Christmas Conspiracy. Susan Sleeman

his exact location.

      “Widen the perimeter and stand ready,” Jake replied. “We’ll have to hope 911 receives a call reporting the kidnapper’s movements.”

      And hope he doesn’t harm anyone as he makes his escape.

      “Roger that.” Disappointment lingered in Brady’s tone.

      Suddenly weary beyond his thirty-five years, Jake ran a hand over tense muscles in his neck and watched the medics do their thing. Once they had an IV going, they loaded Rachael onto the gurney.

      An overwhelming desire to protect her and Kelly from additional harm rose up and caught him off guard. He worked each callout with the thought that he would do everything he could so he didn’t have to live with regret, but he’d never taken a personal interest in the people he rescued.

      Until right now. But why?

      Could have to do with losing his infant sister and six-year-old brother, he supposed. When he’d just turned thirteen, they, and his parents, perished in a bombing, leaving him with a soft spot in his heart for children in danger and the special people who cared for them. And a burning desire to see anyone who threatened them pay for their actions.

      He glanced at Ms. Long on the gurney as the medics strapped her in, and her eyelids fluttered.

      Lord, please. I know you decide who lives or dies, but please let this woman live. Please.

      Jake crossed the room and stood over her. She blinked a few times and seemed almost lucid.

      “Who are you?” she asked, her voice sounding thick and heavy. Then her eyes widened. “Kelly!”

      “She’s fine and right here.” Jake held the baby up for Rachael to see.

      “Thank you, sweet Jesus,” Rachael whispered, her words slurred. “You were looking out for us.”

      Her lips tipped up in a sweet smile, and Jake’s heart hesitated. Despite the medics standing by, he couldn’t seem to pull his gaze from hers.

      “We should get her and the baby transported,” the medic said, ruining the moment.

      “We’re going with you.” Jake reluctantly pulled away and settled Kelly in her carrier, then glanced back at Rachael. He wasn’t sure if Kelly or Rachael looked more vulnerable.

      Didn’t matter, now, did it?

      There was no way he’d let anything bad happen to either of them. He’d make sure they were both protected until he was certain that neither of them remained in danger.

      * * *

      Rachael saw the light flashing over her head before she opened her eyes. Bright fluorescent tubes wavered in and out of her view in squiggly lines. She concentrated harder and battled the residual fog from the drug.

      She heard rushed, hurried voices in the distance. Smelled the antiseptic of the hospital, reminding her she lay in a hard bed in the ER. She’d woken thirty minutes ago and talked to the doctor, but the drug’s effects kept pulling her back under. She had to try harder to stay awake so she could talk to Pam and see Kelly.

      She blinked hard and made an effort to clear her vision.

      “She’s awake,” a deep male voice said from across the small room.

      Did he mean her—and who was he, anyway?

      She heard his footsteps as he came near, and she forced her head to turn toward the sound. The resulting wave of dizziness sent her stomach roiling. She blinked until she could focus on a large man wearing a black uniform now looking down on her.

      “Ms. Long,” he said softly, his face so familiar—but she was sure she didn’t know him. “Can you hear me?”

      “Yes,” she replied.

      “I’m Deputy Sergeant Jake Marsh. I was one of the deputies who found you unconscious in the baby room.”

      Ah, so that was who he was. She remembered him now. His kindness in the ambulance. Holding precious Kelly’s carrier for the ride, safe and secure in his hands. He’d said a neighbor noticed the masked man enter the playground and called 911. He arrived to help and had chased off the kidnapper.

      “Deputy,” she said. “Yes. I remember you.”

      “Call me Jake.”

      “I’m Rachael.”

      “It’s nice to see you’re awake, Rachael.” A dazzling smile broke across his face.

      A little zip of awareness shot through her stomach, catching her off guard. She’d been only vaguely aware of him this far, as she hadn’t been fully awake when he’d ridden along in the ambulance. Then after the medics rushed her into the ER, the staff forced him to wait outside her door, and she hadn’t seen him since then.

      He was a fine-looking man. Six foot two, maybe, muscled and brawny. Chocolate-brown eyes. Olive skin. Ebony hair. Yeah, he was a striking man, but why was she noticing? She’d been immune to men’s charms after she married Eli. Especially immune after he died in the car accident that was all her fault, so where was the reaction to this guy coming from all of a sudden?

      She was probably confusing this interest in him with gratitude for his rescue and protection. After all, he’d saved her life. Or maybe the drugs had caused her to let down her guard. Either way, she wouldn’t waste time analyzing it when she doubted she’d ever see him again.

      “Thank you for your help,” she said.

      He gave a clipped nod. “It was a team effort, and we were just doing our jobs.”

      His job. A dangerous and difficult job, she suspected. One she could never do, at least not if she hoped to sleep at night.

      Scenes of the attempted kidnapping flooded her brain. Her fear. Her anger. Little Kelly, vulnerable. Everything came to her except details of the intruder’s face. That she couldn’t seem to call up from her memory. In the times she’d been awake, she’d tried to recall what he looked like, but only fuzzy images came to mind.

      The doctor had told her that the police found an empty vial of ketamine on the floor at the center. Doctors and veterinarians used the drug for conscious sedation. He said as the drug left her system, she might remember the kidnapper in more detail, but the levels of drug in her blood meant she wouldn’t likely recall much of anything after the ketamine had taken hold.

      She might not remember the kidnapper’s face, but she would never forget Kelly sleeping peacefully in her crib, danger lurking all around her.

      “Is Kelly really okay?” She managed to get the words out through a mouth that felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

      Jake smiled. “She’s fine. She’s with her mother.”

      A woman stepped around the deputy and displayed a wallet that held a shiny badge. “I’m Detective Skyler Hunter. I’ll be handling this investigation, and if you’re up to it, I have a few questions for you.”

      Rachael ran her gaze over the woman. She looked like she was an inch or so taller than Rachael, had red hair and wore khaki pants and a blue blazer. The lapel held a Christmas button that said Jesus Is the Reason for the Season.

      Never having been questioned by the police, apprehension settled in Rachael’s stomach, but the concern in the detective’s expression seemed sincere and gave Rachael hope that the questioning wouldn’t be too bad.

      “You’re the one who’ll catch this terrible man, then?” Rachael asked.

      “I’ll do my very best, yes.”

      Rachael eased herself up on her pillows until she reached a sitting position. The room swam, but she battled the dizziness and focused on the detective again. “Not to be rude, but how good is your best?”

      “That’s not rude at all. In fact, I get asked that question all the time.” She sounded pleasant