He stuck out his hand. “I’m a friend of Lindsey’s, a detective from Raleigh. Name’s Gavin McCord. I’m glad you came, Sheriff.”
The sheriff shook his hand firmly, glaring at him as if he recognized his face from a Wanted poster. “You here when this happened?”
He was going to treat him as a suspect. Gavin understood the drill, but he sure as hell didn’t like it. “I drove over, saw a window open and got worried.”
A vein pulsed in the man’s high forehead as he chewed over Gavin’s words. “Mighty early for a visit, ain’t it, son?”
“I was worried about her,” Gavin explained. “I thought I’d drop by and take her to breakfast.”
“All the way from Raleigh?”
Gavin forced himself to bank his anger. The old coot was just doing his job. He’d do the same if he were the officer in charge, but the sheriff was wasting precious time interrogating him.
“No, I came down yesterday, I spent the night at the local hotel. You can check with the manager. I arrived around 11:00 p.m.” He stole a glance at Lindsey, aware she was lying way too still for comfort.
The sheriff nodded, chewing his lip sideways. Gavin stroked Lindsey’s hand, gently turning her chin so she could see his face. “You’re okay, sweetheart, we’re taking you to the clinic.”
A moment of panic surged into her eyes and he grimaced, realizing the memories the place would resurrect.
“We’re ready to move her,” the paramedic cut in.
Gavin nodded. “I’m going with you.”
One of the fireman walked toward them, his face furrowed. He held up a wire and pair of wire clippers. “Looks like the line was cut intentionally.”
Anger swept through Gavin.
“Sir, we need to go,” the paramedic said.
Gavin nodded and climbed in the ambulance. “Check out that wire,” Gavin told the sheriff. “See if you find any prints.”
Forbes frowned. “Just who do you think you are?”
Gavin’s hands shook as he yanked his badge from his pocket. “A detective from Raleigh. I’m here to find out what happened to Miss Payne’s child.”
“You’re out of your jurisdiction.”
Gavin glared at him. “I’ve never let it stop me from solving a case before. And I don’t intend to this time.”
“Look, mister, the lady’s baby died of natural causes. Now she’s so distraught, she may have tried to kill herself.”
Fury ran through Gavin’s blood, hot and explosive. “Lindsey asked for my help yesterday. There’s no way she’d attempt suicide today. And if that wire was cut intentionally, it proves someone tried to hurt her.”
The sheriff stared at him in disbelief. The EMT closed the back door of the ambulance and Gavin sat down beside Lindsey, cradling her limp hand in his. As they pulled away, he prayed Forbes was one of the good guys, that he’d come up with some answers. Because if Gavin found out who’d done this to Lindsey, he would be tempted to forget the law.
He’d kill him with his bare hands.
LINDSEY AWAKENED, dazed and disoriented—where was she? A dark husky scent invaded her senses. Her house? No, the hospital. Glancing through the dim light, she tried to focus, then recognized the worry lines around Gavin’s troubled eyes. His jaw was clamped shut, his expression bleak. Still, his handsome face served as a source of comfort in the chaotic turmoil surrounding her life.
She allowed herself to savor his presence for a moment, trying to imprint his image on her brain so she could summon it after he left again. And he would leave again. It was only a matter of time. “Ga—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re in the hospital, Linds.”
She frowned. “What happened?”
“Your house had a gas leak. Did you forget to turn off the burner after you heated the soup?”
She shook her head, searching her memory.
“The sheriff’s checking it out.” He finally released the bedrail and raked a hand through his hair. “The doctors ran some tests, a chemical profile to trace any elements you might have inhaled.”
“Dr. Cross?”
“No, Dr. Avery.” He tipped his head toward the door. “He said Cross should be here any minute, though.”
Lindsey fiddled with the oxygen tubes. “I don’t understand what’s happening, Gavin. Not any of it.”
“I know.” His jaw tightened. “But I’ll figure it out. I just need a little time.”
A nurse bustled in to check Lindsey’s vitals. “Mercy, Ms. Lindsey, didn’t think we’d be seeing you again so soon.”
“Neither did I,” Lindsey whispered.
“The doctor wants to monitor your oxygen saturation for a while, hon, but so far, things look good,” the nurse drawled in a thick Southern accent. “He’ll probably let you go home in a while.”
“Thanks, Brenda Leigh. I really don’t want to stay overnight.”
“I know, honey-child. Now get some rest.” She fluffed Lindsey’s pillow, then slipped out the door.
Gavin gently stroked a strand of hair away from Lindsey’s forehead. “I’m going to talk to the staff for a minute. Will you be all right?”
Lindsey ached to reach out and hold on to him but refused to allow herself the comfort. So she simply nodded, then closed her eyes and gave in to the exhaustion. But as soon as sleep claimed her, she heard her baby’s cry.
“ROCK-A-BYE-BABY in the treetop…”
He listened to the baby’s cries and watched in silence as she cradled the little boy in her arms and rocked him back and forth. God, how she loved to sit in that rocker. Especially lately. As if the soothing motion could lull her own pain. She sang softly, the same lullaby she’d sung to her first son. The son she had lost…
A cold fist pressed against his heart. He would do anything to alleviate the terrible suffering she’d had to endure the past few months. The infant gurgled, batting a tiny hand at the tendrils of hair floating around her heart-shaped face, and he smiled as she traced a finger over the baby’s pointed little chin.
She was going to want to keep the child. Forever. Of that much he was certain. No matter what his boss had to say.
He chuckled, thinking of the years he’d devoted to his employer, giving up his own needs and beliefs sometimes to please him. Well, no more.
A dark laugh escaped him at the irony. He would never have thought of the plan by himself. No, the boss had the devious mind. But he’d walk away the loser this time.
He stepped outside and lit a cigarette, watched the embers spark to life, the ends curl and sparkle with orange fire as he took his first draw. Tapping the ashes onto the weed-filled grass, he inhaled the chill of the mountain air and the scent of honeysuckle as he pondered his plan.
The baby was safe and sound, but Lindsey Payne and that cop-boyfriend of hers were not. They wouldn’t get the baby back. And neither would the man who’d ordered him to take the baby from his mother’s arms.
The little boy cried out softly and he glanced through the window. She patted his back, the old chair creaking and groaning as she rocked and sang. No, the little boy was where he belonged. And he’d do anything he had to do to make sure he stayed there. Including kill the Payne woman and that nosy cop. And he’d even defy his boss if he had to.
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