Maverick Sheriff (18 page)

Still, he didn’t jump to answer. Probably because he was still trying to think of another way around this. There wasn’t one, and his profanity let her know he was well aware of that, too.

“How do we do it?” she pressed.

Cooper rubbed his hand over his face. “I can make a call to Doc Howland and make sure he lets everyone know we’re bringing Liam into the E.R. I figure the kidnapper has someone watching the hospital.”

Jessa figured the same thing. Watching the hospital, her house, the ranch and any other place that Cooper and she might go. That led Jessa to her next question.

“What if our plan causes a shoot-out at the hospital?” She cringed at the possibility of all those innocent people being caught in the cross fire.

“The idea is to find this nut job before a shoot-out can occur.” But then he lifted his shoulder. “The best way to do that is to lure him and his goons away from the hospital and to the road where we can stop him.”

“How? Unless you think Dr. Howland’s phone line is somehow insecure.”

“It’s possible his line’s been tapped, but we can’t count on it to get the word to the kidnapper. I can use the squad radio to give Reed the false info,” Cooper went on. “Then we can wait about fifteen minutes to make it look as if we’re getting Liam ready to leave, and we can pretend to put him in the truck.”

The squad radio was a good idea, because it wasn’t secure. People tapped into them all the time. Considering how badly the kidnapper wanted them, he or she would almost certainly be listening to any communication coming in or out of the sheriff’s office.

However, there was another potential problem.

“How will you get Colt to the hospital without making it look suspicious?” she asked.

“I can have him follow along behind us. It wouldn’t be unusual for an uncle to go with his sick nephew to the hospital. Plus, I seriously doubt an extra lawman in tow will prevent this lunatic from coming after us.” He groaned. “And that means you have to get down and stay down if anything goes wrong.”

“I will, but I want to be armed, too.”

That tightened his jaw muscles, because it was a reminder that this would almost certainly end in gunfire. Best-case scenario would be for them to see the kidnapper’s vehicle and disable it by shooting out the tires, and then Cooper and Colt could arrest the culprit.

Worst-case scenario was for the kidnapper and his or her hired guns to be so well hidden on the road that an attack could start before Cooper, Colt or she even knew what was happening.

Judging from his suddenly stark expression, Cooper no doubt wanted to call the whole thing off, but like her, he knew the bottom line here. There’d been two kidnapping attempts in two days. She could add her car accident to that as well, since that had likely been the first attempt.

And there would be others.

Soon.

“We’re already on borrowed time,” Jessa reminded him.

Cooper stayed quiet a moment, then nodded. “Come on. Let’s get this started.”

Chapter Sixteen

Cooper hoped he wasn’t making yet another mistake tonight. Not that he was certain that sleeping with Jessa had been a mistake.

The verdict was still out on that.

But while the experience had been pretty amazing, it’d stalled him from thinking solely about how to end the danger for Liam and them. Maybe he could redeem himself with this plan.

If it worked, that was.

For that to happen, Cooper had to make sure a lot of things were in place. He’d already called Dr. Howland and Reed to get the word out that he would be bringing Liam into the E.R. He’d told the doc and Reed to be generous with spreading the news, and by now it was probably all over town that Liam had had a medical setback. That was one of the good things about living in a small town. It didn’t take long for people to hear news, both good and bad.

Step two involved the ranch hands. That had been a little trickier, since Cooper hadn’t wanted to make it obvious that they were standing guard. The hands were instead keeping watch from their nearby bunkhouse but would be ready to respond if anyone tried to sneak onto the property to test if the hospital trip was some kind of ruse.

Of course, it was impossible to watch the entire ranch, so Cooper only hoped the hands would be looking in the right places at the right time if something went wrong.

Step three was for his father, Tucker, Rosalie and Rayanne to all be in position inside the house, armed and with the security system activated so they would know if someone tried to break in. Hopefully they wouldn’t be needed, and while Cooper was hoping, he added a prayer that Liam would sleep through all of this. Maybe his son would even wake up in the morning without the shadow of this kidnapper looming over them.

Step four was finished, too, and it involved Colt. His brother already had weapons in his truck, but he had armed himself with more, along with putting on body armor beneath his shirt. Cooper didn’t figure the kidnappers would just start shooting—if they genuinely thought Liam was in the truck—but he didn’t want to take any additional risks with his kid brother.

Or with Jessa.

But she was a different matter entirely.

Yeah, he’d also had her put on body armor that she had concealed with a bulky sweater, and Cooper had given her a gun, but he wasn’t even sure she could shoot well enough to defend herself. And the body armor sure wouldn’t stop a shot to the head. That meant she had to stay out of the way and as safe as possible once this attack by the kidnapper started.

The final step was to get more security for the drive from the ranch to the hospital.

Easier said than done.

It’d been hard to assemble people he could trust on such short notice, but Cooper had finally called in two sheriffs from nearby towns. They wouldn’t come to the ranch but rather join up with them separately on the drive to the hospital. Cooper had made it clear he didn’t want them to look like lawmen and not to make it obvious that they were doing security detail. The idea was for the kidnapper to feel bold and safe enough to come after them. Jessa included.

A thought that sickened him.

After all, this kidnapper had already killed, and he or she wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

“Don’t second-guess this,” Jessa warned him, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Maybe she did. Cooper figured his expression said it all: this could be dangerous as hell.

“As long as they think Liam’s in the truck, they won’t shoot,” she added.

Yeah, as long as the ruse worked. If it didn’t, well, Cooper hoped he had enough backup security in place to stop Jessa and the others from getting hurt.

Colt’s phone beeped, and he glanced down at the text that he’d just received. “It’s from Reed,” he relayed. “He got some deputies from Appaloosa Pass to guard the hospital, and they’re getting into position now. Reed needs to know if you want them visible.”

“Yes.” Cooper didn’t have to think about that. The last place he wanted a showdown was a hospital filled with people, and the deputies might deter that from happening.

Cooper waited until Colt had answered the text before he continued, “If we get all the way to the hospital and still haven’t spotted the kidnapper, then we’ll need to turn around and come back.”

And come up with a different plan.

Cooper wasn’t sure what that would be yet, but he didn’t want these morons coming anywhere near Liam.

“You ready, then?” Colt asked.

His brother was geared up and standing by the back door. The only visible weapon he had was his sidearm, which wouldn’t draw suspicion since he was a deputy, but if the kidnapper got a close look at Colt’s face, then he would no doubt see the concern that was mirrored on Cooper’s.

And Jessa’s.

Cooper gave her one last chance. “You can stay here,” he reminded her again. “And I can come up with a plausible lie to explain why you aren’t coming to the hospital with us.”

That earned him a huff, and she took the bundled doll from Rosalie. “No one would believe that I wouldn’t be in that truck with my son. Besides, the plan’s already been set into motion,” Jessa insisted. “Rosalie found this doll in Rayanne’s and her old room, and with the blankets around it, it’ll look about the right size for Liam.”

Yeah, the plan was indeed in motion, but that didn’t mean Cooper had complete faith that he could keep Jessa safe. He hated that she had to be in danger, but they were both on the same page here, and that meant putting Liam and his safety first.

Cooper considered going upstairs to give Liam a kiss, but that felt too much like a goodbye. And he was determined to keep Jessa and himself alive so they could... Well, he wasn’t sure what their future held, but he wanted time and the chance to figure it out without all this danger hanging over them.

Colt, Jessa and he hurried out the back and didn’t waste any time getting in their respective vehicles. Jessa went through the pretense of putting the doll into a car seat. Cooper didn’t miss the long look she gave the house in the side mirror as he drove away.

“Where are the sheriffs who agreed to help us?” she asked, also glancing at Colt, who was in his truck directly behind them.

Cooper hated the tremble in her voice. And her resolute expression when she took the gun he’d given her from her pocket. She was scared and determined to end this. A bad mix, and he prayed that she didn’t have to take any more risks tonight.

“The first sheriff is about two miles up in a black truck. He’ll pull out behind Colt and follow us into town. The second won’t join us for another five miles.” Still, he’d be close enough to respond if something went wrong. “He’ll be in a silver-gray SUV, which should make it easy to see.”

“Good.” She nodded, repeated it and kept a white-knuckle grip on her gun.

Cooper took the turn from the ranch onto the farm road that led into town. Part of him was relieved that the gunmen hadn’t been ready to ambush them so close to the ranch. He didn’t want gunfire anywhere near Liam and the others.

But then the waiting began.

Each second crawled by while he fired glances all around them. There were plenty of old ranch trails and farm roads where the kidnapper could lie in wait, ready to attack. He thought of Jessa’s car
accident
and how fast the driver had managed to come at her. In broad daylight, no less. That was why he had to keep watch and make sure that didn’t happen again. The darkness could hide a killer, and running Jessa and him off the road would make them easier targets.

“Maybe the kidnapper didn’t get the word about us taking Liam to the hospital,” Jessa mumbled.

Maybe. But they still had a good ten miles to go before they reached town, and they hadn’t reached the most isolated part of the road yet. At the halfway point there were no farms or ranches in sight. No one to witness an attack.

Or so the kidnapper might think.

Cooper breathed a little easier when he saw the first sheriff ease onto the road behind Colt. He now had two lawmen as backup, but they still had a long way to go. It felt even longer with each mile just crawling by. Every shadow looked like a waiting killer.

His phone buzzed, the sound shooting through the truck. Through him, too. And he went on instant alert. Jessa did as well, because she sucked in her breath loud enough for him to hear. When he took it from his pocket, she darted across the seat to see the name on the screen.

Rosalie.

Hell, he hoped nothing had gone wrong with Liam. Cooper hit the answer button fast.

“I’m so sorry,” Rosalie immediately said. “God, Cooper, I didn’t see him before it was too late.”

* * *

J
ESSA’S HEART SLAMMED
against her chest, and she grabbed the phone away from Cooper. She prayed this was some kind of bad joke, but she knew Rosalie wouldn’t joke about something like this.

“What’s wrong, Rosalie? What happened?” Jessa demanded.

But Rosalie was no longer on the line.

That sent a jolt of terror and adrenaline through her. Through Cooper, too, because he hit his brakes and, with the tires squealing and smoking, made a U-turn to take them back in the direction of the ranch.

Jessa pressed the redial button, but Rosalie didn’t answer. She tried again and got the same results.

Oh, God.

What was going on?

Jessa didn’t like any of the possibilities that came to mind, especially since Rosalie had said she would stay with Liam while they were gone.

I didn’t see him before it was too late.

Him.

That had to be the kidnapper or one of his or her henchmen. But that didn’t make sense. Cooper and she had taken plenty of security precautions to make sure no one got near Liam. So maybe Rosalie was mistaken. Or maybe Jessa had misheard her. She held on to that hope and prayed that her little boy and Rosalie were all right.

The phone buzzed again. Still no Rosalie. This time it was Colt. Both he and the sheriff had made the same U-turns and were following behind Cooper’s truck, but Colt no doubt wanted to know what was going on. Jessa answered it, and because she didn’t trust her voice, she held it out so that Cooper could respond.

“There’s a problem at the ranch,” he told Colt. “Rosalie might have been taken hostage. Maybe Liam, too.”

Those words had not come easily, and they nearly sent Jessa into another panic. But she forced herself to stay calm. Well, as calm as she could manage, but they couldn’t get back to the ranch fast enough.

“Call the others,” Cooper added to Colt. “Find out what the hell’s going on.”

Cooper snatched the phone from her, ended the call with his brother and tried to contact Rosalie again.

Still no answer.

Cooper was already going way too fast, but that caused him to speed up, and he called Tucker next. Thankfully, he answered, but Tucker’s hesitation put Jessa’s heart right in her throat.

“I’m not sure how it happened,” Tucker finally said. “But someone got into the house...and into the room with Liam.”

There was no holding back that panic now. Jessa’s breath vanished, and her heart started slamming against her ribs. This was her worst nightmare come true.