Mistletoe Reunion Threat. Virginia Vaughan

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СКАЧАТЬ of the possibility that Jacob might need her and she wasn’t close by. She shook her head stubbornly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

      Garrett glanced over at Vince then tried a different tactic. “Okay then, we won’t go anywhere. We’ll stick around and man the phones for the Amber Alert.” He looked at Vince, who nodded his agreement.

      “I’ll keep you updated if we get any new leads,” he promised then walked off.

      She was glad that was settled. She wasn’t just any crime victim. She was also a prosecutor and she didn’t want to be handled. She had to stay strong and make certain every lead and angle was being investigated in finding her son.

      Garrett reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her arm that sent tingles through her. “We’ll find him. I promise.” She stared into his green eyes and melted a little inside, remembering how much she’d once loved this man. “Do you trust me, Ash?” he asked, using his old nickname for her.

      She stared at her hands to avoid looking into his eyes. Every instinct told her she could trust him, but her heart knew better. She’d once trusted him more than anyone in the world. She’d believed he was someone she could count on forever, but that trust had ended when he’d shut them out after discovering she was pregnant. The memory of how alone and broken she’d been brought back anger and bitterness so intense that she nearly couldn’t breathe.

      Instead of answering him, she asked a question. “When did you leave the rangers?”

      He looked like he didn’t want to answer, but he did. “Two years ago.”

      So he’d given up on them for something he hadn’t even stayed with.

      He sighed. “I owe you an apology, Ash.”

      “No, you don’t.”

      “Yes, I do, and I want to explain. I never told you this, but after I left you to return to my unit, my ranger team was ambushed. I saw men with wives and families who were suffering because their husbands and fathers had decided to take on a dangerous task. I knew I couldn’t let you have that kind of life. My life, my work, is dangerous. I was trying to protect you from that.”

      She cut him off, anger pulsing through her at the idea that he was going to try to justify abandoning his family. “What you did was to make the choice for me. You made a decision that affected us without even consulting me. You cut me out of your life.”

      His expression held regret and pain, but he nodded reluctantly. “I know.”

      “I can’t even begin to fathom how I can trust you to help me look for Jacob.”

      “I know I’ve let you down in the past, Ash, but I’m here now and I won’t leave you again. I’m right here by your side and I promise you I’ll find your son.”

      His eyes steeled with determination, but she noticed he still referred to Jacob as her son, not their son. Well, he was right. Jacob was her son. He’d abandoned them when they’d needed him most. But he had skills that could help her. He had been an army ranger. She needed him in order to find Jacob. And even though she didn’t want to, she instinctively trusted him in that regard.

      * * *

      Garrett hung around the precinct and kept an eye on Ashlynn. For the next few hours, she answered calls from the Amber Alert and he could see the devastation on her face when each lead proved unworthy. He agreed with Vince that she didn’t need to be here in the center of all this. She needed to distance herself and allow others to field through the evidence. Yet he also knew she wasn’t the type of person to sit around and wait for answers. Like him, she was action oriented. It was one of those things he’d once loved most about her. She’d never played the part of a victim no matter how many obstacles life threw at her. He knew she wouldn’t now, either.

      He had to admit he was feeling antsy himself. He needed to do something and his mind was focused on speaking with Ashlynn’s ex-husband, Stephen Morris. He’d been surprised to learn of their divorce. It wasn’t really his business, but this was Ashlynn they were talking about, and as far as he was concerned she was still his business.

      Despite what she’d told Vince earlier, his stomach constricted as he realized the attempt on her life along with her son’s abduction made much more sense when you added an angry ex-husband to the mix, especially since they had yet to receive a ransom call. Had Stephen hired someone to plant that bomb in Ashlynn’s car? And was he behind the murder of their nanny? He wanted to believe such a thing would shock him, but unfortunately he’d seen too much and was no longer surprised by the depravity of the world. Both his time in the rangers and his private search-and-rescue missions had cemented his belief that evil knew no bounds and betrayal was a bitter pill. It pained him to think that Ashlynn might have been betrayed by someone she’d once cared for.

      He tracked down the detective Vince had sent to interview Ashlynn’s ex and asked him what his take was on Stephen Morris.

      “The husband would automatically become a person of interest in an attack on his wife, but this guy seemed genuinely shocked at the nanny’s death and understandably worried about his kid. We’ll keep looking into his business dealings and financials, but my personal opinion is that he’s not involved.”

      Garrett hoped the detective was correct, but it was hard to take the man’s opinion at face value. He didn’t know him that well and didn’t yet trust his judgment. In fact, there wasn’t anyone on the force he trusted that much yet. Garrett wanted to look into Stephen’s eyes himself in order to know for sure he wasn’t involved in this.

      But he wasn’t leaving Ashlynn alone. He found her refilling a cup of coffee in the break room and pulled her aside. Her face showed signs of weariness and her eyes were red and sad. He hated seeing her this way and had the sudden urge to take her in his arms. Instead, he dug his hands into his pockets before he acted on it.

      “How are you holding up?”

      She shook her head. “It’s frustrating. The Amber Alert isn’t generating much usable information. I feel like I should be out doing something, even if it’s just driving around with my head out the window screaming Jacob’s name.”

      He smiled at that image, but he agreed with her sentiment. They’d been at the precinct for hours. They both needed to be out doing something.

      “I was thinking we should go talk with your ex-husband. I know the police have already questioned him, but he may say something to you that he wouldn’t say to the police.”

      “I know Stephen is the most logical suspect given that the bomb was in my car, but I still have a hard time believing he would kill Mira.”

      “This may have nothing to do with him or he could be involved indirectly. What if someone is targeting his family to get back at him? We should check out every possibility.”

      He could see she was still hesitant to believe Stephen could be involved, but her urge to do something obviously won out because she agreed to go with him. She followed him outside and slid into the passenger seat of his truck. The back window was still out so he cranked up the heater to knock off the chill of the December night air.

      He headed for the neighborhood where Stephen Morris now lived. Garrett knew it by reputation. It was an upscale area in a well-to-do part of town. Stephen obviously made a good living. Garrett didn’t like the twinge of jealousy that nicked at him. He wasn’t some poor kid from СКАЧАТЬ