Countdown

The kidnapper jumped backward, as if trying to get out of the way, at the sound of squealing brakes. His face paled as if he was unsure James had actually stopped. The man’s arms flailed. He fought for balance and lost. The gun slipped from his fingertips as he fell to the pavement.

James thrust the car into Park and jumped out. He stepped toward the kidnapper, prepared to fight him if necessary to keep the gun from his reach. The man had already jumped to a crouched position and glanced between the gun and James. Most likely he was trying to judge if he could make it to the weapon before James pounced.

James balled his hands into fists in response. The kidnapper snarled and sprinted past the nose of Rachel’s car, disappearing behind the closest house.

The police fanned around the van, guns drawn, but pointed their weapons at the driver who had his hands up in the air. They didn’t run after the other man. Had they not known there were two of them? James couldn’t allow him to escape.

Police cars screeched to a stop behind them. One cruiser squeezed past Rachel’s car and ramped up a driveway before two officers jumped out and pursued the kidnapper on the run. James relaxed his hands.

Rachel stepped onto the pavement. The slight breeze moved her glossy, thick hair away from her pale face and wide eyes. James ran to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking for signs of shock. “Are you okay?”

She trembled underneath his fingers but nodded rapidly. His gaze jerked back to the van swarmed with officers. He fought back the urge to run over and wrench the van door open, but he watched everyone on high alert. The last thing he wanted was to escalate the situation and to give them any reason to delay opening the door to his boys.

He pulled Rachel to his chest, his chin grazing the top of her head. Her body shook, and he held her tight. Please let my boys be okay.

An officer near the white van ran toward them. The cop spoke into his radio and waved his hand, indicating Rachel and James should stay back. Other officers pulled the driver out of the van. They pressed the man against the hood and proceeded to handcuff him.

Rachel pulled away from James but grabbed for his hand. Any other moment and he would’ve felt uncomfortable with her touch for reasons he’d take days to analyze. But now, at this moment, it was as if they stood together in prayer, in unity, during the most excruciating wait of his life.

The side door of the van slid open. Inside the cargo area, on the floor of the van, the twins clung to each other. His eyes burned, his throat tightened, and a wretched bark of relief escaped.

The boys were safe. Thank You, Lord.

He jolted forward, but the officer held a hand out. “Those are my sons.” It wasn’t a request, and he didn’t wait to hear the officer’s response. He ran at a full sprint to the van.

“Daddy,” Caleb screamed. The twins let go of each other and held their arms out. They didn’t seem injured as the officers on either side of the door stepped back.

James kneeled down. Caleb and Ethan hurdled into his open arms. His hands splayed across their small backs. Their soft cheeks, wet with tears, pressed into his temples.

“Daddy.” Ethan’s cry mixed with a laugh broke his heart.

“Guess what, Dad? I put on my seat belt all by self,” Caleb said, his little voice shaking. “Ethan needed help.”

James opened his eyes enough to look into the van. A ripped-up bench seat in the back of the van held three seat belts. The middle of the van had holes on the floor where rows of seats used to reside. He choked back a sob at the provision of safety. “That was very smart of you boys. You’re not hurt? Are you sure?”

They shook their heads. Their blond hair brushed against his hair. “Daddy, you saved us, huh?” Ethan nodded his head while he asked. His son’s long eyelashes held tiny teardrops.

James closed his eyes. His entire body shook with emotion. He fisted the backs of their shirts, wishing he could hug them tighter but careful to be gentle. “God did, buddy.” The words barely escaped his swollen throat. “And He used our neighbor to help.”

James twisted to look over his shoulder at the woman in question. She stood with a hand cupped over her mouth, her head bent. She’d always been attractive, but at the moment, she looked a thousand times more beautiful than he’d ever noticed.

He fought back the habitual onslaught of questions and theories flooding his mind whenever a problem arose. It made him an asset to his company, but as a parent he didn’t want to face what his analytical mind shouted: this was too bizarre to be random.

The events of the last week shifted together in his memory, a puzzle begging to be solved. The blood in his veins ran cold. Bottom line: it had to be his fault, and he had no guarantee they wouldn’t try again.

TWO (#ulink_931d3308-f5d9-5c46-a1ce-431332342cc4)

Rachel fought off a relieved sob as she watched James reunite with his sons. His broad shoulders provided enough room to embrace both children at once. He stood as he held them to his chest, their little feet dangling. Both pairs of little arms wrapped around his neck.

She turned to the side, not wanting to intrude on their moment. She’d gotten to know James and the boys as they car-pooled to church together every Sunday and Wednesday...at least until a few days ago when he’d left without her.

Last Sunday, she had walked to the sidewalk at the appointed time and found his car already halfway down the street. She wouldn’t have minded driving on her own to church, but the lack of communication infuriated her. She’d half hoped he would explain, but on Wednesday he’d gone without her, as well. She’d meant to talk to James about it the past few days, but the awkwardness of the situation didn’t inspire her to make the first move. And now certainly wasn’t the time.

Other sirens approached, but they had a different rhythm to them. Her suspicions were confirmed as an ambulance pulled to a stop on the main road. She didn’t envy the commuters the traffic jam it created, but his boys were alive. That was all that mattered.

A policeman stepped in front of her. “Ma’am? Were you the one that called in? I need to ask you some questions.”

Something flew into the back of her legs. Her knees almost buckled. She looked down to find two three-year-old boys firmly attached to her legs. The officer smiled. “I’ll give you a minute,” he said.

“Daddy said you saved us.” Ethan held on to her right leg.

Caleb squeezed her left knee. “We’re supposed to say thank you.”

“I didn’t say you should tackle her, though.”

Rachel twisted her torso to find James McGuire, tears in his eyes, flash a sheepish grin at her. “I—I can’t thank you enough,” he said.

He reached above the boys and pulled her into an awkward hug. His arms squeezed her tight around her shoulders for half a second, as if he was about to lift her up instead of embrace her. Despite it being a clumsy hug, her cheeks heated. His abrupt release threatened her balance, but the boys’ weight around her feet helped steady her. She averted her eyes. She didn’t want him to see how his hug affected her.

James cleared his throat and bent down. “Boys, let Rachel move.” The twins took the cue and jumped into his arms again. They had blond hair, from what she assumed was their mother’s side, but their blue, sparkling eyes and dark eyelashes were an exact duplicate of their father’s.

A movement in the distance caught her eye. A man crouched between two trees on the opposite side of the street. The kidnapper returned to the scene to spy on them? A coldness that made no sense in a California suburb chilled her skin. “He’s there,” she shouted, raising a finger up. She trained her eyes and finger on him, but it seemed he didn’t care. He stared right back. A shiver ran down her spine.

The cops immediately responded in pursuit. A second later the man broke eye contact and scaled the closest fence.

“Get him,” she whispered.

James straightened, the boys still in his arms. His eyes flicked from the officers in pursuit back to her. She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. Judging by the way the muscles along his chiseled jaw tensed, barely controlled rage was the emotion of the moment.

“Was that a bad man?” Ethan asked.

“Yes.” A steely tone radiated off that one word.

Caleb tugged on his collar. “And they’re going to put him in jail?”

His chest heaved. “Yes.” His voice cracked. “So he can never try to take you away again.”

Rachel’s ribs constricted. A man like James should never have had to lose his wife or even worry about having to lose his kids. She’d seen the way he parented them at church, during their car-pool rides, and occasionally through her window as they ran around their backyard while the boys giggled and taunted James with cries of “Chase me, Daddy.”

Such a man didn’t deserve to deal with this kind of fear, the kind she’d experienced most of her life. An inevitable darkness surrounded people like her.

James frowned, snapping her out of the morose thoughts. His dark mop of curls hung low and emphasized his blue-gray eyes. She followed his gaze as paramedics crossed the grass, heading toward them. “Are you hurt?” James asked.

She put a hand on her neck. “Nothing a good stretch and a visit to the chiropractor won’t fix.” She reached out and gently touched the twins’ blond heads, needing reassurance they were fine.

Two officers approached. “Sir? Ma’am? We need to talk to both of you.”

James nodded but his gaze didn’t leave her. Two paramedics flanked James. They each talked to the boys in hushed tones as they asked questions and tried to evaluate them. The boys clung even tighter to their father’s neck. Their little red T-shirts against his navy-collared shirt gave a resemblance to a superhero.