San Antonio Secret

“I imagine you do. Look at me.”

Twisting in Mallory’s arms, her daughter stared at the man. He stroked his chin. “What’s the name of the woman who tried to help you escape from the van?”

Mallory tightened her hold on her daughter.

“You’re squishing me, Mommy. Not so tight.” She wiggled and stared hard at the cop’s chest. “You have a shiny badge, so you’re not a stranger, but why do you want to know about Sierra? I saw her fall. Is she okay?”

With a silent groan, Mallory closed her eyes.

The cop smiled. “An unusual name. Perhaps your mother would be willing to tell us her friend’s last name.”

Chloe nodded. “Mommy knows it. I know it too. Just like my name is Chloe Harrigan. Sierra’s name is Sierra Bradford.”

The man nodded at his driver. “You get that?”

“Yes, sir.” Within seconds he’d placed a call.

Mallory’s hope sank. Now that her daughter had inadvertently put a target on Sierra’s back, how would her best friend ever be able to find them? She bit her lip, her mind whirling. She was on her own. How could she save them?

The cop crossed his arms in front of him, his smirk too satisfied. “Thank you for the information, Chloe. You’ve been a lot of help.”

“Where’s Princess Buttercup?” Chloe asked with a pout. “You promised.”

“And I always keep my promises,” he said. “Eventually. Right now, Glen will take you to your room. Your mother and I are going to have a little...chat.”

Leaning her forehead against her daughter’s hair, Mallory tried not to tremble.

Glen tugged Chloe from her mother’s arms.

“Mommy!”

The cop grabbed Mallory’s arm. Hard. She had no idea why they’d taken her, but she was afraid she’d soon find out.

“I have a few questions for you, Mrs. Harrigan. If I hear what I want, maybe your daughter won’t have to watch her mother die.”

Chapter Three (#u74658c77-9505-53bc-8f18-7d7dafc5aec2)

The stillness in the motel room made Sierra want to squirm. She sat perched on the edge of the bed, back stiff. She’d filled Rafe in on the van, the kidnapping, everything.

How Mallory had called her after discovering missing money at her job for the San Antonio Rodeo. How Sierra had followed the money trail by digging into a few files and discovering numbers that had been adjusted after Mallory had reconciled her books. How they’d both wondered if her ex’s threats about their custody battle might be related. How that routine traffic stop on the way to pick up Chloe from school had led to the abduction and her getting shot. No point in sugarcoating the truth.

Of course, in typical Rafe fashion, he hadn’t said a word. The muscle in his jaw pulsed erratically, and he just stared. Stone-faced and silent.

His unblinking gaze bored into her. Uh-oh. She recognized the expression and forced herself not to look away. Rafe might be an enigma to practically everyone, but she knew a few things about him. He maintained control 99 percent of the time. She’d only seen him lose it once: their night together. One he obviously regretted—as did she.

Sierra still couldn’t believe Noah had sent Rafe, of all people, to find her. Okay, maybe she could believe it. Rafe was one of the few people Noah really trusted—outside family. Still, she would have preferred to face almost anyone else from CTC.

Her discomfort didn’t matter, though. She’d had no choice but to ask for his help. Mallory and Chloe couldn’t wait. They needed rescuing.

And damn him, Rafe was the very best. CTC called on him when the job was too complicated, too dangerous and required no nerves and even less fear.

And now, she needed him.

With a shaky hand she pushed back her hair over her ear. He was full-on quiet, which meant he didn’t want to speak whatever was on his mind. A waft of the antiseptic he’d used still burned. She wrinkled her nose. She hated the odor. At twelve she’d spent every afternoon at the hospital during her mother’s final illness. That scent did more than make her gut ache, it made her heart hurt. She’d been unable to do anything to prevent her mother’s death. Sierra could do something now...if Mallory and Chloe were still alive.

No. She wouldn’t let herself even consider they weren’t okay. Maybe frightened, but they had to be okay.

“I can’t believe you’ve been kidnapped twice in two months,” Rafe finally muttered with a shake of his head.

“Old news that’s irrelevant,” Sierra said. “And it’s almost kidnapped. If Chloe hadn’t been so scared—”

“You’d all be dead.” Rafe crossed his arms. “This is how it’s going to play. First, I’m calling Noah. He’ll send a plane to take you back to Denver—”

“Not happening,” she interrupted. No way was he pushing her out. She had to make things right. “Not until we find Mallory and Chloe.”

“Sierra—”

“I’m a witness. I know them. You need me.”

“Do you know who kidnapped them?”

She frowned. “They wore masks—”

“Do you have any suspects?”

He rubbed in the obvious with each question. She didn’t have much to go on. “Mallory is getting ready to file paperwork to get full custody. Her ex has been fighting her—”

“Most abductions are committed by someone who knows the victim.” Rafe stroked the stubble on his chin. “He involved other people, though, and that means loose ends. What does he get out of it, unless he plans to keep them prisoner? Or worse.”

An icy chill settled in Sierra’s gut. “The only other lead I have is that she discovered missing money at her job at the rodeo. I looked through some files Mallory brought home with her. I found a few suspicious entries, but I don’t have anything solid. To be sure, I need a look at the accounting system.”

“We need a warrant to do that. CTC has a contact on the San Antonio police force—”

She shook her head. “No cops. At least one helped with the kidnapping. I can’t risk word getting out.”

CTC had dealt with corrupt cops before. It’s one of the reasons the company existed—when law enforcement couldn’t or wouldn’t help. Her father hated that about her career. He’d been a cop until a gunshot wound had put him in a wheelchair, but just because he was no longer on the force didn’t mean you took the cop out of the man.

Rafe shook his head. “I can’t promise anything but to be discreet—”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he placed his finger against her lips. “I’ll call Ransom and request getting Zane out here. He’s got the computer skills. We’ll find your friend, but you are going back to Denver. We can handle this. Let me do my job.”

“And you need to let me do mine.” With a jerk, Sierra flung his hand away and swiveled to the opposite side of the mattress from Rafe. She stalked around the bed and picked up her soiled jeans from the floor. She didn’t look forward to putting them on, but she had nothing else to wear. “I’m staying until we find Mallory and Chloe. If all you’re going to do is put roadblocks in front of me, just go home. I’ll contact Ransom myself and get someone else to help me.” She snatched her burner phone from the table. “Mallory and Chloe don’t have any more time. We’ve wasted too much debating already. I don’t need your protection, Rafe. I need your help.”

Rafe rubbed his temple. “You are so damn stubborn. Fine. I’m in.”

Without a word he stalked out of the motel room, returning in moments with a duffel. He dropped it on the bed, unzipped it and threw a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt at her. “Put them on. At least they’re clean.”

Catching the clothes, she nodded. “Fine.”