Guarding The Babies. Sandra Robbins

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СКАЧАТЬ troubled her. She practically lived on a tour bus—what kind of life was that for two small children? Leaving them behind didn’t seem like an option, either. She didn’t want to see them just in snatches between tours. And what about other issues? She had become somewhat accustomed to the constant presence of someone, whether a paparazzo or a fan, bent on taking her picture. She didn’t want Emma and Ethan exposed to that. It was overwhelming, even when the people on the other end of it were well-intentioned. And when they weren’t...

      Tonight had just reinforced those concerns. The thought of the baby carrier the man wore sent chills down her spine. There could only be one reason for that—he had come to kidnap the twins. She could tell from the way Cole had avoided her gaze when she told him about the intruder having one that he thought so, too. This was no ordinary robbery. It had to have been an attempted kidnapping. Nothing appeared to have been touched in the house, and the intruder’s attention seemed to have been focused on the twins.

      A shiver ran up her spine, and she wrapped her arms around her waist. She needed to check all the doors once more before going back to bed, but she wasn’t going to turn the lights off. She hurried to take care of that before heading back upstairs.

      Five minutes later, she tiptoed back into the nursery. Emma’s quiet snuffle drifted across the room, and she smiled. She was grateful April had been one of the responding officers tonight. She’d been able to calm both children and get them asleep by the time she had to leave. Now they both slept soundly.

      She, however, wasn’t willing to go back to her room and leave them. She turned the lock on the door, grabbed a quilt from the closet and settled herself in the rocking chair. As she pulled the cover up over herself, the memory of trying to ward off their attacker returned, and she blinked back tears. She had no idea where the strength came from to do that. It had taken over her body and filled her with a fierce resolve to protect her family. She could only hope that it would be enough to keep them safe—at least for tonight. Settling down in the chair, she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

      Hours later, she still sat there wide-eyed and unable to relax. All through the night, she’d watched the glow from the “Hickory Dickory Dock” clock on the wall, as the hands shaped like mice displayed the time. Now it was 6:00 a.m. and still too early for Mandy to be up, but she needed to speak with her.

      Easing quietly from her chair, she unlocked the door and walked back to her bedroom. Once inside, she pulled her cell phone from her robe pocket and dialed the number of her assistant. It rang several times before Mandy answered.

      “Hello.” The gravelly tone of Mandy’s sleep-filled voice came over the phone.

      “Mandy, this is Holly. I’ve had a problem here in Jackson Springs. I know you’re visiting your parents and that today’s your mother’s birthday, but I wondered if you could come today when the party is over. I really need your help.”

      She could hear the squeak of bedsprings as Mandy sat up. “What’s wrong, Holly?”

      The fear she’d felt during the night returned as she related what had transpired. When she’d finished, she spoke again. “I shouldn’t have come here alone. I need you to help me with the twins, and I need the security team in place.”

      “I’ll get in touch with Bert right away, and I’ll be there tonight.” Mandy spoke with the efficiency she’d displayed ever since Holly had hired her three years ago. “Do you want me to call Aiden, too? He’s in Chicago today finishing up the details of your concert there.”

      Holly bit down on her lip at the mention of her manager, Aiden Hudson, and thought for a moment before she responded. “You can call him to update him on the situation, but tell him to get everything worked out in Chicago. If you can get here and Bert can get security in place, we should be okay.”

      “Okay, I’m on it.” Mandy paused for a moment, then spoke. “Are you sure you’re all right? I can skip my mother’s birthday party if you’d like.”

      “No, don’t do that. Enjoy being with your family. Just get here afterward, and please apologize to your folks for me. I’m sorry to pull you away from your visit. I promise I’ll make it up to you with more time off.”

      Mandy gave a soft chuckle. “No need for apologies, Holly. You are way too good to me, anyway, and they know that. Don’t worry. I’ll leave after the dinner party tonight.”

      Smiling, Holly disconnected the call, checked on the twins to make sure they were still sleeping and headed downstairs. Ten minutes later, she poured her first cup of coffee and carried it into the den. She was just about to take a sip when she heard a vehicle stop in front of the house. She eased over to the window and pulled the curtain back to peer outside. An unmarked police car sat in the driveway. As she watched, Cole climbed out and walked up the front steps.

      She waited for him to knock, but when he didn’t, she walked to the door and opened it. He stood bent over on the porch, his attention directed to the lock on the door. He gasped in surprise at the sight of her, his body jerking. He staggered backward. Holly tried not to smile, but the look of shock on his face reminded her of how he’d looked when they were children and she’d mistaken a copperhead for a milk snake and picked it up.

      At the sound of her laughter, he clenched his jaw and straightened to his full height. “What’s so funny?” he growled.

      “You are,” she said. “The expression on your face reminded me of the time I picked up that copperhead.”

      A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his shoulders relaxed. “Yeah. I remember that day. I thought you were going to be bitten before I could get to you.”

      A warm rush filled her as she remembered how he’d raced to rescue her. “You always looked out for me, Cole.”

      He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke again. “What are you doing skulking around on my front porch so early in the morning?”

      He took a deep breath as if to clear his thoughts and gave a slight nod toward the door. “I wanted to check out the door again and see if I overlooked anything last night to determine how your visitor got in. I thought I’d do it before you got up so that I wouldn’t disturb you.”

      “And did you find anything?”

      He shook his head. “No. The lock doesn’t look like it’s been jimmied, and all the other doors were locked. You said your intruder pulled this door open when he ran out. Are you sure you locked it before you went to bed last night?”

      “Yes. I remember testing it twice to make sure it was secure.”

      Cole rubbed the back of his neck and frowned. “None of the windows had been opened or broken. He had to come in this way. Maybe he had a key.”

      Her eyes grew wide. “How would that be possible?”

      Cole shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s a former employee who worked on the ranch for Michael or for your dad. He might have found a key to the house and kept it. Or he could have picked the lock. A good burglar can do that easily.”

      “We both know he wasn’t here to rob me, Cole. He wanted the twins.”

      His forehead wrinkled as he studied the lock and then nodded. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

      Although it was early summer, there was still a nip in the air in the СКАЧАТЬ