Nanny Witness. Hope White

the nanny with a criminal record. A juvenile record. Would her past show a pattern of behavior, or had she made a stupid kid’s mistake? He’d seen plenty of those in his years on the force, and he’d also seen plenty of crimes that indicated a consistent pattern of behavior.

      He managed to get his jeans on and dug into the bag for his shirt. He hesitated as he remembered Carly’s fierceness while protecting baby Mia. That was not rehearsed or fake. Love shone in her eyes when she looked at the child, when she hugged and kissed Mia. Whit might be aloof; however, he knew what love looked like.

      You couldn’t help but read every emotion that crossed Carly’s face. She wore it all out there, like a book with words in extra-large print. Unless you were consumed by procedure and protocol, blinded by suspicion, which Whit normally would be if he were on the job.

      Today he was a brother and an uncle. He’d let the cops do their job and he’d do his: protect his niece.

      Harry, where are you? Detective Harper said they weren’t at the mansion when police arrived, which meant they’d been kidnapped.

      Whit decided to call his brother in the hopes he’d escaped somehow and needed help. His call went into voice mail.

      “Hey, it’s Brody. I hope you’re okay, man. We’re all worried about you. Your daughter’s safe. She’s in my custody until you return. The nanny is helping to make sure Mia’s okay, because...well, we both know I’m not the best caregiver in the world. Anyway, call me.”

      He slipped the phone into his denim jacket, ignoring the now brown bloodstain where he’d been shot.

      “Hey, where are you going?” a nurse asked, stepping into his room.

      “Hospitals aren’t my thing.”

      “Let’s at least sling that arm.” The nurse helped adjust the sling around his shoulder. “What’s the hurry?”

      “I’ve got a baby girl to take care of.”

      “She’s fine. Her aunt Judy is here.”

      Whit froze. “Who?”

      “Aunt Judy, from Boulder?”

      “She doesn’t have an aunt Judy.”

       THREE

      “Where’s Mia?” Whit asked the nurse.

      “First floor, Pediatrics.”

      He rushed out of the room to the stairs and headed down two flights to the main floor. There was no one named Judy in his entire extended family. Then again, maybe he was overreacting and Judy was from his sister-in-law’s side. How could anyone know about today’s break-in at the house and the disappearance of his half brother and his wife? Whit hadn’t had a chance to contact family.

      The stitches burned as he descended the stairs a little too aggressively, his thoughts consumed by needing to get to his niece before she disappeared. Okay, so maybe a small part of him believed what the detective was selling, that Carly was a part of this, that she’d gotten herself involved in a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme. Nursing school had to be expensive, right?

      If Harry had offered a generous nanny salary, why would she risk being caught in a criminal act, especially with her background? Once a criminal always a criminal.

      Deep in his gut that conclusion felt wrong, inconsistent with the protective and nurturing young woman he’d met today.

      He followed signs to Pediatrics, shoved open the door and spotted a nurse. “Mia Bremerton?” he demanded.

      The nurse caught sight of the bloodstain on his jacket and hesitated.

      “She’s about this big.” He motioned with his hands, because he wasn’t sure of her age. “Blond hair? Her aunt supposedly came for her.”

      “Oh, they just left.”

      “Just, as in seconds, minutes, what?”

      “Maybe a minute ago?”

      He spun around and headed toward the main entrance. Would a kidnapper use that entrance to flee? Sure, if she was pretending to be a member of the family she could casually stroll out the front door.

      “Sir, is there a problem?” a security officer questioned.

      “Someone kidnapped my niece.”

      The officer jogged up beside him and they went outside. Whit scanned the parking lot across the street.

      The sound of a baby crying raised the hair on the back of his neck. He spotted a woman in a long tan jacket juggling a fussy Mia while opening the car door.

      Without thinking, Whit started to take off.

      A car horn blared.

      The guard gripped Whit’s jacket and yanked him back, just as a service truck whizzed by. The driver made a face at Whit like he was an idiot.

      He’d be a lot worse than an idiot if his niece got taken on his watch.

      “Stop!” the guard shouted as they crossed the street.

      Whit wished the guard hadn’t alerted the kidnapper to their presence. She slammed the back door and got behind the wheel. Did she even strap his niece into a car seat?

      They were about a hundred feet away when she shoved it into gear and took off, peeling across the parking lot, nearly hitting a car as she made a sharp turn.

      “You get the plates?” the guard said.

      “Yep.”

      She sped up to the exit.

      They chased after her.

      Whit automatically reached for his gun and remembered the hospital still had it.

      “My truck’s over here,” the security guard said. Whit kept his eyes on the white minivan that was nearing the exit gate.

      Whit and the guard climbed into his truck. The guard pulled out and Whit called Emergency.

      “A child’s been abducted from Saint Mary’s Hospital. Tell Detective Harper it’s Mia Bremerton. The suspect is female, Caucasian, dark hair, about five foot eight. She drove off in a white minivan.”

      He gave them the plate number and watched the van turn onto the main road. Whit didn’t want this to become a high-speed chase, putting Mia at even more risk.

      He had to get her back.

      The little girl was family and he was responsible for her.

      “Give her space,” Whit said to the security guard.

      “I don’t want to lose them,” he said.

      “I know, but we don’t want to force her into making a bad driving decision either.”

      The guard nodded in agreement.

      “I’m Brody Whittaker, by the way.”

      “Steve Meyers. Didn’t expect to be chasing a kidnapper when I came into work today. Why did she take your niece?”

      “Don’t know.” This entire day had been filled with questions and no answers, Whit thought.

      One answer was obviously clear: Mia needed her uncle to protect her from whatever his brother may have gotten himself into. Whit shouldn’t assume this was about Harry, yet it wouldn’t surprise him. Harry tended to take risks, risks that could have led to putting his baby girl in danger. Maybe if Whit had stayed around longer, been a good role model for his brother growing up, Harry would have turned out more grounded. It was obvious that Whit’s stepdad didn’t have much time for his son.

      Instead Whit took off after high school, joined the army and kept his