Reining in Justice
“Someone’s trying to break in.”A frantic nine-one-one call sends Sweetwater Springs Deputy Reed Caldwell racing to the home of his ex-wife. But the kidnappers didn’t come for Addison. Their target was her two-month-old adopted daughter. Except she isn’t adopted. And Reed is the father. Now he has to grapple with the shock of sudden parenthood while finding a safe haven for Addison and their baby girl. With desire reigniting–and the threats against mother and child escalating–the Texas lawman will do whatever it takes to protect the woman he loves. And the child who needs them both.
Читать Reining in Justice онлайн беплатно
Reed felt that punch again.
The one he darn sure shouldnât be feeling right about now.
Not with them so close and her mouth just a few inches from his.
A part of himâdefinitely not his brainâreminded him that a kiss wouldnât be such a bad thing right now. Their nerves were raw and frayed. Emotions, sky-high. And a kiss might be the ticket to settling them both down.
It was a bad lie, of course.
But the majority of Reedâs body just went along with it, and he lowered his head and kissed Addison.
If he thought heâd gotten an avalanche of memories before, that was nothing compared to what he got now. This wasnât one of those little pecks of reassurance. The heat went bone-deep, and it silenced any part of him that was trying to stay logical and keep away from her.
There was nothing logical about this.
DELORES FOSSEN, a USA TODAY bestselling author, has sold over fifty novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. Sheâs received the Booksellersâ Best Award and the RT Reviewersâ Choice Award, and was a finalist for a prestigious RITA>® Award. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.dfossen.net.
Contents
There was blood on the porch.
That kicked up Deputy Reed Caldwellâs pulse a significant notch. Heâd already drawn his Colt .45, but he called for backup because this wasnât looking good.
He walked to the end of the porch, his breath mixing with the early morning air and causing a filmy haze around him. Reed peered into the window of the dining room and saw that the table and chairs had been toppled over. Thereâd been some kind of struggle.
Mercy. What was going on?
No sign of any intruders or the ownerâhis ex-wife, Addison.
But Reed was pretty sure she was inside somewhere. Alive. Or at least she had been a few minutes earlier when sheâd made a frantic nine-one-one call to the Sweetwater Springs Sheriffâs Office. Reed had intercepted the call because heâd been on his way home after pulling a night shift and was driving right by her place.
âSomeoneâs trying to break in.â
That was the only thing Addison had managed to say before the line went dead. There was no bad weather to cause a dead phone line. No maintenance that heâd heard about. Just the frantic one-line message.
Reed hadnât been sure what to expect when he arrived at the small country house Addison had recently inherited, but heâd parked by her mailbox, twenty yards or so from the house so that the sound of his truck engine wouldnât alert anyone. Even with the extra precaution, Reed had figured this would turn out to be a false alarm. Or else heâd find Addison cowering inside while some would-be burglars were making their escape.
But he definitely hadnât expected blood. Or the toppled furniture.
Maneuvering around the drops of blood, he turned the doorknob. It was unlocked. And he eased open the front door. Reed wasnât a blood expert, but there were more drops in the foyer, and it looked like high-velocity spatter as if someone had been hit hard.
It didnât take him long to see that more stuff had been knocked down in the entry. A small table. The landline phone thatâd been ripped from the wall.
Most noticeable, thoughâan empty infant car seat.
Since Addison had recently adopted a baby, the seat wasnât unexpected, but it put a knot in Reedâs gut to see it tossed on its side like that.
Where was the baby?
And where the heck was Addison?
If it was her blood, then sheâd clearly been hurt. Maybe hurt badly enough that she couldnât even call out to him.
That didnât help the knot in his stomach.
His backup wouldnât be there for at least fifteen minutes, but Reed didnât want to waste any more time in case she was bleeding out. Listening, he quietly stepped inside, pivoted, checking every visible corner of the house. No one was in his line of sight, but he heard some movement in the adjacent living room. He peered around the edge of the wall, and his heart walloped against his chest.
Addison.
There was blood on her forehead and smeared in the side of her light brown hair. Her eyes were wide, and there was a large swatch of silver duct tape covering her mouth. The same tape had been used to tie her hands and feet, but despite the restraints, she was frantically trying to crawl toward him.
Still keeping watch around them, Reed hurried to her and eased back the tape from her mouth.
âTheyâre upstairs,â she whispered, the words rushing out with her breath. She tried to crawl again while fighting to get her hands and ankles free.
âWhoâs up there?â Reed asked, looking in that direction.
âI think theyâre kidnappers.â
