Holden. Delores Fossen

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      And worse, they could regroup and come after the baby again.

      A million dollars was a lot of incentive to try to kidnap the newborn and to eliminate anyone who got in their way. Plus, as long as those men were out there, they would want to get to her, too. To get their hands on those files.

      From the front seat, Landon made a call, but because Nicky’s heartbeat was crashing in her ears, she could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation. But she did hear him give someone their location with a request that other deputies go in pursuit of the kidnappers. He also asked that someone secure the inn. Nicky doubted the kidnappers had left any kind of evidence there, but it was a start in case the deputies didn’t manage to catch the men.

      “How did you get this car?” Holden asked.

      “Makeshift roadblock,” Gage answered, still keeping watch around them. “We parked an unmarked car sideways in the road. I hadn’t planned on someone else coming in, though. I just wanted to stop someone from going out. But when the car approached, and Landon and I spotted two guys armed to the hilt, we waited until they got out of the vehicle, sneaked up on them and clubbed them.”

      Smart thinking. If they’d shot at the men, the others would have heard it and probably wouldn’t have gotten close enough to the car for Gage and Landon to help Holden and her escape.

      “The men are tied up and cuffed in a ditch,” Landon added. “So even if the rest of them get away, we’ll have those two. Grayson and one of the other deputies are on the way now to get them, and they’ll bring them to the sheriff’s office for questioning.”

      Nicky finally felt some relief. “Thank you. For everything.”

      No one acknowledged what she’d said. Maybe because they considered this part of the job. Also maybe because they didn’t want to waste their breath speaking to her. She wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with the Rylands even though her sister, Annie, had been married to one of them. But that connection didn’t outweigh what Nicky had done.

      It never would.

      In their eyes, Nicky would always be the one who nearly got one of their own killed. And that was unforgivable.

      “There were other men in those woods,” Holden reminded them.

      Landon made a sound of agreement, and there went what relief Nicky had felt. Because those men could make it to their tied-up comrades in the ditch and free them before Grayson and the others could get to them.

      “We didn’t want to get into a gunfight with those men patrolling the woods,” Gage explained. “Because we didn’t want anyone in the inn alerted. And we didn’t want to risk shots hitting any of you.”

      Nicky whispered a thanks for that, too.

      Holden had another look behind them, around them as well, and he must have been satisfied that the men weren’t following them because he eased off of her. In the same motion, he looked down at the baby. Not that he could see much in the dark car, but she figured Holden had a lot of thoughts going through his head right now. She certainly did.

      First things first, though—she had to make sure the baby was okay. He was squirming a little so Nicky checked to make sure he hadn’t been hurt. He didn’t appear to be harmed, and his diaper was even dry. He also smelled of baby formula so maybe that meant the kidnappers had taken good care of him.

      That was something at least.

      But there was no telling what the little guy had been through. And that broke her heart. He’d come much too close to danger tonight. Much too close to being taken away from Nicky forever, and the threat still wasn’t even over.

      “Is that really Emmett and Annie’s baby?” Landon suddenly asked.

      “Yes,” Nicky said. “I have proof from some computer files and then recordings from the clinic.” Of course, that got Gage’s and Landon’s attention so she added, “You can’t use the recordings or files to make an arrest, but one of the files identifies the baby as Emmett and Annie’s son.”

      Landon stared back at her, and Gage even looked at her in the rearview mirror. Since they were clearly still skeptical, she huffed and tried to make this a quick explanation. Her voice was shaky. Heck, she was shaky, and with the adrenaline pumping through her, it was hard to think.

      “I stole the information, all right,” she snapped. “But if I hadn’t done that and if I hadn’t put a listening device in Conceptions Clinic, I wouldn’t have even known the baby existed, much less found out where they were holding him.”

      And she wasn’t going to apologize for that—especially since the info had turned out to be true and they had the baby.

      “I’ll want those files,” Holden insisted. “The recordings and anything else you have. I don’t suppose in all your snooping you also got proof of who’s behind this?”

      “Behind what exactly?” Gage queried.

      This was probably going to be as hard for him to hear as it had been for her. Mainly because Nicky hadn’t believed that anyone could do something like this.

      “Someone connected to Conceptions Fertility Clinic—I don’t know who, yet—used Annie and Emmett’s stored embryos to make this baby. And not just him,” Nicky added. “There are others. Not necessarily Annie and Emmett’s child, though. In fact, I don’t think it is, but there are two other newborns out there somewhere.”

      That got the responses she expected. A stunned look from Landon. A sound of surprise from Gage. A glare from Holden.

      “Where are the other babies?” Gage asked.

      “I don’t know.” That was the truth. “It was pure luck that I overheard them talking about Annie and Emmett’s baby, and there were no other names mentioned.”

      “This could be connected to the missing senator, Lee Minton,” Holden added after a long pause. “Could be,” he stressed. “But it could also be connected to Nicky’s father, Oscar.”

      That caused both Holden and Gage to curse again, and Nicky didn’t have to ask why. Her father wasn’t any better liked by the Rylands than she was, and worse...he was dirty. He’d never been arrested for his shady business dealings, but that was only because he hadn’t gotten caught.

      Gage looked at her again in the mirror. “Oscar wanted a grandchild?”

      Nicky had to nod. “Specifically, he wanted a grandson to carry on his so-called legacy.”

      “A daughter wouldn’t do?” Landon snapped.

      “My father and I are, well, estranged,” she admitted. “And he wasn’t exactly thrilled with Annie when she married Emmett.”

      “Probably because he didn’t like the idea of having a federal agent for a son-in-law,” Holden mumbled.

      She had to add another nod to that as well. It was true. Her father hated Emmett, resented Annie for marrying him, and that’s why this didn’t make sense.

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