Lara Lacombe - Ranger's Baby Rescue

Who kidnapped Emma Foster’s baby?

Find out in this Rangers of Big Bend page-turner

When her daughter is abducted from her Texas home, Emma Foster turns to Matt Thompson to help her. Matt and Emma work together to retrieve little Christina from the clutches of traffickers. But it will be a race against the clock for the ranger and the nurse, who must risk it all to save the innocent infant...

LARA LACOMBE earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology and worked in several labs across the country before moving into the classroom. Her day job as a college science professor gives her time to pursue her other love—writing fast-paced romantic suspense with smart, nerdy heroines and dangerously attractive heroes. She loves to hear from readers! Find her on the web or contact her at laralacombewriter@gmail.com.

Also by Lara Lacombe

Harlequin Romantic Suspense

Rangers of Big Bend

Ranger’s Justice

Ranger’s Baby Rescue

The Coltons of Red Ridge

Colton K-9 Bodyguard

Doctors in Danger

Enticed by the Operative

Dr. Do-or-Die

Her Lieutenant Protector

The Coltons of Shadow Creek

Pregnant by the Colton Cowboy

The Coltons of Texas

Colton Baby Homecoming

Deadly Contact

Fatal Fallout

Lethal Lies

Killer Exposure

Killer Season

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Ranger’s Baby Rescue

Lara Lacombe

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09386-6

RANGER’S BABY RESCUE

© 2019 Lara Lacombe

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“Did the kidnapper give you a deadline?”

Matt’s voice was calm, as if he dealt with this sort of thing every day. For a second, Emma allowed herself to believe he could fix things. That he could find her baby before anything bad happened. And perhaps he could. Weren’t park rangers good at tracking?

“Three days,” she said, a lump forming in her throat. “He wants half a million dollars in three days.”

“And you don’t have it.”

“No.” She jerked her head up, glaring at Matt. “My God, do you think I’d be here if I did? Do you think I care about money? I’d give him ten times that amount if it meant getting Christina back safely! I’d do anything to hold her again.” Her arms ached with the memory of her baby, warm and soft against her body. Would she ever feel that sweet weight again? Christina was her life. She’d never stop looking for her daughter, never rest until she found her.

* * *

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Dear Reader,

Welcome to the second book in my Rangers of Big Bend series! This is one of those stories that grabbed me by the throat and demanded to be written. I started with the image of Emma standing next to an empty crib and the book unfolded from there.

Emma is a woman facing every mother’s worst nightmare—her baby has been taken. Desperate to find her daughter, she’s forced to turn to a stranger for help.

Matt isn’t sure what to think about Emma. But when he realizes she’s telling the truth about her baby’s kidnapping, he’s determined to do whatever he can to help her.

Emma and Matt are complicated people, with their fair share of past heartbreaks. I enjoyed getting to know them both, and discovering how they put loss and betrayal behind them to move forward in their lives. I hope you’ll like their story, too.

Happy reading!

Lara

This one is for Erin, the sister of my heart.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

About the Publisher

Emma Foster opened her eyes in the darkness, filled with the sudden knowledge that something was terribly wrong. She listened hard, straining her ears for any noise that was out of place. Nothing sounded amiss—the refrigerator hummed quietly in the kitchen; the ceiling fan ticked softly over her head. But despite the absence of obvious issues, the house didn’t feel right.

She slipped out of bed, stepping lightly to avoid making too much noise. She’d had a devil of a time getting Christina to sleep tonight—her normally cheerful and good-natured ten-month-old daughter was teething and grumpy with it, which made for long nights. The baby had finally surrendered to exhaustion about an hour ago, and Emma had slipped off to her own bed for a few stolen moments of sleep. Everything had seemed fine at the time, but now she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

She headed for the front door, knowing that it was locked but needing to check it again for her own peace of mind. Sure enough, the dead bolt was secure, just as she’d left it earlier in the evening. The windows were all shut, the blinds lowered into place. There was no sign of any trouble, nothing to explain the sense of dread that weighed on her.