training along sometimes, that’s even better,” Jace said without looking at Caleb.
“How’s work?”
Jace blew out a harsh breath and set his pen down to look at Caleb. “It’s fine.”
“You like teaching others to ride horses and wrestle steers?”
“It pays the bills.”
“But is it what you really want to do?”
Jace made the anger that rose up inside him dissipate. It wasn’t Caleb’s fault that Jace wasn’t happy. “It’s a job. One I’m good at. Is it what I always saw myself doing? I don’t know.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to stop worrying about me. And I want to find these assholes. I see someone. Get the camera.”
Caleb chuckled, even as he lifted his phone and began taking pictures.
Chapter 28
Cooper studied the house and the woman who lived there. The section that he and Marlee had taken wasn’t far from where they had all met up. If he were a criminal and looking to keep a low profile in a place where people wouldn’t be watching his every move, it would be on the county’s outskirts, as far from town as possible.
He took pictures as Marlee used her computer to do a quick background search on the woman living there. Cooper watched as the screen flashed, and the woman’s driver’s license popped up, along with her spotless record.
“Not even a speeding ticket,” Marlee said.
Cooper grinned. “We should be happy that these people are clean. Gives me some faith in the human race that not everyone has priors.”
“You’re right,” she said with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean to make it sound as if I was disappointed with”—she paused to look at the name on the license—“Ms. Black. But with every person we look into and don’t find anything—”
“You feel like capturing the bad guys gets further and further from your grasp,” he finished for her. “In a lot of ways, I do, as well. But that just means we have to dig deeper. We still have several names and locations to check. And don’t forget, there are three other groups out there looking.”
She turned her face back to the house in the distance. Living out here also meant that they couldn’t get as close to the residences as the others likely could. “But I agree with you. I have a feeling that whoever these people are, they’re out here.”
“Then we keep looking. However long it takes.”
Her curls bounced as she turned her head back to him. “You seem rather suited to this kind of work.”
“Probably because of my CCT training.”
Her gaze narrowed as she cocked her head to the side. “Ah. A Combat Controller. I remember reading that about you. I had to go look it up. So, tell me if I have this right. You went into the Air Force, and they trained you as a CCT member, but because of that training, you were paired with other military branches?”
“That’s right.”
“Explain that to me, because it doesn’t make any sense.”
He grinned and took more pictures, glancing her way a few times. “Well, most of the difficult missions, the classified ones the public never knows about, are carried out by Combat Controllers. We’re trained to operate in remote, hostile areas, paired with other special forces teams. We have a wide range of skills that include parachuting, snowmobiling, scuba, and several other things. We’re also FAA-certified air traffic controllers, so we can establish air control and provide combat support all over the globe.”
“Damn,” she said, staring at him.
He lowered his phone. “I think one of my favorite parts was the SERE training.”
“What is that?”
“It’s three weeks where we’re taught survival, resistance, evasion, and escape maneuvers. However, there’s also the Special Tactics training. It’s the longest segment, where we’re taught advanced weapons and demolition techniques, as well as how to operate all-terrain vehicles.”
Her grin widened. “Sounds like you really enjoyed it.”
“I did.”
“Then why come home?”
He thought about that for a moment and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “For a long time, I was content with things. But as my tour was ending and my CO—my commanding officer—kept asking me to extend my time, I couldn’t stop thinking about home. Jace, Caleb, Brice, and I all kept in touch as much as we could. Brice’s tour ended first. He was already back here when I got word about Jace.”
“You mean when he was captured and held as a prisoner of war?”
Cooper nodded slowly. “Jace doesn’t talk about it. He acts like everything is fine, and some days I believe him. But other times, it’s obvious he still carries that around.”
“How long did they have him?”
“Two years. I extended my tour because of that. That’s how I met Cash, my PI friend. He was also with CCT as part of another special forces team called in to free Jace and two more
of our men, also POWs.”
Marlee’s face crumpled. “I didn’t read that part in your military file.”
“Because it was left out. The mission was classified.”
“Ah. All the black ink I found on those papers. That was one of those missions.”
Cooper ran a hand down his face. “I’ve known Jace for so long. No matter what, he’ll always be able to come out ahead in any situation. He has the greatest attitude of anyone I know. Always positive, always lifting us up and telling us we can do whatever we want. I knew when we found him that he wasn’t going to look the same. After all, it wasn’t the first time I’d helped free our men from the enemy. But it was Jace. And the shell that I found that day was far from who he once was.”
“He was a prisoner. I wasn’t in the military, but I can guess what they did.”
“They nearly broke him. One of the men captured with him is in a psychiatric ward now because they fucked with his head so much. The second was killed within the first week of their capture. The doctors who examined Jace said they couldn’t believe that he’d held on for as long as he did. He has the scars to prove what happened to him.”
Marlee reached over and touched Cooper’s arm. “But it’s the scars Jace hides that worry you the most.”
“Yeah. As soon as Jace was located, I resigned my commission and accompanied him home. When we landed, his parents and my mom were there. But it took months before Jace could come home. He had so many injuries that it took time for the doctors to work on all of them. Some of his bones had to be rebroken so they could heal properly.”
“I’m guessing the doctors used the time to evaluate him mentally?”
Cooper set aside his phone. “They did. Thankfully, Jace didn’t pull away from the therapists. He found one he liked and had a couple of sessions a week with them. That went a long way to healing Jace. About a year after he came back, Caleb returned home. We had a big celebration, and the four of us began hanging out like we used to when we were in school. That’s when Jace met a girl.”