Under the Cowboy's Protection Read online

  He eased back enough to look down at her and frown.

  “Sandra’s alive because we went there,” Thea explained. “If we hadn’t gotten to her, she could have been unconscious and trapped in that fire.”

  Raleigh’s frown softened just a little. That was the only part of him soft though. His muscles were so tight that it felt as if she was hugging stone.

  “The shooter might not have set the fire if we hadn’t shown up,” Raleigh pointed out, but he groaned again, maybe dismissing that. Because Thea was betting the gunman would indeed have burned down the place just to make sure they didn’t get their hands on any evidence.

  Since they had dozens of things to do, Thea was a little surprised when Raleigh stayed put. Surprised, too, at the gentle way he used just his fingertips to push her hair from her face. She figured the gentleness was a real effort for him with all that tension in his body.

  She got yet another surprise when he leaned in even closer and kissed her. She felt the stubble on his jaw brush over her face. She took in his scent. And his taste.

  The kiss packed a punch. A huge one. Maybe it was her frayed nerves, but she found herself leaning right into that kiss. She moved into the rhythm of it until her pulse was thick and throbbing. Until she remembered why she’d gotten involved with Raleigh in the first place.

  When he finally pulled back, Thea didn’t have to worry that he would see what a wreck she was from the attack. That’s because now he was almost certainly seeing the heat in her eyes. Heat that he’d put there from that sizzling kiss.

  Raleigh opened his mouth, maybe to apologize, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything. That’s because they heard Dalton shout out from the squad room.

  “Hey, you can’t just go in there,” Dalton snarled.

  But apparently the person thought the deputy’s order didn’t apply to him because the door flew open, and Simon was there with Dalton right behind him.

  “Sorry about this,” Dalton said to Raleigh, and he aimed a cop’s glare at Simon. “Some people don’t listen.”

  “Some people need to talk to the sheriff,” Simon fired back.

  But Simon didn’t even look at Dalton when he spoke. His attention was on Raleigh and her. Specifically, Simon was noticing the way Thea had her arm around his waist and the fact that their bodies were practically touching. If Simon had come in just seconds earlier, he would have seen more than a touch, but even without that visual, Thea figured the man knew what had gone on.

  And he didn’t like it.

  Maybe because she was close to Warren. However, Simon’s anger was directed at Raleigh, too.

  “Nice to see you’re working so hard to find Sonya’s killer,” Simon grumbled.

  He couldn’t have said anything that would have made Raleigh and her move faster to get away from each other. Because it was true. They shouldn’t be kissing when they were in the middle of a murder investigation. And Simon was part of that particular investigation.

  “Your deputy called and said you wanted to see me,” Simon went on. “Well, I’m a busy man. Busier than you are obviously. So what the heck do you want?”

  Raleigh took a moment, maybe to rein in his temper, but he used that time to send a withering glare at Simon. “Where were you at the times of Sonya’s and Hannah Neal’s murders?”

  “What?” Simon howled. And he repeated it. “You think I had something to do with that?”

  “I won’t know until you’ve answered the question. It’s a simple question, and I’d like an answer—now.” There was no sign of a temper in Raleigh’s tone, but he was all lawman now.

  Dalton must have realized that Raleigh had this under control because he walked away, back toward his desk in the squad room.

  “I was at home most of the day when Sonya was killed. And no, I doubt anyone can verify that. I didn’t realize at the time that I would need an alibi since I’m not a criminal, and I don’t have a criminal record.”

  Raleigh ignored that mini-tirade and kept on. “What about the day Hannah died? And don’t say you don’t know who she is, because her murder made front-page news around here.”

  “That was a year ago,” Simon snapped. “No way could I remember something like that off the top of my head.”

  “Then check your calendar and appointment book and get back to me. I’d like an answer ASAP.”

  She hadn’t thought Simon’s glare could get worse, but it did. “What the hell is this about?”

  “Buck Tanner,” Raleigh immediately answered.

  Thea watched Simon’s expression, and she was certain that Raleigh was doing the same. The man’s eyes widened for just a fraction of a second, and then his mouth tightened. “My former client. What about him?”

  “Former?” Raleigh challenged. “You were his lawyer of record for his last two arrests, one of them only about six months ago.”

  “We had a parting of the ways. Now, what’s this about?” Simon included her in his volleyed glances, though Thea had no intentions of answering him.

  “Buck Tanner’s prints were on the kidnapped baby’s carrier seat that Thea and I found,” Raleigh explained. “I’m guessing you’ll insist you don’t know anything about that?”

  “Of course I don’t.” But Simon definitely seemed uncomfortable. “Have you talked to him?”

  “There’s an APB out on him. We’ll find him,” Raleigh assured him. “Did he have a connection to Sonya? Did he know her?”

  “I have no idea.” The angry tone was back, but there was still plenty of concern in his eyes. “Are you suggesting that I put him up to something illegal?” Simon didn’t wait for an answer. “Because I was his lawyer—that’s all.”

  Raleigh made a hmm sound that let Simon know he wasn’t exactly buying that. “I’ll let you know what Buck says when we find him. And, oh, we’re monitoring his phone and bank accounts. Just thought you should know that if you were planning on calling him.”

  If looks could kill, Simon would have blasted Raleigh and her off the planet. Simon belted out some profanity, turned and stormed out.

  “You believe he’s innocent?” Thea immediately asked Raleigh.

  “I don’t know. But something’s going on with him.”

  Thea agreed. Too bad they couldn’t find out if that something was Simon’s plan to get back at Warren. Raleigh must have been thinking the same thing because he took out his phone.

  “I’ll call my mother and ask her if she ever heard Simon mention Buck,” Raleigh explained.

  But he didn’t get a chance to make the call, because Dalton stepped into the doorway of the office. “SAPD found something when they were searching Yvette and Nick’s house. A burner cell that was tucked between the mattresses. They’ll send it to the lab to see if they can find out if it was used to make any calls.”

  “Did Yvette or Nick admit the phone was theirs?” she asked.

  Dalton shook his head. “Nick wasn’t there, and Yvette left shortly before they found it. You want me to get her in for questioning?”

  “Not yet,” Raleigh answered. “Wait until we hear back from the lab.”

  “There’s more,” Dalton went on. “There was also an envelope underneath a bunch of things in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. The kind of envelope that banks use sometimes when they give you a lot of cash. Someone had marked three thousand dollars on the outside of it, but inside there were only two one-hundred-dollar bills.”

  Three grand probably wasn’t enough to hire two thugs to do your dirty work—like kidnap your surrogate’s baby—but maybe it had been some kind of down payment. But the question was, where had Yvette or Nick gotten the money?

  Thea looked up at Dalton. “Was there a withdrawal from their bank account in that amount?”

  The deputy shook his head. “No cash withdrawal over two-hundred dollars.”

  It was pos
sible that one of them had made the smaller withdrawals and stashed the money away in those increments, but it would have taken a while for that amount to accumulate. Still, it was doable.

  “The lab is going to check for prints on the money,” Dalton added.

  Good. Then they would know if Nick or Yvette had put it there. Or maybe they both had. This could be their emergency fund, along with the cell phone. Maybe there was no criminal intent whatsoever.

  “Let me know what the lab says,” Raleigh reminded Dalton. “And make sure someone is keeping a close watch for Buck.”

  Dalton nodded. “His cell phone isn’t in a service area, but if he gets or receives any calls, we’ll know about it.”

  Since Buck was a career criminal, he’d probably ditched the cell. Too bad there wasn’t a way for them to legally monitor Simon’s phone, but they would need a court order for that. One they wouldn’t be able to get because there wasn’t enough evidence against him.

  Dalton went back to his desk, leaving Raleigh and her standing there in the suddenly awkward silence. “I need to talk to my mom,” he finally said. “Not just to ask her about Buck but because Simon will tell her that he saw you in my arms.”

  Sweet heaven. With everything else going on, Thea hadn’t even considered that. But yes, Simon would tell her, and she didn’t have to guess how Alma would handle the news because there was no way Raleigh’s mom would approve of her son getting involved with her again.

  Raleigh took out his phone, but before he could press in Alma’s number, he got another call. Her chest tightened when she saw the words Unknown Caller on the screen.

  “Use your phone to record this,” Raleigh insisted, and he waited until she had hit the recording function.

  “Sheriff Lawton,” a man said when Raleigh answered.

  It wasn’t a voice she recognized, and apparently neither did Raleigh because he snapped, “Who is this?”

  “I’m the man who’s going to make your day. You know that missing kid? The one that Hannah Neal was carrying for that couple who hired her to be a surrogate,” he added. “Well, I got the kid. And before you ask, she’s just fine.”

  Thea certainly hadn’t expected that. Nor was she sure it was true.

  “You’ve got the baby that’s been missing?” Raleigh challenged. “You’re sure about that, or is this some kind of hoax to extort some ransom money?”

  “No hoax, and yeah, I’m sure.”

  “If that’s true, where has the baby been all this time? She’s been missing for a year.”

  “She’s been in good hands with a nanny,” the man said.

  Thea prayed that was true. But that didn’t mean the baby would remain in good hands, because this thug probably had demands. Money for sure. But maybe something more—like exchanging the baby for her. That’s what Marco had wanted anyway, and this could be Buck, Marco’s partner on the other end of the line.

  If Buck or this snake did indeed want her, then Thea would try to make that happen. This had nothing to do with her being a cop. There was just no way she could allow the baby to be in the hands of a killer.

  “You probably got questions,” the man went on, “but you must know that I’m not gonna be real keen on answering them, especially since you’re probably taping this and all. But here’s the deal. You get the kid, no strings attached.”

  “Really? No strings?” Raleigh challenged.

  “Not a one. If you want the kid, she’s right outside the back door of the diner, the one that leads into the alley. My advice? Get there fast before I change my mind.”

  And with that, the caller hung up.

  “You’re not going out there,” Raleigh said to Thea before she could even volunteer. “Stay put, and that’s not up for negotiation.”

  Thea understood his concern. They’d nearly been killed just hours earlier, but she hadn’t been the only one in the middle of that attack. Raleigh had been, too. Still, she didn’t say anything because she knew it wasn’t an argument she could win.

  Raleigh drew his gun and hurried into the squad room. “Call the diner,” he told Alice. “I don’t want any of the employees or customers going outside the building, but there could be a baby at their back door.”

  Alice was in the process of making that call when Thea saw the front entrance of the diner open, and a woman in a waitress uniform started walking toward the sheriff’s office.

  She was holding an infant car seat, and there was indeed a baby strapped inside it.

  Raleigh ran to the door, threw it open, and the moment the waitress reached him, he pulled her inside. “I heard a baby crying,” she said, “and when I went to check it out, I found her. There’s an envelope taped to the side of the seat, but I didn’t touch it. I didn’t unhook the straps, either.”

  That was smart of her, but Thea doubted there’d be any evidence to recover from it. Still, they had something that might link them back to who’d done this.

  “Did you see anyone else back there or in the alley?” Raleigh asked the woman.

  She shook her head. “Just the baby. Why would someone leave a precious little girl out there like that?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” Raleigh assured her.

  Thea went into the squad room so she could have a better look. The baby was wearing a pink dress and had blond curls. She was fussing and kicking her feet, but she seemed to be unharmed. Thank God.

  “I need gloves,” Raleigh told Alice, and the deputy ran to the supply cabinet to get him a pair.

  Once Raleigh had them on, he took the car seat from the waitress, moving it to one of the desk tops. He clicked a picture of the carrier and baby before he removed the envelope. There was no letter or note inside, just two photos. And the sight of them caused Thea’s breath to stall in her throat.

  Because the first was a picture of Hannah. Alive. And she was holding a newborn baby. Judging from the looks of it, it was the baby she’d just delivered.

  Raleigh moved on to the second photo, and even though Thea had tried to steel herself up for whatever it would be, the steeling didn’t work. The sickening feeling of dread washed over her.

  In this picture, Hannah was dead. Her lifeless body was sprawled out. And next to her was a man in a ski mask, holding the precious baby in his arms.

  Chapter Ten

  The nightmare woke Raleigh, and he jackknifed in the bed. The images of an attack had been so real that his body had kicked up a huge amount of adrenaline, preparing itself for a fight. But there was no threat. He was alone in his bed, and his house was quiet.

  Quiet but with the smell of coffee in the air.

  He threw back the covers and checked the time. It was barely 6:00 a.m., which meant he’d gotten about five hours of sleep. Apparently though, Thea had gotten even less than that, since she was almost certainly the reason for the coffee scent. That meant she was probably up, working, something he should be doing.

  Raleigh grabbed a quick shower, threw on some clothes and hurried into the kitchen. Thea was there all right, and there was a half-filled pot of coffee on the kitchen counter. But she was sacked out, her head on the table next to her open laptop and her phone.

  The sound of his footsteps must have alerted her though because her eyes flew open, and she reached for her gun. Which wasn’t there. Because she was wearing his pj’s. Or rather pj’s that belonged to him. Her brother hadn’t packed her a pair of her own, so she’d had to use a pair of his.

  For all of his adult life, Raleigh had only slept in boxers or gone commando, but for some reason his mother always gave him pajamas, slippers and robes as gifts. He’d never used any of them, but they looked darn good on Thea.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. She stood and stretched, causing the blue plaid fabric to tighten across her breasts. Plus, she’d missed the two bottom buttons on the top, so he got a nice peep show of her stomach.


  Yeah, the pj’s looked good on her.

  Raleigh felt his body clench, and to stop himself from ogling her, he got his mind on something else. “You couldn’t sleep?” he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  “I managed to get in a couple of hours, but I wanted to check on the baby. Well, both babies, actually. Rachel’s an early riser because her pregnancy is getting to the uncomfortable stage, so she emailed me some updates. Sonya’s baby is fine. And the baby that the waitress found yesterday is with social services and has had her DNA tested.”

  That was a start, but in addition to keeping both girls safe, they needed to know the identities of their parents. If the older baby was indeed the one that Hannah had carried, then the child would be given to the birth parents, the couple who’d hired Hannah to be their surrogate. It could be wonderful news for them.

  Of course, that didn’t change the fact that Hannah was dead.

  Since Thea had already started her work day, Raleigh did, too. He took his laptop to the table and loaded his email, and he immediately saw one from the lab. According to the test they’d run, there were no prints on the car seat other than those of the waitress. And none on the envelope or the photos. Along with that, there were no fibers or trace evidence. Not good, but the photos would still be analyzed though to see if there was any visual evidence in the background.

  Something that Raleigh had already been looking at.

  Too bad he’d found nothing. However, he’d had the photos scanned, and he downloaded them from the storage files.

  “Griff has been in touch with the San Antonio Fire Department,” Thea continued. She got up to pour herself more coffee. “Both fires at the security company and fertility clinic were set with accelerants. Something we’d already suspected.”

  They had. Ditto for suspecting that Yvette would claim the money in the nightstand drawer was for emergencies, that there was no way she’d ever used the cash to pay a kidnapper. Yvette had also claimed that once there had been three grand in the envelope, but they’d tapped into it for various things.