Margaret Daley - Texas Baby Pursuit

On a kidnapper’s trail...

Lone Star Justice never fails

Minutes after his baby nephew is kidnapped, Texas Ranger Dallas Sanders traces the crime to a child trafficking ring hiding in plain sight. As he and local sheriff Rachel Young race to expose the sinister conspiracy, they’re determined to keep their relationship professional. But when Rachel’s infant daughter is also abducted, can she and Dallas rescue the children in time…and survive to have a future together?

MARGARET DALEY, an award-winning author of ninety books (five million sold worldwide), has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread, and corralling her three cats, who think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret, visit her website at margaretdaley.com.

Also by Margaret Daley

Lone Star Justice

Covert Operatives

High-Risk Reunion

Lone Star Christmas Rescue

Texas Ranger Showdown

Texas Baby Pursuit

Alaskan Search and Rescue

The Yuletide Rescue

To Save Her Child

The Protector’s Mission

Standoff at Christmas

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Texas Baby Pursuit

Margaret Daley

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08558-8

TEXAS BABY PURSUIT

© 2018 Margaret Daley

Published in Great Britain 2018

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“Rachel, what did the kidnapper say?”

In a whisper, Rachel replied, “‘You can save your daughter if you mess up this kidnapping case. If you come after me, I will kill her.’”

“I recommend you back away from the investigation,” Dallas said quietly.

Her head jerked up. “I can’t. At least there’s a better chance of finding her if I help.” Her eyes glistened. “Do you have any idea what I’m going through? My daughter is in danger because of me.”

Dallas grasped her shoulders. “No. She’s in danger because there are evil people in this world.”

“She’s probably crying right now. She won’t understand what’s happening to her.” One wet track after another coursed down Rachel’s face.

Dallas wrapped his arms around her and brought her against him, sheltering her the best he could. He wasn’t even sure if he should be on the case anymore because he had a score to settle with the people responsible. But Rachel needed his help to find Katie.

There was no way he would walk away...

Dear Reader,

Thank you for picking up the fourth book in my Texas Rangers miniseries. It’s been my joy to feature these amazing lawmen working on different types of cases, to watch them at work.

The worst nightmare for a parent is a child’s kidnapping. In this book, I wanted to show the heartache and devastation when a child is abducted from various viewpoints—from the family directly affected, from friends and family members, and from the people who work to bring the child home safely.

Being a law enforcement officer isn’t an easy job, but it’s especially difficult when a case involves babies and children. I want to thank all police everywhere who work tirelessly to bring to justice those people who think they can take advantage of the helpless.

I love hearing from readers. You can contact me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. You can also learn more about my books at www.margaretdaley.com. Sign up for my newsletter and get all the details about my current and upcoming projects every month.

Margaret Daley

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

—Psalms 27:1

To my two granddaughters, Abbey and Aubrey

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

Texas Ranger Dallas Sanders parked in the back of the sheriff’s station in Cimarron Trail, his home for the past few years. Although he worked out of the Texas Rangers’ office in San Antonio, he loved returning to the smaller town northwest of the city at the end of a long day at work. Now that he’d wrapped up an intense case involving a turf war between two rival gangs that had lasted six months, it was time he introduced himself to the new sheriff, and then all he wanted to do was go to his ranch and spend quality time with his daughter, Michelle.

When he slid from his SUV and started for the building, his cell phone’s ringtone played “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” He smiled when he saw who was calling him. “Hi, princess. I should be home in half an hour.”

“Dad, I’m not at the ranch. I’m babysitting for Aunt Lenora. Grandma drove me here, and Aunt Lenora will bring me home in a couple of hours.”

His thirteen-year-old daughter was the reason he’d bought a small ranch right outside of Cimarron Trail rather than living in San Antonio. Yes, it added an hour to his commute to and from work, but it was worth it. Some of his relatives lived nearby, and after his wife had walked out on their marriage, his daughter needed family around her for support. “How about dinner?” he asked as he opened the rear door into the sheriff’s station.