WHEN A MOTHER’S LOVE MEETS A FATHER’S INSTINCT…

Ex-marine Adam Dalton once dreamed of a life with Hadley O’Sullivan, but war and a near-fatal injury cost him dearly. Now he returns to Dallas to discover the unthinkable—Hadley is the prime suspect in the disappearance of her twin baby girls…the daughters he never knew he had.

Beyond Hadley’s terror of having her children kidnapped is the shock of seeing Adam. Yes, she had kept him from his daughters, but now, when he insists they work together as a united front, she knows she is still in love with him. Despite their past, finding their children is their only hope to finally becoming a family—if time doesn’t run out first.

“Lila and Lacy are your daughters. I conceived before you shipped out.”

Adam heard the words, but it took all his powers of concentration to make them sink in. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. They couldn’t be anyone else’s. I hadn’t slept with anyone but you for over eighteen months before I conceived. I haven’t been with another man since you.”

“But the marriage…?”

“Was a sham.” She made a statement of his question. “It was never consummated.”

All the months he’d lain in that hospital, agonizing over her making love to another man, all the long nights when he’d survived on bitterness that she could forget him so easily.

Had she been clinging to the love they’d shared, resenting him, feeling betrayed as he had? But he could have never married someone else.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was going to be a father? Why didn’t you give me a chance to do right by you?”

Trumped Up Charges

Joanna Wayne

www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author

JOANNA WAYNE was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from LSU Shreveport. She moved to New Orleans in 1984, and it was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. Her debut novel, Deep in the Bayou, was published in 1994.

Now, dozens of published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and single-title novels. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestseller list for romance and has won many industry awards. She is also a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.

Joanna currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star State. You may write Joanna at P.O. Box 852, Montgomery, Texas 77356.

Cast of Characters

Hadley O’Sullivan—When her twin daughters go missing, her secrets might be her worst enemy.

Adam Dalton—Hadley’s former fiancé, who shows up at her door when her girls go missing.

Lacy and Lila O’Sullivan—Hadley’s precocious twins.

RJ Dalton—Adam’s father and the owner of Dry Gulch Ranch.

Matilda Bastion—Hadley’s mother’s longtime housekeeper.

Quinton Larson—Matilda’s brother.

Alana and Sam Bastion—Matilda’s sixteen-year-old daughter and eighteen-year-old son.

Kala—An accomplice in the kidnapping.

Janice O’Sullivan—Hadley’s mother.

Detective Shelton Lane—The head detective on the kidnapping case.

Fred Casey—Professional hostage negotiator.

Durk and Meghan Lambert—RJ’s neighbors.

To my good friends Jean and John, who shared a wonderful week at the beach with my patient husband and me and put up with my preoccupation with writing this book.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Case of Characters

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Prologue

R. J. Dalton’s days were numbered.

The prognosis pricked at him like a bull nettle. Nobody like a neurosurgeon to hand it to you straight. Not that he blamed the doc. Can’t make a silk purse of a sow’s belly.

R.J. eased up on the accelerator of his new Dodge Ram pickup and made the turn onto the familiar back road that led to Dry Gulch Ranch.

He didn’t have any real gripes. He’d had seventy-eight years on this earth. For the most part, he’d lived them on his terms. He’d never backed down from a fight or walked away from a good time.

He wasn’t always proud of what he’d done, but he’d never killed a man or got a woman pregnant he hadn’t married—or at least offered to wed. The last wildcat he’d tangled with had told him what he could do with his proposal. Pretty as a new foal, but the woman had been all horns and rattles.

Not that Kiki or any of his exes would be coming around to plant daises when he was belly-up under a plot of red Texas clay. Nobody even might show up for the funeral ’cept a few of his neighbors. Most of them would be there only to shoot the bull with the other pseudo mourners or to get the inside scoop on how to pick up the Dry Gulch for half its worth.

A man should have his funeral while he was still alive. That way he’d find out who his friends were. He’d also find out if any of his kids deserved a claim to the ranch that had been in his family for two generations.

“You should get your affairs in order as soon as possible.”

That had been the doc’s only solid advice. R.J.’s affairs had never been in order. He had no idea where to start now. He’d already offered to sell his land to the one family he fully trusted not to turn it into yet another golf course community or some noisy, high-traffic amusement park.

Hugh Lambert’s beautiful widow, Carolina, had refused the offer. Told him he should leave the ranch to his kids. Hell, he didn’t even know his kids and they’d given him no reason to believe they were interested in getting to know him. Probably more his fault than theirs, but it was what it was.

R.J. nudged his summer Stetson back an inch or two and stared at the passing scenery. Miles of barbed wire. Clusters of pecan trees. Grazing cattle. A tractor in the field, kicking up dust. All of it as familiar as his own face in his shaving mirror, yet somehow it looked different today.

The heat was the same, though. It rose in shimmering waves from the ribbon of asphalt that stretched in front of him. R.J. lowered the window and let his left elbow rest on the hot metal while the steamy Texas humidity slapped him in the face.

His thoughts slid back to the good old days when he’d been young and full of piss and vinegar. Back when his most pressing worries had centered on coming up with the entry fee for the next rodeo or checking out a firm-breasted buckle bunny.

If he’d thought about death at all then, he would have figured he’d get shot while slipping an ace from his sleeve or caught bonking another man’s wife.

He’d never expected it to end with an inoperable tumor growing in his brain. Too bad he couldn’t just saddle his horse now and ride off into the sunset like Randolph Scott used to do in the closing scenes of his movies.

Most folks around today didn’t even know who Randolph Scott was. Worse, his own flesh and blood didn’t even know who he was. Six kids. None of them would shed a tear when he died.

Leaving them a ranch and a few million dollars wouldn’t change that—unless...

An idea popped into his head. It was unconventional. A tad devious. Pulling it off would require a good deal of underhanded scheming.

He liked it. He liked it a lot.

Chapter One

One month later

Adam Dalton pulled up behind a line of cars, pickup trucks and the Harley that blocked the driveway in front of the rambling ranch house. Judging from the number of vehicles, he’d guess all four of his half brothers and one half sister had also shown up for the reading of the will.

He’d never met any of his half siblings. The only reason he knew most of them existed was because their names and relationship were all listed in the letter he’d gotten inviting him to the ranch for this dubious occasion.

The legacy of Reuben Jackson Dalton.

R.J., the father he hadn’t seen in twenty-seven years. All he knew of his biological father had come from his mother, Jerri, wife number three. If she’d ever said anything good about R.J., Adam didn’t recall it.

But she must have loved him once—before she’d put him completely out of her life. She’d even lied about his being alive for years—which was strange in its own right, since she was normally a stickler for the truth.

She’d divorced R.J. when Adam was four years old. He didn’t remember a lot about that, but he did remember crying when they’d driven away from the ranch.

His mother had married again when Adam was eleven and Doug Abbott had become Adam’s father in every way that mattered until he’d been killed in an early-morning pileup in a dense fog when Adam was eighteen. In his heart and mind, his father had died that day.

Still, Adam had always wondered about R.J. But from the time he was old enough to remember asking about him, his mother had told him R.J. had died soon after their divorce. He could tell she didn’t like talking about him, so he’d eventually quit bringing up the subject.

Adam was twenty-one and leaving for his first tour of duty as a U.S. Marine before she admitted that R.J. was alive. Even then it was clear she hoped Adam wouldn’t get in touch with him. She cautioned him that R. J. Dalton was nothing but trouble and had never cared anything about him or anyone else.

Nonetheless, Adam had thought about visiting R.J. then. He’d even gone so far as to get into his truck and start toward the ranch. He’d changed his mind before he’d reached the turnoff at Oak Grove. If R.J. had wanted him in his life, he’d have come looking for him. Adam would have been easy to find.

That’s why the letter requesting his presence for the reading of the will had come as such a shock. He hadn’t even heard that R.J. had died.

Oddly, Adam felt a twinge of loss as he opened the door to his truck and planted his feet on the hard earth. He wasn’t sure if it was for R.J. or just for what might have been had R.J. ever been a real father to him.

But being overlooked by R.J. was only a precursor to the rejection that had come later. Hadley O’Sullivan had seen to that.

While he’d been fighting for his life from injuries sustained in an ambush on a craggy mountainside in Afghanistan, she’d found a replacement lover. She’d married him and given birth to twins before Adam was even out of rehab. Apparently Hadley, like R.J., figured Adam was easy to forget.

All in the past, he reminded himself as he climbed the wide wooden steps to the house. The clamor of voices coming from behind the closed doors promised that this was not a friendly meeting. Dread punched him in the gut. He didn’t need this.

His phone rang as he turned the doorknob. He checked the caller ID. It was his mother, no doubt wanting to know how the gathering of the clan was going. He ignored the call and turned his phone to vibrate.

Right now he just wanted to get the will reading over and done with. He’d expected nothing from R.J. while the man was alive. He didn’t expect any more now, so how bad could the meeting be?

As soon as he took a seat, Attorney Conroe Phipps called the meeting to order and had the siblings introduce themselves. And then the fun started.

Phipps used his laser to point out each preposterous detail as he went over the requirements to receive a share of R.J.’s estate. The jolts came hard and fast, similar to an emotional earthquake with countless aftershocks.

Adam scanned the room, briefly studying each of his half siblings. They were clearly as stunned as he was.

Jade, the only female of the group, was kicking her crossed leg with a ferocity that made him think she was about to propel into orbit. Even Cannon, the rodeo cowboy of the group and the one person Adam thought might have been more receptive to the terms of the will, wore an expression that looked as if he’d been kicked by a bull.

No one was smiling. Adam himself swallowed a few curses along the way. He figured there would be time to vent his protests and frustrations once the long-winded attorney finished his spiel.

“To sum it up,” Phipps said as he put down his laser, “in order to collect your share of the estate, you have to not only live on the ranch but take an active role in its operations for one full year.”

Questions and arguments started flying with everybody talking at once. Phipps’s only response to the chaos was a look of snide satisfaction, as if the uproar was exactly what he’d expected and possibly hoped for.

“I have a successful career. Do you honestly expect me to give that up to play cowboy?”

“How can we possibly all live here at once? It’s a big house, but not that big.”

“How much money are we talking about? Is there any oil involved?”

“If there’s nothing but the ranch, why can’t we just sell it and split the money? This much land so close to Dallas should be worth a small fortune.”

“My mother was right. R. J. Dalton was nuts. I say we get our own attorney and prove he was mentally incompetent. There’s no way I’m living out here in the middle of nowhere.”

That last complaint had come from Jade who had stopped kicking and was now standing with her hands firmly planted on her hips.

Phipps clapped his hands loudly to get everyone’s attention. “I know you have lots of questions, so I’m going to turn this meeting over to the man whom the money currently belongs to and whose last will and testament seem to be causing you so much distress.”

He grinned and nodded toward a door that was opening behind him. “Come in, R.J., and meet your loving and appreciative family.”

Mouths flew open, including Adam’s, as an older, gray-haired man with ruddy, weathered skin and an eagle tattoo on his wrinkled right arm sauntered into the room.

Apparently R. J. Dalton was still very much alive. If there was any grief in the room after this, Adam figured R.J. would be the one dishing it out.

* * *

R.J. TOOK HIS PLACE at the front of the room and eyeballed each of his offspring in turn. He recognized all of them from current pictures he’d had his neighbor and former private investigator Meghan Lambert locate for him.

A few of his adult children showed a slight resemblance to him. Most didn’t. But the most surprising thing was that they’d all shown up today and none had bolted and run yet even though they had no idea how much he was really worth.

“Guess you’re surprised to see me here,” he said, purposely exaggerating his Texas drawl. “Didn’t see why I should send a corpse in my place and miss all the fun. But don’t worry. According to my friendly neurosurgeon, I’ll be lucky if I see the new year ring in.”

To his children’s credit, no one cheered at that pronouncement. But that could be because they were still in shock that he wasn’t already dead as they’d been led to believe.

“I know it’s only eleven in the morning, but this is Texas. There’s beer, coffee and some of the best dad-gum barbecue this side of the Mississippi River in the kitchen.”

“The kitchen we’re all supposed to share for a year,” someone grumbled.

“There’s nothing in the will about sharing living quarters. There’s a bunkhouse, a horse barn and a drafty old foreman’s cabin on the property. I have to warn you, though, the cabin’s starting to lean and the bunkhouse needs a new roof.”

“And I suppose the horse barn is full of dead horses?” Jade quipped.

“Wrong. I got ten of the best damn thoroughbreds in the county and eight other good riding horses. I’m sure your mothers have told you that I’ve got a head as hard as a frozen wheel hub. That’s all true. However I’m open to questions or just to chat. But I can assure you that the rules aren’t going to change. So basically all you have to do is make up your mind. Do you want to be cut in or cut out?”

“To start, I think you should at least give us a ballpark figure as to the stakes we’re talking about,” Adam said.

“I reckon that’s fair. We’re talking about four hundred acres of prime ranchland that includes the house, outbuildings, about two hundred head of cattle and the horses I’ve already mentioned.”

“What about cash and investments?” one of the guys asked.

“I’m worth about eight million dollars—give or take a few thousand.”

Someone gave a low whistle. R.J. didn’t see who, but he could tell from the way they all sat up a little straighter in their chairs that he had their attention.

R.J. saw no reason to mention that most of the money had come from the one gamble in his life that had actually paid off for him—a one-dollar lottery ticket purchased from the truck stop in Oak Grove.

He winked and managed a smile. “I’m glad you all came and hopefully we might even discover we like or can at least tolerate each other. Now who wants a beer?”

* * *

THE OTHERS FOLLOWED R.J. to the kitchen. Adam stepped outside to clear his head.

So this is what it felt like to be bought. Was that what R.J. had done to his mother, insisted she dance to his tune or leave the party? Adam wondered how much it had been worth to the man to get rid of her and Adam.

He expected it was a sizable amount, enough to ease R.J.’s guilt if he’d had any. Even before Adam’s mother had remarried, they’d lived in a nice house in an exclusive neighborhood and as far as he knew, there had never been any money worries. His mother still lived in that house.

His phone vibrated. This time he took the call. “Hello, Mom. What’s the matter? Can’t wait to hear about R.J.’s latest tricks?”

“Did you hear the AMBER Alert the Houston police issued a couple of hours ago?” Her voice was shaking so hard he could barely understand her.

“I haven’t.”

“Twin girls were kidnapped from their grandmother’s home in a Dallas subdivision during the night.”

“Is this someone you know?”

“The grandmother is Janice O’Sullivan, Adam. It was Hadley’s children who were kidnapped.”

His heart bucked and knocked against his chest wall. He fumbled for words while he tried to get his mind around the news. “How did that happen?”

“I have no idea. The only details released were a description of the girls and the area where they were kidnapped.”

“Then how do you know the missing girls are Hadley’s daughters?”

“My friend Crystal just called. Her daughter’s husband is on the Dallas police force and was one of the first responders to the 911 call. He talked to Hadley. She’s frantic.”

“I’m sure.”

“I know you two had a bitter breakup, son, but her daughters are missing. I think you should go over there and see if you can help.”

“She has the Dallas police and maybe even the FBI. I’m sure they don’t need me.”

“But you’re a decorated marine.”

“We didn’t handle child abductions in Afghanistan, Mom. Besides there’s no reason to think Hadley or her husband would appreciate my interference.”

“There was no husband around when Crystal’s son-in-law talked to her. She was by herself.”

“Where was her mother?”

“Janice is in the hospital. She’s having surgery this morning. That’s why Hadley and the girls are in town. And now her girls have been kidnapped. Hadley can’t face this all alone.”

“She has a husband.”

“But he’s not with her now and who knows how long it will take him to get to Dallas. I don’t even know where they live. But you’re here, Adam. At least talk to her. You’ve always helped anyone in trouble.”

But this wasn’t anyone. This was the woman whose image he’d held on to through hell and back only to learn she’d married someone else and borne his children.

The woman he’d spent the past few years trying to erase from his heart and mind.

But Hadley was alone and no doubt terrified, her children in the hands of an abductor. His heart pounded as adrenaline exploded inside him.

She might kick him out when he got there, but not going to her wasn’t even an option. Eight million or eighty million dollars on the line, it made no difference.

He was out of here.

Chapter Two

“When did you first realize your daughters were missing?”

“When I woke up and went into their room.” Hadley stared at Detective Shelton Lane, trying her best to concentrate and cooperate. But his questions were redundant and tearing at her slivered control.

“I’ve explained this at least three times this morning to three different police officers. Don’t you talk to each other?”

“I’m sorry to put you through this, but I was just assigned to the case, Ms. O’Sullivan. I like to get my answers firsthand.”

“So you just sit here and ask me the same questions over and over instead of looking for my girls?”

“We’ve issued an AMBER Alert. Every officer on the street has your daughters’ picture. I have officers going house to house in this neighborhood talking to everyone who might have seen something.”

“I just want my girls back.” Tears welled in her eyes. She dabbed at them with the shredded tissue clutched in her hand.

Detective Lane granted her a few seconds to gain control before he hit her with the next question. “Were you home all evening?”

“The girls went with me when I drove Mother to the hospital. We stayed until she was settled in her room. It was just after five when we got home. We didn’t leave again after that.”

“And no one else was here with you?”

“No one. I made the girls dinner and then we went outside so they could get a little exercise before baths and bedtime.”

Hadley stood and walked to the window, looking out over the front walk where Lacy and Lila had ridden their trikes last night. They’d been so cute. So happy. So innocent.

Had someone been watching even then and planning the abduction? The front door had been unlocked while they were outside, but she’d been right there. She’d surely have seen if anyone had entered the house.

She turned away from the window. “This is supposed to be a safe neighborhood. There are guards at the gate. I don’t see how this could have happened.”

“I’m having trouble figuring that out myself.” The detective shifted in his seat. “You say you didn’t hear anything during the night.”

“Nothing. And it’s not as if I slept that well. I was worried.”

“About the girls?”

“About my mother. I told you, she’s in surgery right now, having a malignant stomach tumor removed. I was supposed to be with her. Now...” Now she was in a nightmare.

“Did you check on them during the night?”

“Once.”

“What time was that?”

“It was a few minutes after one. Eleven after, to be exact. I remember looking at the clock when I woke up. They were both sleeping soundly. I picked up the almost full glass of water Lila had asked for when I was reading them a bedtime story last night and carried the glass to the kitchen.”

“What did you do with the glass?”

“It’s probably still on the counter. What difference does it make?”

“I’m just trying to get a complete picture in my mind. So you put Lila’s glass on the table, went back to bed and then you didn’t go back to their bedroom until this morning?”

“Right.”

“Did you go to check on them as soon as you woke?”

“I went to the bathroom first, but then I went to get them up.”

“When you didn’t find them there, what did you do?”

“I called for them and searched the house.” Hadley dropped to a chair and tried to get a handle on the sickening fear that was churning inside her.

“How long did you look for them before you called 911?”

“I’m not sure. I think it was only fifteen minutes or so. By that time I was shaking so hard that I couldn’t punch in the numbers. Matilda took the phone and did it for me.”

“I thought you said you were alone.”

“I was. Matilda arrived while I was searching for the girls. She helped and even searched the garage and the yard.”

“And Matilda is your mother’s housekeeper?”

So he had talked to the other officers. “Yes. Matilda Bastion. She’s worked for Mother for years. She’s practically part of the family.”

“Where is Matilda now?”

“At the hospital. When I couldn’t leave, she went to be with Mother.”

Thoughts of her mother attacked anew Hadley’s fragile hold on control. Janice was still in surgery, but unless they found the girls quickly, she’d have to be told about the abduction. As if cancer wasn’t enough to deal with.

“Who was going to watch your daughters while you were at the hospital this morning?”

“Matilda. They were excited about staying with her. She’s so good with them.”

“Does Matilda have a key to the house?”

Hadley nodded, but even in her fractured emotional state she could see where this was going. “Matilda had nothing to do with the abduction.”

“I’m just making sure we have the facts straight.”

Hadley checked her watch for the hundredth time that morning. It was five before twelve. Lunchtime for the girls. Were they hungry? Were they crying for her? Were they safe?

A new wave of anxiety coursed through her veins. “What kind of monster would take two little girls from their beds in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t know, but I can assure you that we’re doing everything in our power to find out.”

The doorbell rang. The jarring noise splintered Hadley’s rattled nerves. She hesitated for a heartbeat and then jumped up and ran to the door, praying it was a police officer bringing Lacy and Lila home.

She swung open the door and stared into the face of the last person she’d expected to see. Her muscles clenched. Resentment and old hurts attacked with dizzying force. Her hand clutched the door, ready to slam it in his face.

“Hadley.”

The sound of her name on his lips reached deep inside her, striking chords she didn’t want to acknowledge.

He opened his arms and her traitorous, angst-stricken body fell into the only port in this terrifying storm.

* * *

HADLEY’S HOT TEARS fell on Adam’s neck and rolled beneath the collar of his shirt. His reaction hit hard and fast, his senses reeling from the fragrance of her hair, the softness of her skin.

Damn. How could he think of that now? He was here to help. Start getting caught up in the good, the bad and the ugly of the past and that would be impossible.

A man about his age in navy blue slacks and a white sports shirt stepped into view behind Hadley. The girls’ father, no doubt, the man who’d swept Hadley off her feet and helped her move on in record time.

The one whose neck should be catching her tears.

Adam disentangled himself from Hadley quickly and extended a hand to the man.

“Adam Dalton. Hadley and I go way back. I heard about the abduction and came to see if I could do anything to help.”

“This is Detective Shelton Lane,” Hadley said.

So he wasn’t the husband. Still his handshake was far from friendly and his gaze and stance were clearly meant to be intimidating. Adam wasn’t fazed. It was hard to bully a former marine.

“How did you hear about the abduction?” Lane asked.

“It made the news.”

“No names were given in the AMBER release.”

“Police leak,” Adam quipped honestly. “You know how fast those travel.”

The detective scowled.

“I’m not here to interfere in the search,” Adam assured him. “I’m just here to offer my support. Do you have a problem with that?”

“I don’t, but it’s not my house.”

Adam turned back to Hadley. “I’d like to help if I can, but say the word and I’m out of here.”

“You’re here. You may as well stay. Maybe you can come up with something we haven’t.”

He doubted it. He knew about raiding terrorist hideouts and sneaking past enemy lines on craggy mountainsides. He knew nothing of tracking down a kidnapper of innocent children.

But then he did have a reputation for being a whiz at eking out danger.

Hadley led them to a small sitting room off the foyer.

“I’ll make some coffee,” she said.

The detective brushed her offer aside. “Can that wait? I only have a few more questions.”

“What good does it do to keep going over and over the same information? There’s nothing more I can tell you. If I had any idea who took Lacy and Lila, I’d have screamed his name the second you walked in or gone after the monster myself.”

Lane spread his hands in front of him, palms up. “I understand your frustration, Ms. O’Sullivan. But try to bear with me a few more minutes.”

The detective had referred to her by her maiden name. Odd, since she was married. But then the detective’s focus was surely on more important matters than getting her name straight.

“Any problem with my listening in?” Adam asked.

“That’s up to Ms. O’Sullivan.”

“Stay,” Hadley said. “Then you won’t have to ask the same questions when the detective leaves.” She dropped into an upholstered chair by the window and took a tissue from the box on the table.

The detective took a chair near Hadley’s. That left the sofa for Adam. Before they could get started, the detective’s phone rang.

“I need to take this in private,” he said, “but I’ll only be a minute.” He hurried out of the room.

“I hate to ask, but can you bring me up to speed?” Adam asked. “Just the basics for now.”

“All I know are the basics.” The terror was not only etched in her eyes but echoed in every syllable.

“The twins and I stayed here alone last night because Mother had to check in the hospital yesterday afternoon. She’s in surgery now, having a malignant tumor removed from her stomach. When I woke up this morning, the girls weren’t in their bedrooms. We searched the house frantically, calling for them, but they weren’t here.”

“You said we,” Adam noted. “Who was with you?”

“Matilda Bastion, Mother’s housekeeper. She got here just after I realized the girls weren’t in their room. Someone broke into the house and carried them off, Adam. I should have heard them. I should have saved....” She choked on the self-incrimination, swallowing the end of her lament.

“Except, technically there’s no sign of a break-in,” Lane said as he reentered the room.

“What exactly does that mean?” Adam questioned.

“According to Ms. O’Sullivan, the doors and windows were still locked this morning. The alarm system wasn’t set, and it didn’t go off during the night.”

“I don’t remember setting it last night,” Hadley said. “I had so much on my mind.”

“But the abductor would have expected it to go off, unless he had the code to disarm it before it did.”

“Or the technical ability to disarm it from the outside,” Adam said.

“That’s possible,” Lane admitted. “But the evidence still suggests that whoever took Lacy and Lila either had a key or was let in and out by someone on the inside.”

“No one let him in,” Hadley said. “I was the only one here.”

“Which leaves us with an abductor with a key to the house.”

That added a multitude of new layers of complexity to the situation, Adam decided. On the positive side, it narrowed the field of suspects. They just had to figure out who had a key to the house and the means, opportunity, motive and perhaps a rap sheet.

Other than the arrest records, the information would have to come from Janice O’Sullivan. He was certain Hadley would hate dragging her mother into this so soon after surgery, but she’d have no other options—unless they found the girls first.

Adam listened as the detective went back to his questions for Hadley. Most dealt with her search for the girls and anything unusual she or Matilda had noticed. A few dealt with Hadley’s personal relationships and whether anyone had stalked or threatened her.

There was no mention of Hadley’s husband. His whereabouts and their relationship had likely been covered before Adam arrived on the scene.

This time it was a call on Hadley’s cell phone that interrupted the conversation. She yanked it from her pocket and checked the caller ID. Disappointment furrowed deep grooves into her forehead. Clearly this was not the kidnapper.

“It’s Matilda, calling from the hospital,” she said.

“Answer it,” the detective said, “but don’t stay on the line long. We don’t want to miss a call from the kidnapper.”

Hadley talked for only a few seconds, but Adam could tell from her side of the conversation that the call wasn’t good news. He didn’t get a chance to ask before she lit into the detective.

“Matilda was in tears,” Hadley said. “A cop just left there and he treated her as if she was involved in the girls’ disappearance.”

“I’m sure he didn’t accuse her of any criminal involvement.”

“Perhaps not directly, but he definitely insinuated it.”

“Everyone who has a key to this house is a person of interest, Ms. O’Sullivan. Everyone.”

“That’s ridiculous. Matilda has babysat the girls since they were only a few months old. She’d never hurt them. She loves them.”

“I hope you’re right, but I can’t afford that kind of trust in this case and frankly, neither can you.”

Adam agreed, though he didn’t comment.

“That’s enough questions for now,” Lane said. “I need to check on a few things with headquarters. Why don’t you and Adam go have that coffee?”

“What if my phone rings and I don’t know the caller?”

“Don’t answer it without finding me first so I can listen in. I’ll be in my car.”

She nodded her agreement.

Lane stood and left the room, leaving Adam and Hadley alone. Awkward tension swelled, almost as tangible a presence as the detective had been.

Adam struggled to think of the right thing to say and do. He’d take action over dealing with emotions any day.

Finally, Hadley broke the stalemate. She squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I didn’t expect to ever see you again.”

“I kind of figured the same.”

“So why did you come?”

Good question, and he wasn’t even sure he knew the real answer. “I knew you’d be devastated and desperate,” he said, settling on an obvious truth. “I’d really like to help if I can, but if my being here makes it worse, I’ll leave.”

Hadley stared at the floor for long seconds, her arms hugged tightly about her chest, before she finally looked up and met his gaze. “I’m not sure what I want, Adam. I’m not sure of anything right now.”

“It’s still your call.”

“Let’s discuss it over coffee.”

It wasn’t the warmest welcome he’d ever received, but he could work with it. There was no time to waste. Every second the girls were missing made it less likely they’d be found alive. Hadley wasn’t stupid. Deep down, she had to know that as well.

The clock was ticking. The cops had their way of doing things. Adam had his, honed through his years of active duty when he’d learned not to trust anyone except his fellow marines and to always have a plan of action.

And right now, he had no plan.

* * *

HADLEY WATCHED AS ADAM picked up a framed photo in the room the girls had shared last night.

“This has to be the twins,” he commented.

A knot formed in her throat as she nodded.

“Which is which?”

“The one on the right holding her doll by the hair is Lila.”

“I don’t see how you tell them apart.”

“Some people can’t, but it’s easy for me. There are lots of subtle differences. Lila’s hair is curlier and her cheeks are fuller. And she carries that wiry-headed doll everywhere she goes. Lacy has a scar just below her right ear where she fell on a rock while chasing a squirrel when she was first learning to walk. She’s the daring one. And her eyes are the most remarkable shade of blue-green I’ve ever seen.”

“Like yours. Both girls definitely take after you.”

“That’s what everyone says.”

And yet she saw their father whenever she looked at them. In any other situation she would have never let Adam back into her life. But the thought of being in this house alone when the detective left was unbearable.

Even with Adam beside her, just being in this room was difficult. Her insides were in such upheaval, she could barely function. Adam, on the other hand, seemed totally focused. As soon as she’d started the coffee, he’d asked to see this room.

He’d examined the window from top to bottom first and then stared at each bed as if he thought it would cough up images of what had occurred here last night.

He returned the picture to the shelf and stooped to get a closer look at a stain on the carpet.

“Was this here before?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Why?”

“I noticed a similar one on the hall carpet. Seems kind of odd since the rest of the carpet is spotless.”

“Mother is fastidious. She usually has the carpet cleaned professionally as soon as we leave. Not that she doesn’t love having us here, dirt and all.”

Adam continued to study the stain. “This doesn’t look like dirt.”

“What do you think it is?”

“Could be oil that someone smeared in an attempt for a fast cleanup.”

“That looks too dark to be oil and I know no one’s been cooking in here.”

“Haven’t been working on cars, either, I’d guess, though this looks like the kind of stain you’d find on a garage floor.”

“Do you think the stain was left by the abductor?”

“Could be.”

“Hard to believe he was brazen enough to stick around long enough to clean up a stain from his shoes.”

“Only if he thought it would incriminate him,” Adam agreed.

“More likely the cops or CSI guys checking for fingerprints tracked it in,” Hadley said.

“Hopefully they found lots of usable prints,” Adam said, changing the subject. “If they did, they could have the kidnapper in custody and the girls safely in hand before the sun goes down.”

Hadley didn’t know if Adam actually believed that or was only trying to calm her. She believed it. She had to. It was all she had to hold on to.

“I’m sure the coffee is ready,” she said.

“Go ahead and get yours. I’ll join you in a few minutes. I’d like to look around outside first.”

Hadley led the way. As it turned out there was not one, but two more stains similar to the one in the bedroom. They didn’t look like fresh stains to Hadley, but as Adam pointed out, that could be the result of someone trying to hastily remove them and failing at the task. She’d talk to Detective Lane and ask if he’d tested the stains.

The kitchen door opened onto a covered deck. When they reached it, Hadley turned the dead bolt and then the key.

Adam took a second look at the dead bolt. “Is there any way the girls could have unlocked the door themselves and wandered outside?”

“No, though they’re smart and adventurous enough to try it, especially Lacy. When they’re here we keep the doors locked and the keys out of reach. We keep this key in the salt keeper.” Hadley pointed to the antique container resting on an open display shelf near the door.

“Good plan. And the key was still there this morning when the girls went missing?”

“All the keys were out of reach and all the doors were still locked, as were all the windows. That’s why I was so certain they must be hiding in the house.”

“How many doors are there?”

“Three. One opens to the garage through the laundry room. The abductor definitely didn’t come in that way. I know I would have woken had the garage door opened.”

“Did the house show signs of being burglarized?”

“No. Nothing was out of place, not even in the room where the Lacy and Lila were sleeping. But I should have heard something.”

“Unless he drugged them while they were sleeping so that they wouldn’t wake up?” Adam said.

Her precious daughters drugged and stolen away from her. She shuddered as icy fingers tightened around her heart.

Adam put a hand on her shoulder.

His touch was no doubt meant to calm her, but it had the opposite effect. She blinked hard, trying to stop the tears that burned in the corners of her eyes from escaping and starting an avalanche she wouldn’t be able to stop.

She lingered near the back door as Adam stepped onto the spacious, covered deck. For the first time since he’d arrived, she took a good look at him.

He’d changed in three years. He was leaner than before with an edge of hardness to the angles and planes of his face that made him look every one of his thirty-one years. That took nothing away from his rugged good looks.

But he was far more than outward appearance. He was his own man, a hero who’d won medals for his courage under fire. He never walked away from danger or risk.

But he was only a man. She turned and walked away, before she started expecting too much.

She filled a mug with strong, black coffee and rummaged the drawer next to the sink for a pad and pencil. Dropping them onto the island, she slid onto a kitchen barstool.

After a few sips of coffee, she jotted down a title for her list.

People Who Had Keys to the House.

Hadley couldn’t make a definitive list before her mother recovered from the anesthetics and could think clearly, but she could have some prospects ready that might jar her mother’s memory.

The first name she wrote was Matilda Bastion. She had a key, but she would never do anything to hurt Lila or Lacy.

Neighbors made the number-two spot. Hadley couldn’t possibly list all of them by name, but her very social mother knew everyone on the block and might have given any one of them a key to check on the house when she was away.

The third spot fell to Ally Fritz. Ally was a decorator who’d overseen the kitchen remodeling last year and kept a close eye on the construction workers. There was a good chance she’d been given a key. She was trustworthy, but the key might have been left lying around her shop.

And who knew how many unnamed others Hadley might have never met? Her mother had frequent guests and often hired caterers for her social functions.

Someone with a key who knew Hadley and the girls were spending the night last night. Someone who was in desperate need of money.

She had to believe the abduction was about collecting a ransom. Any other motive was too frightening to bear.

But why didn’t the kidnapper call?

A coughing noise startled her. She looked up, expecting Adam but seeing the detective instead.

“The wiretap is in place,” Lane said, “just as we talked about. If the kidnapper calls, I’ll get it simultaneously. Agree to anything, but demand to talk to both Lacy and Lila. Stay as calm as you can and keep him on the phone as long as you can. Once he breaks the connection, I’ll get in touch with you immediately.”

“Are both my cell phone and the house phone tapped?”

“Yes, but I took the liberty of having the house calls forwarded to your cell phone so that you won’t miss a call when you’re at the hospital.”

“Thanks. I was going to ask you about that.”

“I assume you’ll be leaving for the hospital soon.”

“Within the next fifteen minutes. I hate to leave here, yet I need to be there when Mother comes out of recovery. I can’t take a chance on someone else telling her about the kidnapping.”

“You do realize that I’ll have to question her as soon as the doctor agrees to it.”

“Can’t you just give me the questions you have and let me ask her? Talking to the police is only going to upset her more.”

“I’m sorry. Investigations don’t work that way.”

“They work however you say they work.”

“Is there a problem in here?” This time the voice was Adam’s.

“I don’t have one,” Lane said, his stare leveled at Hadley.

“I’ll do my best not to upset your mother, Ms. O’Sullivan, but right now she’s our best hope for identifying the kidnapper quickly.”

“I understand.”

Only she didn’t. She didn’t understand any of this. She should be at the hospital with her mother. Lacy and Lila should be here with Matilda, playing with their toys or watching one of their favorite animated movies.

This nightmare should not be happening.

Lane let himself out and Adam helped himself to coffee. “Did Lane say something to upset you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Your eyes were shooting daggers at him when I interrupted your conversation.”

“I don’t like his attitude at times. I want to believe he’s doing everything he can to find Lacy and Lila, but he talks of rules and procedures. My girls’ lives are at stake and he can’t give an inch.”

Adam walked over and sidled onto the stool next to hers. “I’m sure he’s aware of what you’re going through. I’ll wager the whole department is using every weapon in their arsenal to find Lacy and Lila. Missing kids are always top priority for the police.”

“So you think I’m being unreasonable?”

“Actually, I think you’re doing an amazing job of handling this.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I’m crazy inside. I want to scream and kick and beat my fists against the wall.”

“Go ahead if it helps. You can even use me for a punching bag.”

“Careful what you offer.”

“I always am.”

And she’d never been careful enough. She downed the last few sips of her coffee and then slid the mug away. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I’m going to the hospital.”

“Do you want company?”

She wanted to shout no. She didn’t want to need him. The refusal wouldn’t come.

“It’s up to you,” she said.

“Then I’d like to tag along, but I have one question first.”

“I’m sick of being interrogated. All I’ve done all morning is answer the same questions over and over as if they expect my answers to change.”

“I need to ask anyway.”

“Then get it over with.”

“Where is the twins’ father?”

Chapter Three

The silence lasted so long that Adam thought Hadley might not answer at all. He saw no reason why she’d object. Under the circumstances, it was a legitimate concern and required only a simple, direct response.

Adam rephrased the question. “Is your husband on his way to Dallas?”

“No.” Hadley picked up her mug, took it to the sink and held it under the spray. “He won’t be coming,” she said, without looking at Adam.

The answer stunned him. “Why not?”

“Does it matter?” She picked up a sponge and began to buff the impeccably clean and shining granite countertop. She worked strenuously, her fear and frustration fueling the task.

He’d pushed too far. She was vulnerable, too emotionally fragile to be pushed on a subject she clearly didn’t want to talk about.

He carried his cup to the sink. “Enough said. I was out of line in putting you on the spot.”

“You didn’t, but why go into something that’s not relevant when the situation is already overwhelming?”

“None of my business anyway. Let’s get out of here.”

“I’ll get my handbag.”

Adam couldn’t imagine any valid excuse for Hadley’s husband not getting here as fast as he could. Even if he and Hadley were having marital problems, no halfway decent father would ignore the plight of his missing daughters—unless...

Unless the guy was involved in the crime.

The detective had stressed that everyone was a suspect. Was there a chance he’d had the twins’ father in mind when he’d made that point? Could this abduction be connected to a bitter divorce and custody battle?

If it was, a lot of unexplained issues suddenly made sense. The man could easily have a key to his mother-in-law’s house. And the girls could have just gone back to sleep without a fuss if they woke up and found themselves in their daddy’s arms.

But there were two significant problems with that scenario. Hadley’s panic and terror were too real for her not to believe the girls were in real and imminent danger. If she feared her husband were behind that, she surely would have told the cops to go after him.

It was difficult to imagine that a man could ever hurt his own children, but it happened. All fathers were not created equal. No one knew that better than Adam. R.J. hadn’t been physically abusive. He simply hadn’t been around. The scars he’d inflicted were invisible.

Apparently R.J. wanted to play catch-up now. The old reprobate was probably worried about facing his maker and trying to atone for a few of his sins. He couldn’t even do that without manipulating the situation and attempting to screw up his children’s lives.

Hadley returned and Adam pulled his keys from his pocket. The saga of R.J. and his latest scheme would be continued later—when Lacy and Lila were safe.

* * *

MATILDA SAT IN the back of the small hospital chapel, her hands folded in her lap. She didn’t pray like her friends at the neighborhood church did. Some might not call what she did praying at all.

Mostly she just liked to sit in the quiet and envision God’s arms wrapped around her to comfort and guide her. Today her thoughts were so troubled that nothing could calm her spirit. It might go down as the worst day of her life and that was saying a lot.

She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on Janice O’Sullivan. Janice believed they were friends. Matilda never saw it that way. The gulf between employer and employee was too wide, especially from her side.

It wasn’t simply that Janice was the boss. It was more about the money and the lifestyle. Janice had all she could ever want. Matilda struggled every week to make ends meet.

Not that Janice didn’t pay her a fair salary. It was well above minimum wage and she provided generous Christmas bonuses, as well. She’d even bought Matilda a new washer and dryer last year when hers went out.

Janice’s husband had died of a heart attack five years ago and left her an extremely profitable investment portfolio, a paid-for house worth over a million dollars in a posh Dallas neighborhood and a sizable life insurance payout.

Matilda’s husband, Brent, had been shot and killed when he’d inadvertently walked into an armed robbery in process. He’d stopped at the convenience store after he’d left the night shift at a local plant. He had no insurance and no savings. At the time, Matilda had no employable skills and two young children under the age of eight.

Janice’s only daughter was a jewel, thoughtful of her and a model mother to those precious girls. Matilda’s daughter was only sixteen, but she was also pure joy. She was an honor student and on the school cheerleading squad.

Her eighteen-year-old son, Sam, was the rebel. He’d never gotten into any real trouble the way her brother, Quinton, had at that age, but he was resentful and eternally pushing Matilda’s rules. He was attending summer school now just so he could replace the fake graduation certificate they’d awarded him for a real one.

So, even though Matilda liked Janice and appreciated what she’d done for her and her family, they weren’t bosom buddies.

But they were close enough that Matilda really hoped the morning’s surgery would leave Janice cancer-free. Good news on that front would be a huge relief, but it would be overshadowed by the twins’ disappearance.

But the tragedy wouldn’t devastate Janice the way it might some. She had more spunk and grit than a prizefighter. Matilda envied her that.

She stood and slipped quietly out of the chapel. New anxiety struck the second she got off the fourth-floor elevator. Officer Grummet, the cop who’d given her the third degree earlier, stood in the hallway just past the nurses’ station.

She’d had enough of him and his accusatory tone. He hadn’t directly called her a suspect but his mannerisms and pointed questions had made it clear that he suspected she knew more than she was saying.

She’d always been a rotten liar.

Grummet started walking in her direction, but his gaze was focused on the shapely nurse who was standing at a patient’s room door a few feet in front of him.

Matilda ducked into an empty room and waited until he’d passed and had ample time to board the elevator.

She was only a few feet from Janice’s room when she heard a familiar voice. She turned to find Hadley rushing toward her, a nice-looking man keeping pace. Hadley pulled Matilda into a heart-wrenching hug that had Matilda struggling to hold back tears.

“Any news?” Matilda asked when Hadley’s arms dropped back to her side.

“None. No leads and no contact from the kidnapper.”

“That will come,” Matilda said, expressing more hope than confidence.

Hadley stepped closer to the man. Matilda figured he was a detective, since she was pretty sure that Hadley wasn’t in a relationship. Janice frequently lamented the fact that Hadley showed no interest in having a man in her life.

“Have you seen Mother?” Hadley asked. “Is she awake?”

“I can’t say. She was still in recovery when I went down to the cafeteria for coffee and a sandwich. After that I stopped in the chapel for a few minutes. I’m on my way back to her room now.”

“Did you by any chance talk to Dr. Gates after surgery?”

“No,” Matilda said. “The nurse said he’d talk to you when you got here. Are you going to tell Janice about the abduction?”

“Yes. I hate it, but she’s the only one who can give us the names of everyone who has a key to her house.”

“She’ll handle it,” Matilda assured her. “When the going gets tough, your mother is always tougher. And far better she hear it from you than from anyone else.”

“I know. But I’d hoped she wouldn’t have to hear it at all. I keep praying the police will call and tell me that they’ve arrested the kidnapper and that Lacy and Lila are safe and on their way home.”

“You keep on praying and trusting in the Lord, Hadley. Half the city of Dallas is praying right along with you. Even the ones who don’t pray are on the lookout for your two sweethearts ever since that first AMBER Alert was released. People around here come together in a crisis. That’s the Texas way.”

“I know,” Hadley said. “You’d think the cops would have a decent lead by now.”

Dread swelled inside Matilda like a pot of soaking beans. “If you don’t need me anymore, I think I’ll go home for a while.”

“Of course. You should. I’ll be okay. I have Adam.” She touched the man’s arm. “Sorry I didn’t introduce him sooner, but this is Adam Dalton, an old friend. Adam, this is Matilda Bastion.”

Matilda recognized the name immediately. She’d never met Adam, but she knew that he and Hadley had been engaged for a few months several years back. Janice had never approved of the relationship and Matilda figured she’d had something to do with their breakup.

She sized him up while they exchanged a greeting. The fact that he was standing by Hadley in a time of crisis was good enough for Matilda.

She looked up as a middle-aged nurse approached them.

“Is one of you Hadley O’Sullivan?”

“I am,” Hadley answered.

“Dr. Gates would like to speak to you. He’ll meet you in your mother’s room.”

Matilda said a quick goodbye and made her exit. If this was bad news, she didn’t want to hear it. Today was already hell enough.

* * *

HADLEY LOOKED UP as the doctor joined them in her mother’s room. She was only vaguely aware of Adam standing beside her, but glad he was there. His strength and confidence worked like an invisible conductor to fight off hysteria and keep her at least semi-grounded.

“The surgery was a success,” Dr. Gates said calmly. “The tumor was larger than the scans indicated, requiring more involved and complex incisions, but it wasn’t attached to any vital organs.”

“That is great news.” She leaned against the bed frame. “Will she need follow-up chemo or radiation treatments?”

“Your oncologist will go over that with you when he gets the full results back from tissue samples taken from surrounding areas. Your mother tolerated the surgery well, but with her blood pressure problems, I’d like to keep her in the hospital for at least three nights. I’ve already cleared that with the insurance company.”

“Now you’ll only have to convince Mother.”

“I’m hoping you can help persuade her. She’s a very lucky woman to have caught this in time.”

Lucky.

Under the circumstances, the word seemed so ludicrous as to be vile. Yesterday, the news he’d just given her would have been cause for celebration. Today it barely penetrated the layers of horror.

“Is Mother alert?” she asked.

“She’s coming out from under the influence of the anesthetics, but I want her to stay as quiet and as calm as possible for at least the next twenty-four hours. That means no visits from those precocious granddaughters she was telling me about.”

“I’m afraid there’s a problem with keeping her calm,” Hadley said. Her insides began to churn again and for a few seconds she was afraid she was going to have to make a run for the bathroom or risk throwing up on the floor.

While she struggled to settle her nerves, Adam took over for her. He explained the situation to the doctor much more succinctly than she could have managed.

Shock shattered the doctor’s professional demeanor. “Someone broke into your house while you were sleeping and abducted both of your daughters? That’s...” He paused, evidently struggling for the right word. “It’s evil, depraved beyond comprehension. What kind of maniac would do such a thing?”

“Apparently, one with a key to Janice O’Sullivan’s house,” Adam explained. “No door or window locks were tampered with.”

“That’s why I have to tell Mother the truth,” Hadley said. “I have to ask her for the names of everyone who could possibly have gotten their hands on a key.”

“You’re right,” Dr. Gates agreed. “Her input is invaluable. Even if it weren’t, she’d never forgive you for not telling her the truth immediately.”

“How long before she’ll be coherent enough for me to explain the situation and ask her about the key?”

“She’ll be able to communicate within the hour though she will still demonstrate signs of the drugs.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I need to be in the room with you when you tell her about the kidnapping.”

“Are you afraid the shock could cause Mother to suffer a heart attack?”

“I’m a grandfather,” Dr. Gates said. “I haven’t had surgery and I’m in perfect health. I’d be in danger of having a heart attack if someone kidnapped one of my grandchildren, much less two.”

“I’ll make sure you’re in the room when I tell her,” Hadley said. “But that won’t be the end of it. Detective Shelton Lane is heading up the case and he’s already bugging me about questioning Mother.”

“That’s up to you,” Gates said. “But if it were me, I’d insist that a family member be in the room during any police visits, at least for the next twenty-four hours. Your mother, while cognizant, will still be under the influence of the anesthetics.”

“But if she can help find the girls in any way, I want her to be heard.”

“That’s why I recommend having a family member with her during the meeting. There’s a difference between questioning and harassment. The detective on this case may be the exception, but unfortunately, some cops don’t differentiate between the two very well. At least that’s been my experience with other patients.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Adam said.

“Yes, but I’m not sure I can call those shots,” Hadley said.

“I can,” Dr. Gates said. “If you want, I can leave an order with the nursing staff that says positively no visitors except you or someone you accompany.”

Hadley hesitated. She didn’t want to interfere with the investigation. She wanted the girls found. And it wasn’t as if her mother was a suspect.

“I think you should do as Dr. Gates suggests,” Adam encouraged.

“Okay,” she agreed, “but add Matilda Bastion to the list of people who can visit without me present.”

“Spell that last name for me, just to make sure I get it right on the order.”

She did and they talked for a minute more before the door opened and her mother was wheeled into the room. Hadley stood aside while her mother was transferred from the gurney to her bed.

She appeared groggy, her eyes narrow slits beneath puffy lids. Her usually well-coiffed hair was damp and pressed against her head.

She saw Hadley and smiled. Then her gaze moved to Adam. The smile vanished.

“Whass see doin’ here?” Her words were slurred but clear enough that they all got the message that she wasn’t happy to see him.

Hadley breathed a sigh of relief. Neither drugs nor pain would keep Janice O’Sullivan from coming to the brawl ready to fight. She’d stave off the effects of the drugs and give them the names they needed. Detective Lane and the DPD could do the rest.

Lacy and Lila might be home in time for her to tuck them into bed tonight.

* * *

THE LATE-AFTERNOON SUN was almost blinding as Hadley and Adam made their way across the hospital parking lot. Hadley slowed her pace to reach in her handbag for her sunglasses.

She put them on and adjusted the frame on the bridge of her nose. The glare diminished. Her desperation intensified. They’d spent an hour with her mother privately before the detective had joined them for a rehash of the same information. The illuminating moment that could change everything had never come.

Now, thanks to powerful medication, her mother was resting and in the hands of the private nurse they’d hired and the competent fourth-floor nursing team.

“I had such high hopes for Mother coming up with a name that would make sense of the abduction and lead us to the girls. Now it seems that’s just another dead end.”

“Don’t count it out yet. Lane said he’d follow up on the construction workers who’d been involved in her remodeling project.”

“He didn’t sound encouraged that construction workers were the best suspects we could come up with. Especially since the remodeling project has been finished for at least six months and Lacy and Lila had never been there when they were working.”

“Every lead is important,” Adam said. “Your mother may come up with more names when the meds wear off a bit.”

“She’ll definitely try,” Hadley said.

“I’m sure,” Adam said as they reached the truck. “I thought for a minute there she was going to jump out of that hospital bed, grab an AK-47 and storm every house in Dallas until she found the girls.”

“Too bad Lane’s team isn’t doing that.”

“I’m sure they’re throwing everything they have into this, Hadley. Missing children are top priority on every police force in America.”

He opened her door for her and then rounded the truck and slid behind the wheel.

Hadley had to admit that her mother had taken the news like the fighter she was. She’d ordered the nurse to get her clothes and dared anyone to try and stop her from leaving the hospital.

A failed attempt to sit up by herself had allowed Dr. Gates and Hadley to convince her that the best way she could help was to provide them with information. She’d tried and then become furious at herself when she couldn’t give them what they needed.

To the detective’s credit, he hadn’t harassed her mother. In fact he’d been almost too accommodating and a lot of his time had been wasted on idle chatter. At least it had seemed that way to Hadley.

“Did you find the detective’s interaction with Mother odd?” she asked as Adam backed from the parking spot.

“You mean the fact that he talked more about you and your relationship to your mother and to the girls than he did about people with access to the house?”

“Exactly.”

Hadley’s cell phone rang. Her pulse pounded—until she saw the caller ID. “A friend from high school who I haven’t heard from in years. Evidently the girls’ identities have been released.”

She let the phone ring without answering. Even if the phone hadn’t needed to stay free for the kidnapper’s call, she couldn’t bear to go through the details again. Her friends would understand.

Adam shifted out of Reverse and headed toward the exit. “I’m hoping he was just trying to put your mother at ease.”

“I guess. But the girls have been missing for hours now. We have to find them before dark. They’ve never spent the night away from me.”

Hadley could feel herself sliding to the edge of hysteria. She took a deep breath, determined to stay in control. Losing it wouldn’t help find the girls.

Adam turned to look at her. “Have you eaten anything today?”

“Not that I remember, but I’m not hungry. I doubt I could even swallow.”

“You have to keep up your strength. Collapsing won’t help anybody.”

“I know. I’ll try to eat something later. But if you’re hungry we can stop somewhere.”

“I can wait. I had breakfast.”

He pulled out of the parking lot and into a stream of cars. “So is it back to the house?”

The empty, silent house void of Lila’s laughter and Lacy’s high-pitched chatter. No footsteps running down the long hallway no matter how many times she cautioned them to walk.

No one there to call “Momma.”

“I don’t think I can face going back there yet.”

“Where would you like to go?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t just sit and do nothing while waiting on the kidnapper to call with a ransom request or the police to call with good news. The waiting is driving me insane.”

“We can backtrack where the cops have been, search the nearby parks, go house to house and ask if anyone saw or heard anything last night.”

“But that would only be reaching the same people who’ve already been questioned.”

“What about going on television?” Adam suggested. “You can personally plead for the kidnapper to let them go or for someone to come forward with information.”

“I like that.” Hope spiked her pulse as the idea took hold. “Dallas has a big heart.”

“It’s the fastest way to reach hundreds of thousands of people,” Adam agreed. “You can offer an award for information leading to the safe return of the girls. That might get a response from someone from the city’s criminal element who actually knows the kidnapper.”

“Or someone involved in the kidnapping,” Hadley said. “If we act now, I may be able to get on the evening news broadcast of every local TV channel.”

“At least you should be able to make the ten o’clock news.” Adam agreed.

“I’ll call Detective Lane right now and see if he can set it up.”

She grabbed her phone. Adam reached across the space between them and laid a hand on hers. “Just a suggestion, but if I were you, I think I’d bypass Lane with this and go directly to the local TV stations.”

“Do you think the detective would have a problem with my decision?”

“I think he has his own way of handling things and might object,” Adam said.

“If he has legitimate objections to my making a public plea, I’d like to hear them. I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks where the girls’ safety is concerned. I can’t afford a dangerous mistake.”

“I can’t tell you what to do with this, Hadley. It’s your daughters.”

But not hers alone. “I’d appreciate your honest opinion,” she said. “As a friend and as a male point of view.”

Before he had time to answer, her cell phone rang again. This time it was a close friend who she hated to ignore. She took the call and accepted the empathy. Another call buzzed in.

Detective Lane. She told her friend a quick goodbye and took the detective’s call. “Have you found Lacy and Lila?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

Her spirit plunged. “What about the construction workers involved in the remodeling project? Did you check them out?”

“We’re working on it, but at this point it doesn’t appear that any of them have a criminal record.”

Desperation forced her to ignore Adam’s words of caution. She had to do something, and Lane could probably make the arrangements quicker than she could on her own.

“I want to go on television and plead for the girls’ safe return,” she said.

There was a long, silent pause before the detective responded. “We can discuss that possibility.”

“I don’t need to discuss the possibility. My mind’s made up. The only question is will you help me arrange it or should I proceed on my own?”

“I’ll set it up, Hadley, but we need to talk first. Do you mind if I call you Hadley?”

“Please do, and I’m not questioning your expertise or your methods, Detective. But unless you can assure me that you have a credible lead in finding Lacy and Lila, I insist we go forward with the TV spots immediately. There is no time to waste and no reason to talk about it.”

“I agree, but we have a new development in the case.”

She held her breath, a wave of dread rushing through her. If this was bad news... “What’s the development?”

“Someone claiming to be the kidnapper has made contact.”

Chapter Four

Hadley’s heart was pounding as Adam pulled into her mother’s driveway. At her frantic urging, Adam had broken the speed limit more than once on the way here.

Detective Lane had refused to give her any additional information on the phone except that there had been a ransom demand along with a promise by the kidnapper that Lacy and Lila were alive and well.

Alive.

The word echoed in her heart. But the detective’s word choice continued to haunt her—someone claiming to be the kidnapper.

Please, God, let this be more than a claim.

She spotted the detective on the covered porch, standing in the stalking shadows cast by a pair of aged oak trees. She jumped from the truck as it rolled to a stop and raced to hear the rest of the story.

The detective was not smiling when he greeted her. She paused a few feet away as her gaze zeroed in on a FedEx envelope the detective held in his right hand along with a small plastic bag. When she looked closer she recognized the bag’s contents.

A pink ribbon with a row of intricate hearts that she’d last seen tied around Lacy’s ponytail.

She took a deep breath. “That’s Lacy’s ribbon. Where did you get it?”

“It came in the envelope with the message.”

She gulped in air and relief. “Then the man isn’t just claiming to be the kidnapper. He has my girls.”

“You’re sure about the ribbon.”

“It looks exactly the same.”

Only Hadley was certain Lacy’s hair had not been in a ponytail when she’d gone to bed last night. The loose red curls had been spread about her pillow when Hadley tucked her in and kissed her good-night as well as when she’d checked on them just after one.

Now that she thought about it, Lacy’s hair hadn’t been in a ponytail when they’d taken her mother to the hospital. Lacy must have taken the ribbon out when she and Lila were playing dress-up with their grandmother’s old hats, shawls and shoes just after lunch yesterday.

The kidnapper must have taken it from the dresser for this very purpose. “May I see the message?”

“Yes, but I think we should go inside and sit down first,” the detective said.

“How much is the ransom demand?” she asked.

“Worry about that later,” Adam said. “First, we should hear the detective out.”

As if she had a choice. She fumbled in her purse for the house key before she remembered that Adam had locked up. He opened the door, and she led the way to the small formal living room where the detective had questioned her that morning.

Adam waited until she sat down and then dropped beside her on the sofa.

Adam Dalton, the man who had once thrilled her with his smile and made her blood run hot with his kisses. Adam, who had captured her heart so completely only to shatter it when it suited his purpose.

Letting him back into her life was likely the worst choice she could make for so many reasons. But this wasn’t about her or protecting her heart or hiding her secrets.

Nothing mattered now except Lacy and Lila and bringing them safely home again.

Detective Lane took the chair directly across from Hadley and then took his time pulling a sheet of paper from the FedEx envelope. “This is only a copy,” he said. “The actual note is considered evidence and is being checked for fingerprints and DNA residue.”

The note was written in the type of scribbled print a first grader might produce. Hadley read it quickly before taking a deep breath and reading it a second time, this time out loud.

“Your daughters are safe and being well taken care of. If you want them to stay that way, do exactly as you’re told from this point on. You have two days to get the ransom together. I want five million dollars delivered in unmarked twenty-dollar bills. Believe me, I will know if they’re marked and you’ll never see the twins again. Stay tuned for further instructions. Lacy and Lila send their love.”

“Bastard.” Adam followed that outburst with a string of muttered curses. He took the note and read it for himself before returning it to the detective. “Is that the envelope the note came in?”

“No, like the note, the original packaging has been taken as evidence. But the envelope was delivered at 5:32 this evening.”

Hadley checked her watch. Just over an hour ago. “Was it delivered to the police station?”

“No. It was delivered here and addressed to you. The officer we had watching the house signed for it.”

“I don’t recall you mentioning this morning that officers were staking out the O’Sullivan home,” Adam said.

“It’s routine in a case like this.” Lane reached across the coffee table and handed the plastic-encased ribbon to Hadley. “I need you to officially identify this without taking it out of the bag.”

“It’s Lacy’s hair ribbon,” Hadley said again. “But she wasn’t wearing it when I tucked her into bed.”

“When was the last time you saw the ribbon?”

“Yesterday afternoon, before we left for the hospital.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. I put her hair in a ponytail after lunch, but she must have taken it down when she and Lila were playing dress-up.”

“So the ribbon might have been taken at any time yesterday afternoon?”

“Or taken when the girls were kidnapped.” Adam shifted and sat straighter, meeting the detective’s questioning stare head-on.

“Possibly,” Lane agreed.

“How about just saying what you have to say, Detective, instead of playing games?” Adam said.

“The ransom note was dropped off at a downtown FedEx location at five minutes past nine last night,” Lane said. “12:00 a.m. is the last pickup from that station for next-day delivery in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.”

“That can’t be right,” Hadley said. “The girls were here and asleep at eleven after one. I checked on them myself.”

“Maybe the clock you checked has the wrong time,” Adam said.

“I don’t think so,” Hadley said. “But there’s a quick way to find out.” She bolted to the bedroom with Adam and the detective at her heels.

The clock was to the minute with her watch. “I don’t see how this could be,” she said. “If the FedEx timing is accurate, it means the ribbon had to be taken and the ransom note written before the girls were abducted.”

“Looks that way,” Lane agreed.

Hadley wrapped her fingers around the bedpost. “There must be some mistake.”

“Who mailed the note?” Adam asked.

“John Doe from a nonexistent address. The charges were paid with cash.”

“So impossible to track,” Adam said as they walked back to the small, formal living area. “That figures.”

“But we do know the man will get in touch with us again,” Hadley said. “He won’t walk away from the chance to pick up five million dollars.”

Five million dollars she didn’t have and had little chance of coming up with on her own. Her mother lived well, but Hadley was almost certain she couldn’t get her hands on that much money—not even if she sold the house. And selling the house would take far too much time.

“Is there some organization that lends money in abduction situations like this?” she asked.

“We’ll deal with the ransom later,” Lane said. “For now, let’s concentrate on what we know. Someone had access to the house both before and at the time of the abduction. Apparently they come and go at will. That significantly narrows down our suspects.”

He put up his hand and counted off on his fingers. “Your mother. You. Am I missing anyone?”

“Matilda,” Hadley said, knowing exactly whom he was referring to.

Lane crossed an ankle over the opposite knee. “Do you know that she has a younger brother with a criminal record?”

“Quinton.”

“So you do know him?”

“I know his first name and that he exists. I didn’t know he had a criminal record.”

“His last name is Larson,” Lane said. “Exactly what do you know about him?”

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