Out of Uniform (Wingmen Warriors 14)

I’ll kill him before I let you see him again, Deirdre.

The horror, the fear, the utter helplessness choked her, fresh as if it had happened only moments before. “I hit my head, I think. I must have. Mostly I remember fighting to get to my feet as he drove away with my child.”

Jacob reached to stroke her hair. She ducked, too raw, too vulnerable to accept the comfort that would send her crying into his arms.

She had to hold it together, depend on herself and start the search for her child. The search for a trail nearly two weeks cold. “The next thing I remember is stumbling to my feet, confused. I shoved my hands into my coat pockets to warm them and found the hotel key and a hundred dollars. I could only think of getting back here to my baby. Which doesn’t make sense because they were already leaving.”

“You’d been injured and traumatized. You’re lucky you survived out there.”

“If I hadn’t kept that key, I probably would have died.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach, the chill of that fearful walk washing over her. “Once I got back to the room, I must have slept for an hour or two. Then I woke, unable to remember anything.”

Her every fear had been worse than she’d imagined. She’d been right to question her judgment. She’d trusted and loved a man capable of unspeakable things.

And he had Evan.

How could she even think about baring her heart to anyone again? At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything other than finding her son.

The front door opened. A shaft of frigid air blasted over her as it had that first day she’d woken here. Two uniformed officers stomped snow off their boots. Dee recognized one of them from the day she’d filed her report in Tacoma.

Again, she would have to tell her story, only this time it would be public knowledge. She straightened her spine and squeezed her hands together until they tingled.

Drained to her toes, she didn’t relish baring to the world what a mess she’d made of her life. However, maternal instincts fired her beyond normal endurance. She looked at Jacob and gave a fleeting thought to leaning on him while she talked, but tossed the notion aside. Jacob didn’t need the burden of her troubles, problems even worse than she could have imagined. She would do this the best way for both of them…alone.

“I need to report a kidnapping.”

Two hours later, Jacob watched the cop slam the police cruiser door shut with Chase inside.

The noise jarred all the way through him. The officer planned to scare the spit out of Chase for his own good. Knowing this was the right thing didn’t stop him from wanting to grab Chase by the scruff of the neck and send him home like a kid who’d been caught snitching cookies.>“What?”

“Jacob?” Emily sidled toward Chase. “You can’t really think—”

“Now, Chase.” A cool core of certainty congealed in him. “If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize. But I’m going to get her side of the story as soon as she calms down.”

Chase eyed the door again.

Emily gripped the arm of Chase’s jacket. “Prove him wrong. Please.”

Chase shrugged free. He jammed his hand into his pocket and whipped out a stack of folded twenty-dollar bills. He didn’t even bother making excuses.

“No, Chase.” Emily’s chin quivered as the nursery monitor hummed in her hand.

“Fine.” Chase slammed the wad of cash on the counter. “I didn’t walk out of here with it, so there’s not a damned thing you can do to me.”

Jacob stared at the money and focused on the feel of Dee’s hair beneath his hand. When would the anger hit him? Logic told him that’s how he should feel. Instead he’d gone numb. Probably for the best, since he had to take care of the mess with Chase and deal with Dee. “Sit down, Chase.”

“No way, I’m—”

“Sit,” Jacob snapped.

Chase dropped onto the sofa. What had Emily seen in this guy? An escape from Clyde? Or more likely choosing Chase because he was surely the sort who would tweak the old man’s nose at every turn.

Jacob relaxed his jaw, lowered his tensed shoulders and regained control. He needed to distance himself from everything, all of them. Emotions clouded judgment.

He turned his attention back to Dee and cupped her face in his hands without allowing himself to savor the softness of her skin. “Snap out of it, Dee. You need to talk to me, or we’re heading to the hospital.”

Her eyes widened, then cleared. “Jacob?”

“Yeah, Dee.” Relief taunted him, so close. “Are you okay? Are you…hurt?”