Delores Fossen - Under The Cowboy's Protection

He was right, but it riled her a little that he thought she couldn’t take care of herself. After all, she was a cop, and she could point out to him that the thug hadn’t murdered her when he or she had the chance. Still, she needed to take some precautions.

Once Yvette had finished her call, Thea stood, ready to go to the cruiser, but she stopped when she heard the approaching vehicle. Raleigh and Dalton must have heard it, too, because they automatically stepped in front of her and Yvette. Thea slid her hand over the gun that she’d borrowed from Raleigh. But it wasn’t the threat they were all obviously bracing themselves for.

It was Warren.

He pulled his familiar black truck to a stop behind the trio of cruisers and the other vehicles, and he got out and started for the house.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Raleigh asked, turning his glare back on Thea.

“I didn’t call him,” Thea said, but it would have been easy enough for Warren to hear about it. After all, most law enforcement agencies in the state had been alerted to the missing baby.

“Raleigh,” Warren greeted. He obviously ignored the glare his son now had aimed at him, and he walked right past Raleigh to pull Thea into his arms.

It certainly wasn’t the first time that Warren had hugged her. He’d always treated her like family and had practically raised her and her brother, Griff. But it felt awkward now in front of Raleigh—who hadn’t gotten that same family treatment from the man.

“Are you okay?” Warren asked her when he pulled back from the hug.

His attention went to the stun gun marks on her neck, and it looked as if he had to bite back some profanity. When she’d been his deputy, he had always hated whenever she’d gotten hurt or been put in danger, and he still apparently felt that way. Thea appreciated the concern, especially since she’d never gotten any from her own parents, but it made the situation with Raleigh seem even more awkward.

“I’m fine,” Thea assured him. She didn’t especially want to bring this up, but Warren would soon learn it anyway. “Whoever did this also took the newborn, and he left a message on the wall—”

“Two messages,” Raleigh corrected. “There was a second in Sonya’s bedroom. They were both written in red paint and used identical wording to what was left at Hannah’s place. ‘This is for Sheriff Warren McCall.’”

“This man is Sheriff McCall?” Yvette asked. Warren nodded, and she went to him, catching on to his arms. “Who did this? Why would someone take my baby because of you?”

Warren’s face tightened. “I don’t know.”

“But you must have some—” Yvette started, but Raleigh moved her away when her grip tightened on Warren.

“This is the missing baby’s mother,” Raleigh explained. “Yvette O’Hara.”

Warren tipped the brim of his Stetson as a greeting. “I’m really sorry for what happened, but I honestly don’t know who took your child.” He turned to Raleigh. “Are you sure this is connected to Hannah, or is it a copycat?”

A muscle flickered in Raleigh’s jaw. “Too early to tell. Do you have a reason for being here?” There definitely was nothing friendly about his tone.

Warren sighed. “Yes. I was worried about Thea and thought she might need a ride home because she’s so shaken up.”

“She will, but only after she’s given her statement about the attack.” Again, there was no friendliness from Raleigh. “I was about to take her to my office now. No reason that I know of for you to be there for that, but you can wait for her at the café across the street.”

Warren would do that if he couldn’t get Raleigh to relent and let him stay with her in the sheriff’s office. And Raleigh wouldn’t back down on this.

They started down the steps, and Thea didn’t miss it when she saw Warren wince and slide his fingers over his chest. He quickly moved his hand away, but she knew he’d been touching the scar beneath his shirt. The scar he’d gotten from a gunshot wound six months ago.

The wound itself had healed, but the muscles there had been damaged enough that Warren would always have pain. Something he obviously didn’t want to discuss because he shook his head when Thea opened her mouth to ask if he was okay. Maybe it was a guy thing not to want to admit that he was in pain, or maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it in front of Raleigh.

“Ride in the cruiser with Raleigh,” Warren whispered to her, and he made a lawman’s glance around them. “There are a lot of places for a killer to lie in wait on the road that leads into Durango Ridge.”

She nodded, but his reminder only gave her another jolt of adrenaline. So did the sound of her phone ringing. Not a reaction she wanted to have as a deputy. Nor was the reaction she had next.

Her stomach went to her knees when she looked at her phone screen.

“Unknown caller,” she said.

That stopped Raleigh and Warren, and Yvette eventually stopped, too, when she realized they were no longer moving toward the cruiser.

It could be nothing, maybe even a telemarketer, but Raleigh must have realized it could be something important because he took out his own phone to record the call, and he motioned for her to answer it. She did, and unlike what Yvette had done earlier, Thea put it on speaker.

“I’m guessing you’re looking for the kid,” a man immediately said. Thea didn’t recognize his voice, but it was possible that it was the same man who’d taken Sonya.

Yvette gasped, and Warren motioned for her to stay quiet. Good move because it wouldn’t do any good to have Yvette start yelling at this thug.

“Where’s the baby?” Thea demanded. Of course, she wanted to ask the snake why he’d murdered Sonya, but right now, the baby had to come first. It was too late to save Sonya, but maybe they could still help the child.

“I’ll give her to you. All you have to do is come and get her.”

Thea looked at Raleigh to get his take on this. Like her, he was clearly skeptical, but at the moment, this was all they had. Maybe it was a matter of paying a ransom. If so, she figured they could scrape together whatever amount they needed to get the child safely away from a killer.

The conversation must have alerted Dalton because he came down the steps and into the yard with them.

“Where’s the baby?” Thea repeated to the man.

“I’ll text you the time and the place where you can get her. Oh, and I’ll text you the rules, too. Don’t forget those or you won’t get the kid.” He sounded arrogant, and Thea wished she could reach through the phone and make him pay for what he’d done.

She tamped down the anger so she could speak. “How do I know you actually have her? This could be a trap.”

“Sweetcakes, if I’d wanted you dead, you already would be. You wouldn’t have made it off that back porch of Sonya’s house.”

Since Thea had already realized that, she knew it was true. But there were plenty of other things that didn’t make sense. “How do I know for certain that you have the newborn?” she pressed.

The man didn’t answer. Not with words anyway. But Thea heard the sound in the background.

A baby crying.

Raleigh cursed and snatched the phone from Thea. “Tell me the location of the baby now!” he demanded. But he was talking to the air, because the kidnapper had already ended the call.

“Oh, God.” Yvette grabbed the phone, too, and she hit Redial.

No answer.

A hoarse sob tore from Yvette’s mouth, and she would have likely fallen to the ground if Warren hadn’t caught her. Raleigh didn’t thank him for doing that because he didn’t want the man anywhere around here. Raleigh had enough distractions with Thea and Yvette, and he didn’t need to add his so-called father to the mix.