The Heartbreak Sheriff Page 6

  This time, he just held her tighter.

  “Did you take your pain meds?”

  Cole Donovan stifled a groan as his fiancée appeared in the doorway just as he’d been shoving the prescription bottle into the top drawer of their nightstand. Jamie’s lavender eyes instantly zeroed in on his hand, and a frown marred her mouth. Damn it, caught red-handed.

  “Don’t you dare hide the pills again,” she said, swooping into the bedroom with Sarah’s daughter in her arms. “I don’t get you, you know that? You just had surgery to remove a bullet from your stomach. You’re in pain. Quit pretending otherwise.”

  Despite himself, he smiled. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had fussed over him like this. His mother had always been too drunk to notice he was even around, his father was never home, and Teresa had been the furthest thing from a doting wife. He had to admit, it was kind of nice that Jamie was so concerned about him.

  “Take the bottle out and swallow the damn pills,” she ordered, shifting the baby onto her other hip.

  Knowing when he was beaten, Cole obeyed her without argument. As he picked up the glass of water she’d brought in earlier and took the pills, he couldn’t help but admire the way she skillfully held the baby. A natural mother. A rush of tenderness filled his body. He almost forgot about the pain throbbing in his wounded abdomen as he realized that one of these days he and Jamie would have a baby of their own. She wanted children. Lots of them.

  And he couldn’t wait to give them to her.

  “There, I did it,” he said after he’d taken his meds. “But you can’t complain when I’m too stoned to hold a conversation with you.”

  “I can talk to Lucy,” Jamie said with a shrug. She tickled the baby’s tummy, eliciting a delighted gurgle. “Right, sweet pea? We’ll do all the talking tonight.”

  Cole slid down in the bed and rested his head against the pillow. Damn, those meds worked fast. His head was already beginning to feel light.

  “I’m just going to warm a bottle for her,” Jamie said. “I’ll come up and feed her here. And remember, you’re bed-bound. I made an exception when Finn was here earlier, but now you’re back to following the doctor’s orders.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  As Jamie disappeared through the doorway, Cole smiled again, wondering how he’d gotten so damn lucky. When Jamie had waltzed into town two weeks ago, he’d never dreamed that he’d fall in love with the federal agent who was supposed to profile him. Never dreamed he’d fall in love, period. After his marriage to Teresa, the thought of being in another relationship had left him in a cold sweat. But Jamie had changed all that.

  He could hear her moving around downstairs, the muffled sound of her voice, broken in by Lucy’s happy squeals. Lord, he felt terrible for Sarah Connelly. Sarah had always been so nice to him, even after he’d closed down the paper mill and built a hotel in its place, enraging everyone in town. But not Sarah. She’d treated him with nothing but kindness, and she didn’t deserve what was happening to her.

  A thud came from below.

  Cole sat up, fighting a rush of dizziness. The lethargic numbness the meds provided him with made it hard to think clearly, but he still managed a quick shout. “You okay down there, sweetheart?”

  He heard another crash, followed by a loud cry that hadn’t come from the baby. Jamie!

  Cole launched himself out of bed. The world spun for a moment, his vision assaulted by stars. He steadied himself, forced his legs to carry him to the door, as panic shuddered through him and fear coursed in his blood. He could hear Lucy wailing now, but it sounded tinny and faraway in his drugged state. He experienced another burst of vertigo at the top of the staircase. Breathed through it. Stumbled down the stairs.

  “Jamie!” he shouted. “Lucy!”

  He raced into the kitchen, ignoring the searing pain shooting up his abdomen. “Jamie. Ja—” His voice died in his throat as he caught sight of her.

  “Oh, Jesus…” He was down on the floor, kneeling beside her motionless figure. His pulse shrieked in his ears. “Jamie, baby, wake up!”

  She was on her side, and he quickly rolled her over, running his hands along her body, across her face. When he touched her hair, he felt dampness beneath his palm. He lifted his hand and saw blood. Someone had hit her in the crown of the head.

  “Jamie,” he pleaded. “Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

  She moaned. It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard in his entire life. And then her lids fluttered open, and her violet eyes, those beautiful eyes, stared up at him in confusion.

  “C-Cole?”

  “I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here. Tell me what happened.”

  Wincing, she struggled to sit up. “I…the bottle…” She glanced in the direction of the sink. He followed her gaze, immediately spotting the broken bottle. A puddle of milk had formed on the tiled floor.

  A loud bang made them jump, and they both turned to the patio door, which was wide open and being blown against the exterior wall by the wind.

  An anguished cry left Jamie’s mouth. “Lucy!” She sat up, shoving hair out of her eyes. “Cole, he took the baby!”

  Chapter 6

  The Donovan house was deathly silent when Finn hurried inside. Driving over in his Jeep with the siren blaring, he’d conjured up dozens of terrifying scenes he might find, everything from bloodstained walls to Jamie dead on the floor. What he found, however, was much worse. Four shell-shocked faces greeted him when he entered the living room, Jamie the most distraught of all.

  She was on the overstuffed leather sofa closest to the bay window that overlooked the front yard, tears staining her face as she leaned against Cole for support. Finn noticed Cole looked unusually pale, but that was probably because his fiancée had just been knocked unconscious while he lay upstairs doped up on pain meds.

  At least that’s what Max had relayed to Finn over the phone. Finn hadn’t said a word to Sarah before he’d rushed out of the station. He didn’t want to worry her, especially when the only detail he’d been given was Lucy’s gone!

  His two deputies, Anna and Max, were already on the scene, and he could hear his forensics guy, Chris, puttering around in the kitchen. Five adults in the house, six including him—but no baby.

  “He took her!” Jamie blurted out when she spotted Finn in the doorway. “He came up from behind… I didn’t even hear him… I’m so sorry, Finn, I’m so sorry.”

  He bounded across the parquet floor and sat on the other side of her, stroking her arm in a soothing motion. “Jamie, calm down. Tell me what happened.”

  “I was preparing a bottle for Lucy.” She wheezed out an unsteady breath. “I set her down in her bouncy seat and then went to get the bottle. I was checking to see that the formula wasn’t too hot when I heard the back door open. I turned around, but he moved too fast. All I saw was a black ski mask. I had no time to react. He was holding something, a crowbar maybe, and he knocked me out.”

  Finn frowned. “He just walked through the back door? The alarm didn’t go off?”

  Jamie’s face collapsed like a house of cards. “I forgot to set it. I was so busy today, trying to put Lucy down for her nap, and then making sure Cole took his pills. I…forgot.”

  A current of guilt thrashed in her lavender eyes. It was evident to everyone in the room that she blamed herself for what had happened. Both Anna and Max were staring down at their feet, waves of sympathy radiating from them. Cole looked devastated, as if he couldn’t believe he’d failed to protect the two females in his house.

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Finn said quietly. “People forget to do things sometimes. Happens to the best of us.”

  “Not to me,” Jamie said bleakly. “I’m a federal agent, Finn. I don’t forget to set security systems! God, this is all my fault. Sarah… How am I going tell Sarah?”

  Oh, Christ. Sarah. The sound of her name made his gut go rigid. He’d spent all evening with her in the cell, comforting her after Parsons had droppe
d the new information about the murder weapon in their laps. She’d been so upset, terrified that the case against her was only getting stronger. How on earth would she react when she discovered someone had kidnapped her daughter?

  Finn pushed away the unsettling thought and focused on his friend, who looked as though she was struggling not to cry.

  “This isn’t your fault, Jamie. Whoever took Lucy knew what he was doing. He had a purpose when he came in—he wanted the baby.” Finn searched her face. “Are you sure it was a man?”

  She wrinkled her forehead in despair. “I don’t know. Like I said, I didn’t get a good look. He just sprang up on me like some kind of ninja. I guess I just assumed it was a man.”

  “How tall was the assailant?”

  “Around my height, give or take an inch.”

  Finn thought it over. Jamie was five-nine, so if the intruder was male, he stood slightly below average height. And if it was a female, then she was taller than most women.

  “I guess it could have been a woman,” Jamie relented, looking miserable. “But I really couldn’t tell. It all happened too damn fast.”

  “Did he or she say anything?” Anna asked.

  “Nothing,” Jamie said. “And if he did, I couldn’t hear it. All I heard was Lucy crying.”

  Finn sighed. “Okay. Well, we need to get an Amber Alert out, contact the media.” He glanced at Max, who was standing by the tall bookshelf across the high-ceilinged room. “I need you to canvas the neighborhood, call in our volunteer unit and comb every inch of this damn town.”

  “Yes, sir,” Max said, already heading for the door.

  He turned to Anna. “Get back to the station, start working the phones. We need to get the alert out, make sure everyone and their mother knows what Lucy looks like and that she’s been abducted.”

  Anna responded with a nod, quickly getting up and hurrying out of the room. Thank God for his deputies, at least. At twenty-four, Anna was unbelievably efficient, always able to keep a cool head no matter the chaos around her. Max was a year younger and more of a renegade, often acting without thinking things through, but always giving one-hundred-and-ten percent in every situation. At the moment, Finn appreciated the knowledge that he had two capable people working the case.

  Sarah was going to be destroyed. Hell, he felt pretty destroyed himself. He’d held Lucy in his arms only hours ago, and now she was gone.

  Jamie’s ravaged voice broke through his thoughts. “I messed up.”

  He saw the moisture gathering in her eyes and squeezed her arm. “It’s okay. We’ll find her, Jamie.”

  She simply stared down into her lap, unconvinced. Finn regarded Cole over Jamie’s head, and the two men exchanged a somber look. Jamie was the toughest woman Finn knew, but she also had the biggest heart. She’d never forgive herself for letting Lucy get taken, no matter what anyone else said.

  Cole gave an imperceptible nod, as if to reassure Finn that he would take care of Jamie.

  Nodding back, Finn rose from the sofa. “I should call Agent Parsons. Maybe he can get things moving faster.”

  Jamie’s head snapped up. “Wait a minute—Mark Parsons? He’s in town?”

  The disdain in her voice didn’t go unmissed. “You know him?” Finn said warily.

  A frown puckered her lips. “Yeah, I know him. Why is he here?”

  “Mayor Williams called in a favor. Apparently, he thinks I need help with the case.”

  Jamie let out a soft curse, suddenly looking more like herself. Her cheeks took on some color, as displeasure glittered in her eyes. “I feel sorry for you, then. That guy is a total jackass.”

  “That’s what I was afraid you’d say,” he admitted. “I take it you don’t like him.”

  “He lives in a tunnel,” Jamie grumbled.

  Finn shot her a blank look.

  “Tunnel vision,” she clarified. “He’s got a reputation for it in the office. He gets his teeth into a suspect and doesn’t bother examining any other avenues. It’s gotten him in trouble a few times.”

  “So you’re saying once he thinks he’s got his man, he quits investigating?”

  “Pretty much, yeah.”

  Wonderful. Sarah didn’t stand a chance then.

  Sarah.

  For a moment there, he’d actually forgotten about her. About the fact that someone had just abducted her daughter.

  How the hell was he going to break the news to Sarah?

  When Finn walked into her cell that night, Sarah sensed something terrible had happened. After the bomb Agent Parsons had dropped about the murder weapon earlier, Finn had spent an hour in her cell, attempting to comfort her and calm her down. As hard as she’d tried not to lean on him, she hadn’t been able to control herself. She hadn’t been in his arms for so long, she’d almost forgotten how strong he was. How sheltered she felt when he held her. He was so big, so masculine. She’d always felt safe in his embrace, soothed by his presence.

  But it didn’t soothe her now. His blue eyes were wrought with tension, his hair mussed up, as if he’d ran his fingers through it a hundred times. Unease filled her belly, congealing into a hard knot as Finn came up to her cot and sat down beside her. Not even the feel of his hard thigh pressed against her much softer one could ease her anxiety.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked instantly, turning her head to meet his shuttered eyes.

  “Sarah…” His husky voice trailed off, which only heightened her alarm.

  “Finn, what’s going on?”

  “I…I don’t even know how to say it.”

  Her pulse quickened, prompting her to stumble to her feet. She stared at him, studied the deep groove in his forehead. She knew that groove. It only appeared when he was truly upset about something. Last time she’d seen it, he’d been telling her he was leaving. This time, she got the feeling the news was much, much worse.

  “Tell me,” she ordered, pressing her suddenly damp palms to her sides.

  “Lucy’s gone.”

  The floor beneath her feet seemed to crumble away as if the ground had split open. As her knees gave out, she staggered back to the cot before she fell over. Her ears started to ring, so loudly that she had to wonder if maybe she’d misheard him.

  Hope tickled her chest. Of course she’d misheard him. She must have. Because no way could he have just told her that—

  “She was abducted from Cole and Jamie’s house an hour ago.”

  The world began to spin. “No,” she choked out. “No, you’re lying.”

  She felt his warm hand on her knee. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. I wish I could assure you that Lucy is safe and sound, in Jamie’s arms. I wish…”

  An incredible force of anger slammed into her body, prompting her to fling his hand off her. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be. How could Lucy be gone? Why would someone have taken her? It didn’t make sense.

  Terror burned a path up her throat, lodging into a painful lump. She couldn’t even draw in a breath. Couldn’t move.

  “How…” She spoke through the pressure in her chest. “How did this happen? How could you let this happen?”

  Finn flinched as if she’d struck him, but she didn’t feel an ounce of remorse. If he hadn’t arrested her and put her in this cell, she could have protected her child!

  “Who took her?” she demanded, violent shudders seizing her body.

  Finn’s eyes clouded with despair. “I don’t know. Someone came into the house, knocked Jamie unconscious and took the baby.”

  Air. She needed air. She couldn’t breathe.

  “Sarah… Lord, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, each word ringing with torment. “Jamie is beyond herself—she thinks she let you down. But damn it, it wasn’t her fault. The attacker gave her a nasty bump on the head….”

  Sarah had already tuned him out. Her heart was beating so fast she feared her ribs might rupture. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way—helpless, frightened, so
completely out of control.

  Someone had taken her baby.

  The thought of Lucy at the mercy of some sadistic kidnapper brought a streak of rage to her stomach. Tears stung her eyes, then spilled over, streaming down her cheeks and soaking her chin, her neck, the front of her sweater. She heard Finn slide closer, and when he pulled her into his arms, she didn’t resist, just pressed her wet face against his broad chest and cried.

  “Why would someone take her?” she said between sobs. “God, Finn, she’s only three months old! What if she’s hungry or cold or—”

  “Sarah, stop. Look at me.”

  His hand was on her face, cupping her chin so she had no choice but to look up at him. The agony and determination burning in his blue eyes caught her off guard. “I’m going to find her,” he said in a rough voice. “I swear to you, I’ll find her.”

  She believed him. Was she crazy for that? Everything else he’d said, his apology, his promise to help her out of this mess, his gruff declaration that he would regain her trust…she hadn’t been able to bring herself to believe. But right now, she did. She believed he would find her daughter, even if he died trying.

  Some of the terror sticking to her chest dissolved as a rush of peace floated inside of her. “Do you promise?” she whispered.

  “I promise.” His husky voice cracked. “I don’t know who took her, or why, but I’m going to do everything in my power to get your daughter back.”

  The arm that had been holding her close moved up the bumps of her spine, until his hand was tangled in her hair, while his other hand drew her face to his. He bent his head, and then those lips she’d never forgotten covered hers in a kiss.

  It happened so fast she didn’t have time to protest, and it ended before she even could. Just the hard feel of his mouth pressed against hers, the fleeting brush of his lips, the scratch of his beard stubble against her chin.

  Then he pulled back, and not giving her a chance to speak, he was on his feet and heading to the cell door. “Where are you going?” she cried after him.