Chapter Fifteen
Kelly stared at Jameson’s phone, praying that she had misheard what her sister said. But Mandy’s earlier words came back to her.
What I’m about to do might make things more dangerous for you. For others, too.
Had Mandy been talking about Boyer’s child then? If so, if those kidnappers had actually gotten their hands on her and brought her to the ranch, then yes, a lot of people were suddenly in danger.
Not just Amy, either, but Gracelyn and everyone else in Gabriel’s house.
Her sister was sobbing. Kelly had no trouble hearing that. But she also knew that sobs could be faked. She hated to distrust Mandy, but there were too many unanswered questions about her sister’s relationship with one of their top suspects. Now that suspect’s child had supposedly been taken.
“Mandy, what happened?” Jameson demanded. He hurried to the window to look out. “How’d kidnappers get to the baby?”
There was another sob. “I had her in a safe place, and I managed to borrow a car and drive out there. But there was a tracking device on my shoe. The men who kidnapped me must have put it there when they knocked me out, and I must have missed it when we checked yesterday. They followed me there and took her. Please, just get her from them. They’ll hurt her to get to Kelly.”
Kelly couldn’t help but react to that. Those monsters could have a precious baby. It didn’t matter that it was someone else’s child; the emotion hit Kelly as hard as if the little girl were her own.
“What do you think I can do to get her back?” Jameson asked, the frustration and concern in his voice.
“I don’t know.” Mandy was sobbing so hard now that it was difficult to understand her. “But you have to do something. You have to get to her before they hurt her.”
Jameson kept his attention on the grounds outside the window. “I don’t see anyone other than a couple of my ranch hands. Stay on the line while I text one of the deputies. I can have everyone keep an eye out for anything suspicious. You’re sure the men will bring the baby here?”
“That’s what they said. They hit me with a stun gun, tied me up and took her, but I could still hear what they were saying. As soon as I was able to move and get out of the ropes, I started driving to the ranch. But they’re a good hour ahead of me. In fact, they could be there by now.”
Kelly tried to see all possible angles of this, but it was hard to think. Not with this new round of panic coursing through her. “Was there a nanny or someone with Amy?”
“A nanny. They used a stun gun on her, too. I didn’t bring her with me,” Mandy added. “This is going to be dangerous, and there was no need to put her in the middle of it.”
Kelly didn’t like the sound of that. “The middle of it? What are you going to do?”
“Get back the baby,” Mandy insisted. “I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
Jameson cursed again when Mandy hung up, but he didn’t try to call her back. Instead, he called Cameron and filled him in on what was happening.
“Go ahead and tell Gabriel so he can get out here. You and Edwin should stay put for now, but I might need you to get Gracelyn and the others out of here in the cruiser.”
She couldn’t hear what Cameron said in response to that because Kelly’s heartbeat was drumming in her ears. She did want her baby far from here, but that came with huge risks. Just getting in the cruiser meant they’d have to be outside. Even a few seconds in the open could give a gunman a chance to shoot them.
“I can’t be with Gracelyn in the cruiser,” Kelly said the moment Jameson finished his call with Cameron. “I can’t do anything that will make her a target.” And that’s exactly what anyone with her would be.
The muscles stirred in Jameson’s jaw. He was probably trying to think of an argument to counter that. There wasn’t one. It was true the men might try to get to Gracelyn to get Kelly to cooperate, but she believed the men wouldn’t go after the baby if Kelly was still on the ranch where they could get to her.
“It might not even come to that,” Jameson assured her. He brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Go tell Erica, Jodi and Ivy what’s going on. Jodi can get guns for all of you. I’m sure there’s a stash in the house. Then the four of you should take Gracelyn into the bathroom and wait for me there. I won’t be long. I just need to talk with some of the ranch hands.”
Part of her hated being tucked away while Jameson and the deputies were in possible harm’s way, but the bathroom would be the safest place for Gracelyn.
She turned to hurry out, but Kelly gave Jameson one last look. There was already a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she hoped this wasn’t the last time they would see each other. Pushing that thought aside, she went to the bedrooms and alerted the others.
Jodi was already up and on the phone. “Gabriel’s on the way,” she relayed, tucking a gun into the back waist of her jeans. “Any sign of the kidnappers?”
Kelly had to shake her head, and she took another gun that Jodi grabbed for her from the nightstand. Jodi got Ivy while Kelly went to the bedroom to get Erica and the baby moving. Like Jodi, Erica was awake as well and had already scooped up Gracelyn in her arms. The nanny reached to turn on the light, but Kelly stopped her.
“It’s just a precaution,” Kelly told Erica when she saw that the woman was shaking, and Kelly prayed that was true.
Erica got in the bathtub with Gracelyn, but Kelly went to the only window in the room. Like the ones in Jameson’s room, this one faced the old house. It was dark, though, with only a watery moon, and it was hard to see much of anything. Though she did spot a rifle-toting ranch hand just below them.
There were footsteps in the hall, and Jodi automatically pivoted in that direction. But it was only Ivy and Jameson. Ivy went to the tub after Jameson motioned for her to do that, and he went to the window with Jodi and her.
“The hands are in place,” Jameson explained. “There are six guarding the house and the rest are walking the perimeter, and they’ve had eyes on the cruiser the entire time we’ve been here. No one could have tampered with it.”
Good. Because if they had to use it to escape, Kelly didn’t want there to be a tracking device on it.
Jameson moved both Jodi and her to the side of the window just as his phone buzzed. It wasn’t Mandy, though. This time there was a name on the screen.
Boyer.
“Is it true?” Boyer asked the moment Jameson answered. Unlike his call to Cameron, he put this one on speaker and continued to keep watch. “Do the men who are after Kelly really have my daughter?”
Boyer certainly sounded like a frantic father in fear for his child. But like Mandy’s sobs, those emotions could be faked.
“I can’t say for sure,” Jameson answered, “but we’re looking out for them. How did you find out?”
“The kidnappers called me.”
Kelly had been certain Mandy had gotten in touch with him. And again, she might have. She reminded herself that this could all be a ruse. At the moment, Kelly couldn’t trust either of them.
“What did the kidnappers say?” Jameson asked.
“That they were at your ranch, in the house where your parents were murdered. Are they?”
Because she was close enough to Jameson, she could feel the muscles in his arm tense. “I don’t see them. That doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
Sweet heaven. He was right. There were thick woods behind the house, and the kidnappers could have gotten in that way.
“I’m on my way there now,” Boyer added. “If you see my daughter, get her away from those SOBs.”
Jameson didn’t argue with the man. Probably because he knew there was nothing he could say to stop him. If Boyer was truly a father terrified for his child’s life, then he would come no matter what. If he was the person behind the attacks, then he could already be on the grounds. Added to that, Jameson’s phone dinged, indicating he had another call coming in.
“I’ve got to go,” Jameson told Boyer, and Kelly saw Unknown Caller on the screen. Probably Mandy. Jameson must have thought so, too, because he quickly answered it.
But it wasn’t Mandy.
“I’m gonna make this real short and sweet,” the man said. “I got a kid here at your folks’ place. A cute little girl.”
No. It was the kidnapper. Kelly automatically looked at the old house again, but she still didn’t see anyone.
“How do we know for sure that you actually have her?” Jameson asked. “I’ll want some kind of proof, something more than just the sounds of her crying.”
There was a pause, some chatter, and several moments later, Jameson’s phone dinged. “Just sent you a picture. Told you she was cute.”
Kelly looked at the screen when the picture loaded. It did indeed seem to be the same little girl in the photo Gabriel had sent them. “Is that your parents’ house in the background?” she whispered to Jameson.
He nodded. “That’s the family room,” he mouthed.
She hadn’t exactly doubted the men when they’d told them their location, but it seemed to be true. The kidnappers were just up the path from them.
“What do you want?” Jameson snarled to them.
“Well, I want your lady friend, Kelly. You see, that’s the only way you’re gonna get back this cute little girl.”
Even with the dim light, Kelly saw Jameson’s eyes narrow and his jaw go stiff. “You’re not getting Kelly.”
“I figured you’d say that, and that’s why I want her to make the decision. Put her on the phone.”
Jameson shook his head, obviously not wanting her to say anything, but the kidnappers would have known she would be with him. “I’m here,” she said.
“Good. Now we can have a real heart-to-heart.” The kidnapper’s tone had a sickening sweetness to it. “Are you the kind of woman who can live with herself if you caused an innocent little girl to be hurt or worse? I doubt you are. And that’s why you’ll do the right thing.”
“And what is the right thing?” No sweetness to Jameson’s voice. It had that lethal lawman’s edge now.
“Start walking to the house, and it’s okay if Kelly brings you with her. But only you. One cowboy is more than enough for this little adventure. Talk it out with each other and make your decision. But make it quick. I’ll call back in five minutes, and I’ll expect an answer. Oh, and I’m expecting that answer to be yes, or you’ll hear a lot more of this.”
The sound shot through Kelly as if a bullet had slammed into her.
Because the sound she heard was a baby’s cry.
* * *
JAMESON HAD HOPED that all of this was a hoax. But he was pretty sure those cries were real. Of course, the kidnappers could be using a recording of Boyer’s baby—or any baby for that matter—but he had to assume they did indeed have the child.
And the child was now in grave danger.
“Five minutes,” the kidnapper repeated, and he ended the call.
He looked at Kelly, and Jameson knew what she was going to say even before she said it. “I have to go out there,” she insisted.
She probably knew what he was going to say, too. “They’ll kill you.”
There were no doubts in his mind that’s exactly what would happen. Well, it would after they tortured her to tell them the location of that file. After they had that, they would have no more need for her.
The thought of that twisted away at him. Hell. He had to figure out a way to stop this from happening. He considered calling Gabriel, but that would only waste those precious seconds that were already ticking away. He could fill in his brother after he set some things in motion. Instead, Jameson called Cameron.
“Have four of the hands go to the old house,” Jameson explained. “The kidnappers say they’re holding Boyer’s baby there. A baby they want to exchange for Kelly.”
Cameron cursed. “I’ll have the hands start moving now.”
“I want them to keep out of sight if possible.” Jameson doubted it was. Those goons probably had the whole ranch under surveillance. “And tell them to be careful. I don’t want any of them shot.”
Cameron assured him he would, and Jameson hung up so that the deputy could get started on that.
“Will the hands make it there before our time is up?” Kelly asked.
“No.” He hated the look that came on her face. Because it was a look of surrender. “But I want them in place to back us up if all else fails.”
He hoped like the devil that it didn’t come to that, though.
“You’re not going out there,” Ivy said. Jameson hadn’t even known she’d heard the conversation, but she obviously had.
“We won’t go out there on the kidnappers’ terms,” Jameson assured her. “When they call back, I’ll negotiate it so that I go instead of Kelly. I’ll tell them that she told me the location of the file.” He glanced at her. “Do you know where it is?”
She must have remembered something because she nodded. “A safe-deposit box in San Antonio. We could just tell them that, and it might put an end to things.”
It wouldn’t. “Whoever hired those men won’t want you alive. Because you know what’s in the files.”
“It’s the same for you,” Kelly quickly pointed out.
“No. I’ve only seen the portion of the file I created. I don’t know the other things you added to it.”
That part was true. But that didn’t mean the kidnappers would believe him and keep him alive. Still, he was a lawman, trained in self-defense, and he might be able to overpower them and escape with the baby.
Jameson didn’t want to think of all the things that could go wrong with a plan like that.
Even though Kelly had known the kidnappers would call back, the sound of his phone buzzing shot through the room, causing her to gasp. It certainly didn’t ease the knot in his gut, but he answered it, praying he would be able to pull this off.
“Well?” the kidnapper said. The guy still had that smug tone that made Jameson want to punch him until he could no longer taunt them.
“I’ll come to the house. Once we have the baby and we verify that she’s okay, I’ll give you the location of the file.”
Silence, and the moments crawled by. Jameson could hear the kidnapper have a muffled conversation with someone, but he couldn’t tell if that person was also in the house or if he or she was on another phone line.
“No can do,” the kidnapper finally said. “We need Kelly to come to us. Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn’t risk any deputies or those men who work for you. That’s because we’ve set up explosives around the perimeter of the house. One wrong step, and they go kaboom.”
That kicked up Jameson’s pulse a significant notch. Kelly’s, too. He heard the sharp intake of her breath and saw her hands begin to tremble.
“You’re lying,” Jameson told the man. “When would you have had time to set up explosives?”
“Oh, we’ve had them there for nearly two days now. We sneaked in when you were all tied up at the hospital with Kelly, tending her boo-boos. We had everything in place, and a friend just brought in the baby from one of the back trails.”
With all the insanity that’d been going on for the past two days, it wouldn’t have been that hard for someone to come onto the ranch and get into the house. Still, he wanted to kick himself for letting that happen. He should have put guards on the house. Hell, on the entire ranch.
“So here’s what we want,” the kidnapper went on. “Kelly comes out of the front of the house and starts walking on the trail toward us. No guns. Of course, she’ll probably have one hidden away somewhere, but if we see the gun, we start shooting. Not at her, either.”
Jameson wanted to reach through the phone and tear this idiot to bits. Because that was a not-so-veiled threat to hurt the baby.
“Who knows, some of those shots could get into your brother’s house, where you’ve got your own kid and family stashed away,” the kidnapper added. “Wouldn’t want that, would we?”
No. They wouldn’t. It would take a long-range rifle for someone to fire into Gabriel’s place, but it could be done.
The kidnapper continued a moment later. “Like I said earlier, you can come with her, cowboy. But if you’re not at the old house in ten minutes, well, you know what will happen.”
“The baby is their leverage,” Jameson told Kelly the moment the thug ended the call. “They won’t do anything to her.”
Jameson hoped that was true anyway, but the main reason he’d said it was to get the stark look off Kelly’s face. It didn’t work. She was still terrified, still shaking, but that didn’t stop her from moving. She hurried to the tub and kissed Gracelyn. Their daughter was still asleep, thank God. No way did Jameson want her to hear any of this.
Including her mother’s goodbye.
Kelly didn’t exactly say the words, but it was obvious that’s what she was doing. Because she might not get out of this alive. Jameson kissed the baby, as well. However, he didn’t intend for this to be a farewell. Somehow he was going to make sure Kelly survived.
“You don’t have to do this,” Jameson told Kelly when she started out of the room. “I can go alone and negotiate with them once we’re face-to-face.” Of course, that was a serious long shot, and judging from the skeptical sound Kelly made, she knew that, as well.
“It’s too big of a risk.” She tucked her gun in the back waist of her jeans and headed down the stairs.
It was a huge risk, but Jameson had to try. He also needed to take a few more precautions and hope they would be enough. Nothing would be as safe as he wanted it to be, but at this point he didn’t have time to figure out a better way to get close enough to those men to get back the baby.
He stopped by Gabriel’s home office and found the Kevlar vests his brother had in a storage closet. He handed one to Kelly, and he put another on while he went to the front of the house to talk to Cameron. He also grabbed a pair of night-vision goggles. Maybe one of the hands could use them to pinpoint the location of the kidnappers before Kelly and he even reached the old house.
“I want Edwin and you to stay here,” Jameson told Cameron. “Gabriel will be here any minute, but we can’t wait. When he gets here, just fill him in on what’s happening.”
“What if he wants to go after you and Kelly?” Cameron asked.
“Then tell him to be careful and let him know about the explosives. Also, make sure everything is still locked up and rearm the security system when we leave.” Jameson rattled off the code for him to do that. “And keep watch. I don’t want any of those thugs trying to sneak in.”
“Please keep our baby safe,” Kelly added.
“I’ll protect her with my life,” Cameron assured her.
Jameson hoped it didn’t come down to that. Maybe he could defuse this dangerous situation without Gracelyn being in harm’s way.
“Stay behind me,” Jameson told Kelly the moment they stepped onto the porch. “And once we’re on the trail, I want you to crouch down and use the shrubs and trees for cover.”
“But you’ll be out in the open,” she pointed out.
“They don’t want to kill me. They’re after you.” Not that she needed the reminder. He certainly didn’t, either. Because each step they took could be their last.
There were two hands at the front of the house, two more at the back and one on each side. The one on the left side of the steps was Allen Colley, and he had both a sidearm and a rifle.
“Move onto the porch,” Jameson told him. “If you see a gunman coming after Kelly and me, try to take him out.”
Without hesitation, Allen nodded and did as Jameson said. It wasn’t much backup, but it was better than nothing. Plus, maybe there were other hands already in position who could help out if things went from bad to worse.
He also passed Allen the goggles and told the hand to text him if he was able to figure out where the kidnappers were.
Jameson started for the path, and he made sure Kelly was squarely behind him. She was. He also spotted another ranch hand behind a tree just off the trail. Good. Maybe there were others scattered around the grounds.
As soon as they reached the area where the shrubs butted right up against the trail, Kelly ducked lower and went into them. Along with the Kevlar vest, it might protect her. Or at least make her a less visible target.
Jameson had walked this path many times because as a kid, it was the way he got between home and his grandparents’ house, where Gabriel was now living. In those days, it had been a pleasant walk with the promise of ice cream or some other treat waiting for him. Definitely nothing pleasant about tonight, though.
“Once we get closer to the house, I want you to get all the way on the ground,” Jameson told her. “I’ll try one last time to negotiate with the men.” But he wasn’t holding out much hope for that.
His phone buzzed, and Jameson saw the now-familiar Unknown Caller on the screen.
“Time’s up,” the man growled when Jameson answered.
That was the only warning Kelly and he got before the shot blasted through the air.