Kidnapping in Kendall County (18 page)

“Rosalie’s fine,” Austin said the moment he answered. “We found
the nanny in time.” And he had to clear away the lump in his throat when he saw
the way that Rosalie was looking at her daughter. “The baby is Sadie.”

Seth made a sharp sound of relief. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, we have proof.”

Another sound of relief. “How’s Rosalie handling that?”

“About the way you’d think.” Her face was practically glowing
from the love that was there. “The nanny’s still here, and I’m hoping once
you’re finished booking Sonny that you can take her statement.”

“Colt and Cooper can deal with this sack of slime,” Seth
insisted. “Oh, and I just got off the phone with headquarters. You’ll get the
collar for Sonny so you’ll be getting your badge back. My advice is to take a
day or two, though.”

That wasn’t even on Austin’s radar right now, but he was sure
later he’d appreciate that. Especially since working out of the San Antonio
office would keep him close to Rosalie.

And he’d definitely take that time off, maybe more than a day
or two.

“I’m on the way to have that chat with the nanny,” Seth said,
and with that, he hung up.

Good. Austin was glad that Seth would help tying up the loose
ends because he had something of his own that he had to finish. He started with
Laura.

“I need to check you for weapons,” he said, figuring he
wouldn’t find any. And he didn’t. Nor did the woman object to the search. When
he was done, he tipped his head to the hangar.

“Wait in there. Agent Calder from the FBI will be here soon to
ask you some questions.”

She shook her head again, and new tears sprang up. “I swear I
didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.”

“That’s what you need to tell Agent Calder. He’ll take your
statement, and if you know anything that can add to our case against Sonny, then
tell him that, too.”

Though more wouldn’t be necessary. Sonny had confessed to so
many felonies that he’d be locked away for life. As a minimum. But if they could
also pin Janice’s murder on him, then he might get the death penalty.

Laura gave a shaky nod, started toward the hangar but then
looked into the car at Rosalie. “Can I kiss her goodbye?” Laura asked.

He could see Rosalie think about it, probably because she
wasn’t ready to give up another moment with her baby, but she finally motioned
for Laura to come closer. The nanny leaned down and kissed the top of Sadie’s
head.

“She doesn’t like peas but loves country music,” Laura added to
Rosalie. “If she gets fussy at night, just put on George Strait. That’ll soothe
her right down. Oh, she can crawl anywhere, fast, and I think she might be
walking by the new year.”

Rosalie hung on to each word. Precious little bits of
information for things that’d she wanted to know about her baby.

“I think that’s everything, but if you got any questions, I’ll
give Agent Calder my number so you know how to get in touch with me.”

Rosalie nodded.

“Be a good girl for your mama,” Laura said softly to the
baby.

Sadie smiled. “Mama.”

That put some fresh tears in Rosalie’s eyes, too.

“I taught her to say that,” Laura explained, “because I figured
one day you’d finally get to see her, and you’d want to hear her say it to
you.”

Rosalie’s breath fluttered. “I do. Thank you for taking such
good care of her.”

The women’s gazes met, and Laura brushed a kiss on Rosalie’s
cheek, as well, before she started toward the hangar. The moment she was away
from them, Austin got into the car with Rosalie and Sadie and closed the door.
Not because he thought Laura was a threat but because he wanted to keep Sadie
warm.

Sadie turned and looked at him. Studying him, actually, as if
trying to figure out who he was. At least she didn’t seem frightened of him.

“I’m Austin,” he said, though it seemed silly to introduce
himself to a baby.

Still, Sadie must have liked it because she smiled at him, and
he could have sworn that his heart doubled in size. Man, how was it possible to
love someone this much after just one look at her?

Rosalie looked at him, smiled, too, and kissed Sadie’s fingers
when the baby touched Rosalie’s mouth. “Thank you for helping me find her.”

You’re welcome
was the standard response, but Rosalie
and he were well past that.

He hoped.

“You said you didn’t want me to love you,” Austin reminded
her.

Surprise flashed through Rosalie’s eyes, and she fumbled with
whatever she was trying to say to him.

Austin decided to help her along with that fumbling. “I think
you meant you didn’t want me to feel obligated. And I don’t. It wasn’t
obligation, the danger or the spent adrenaline that had me taking you to
bed.”

Everything stilled, as if the earth itself was holding its
breath and waiting for him to finish. Rosalie was certainly waiting, and her
mouth had dropped open a little. Sadie was touching his chin. All in all, it was
a perfect moment to say what he wanted to say.

“Rosalie, I took you to bed because I’m in love with you.”

There it was, all out in the open.

Well, almost.

“And I want you to marry me so that you, Sadie and I can be a
family,” Austin added.

Rosalie kept staring at him, her mouth still open.

Sadie playfully pinched his nose.

Then, Rosalie’s breath swooshed out, and she moved so fast to
kiss him that Austin didn’t even see it coming. But he sure as heck felt it.
That kiss did a lot more than just warm him from head to toe. It gave him the
answer he wanted. Still, Austin needed to hear the words.

“Will you marry me?” he repeated with his mouth still against
Rosalie’s.

She kissed him, but he could feel her smiling while she did it.
“I love you with all my heart, so my answer is yes. Yes. Yes. I’ll marry
you.”

He would have been happy with just one yes, but he did like her
enthusiasm.

Apparently, so did Sadie, because she clapped her hands.

It was yet another perfect moment. Austin was betting there’d
be plenty more times just like this one.

A lifetime of them, in fact.

He gathered Rosalie and Sadie into his arms and was ready to
start that new life with both of them.

* * * * *

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Prologue

Blood splattered the wood floor and walls. So much blood.

A scream lodged in nine-year-old Avery Tierney's throat. Her foster father, Wade Mulligan, lay on the floor. Limp. Helpless. Bleeding.

His eyes were bulging. The whites milky looking. His lips blue. His shirt torn from dozens of knife wounds.

The room was cold. The wind whistled through the old house like a ghost. Windowpanes rattled. The floor squeaked.

Horror made her shake all over.

Then relief.

That mean old bully could never hurt her again. Never come into her bedroom. Never whisper vile things in her ear.

Never make her do
those
things....

A noise sounded. She dragged her eyes from the bloody mess, then looked up. Her brother, Hank, stood beside the body.

A knife in his hand.

He grunted, raised the knife and stabbed Wade again. Wade's body jerked. Hank did it again. Over and over.

Blood dripped from the handle and blade. More soaked his shirt. His hands were covered....

His eyes looked wild. Excited. Full of rage.

She opened her mouth to scream again, but Hank lifted his finger to his lips and whispered, “Shh.”

Avery nodded, although she thought she might get sick. She wanted him to stop.

She wanted him to stab Wade again. To make sure he was dead.

A siren wailed outside. Blue lights suddenly twirled, shining through the front window.

Hank jerked his head around, eyes flashing with fear.

Then the door crashed open and two policemen stormed in.

Hank dropped the knife to the floor with a clatter and tried to run. The bigger cop caught him around the waist.

“Let me go! Stop it!” Hank bellowed.

The skinny cop moved toward her. Then he knelt and felt Wade's neck. A second later, he looked at his partner and shook his head. “Dead.”

The cop turned to her with a frown. “What happened?”

“Don't say anything!” Hank yelled.

Avery's cry caught in her throat. She didn't know what to do. What to say. She'd seen the knife in Hank's hand. Seen him stabbing Wade over and over.

Something niggled at the back of her mind. Something that had happened. Wade had come into her room.... She'd heard a noise....

“Where's your mother?” the policeman asked.

She didn't know that, either. The foster homes had been her life.

“Stop fighting me, kid.” The big cop shoved Hank up against the wall, pushed his knee in Hank's back, then jerked his arms behind him.

Tears blurred Avery's eyes as he handcuffed her brother.

“It'll be okay, sis,” Hank shouted.

Avery let out a sob. Hank was all she had.

What were they going to do to him? Would they take him to jail?

If they did, what would happen to her?

Chapter One

Twenty years later

“Thirty-four-year-old Hank Tierney is scheduled for execution in just a few days. Protestors against the death penalty have begun to rally, but due to Tierney's confession, his appeals have been denied.”

Avery stared at the local television news in Cherokee Crossing, her heart in her throat as images from the past assaulted her.

Hank holding the bloody knife, Hank repeatedly stabbing Wade Mulligan...

Her doing nothing... She'd been in shock. Traumatized, the therapist had said. Dr. Weingarten had tried to protect her from the press. Had sat with her during the grueling forensic police interviews. Had tried to get her placed in a safe, stable home.

But nobody wanted Hank Tierney's sister.

Especially knowing their father was also in prison for murder.

That fact had worked against Hank. The assistant D.A. at the time had argued that Hank was genetically predisposed to violence. The altercations between him and their foster parents hadn't helped his case.

A couple of the neighbors had witnessed Hank lashing out at Wade when Wade had reprimanded him.

Wade's wife, Joleen, their foster mother at the time, had testified that Hank was troubled, angry, rebellious, even mean. That she'd been afraid of him for months.

Avery had been too confused to stand up for him.

But she'd secretly been relieved that Wade was dead.

And too ashamed of what the man had done to her to speak out.

“Hank Tierney was only fourteen at the time he stabbed Wade Mulligan. But due to the maliciousness of the crime, he was tried as an adult and has spent the past twenty years on death row. His sister, Avery, who was nine when the murder occurred and the sole witness of the crime, has refused interviews.”

The nightmares that had been haunting Avery made her shiver. Hank's arrest and the publicity surrounding it had dogged her all her life, affecting every relationship she'd ever had.

Just as Wade's abuse had.

She was shy around men, reluctant to trust. Cautious about letting anyone in her life because once they heard her story, they usually ran.

A photo of Hank at fourteen, the day of the arrest, flashed on the screen, then a photo of him now. He was thirty-four. Not a teenager but a man.

His once thin, freckled face had filled out; his nose was crooked as if it had been broken. And he'd beefed up, added muscles to his lanky frame.

There were scars on his face that hadn't been there before, a long jagged one along his temple. But the scars in his eyes were the ones that made her lungs strain for air.

Still, he was that young boy who'd stepped in front of her and taken blows for her when Wade was drinking. Who'd sneaked her food when Wade was on one of his rampages and she was hiding in the shed out back to escape his wrath.

Hank had spent his life in jail for what he'd done. For taking away the monster who'd made her young life hell.

She should have told.

Although the therapist had assured her it wouldn't have mattered, that the number of stab wounds alone indicated Hank suffered from extreme rage and was a danger to society.

But Hank had killed Wade in self-defense. And Wade had deserved to die.

Still, her brother would be put to death in just a few days. It wasn't fair.

She looked outside the window at the dusty road and woods. The prison was only an hour from Cherokee Crossing. Subconsciously she must have chosen to settle back here because she'd be close to Hank.

Or maybe because she'd needed to confront her demons so she could move on.

Just like she had to see Hank before he died and thank him for saving her life.

* * *

T
EXAS
R
ANGER
J
AXON
W
ARD
took a seat in the office of Director Landers, his nerves on edge. He'd just gotten off a case and his adrenaline was still running high. Beating the suspect the way he had done could get him kicked off the job.

Hell, he didn't care.

He was ready to hang up his badge anyway. Maybe open his own P.I. agency. Then he wouldn't have to play by the rules.

“You asked to see me?”

“Yes, I've decided to grant your request to work the domestic-violence team.”

Jaxon tried not to react. The director knew his background, that he'd grown up in the system and that domestic violence was personal for him.

In fact, it had been a strike against him. The director had expressed concerns that Jaxon might allow his own experiences, and his anger, to cloud his judgment, and that he'd end up taking his personal feelings out on the alleged abusers.

The director had good reason to worry.

Today was the perfect example. When he'd seen Horace Mumford go after his kid with a wood board, Jaxon had taken the board to him.

“Thank you, sir.” Jaxon stood, waiting on the reprimand.

But it never came. Instead the director cleared his throat. “Your first assignment is to make sure the Tierney execution goes forward.”

Jaxon frowned. “I didn't realize there was a problem.”

Director Landers ran a hand over his balding head. “Some young do-gooder attorney wanting to make a name for herself is trying to get a stay and a retrial.”

Jaxon had seen the recent protests against the execution in the news. Not unusual with death row cases.

“Go talk to Tierney. Make sure everything stays on track.”

Jaxon's gut tightened with an uneasy feeling. “Why the interest?” According to the news, the guy was only a teenager when he murdered his foster father. And he'd been railroaded into a confession.

“Because that case was one of the first ones I worked when I was a young cop. It built my career.”

Now Jaxon understood. The director was worried about his damn job, not whether or not a man was innocent.

“Wipe that scowl off your face. I didn't screw up. Hank Tierney was as guilty as his father was of murder,” Director Landers said. “The kid was caught with the bloody knife in hand, blood splattered all over him. Hell, even his sister said he stabbed Mulligan.”

“Fine. I'll go talk to him myself.” He'd also ask about his motive. He didn't remember that being reported, only that the police thought the kid was violent and dangerous.

Director Landers gave him a warning look. “Listen, Ward, I know your history, so don't go making this kid out to be some hero or I'll can your ass. Your job is to make sure that case does not go back for a retrial. If it does, it could affect all the cases I worked after that.”

That would be a nightmare.

Still, Jaxon silently cursed as he walked out of the office. Was this some kind of test to see if he followed orders?

Or did Landers just want to make sure nothing happened to tarnish his reputation?

* * *

A
VERY
SHIVERED
AT
the stark gray walls of the prison as the guard led her to a private visitors' room. Apparently the warden had arranged for them to actually be in the room together versus being divided by a Plexiglas wall.

Because she was saying a final goodbye to her brother.

She twisted her hands together as she sank into the metal chair, guilt making her stomach cramp.

She should have visited Hank before now. Should have come and thanked him for that night. Should have made sure he was all right.

The door closed, locking her in the room, and her vision blurred. Suddenly she was back there in that cold room at the Mulligan house. Lying in the metal bed with the ratty blanket...

Joleen was gone. She'd left earlier that day to take care of her mama. Avery knew it was going to be a bad night. Wade had started with the booze as soon as he'd come home from his job at the garage.

She clutched the covers and stared at the spider spinning a web on the windowpane. Rain pounded on the tin roof. Wind whistled through the eaves, rattling the glass.

“Get in there, boy.”

“Don't tie me up tonight,” Hank shouted. “And leave Avery alone.”

Avery fought a scream. She wanted to lock the door, but she'd done that before, and it hadn't stopped him. It only made him madder. He'd broken it down with a hatchet and threatened to kill her if she locked it again.

Something slammed against the wall. Wade punching Hank. Grunts followed. Hank was fighting Wade, but Wade would win. He always won.

Footsteps shuffled a minute later, coming closer to her room. Hank shouted Wade's name, cussing him and calling him sick names.

She bit her tongue until she tasted blood. The door screeched open.

Wade's hulking shadow filled the doorway. She could smell the sweat and beer and grease from the shop. His breathing got faster.

He started toward her, and she closed her eyes. She had to go somewhere in her mind, someplace safe where she couldn't feel him touching her.

Then everything went black....

The sound of keys jangling outside the prison door startled her back to reality. The door screeched open, a guard appeared, one hand on the arm of the man shackled and chained beside him.

Hank. God... Her heart stuttered, tears filling her eyes. She remembered him as a young boy—choppy sandy blond hair, skinny legs, eyes too hard for his age, mouth always an angry line.

But he was a man now, six feet tall with muscles. His eyes were cold and hard, his face and arms scarred from prison life. He was even angrier, too, his jaw locked, a vein pulsing in his neck.

He shuffled over to the chair, pulled it out, handcuffs rattling as he sank into it. The guard stepped to the door, folded his arms and kept watch.

She waited on Hank to look at her, and when he did, animosity filled the air between them. He hated her for not visiting.

She hated herself.

A deep sense of grief nearly overwhelmed her, and she wanted to cry for the years they'd lost. She'd spent so much of her life struggling against the gossip people had directed toward her because of her father's arrest, and then Hank's, that she hadn't thought about how he was suffering.

For what seemed like an eternity, he simply stared at her, studying her as if she were a stranger. He shifted, restless, and guilt ate at her.

“You came,” he finally said in a flat voice. “I didn't think you would.”

The acceptance in his tone tore at her. Maybe he didn't blame her, but he was still hurt. “I'm sorry I didn't visit you before. I should have.”

Hank shrugged as if he didn't care, his orange jumpsuit stark against his pale skin. But he did care. He'd always acted tough, but on the inside he was a softie. When she was little, he used to kiss her boo-boos to make them better.

No one had been here to soothe him the past few years, though.

“I'm so sorry, Hank. At first, there was so much happening—the Department of Children and Family Services the foster system, your trial...” And then she'd had to testify to what she'd remembered.