Laura Scott - Shattered Lullaby

He ground his teeth together, knowing this case was getting more complicated by the minute.

Somehow, some way, he needed to keep this woman and baby safe while he figured out what in the world was going on.

He couldn’t bear the thought of losing another innocent child...

Two

Lacy took a deep breath, desperately hoping she hadn’t made a mistake going along with this cop. The fact that he was a K-9 officer irrationally soothed her fears.

Which was crazy and completely illogical. Anyone could have bad blood running through their veins. Her brother-in-law, Officer David Williams, was proof of that. He’d been so nice, so charming in the beginning.

But it soon became apparent that his niceness had been nothing but a facade hiding his cold black heart.

“Dispatch, this is Unit Twenty-one reporting gunfire at the Gas and Go store located on Bradley and Markwell. Send units out to that location. The perp who was last seen there injured my K-9 partner. He’s roughly six feet tall wearing all black, including a dark cap over his head.”

“Ten-four, Unit Twenty-one. Will send units to respond. What’s your partner’s status? Aren’t you off duty?”

“I was off duty, but interrupted a crime in progress. I’m taking my partner in to be seen at the emergency vet. The perp tried to run, which is when my K-9 partner was injured.” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then continued, “I’ll write up my report as soon as my partner has been cared for.”

“Ten-four.”

Lacy let out her breath in a silent sigh. She’d wondered if the cop would mention her and Rory since David had clearly been after her, not the dog. And what about the Amber Alert? She knew this cop must have known about it. Or was it possible he’d missed the news since he was off duty?

The minute the thought entered her mind, she saw the Amber Alert flashing on the electric sign over the interstate.

Busted.

Rory was still crying, so she focused on caring for the baby. Since she was already breaking rules by not having him in a car seat, she decided to go ahead and get him changed. It was part of the reason she’d chosen the back seat. If she’d had water she would have made a bottle of formula for him, too. She should have thought of picking some up at the store.

So far, she was doing a lousy job of taking care of her young nephew. Not that she had much experience with babies. She taught fifth grade, not preschool.

“Shh, it’s okay, Rory. Auntie Lacy is here. You’re going to be fine. It’s okay,” she continued talking to the baby, who continued to wail. She glanced up at the officer, hoping he wasn’t the type to lose his temper over a crying infant.

What did she really know about him? Other than he cared about his dog?

She deftly changed Rory, then bundled him back up in the sling, hoping he would calm down enough to fall back asleep.

Not hardly.

“Maybe the kid is hungry?” the officer suggested.

She stifled a sigh. “I’m well aware of that fact. I have a can of powdered formula from the store, but it’s useless without water.”

“I have bottled water.” He rummaged beneath the passenger seat and pulled out a fresh bottle of water, handing it to her over his shoulder. “I always keep a case in the SUV for my dog, Duchess.”

“Thank you.” The water wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t cold, either. Hopefully, he’d take it without a problem.

She made Rory’s bottle, shaking the thing with enough force to make her teeth rattle in an effort to be sure the powder was completely dissolved. Then she shifted the baby in her arms so that she could feed him.

Rory latched onto the nipple with the strength of a linebacker. Apparently he was too hungry to care if the water bottle was warm or not.

With a sigh of relief, she gazed into Rory’s wide eyes. This poor baby was in danger for no reason other than his father was an abusive, controlling lunatic.

She squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her mouth to press a kiss against the top of his downy head. He smelled like baby shampoo, and she had to fight against another wave of tears.

No child should have to grow up without his mother. Or with the knowledge that his father had killed his mother.

A sense of hopelessness hit hard, and she forced herself to shove it aside. Self-pity wasn’t going to help.

She needed to remain strong, for Rory’s sake.

Rory released his viselike grip on the bottle, so she lifted him up to her shoulder and lightly rubbed his back in slow circular motions. Duchess stuck her nose through the crate, pressing it along the back of Lacy’s neck, making her smile.

Rory let out a wet belch and she instantly praised him. “Good boy! Yes, you’re such a good boy!”

He lifted his head from her shoulder and smiled up at her with a toothless grin. She kissed him again, then turned him so that his head rested in the crook of her arm. As he finished the rest of the bottle, she glanced up and caught the officer staring at her through the rearview mirror.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To a twenty-four hour veterinary service,” he answered. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what took place tonight?”

“Look, Officer,” she began, but he quickly interrupted.

“Matt. My name is Matthew Callahan.”

Matt was a nice name, one that carried an inner strength. She shook her head quickly. She was acting irrational again. As if a name mattered. Wasn’t David the one in the Bible who took down Goliath with a slingshot? It didn’t mean her sister’s husband was a good man.

Quite the opposite.

She gave herself a mental shake. “Okay, Matt. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I’m Lacy Germaine, and this baby is Rory Williams. There’s an Amber Alert out on the baby and I understand we’re in your custody.”

“Is that why you chose to sit in the back seat?” he asked.

“No.” Not only had she wanted to change Rory, but she secretly preferred being closer to the dog than to him. She forced herself to stay on track. “I’ve been staying at my sister’s house for a few days to help her with Rory. I woke up to the sound of arguing and heard my sister begging not to be hurt. Before this happened, she had told me she was afraid of her husband, David Williams, because of his temper. In fact, she recently filed for divorce. He was clearly angry about that—I overheard him threaten to kill her and Rory, too, right before I heard two gunshots. And the biggest problem of all is that David Williams is a police officer working in the third district.”

“He’s a cop?” Matt demanded, his expression turning grim.

“Yes.” She could already tell that he didn’t want to believe her. “When I heard them arguing, I called 911 and gave the dispatcher my sister’s address. Then I took off with Rory.”

“So why the Amber Alert?”

Rory had fallen asleep, the bottle just about empty, so she pulled it away and set it aside. “I don’t know. I can only assume that David somehow convinced his cop buddies that I’m the one who killed Jill and took Rory. Which doesn’t make any sense.”

He snorted in derision. “I’ll say. Even a rookie would have a hard time buying that story. There has to be something else going on.”

She clenched her jaw. “I don’t know what else is going on. You saw that David had a gun, didn’t you? And he took a slice out of Duchess. What more do you want from me? I can’t tell you what I don’t know!”

Rory shifted restlessly in her arms, and she mentally berated herself for raising her voice. Rory shouldn’t have to listen to her arguing with a cop. He’d had enough exposure to violence in his short life.

She let out a sigh and stroked the tip of her finger over his plump cheek. Now that Jill was gone, it would be up to her to take care of Rory. To raise him as her own.