Kidnapping in Kendall County

Everything seemed to freeze. The cold rain. The echo of those shots. The lifeless guards. Everything except Austin. With his gun still pointed at the guards, he jumped onto the porch and went straight toward her.

“Whoever’s on the other end of the cameras will send someone after us,” Austin warned her. “We have to move fast.”

Rosalie knew he was right, but like the rain and the guards, she felt frozen. Austin helped with that, too. He took her by the arm and ran out of the house with her. Not toward the driveway, where Janice had just driven away. But rather toward another barn that looked ready to collapse under the weight of an old, sagging roof.

“Firing at those guards was stupid,” Austin snarled. “You could have been killed.”

She wanted to argue, wanted to remind him that he could have been killed, as well, but Austin kept her moving. Running. And when he threw open the barn door, she saw the other truck.

“Where’s the nanny?” he asked, shoving her inside the vehicle.

“I told her to drive to a police or fire station.”

If he approved of that, he didn’t say. Instead, he hotwired the truck, fast, the engine roaring to life, and he slammed on the accelerator. The back tires skidded on the wet, slippery ground, but Austin quickly gained control.

“I’ll need to drop you off somewhere.” He spared her a glance before those lawman’s eyes kept watch around them again. No doubt for anyone following them. “I have something I need to do.”

“Something involving this baby farm?”

He didn’t answer her right away. “Yeah.”

There was a lot of emotion in that one-word response. Rosalie didn’t know Austin that well, but she’d been engaged to an FBI agent. Was the sister of one. She knew the personal risks they were willing to take.

“Your cover’s been blown,” she reminded him.

Well, it had been if any of those guards had survived or if the people behind those cameras had been able to figure out what was going on. Heaven knew who was already on the way out to intercept them.

Austin just shook his head. “I have something important to do. Keep watch,” he added, his voice clipped now.

She did. Rosalie kept her gun ready, but that didn’t stop the feeling that Austin was withholding something she needed to know.

“There’s a safe house about ten miles from here,” he explained. “I’ll drop you off there and call someone to come and get you. Seth can put you in protective custody.”

Because she would now be a target. Rosalie didn’t welcome that, but she’d known it was a risk before she’d ever started this.

“Where are you going?” she pressed.

Austin mumbled something she didn’t catch. Cursed. Then, he shook his head. “There’s a second place. Not too far away. Once I have you safe, I can go there.”

It took a moment for that to sink in. “You mean another baby farm?”

“Yeah. It’s a lot bigger than this one. Maybe even the command center for the entire operation.”

Mercy. This was exactly what she’d been looking for. Despite the ordeal of the shooting and the breakneck speed that Austin was driving, Rosalie could feel a glimmer of hope.

“I haven’t been able to get onto the grounds of this second house to access the records,” he continued, “but I know there are babies being held for processing. If the guards heard about what just happened here, they’ll shut down that place and move the babies.”

Austin’s gaze slashed to hers for just a second. “My nephew could be there.”

“And my daughter. Or at least the records to show me where she was taken. I have—”

“I can’t take you with me. It’s too dangerous.”

Rosalie heard the words, and she knew they were true. But that didn’t matter. “I’m going with you. You can’t stop me.”

That brought on some more profanity. “It’s dangerous,” he repeated.

“Do you really think I care about that now or that I want you to care about it?” Despite the high speed, she scooted closer to him, so he could hopefully see the determination in her eyes. “Put yourself in my place.”

Her voice broke. And the blasted tears came. Tears that wouldn’t do Sadie any good, so Rosalie tried to choke them back.

“I have to find my daughter,” she managed to say. “And you’d just be wasting time taking me to the safe house. The guards could be moving the babies and records right now. If that happens, we might never find them.”

Again, no immediate answer. He just volleyed glances among the road, their surroundings and her, but Rosalie saw the exact moment that he realized she was right.

“You’ll stay in the truck,” he snapped. “And don’t make me regret this.”

Rosalie didn’t say anything. Didn’t want to utter a word that would make him change his mind. She only wanted to get to the house and see if her daughter was there.

Or any babies for that matter.

Yes, Sadie was her priority, but she couldn’t bear the thought of any child or parent going through this.

Austin took the next turn off the road. Then, another. Thankfully, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. That would save time, but would it get them there fast enough?

Rosalie remembered the communicator that one of the guards had been wearing when they’d stormed into the cottage and found Austin and her in bed. If the guard had been wearing that during the attack, then someone would have already been alerted to a problem. The people behind this would soon link that problem back to Austin and her.

And Janice.

Rosalie added a quick prayer that the nanny had already made it to safety with the babies. Too bad she didn’t have a way to contact Janice, but maybe they could do that soon.

“Thank you,” she whispered to Austin.

“Don’t,” he snapped like a warning. “Because I’m not doing either of us any favors here.” He paused and, even in the dim light from the dash, she saw his jaw muscles stir. “They’ve killed people, Rosalie. And they’ll kill again.”

That reminder caused her heartbeat to kick up a significant notch, and she thought there was even more that Austin had to say. But he didn’t say it.

He just kept driving.

The rain was coming down harder now, the wipers slashing at the fat drops, but it was still hard to see. It got even harder when Austin turned off his headlights and slowed down. Using just the parking lights to guide them, he turned onto another road, drove about a quarter of a mile and then brought the truck to a stop.

He cursed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, but Rosalie was afraid to hear the answer.

“There should be vehicles.” Austin got his gun ready, opened the door a fraction and looked around them. He killed the parking lights. Inched closer.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a large metal barn. Austin was right—no vehicles. No lights, either. The place looked deserted.