Chapter Two
Addie ran as if Lily’s and Rose’s lives depended on it. Because they did. The babies could be in danger. Their kidnapper could be fleeing the scene and taking them heaven knew where.
Judson was flat-out running, too, and he raced past her, his arms pumping and his legs moving much faster than hers were capable of doing. Both of them had clearly gotten heavy slams of adrenaline. Both knew what was at stake.
If they didn’t reach the babies in time, they might never see them again.
They might never know who had them or what was happening to them.
The possibility of that ate away at her like acid, and Addie wanted to scream. She didn’t want any child to be put through what had been done to her—abducted and kept hidden away for six years by a woman who had claimed Addie as her own child before the truth had come to light.
No. Addie didn’t want that for these precious babies. And she had to make sure history didn’t repeat itself.
Just ahead, she saw the country road that led to both the town of Renegade Canyon and the interstate, depending on which direction you went. What Addie didn’t see was the blasted car. Where the heck was it? Were they too late? Had the driver already managed to get away?
Still on the move, Judson ran to the end of the trail, coming to a skidding stop right at the edge of the road. His gaze whipped in both directions, and he must have seen someone or something, because he shouted.
“Stop!”
He continued to yell that one-word order, taking out his phone and clicking a photo before he started running again. This time on the road and to the left.
The direction of the interstate.
Addie got to him as fast as she could, and she soon saw what he was chasing. A black car. It was indeed speeding away, and in a blink, it disappeared around a steep curve.
“No,” Addie shouted, and she started running again.
She was nowhere near close to catching up with the black car or Judson when she heard the sound of a vehicle behind her. For a moment, Addie thought it was the black car, that a miracle had happened and it had turned around so the driver could bring back those precious baby girls.
But it was a Renegade Canyon cruiser.
Addie instantly recognized the driver—Deputy Livvy Walsh, her foster sister—and she saw that Livvy’s face was tight with nerves.
“Where’s Judson running?” Livvy asked, lowering her window.
“After a black car,” Addie blurted. “The babies are in there.”
At least she hoped they were and that the black car wasn’t some kind of decoy to get them searching in the wrong direction. But that was possible. Anything was at this point, and it occurred to her that the kidnapper could still be somewhere on that trail, hiding and waiting for a chance to escape.
“Get in,” Livvy insisted. She reached over to open the passenger’s door, and Addie practically dived inside.
Livvy took off, slamming her foot on the accelerator, which caused the tires to squeal against the asphalt.
Judson no doubt heard it, because he spun toward them, already drawing his weapon, ready to respond to a possible threat.
He quickly reholstered his gun, though, when he saw this wasn’t a threat but rather help in the form of his fellow deputy.
Judson hurried toward them, and Livvy slowed so that he could jump into the back seat. The moment he was in, Livvy gunned the engine again and took off.
“Did you see the driver?” Livvy asked.
“No,” Addie and Judson said in unison.
It was Judson who continued. “But I got a picture of the license plate. I’ll call it in now.”
Good. Addie wanted every cop in the area looking for this monster who’d taken Lily and Rose.
“I thought I saw someone in the back seat of the black car,” Judson muttered. “But maybe not. It could have been a shadow or even the seat headrest.”
Maybe the picture he’d taken would show that, but when Addie glanced back, she saw that Judson had only captured the license plate and part of the car’s trunk.
The cruiser’s tires squealed again when Livvy took the curve way too fast, and she had to fight to keep the cruiser on the asphalt. Because of the winding rural road, she immediately had to negotiate another curve, then another before they finally reached a straight stretch.
And Addie’s heart dropped.
Because she couldn’t see the black car. She couldn’t see any vehicle. It was possible that the driver was going so fast that they’d already managed to get out of sight, but there was also a chance that they’d pulled off onto a side road or a ranch trail.
“Keep watch,” Livvy ordered them. “See if you spot it. I’m going to keep driving.”
Addie did keep watch, but the scenery was practically flying by, and some of the trails were canopied with thick trees. If the driver had gone far enough down the trail, it could be impossible to see them from the road.
“The kidnapper and babies could still be on the southeast ranch trail,” Addie managed to say. The muscles in her throat were so tight, it was hard for her to speak. “That’s where Judson and I were when we heard one of the babies crying and the car engine.”
Livvy nodded and used a voice command on her phone to contact dispatch. “I need someone to check the trail on the southeast side of the Horseshoe Ranch. That’s the last known location of the missing infants.”
“Will do,” the dispatcher assured her and ended the call.
“The car is registered to an Yvette O’Dell,” Judson relayed to them in between the conversation that he was having with someone at the sheriff’s office.
Addie continued looking for the vehicle, but she also repeated the name several times to see if it was familiar. “That doesn’t ring any bells. Who is she? And why would she take the babies?”
“Not sure yet,” Judson replied.
Addie heard the hesitation in his voice and glanced back at him. “What?” she demanded.
There was some fresh worry in his already intense dark brown eyes. “Yvette has a record for being drunk and disorderly, and she got three DUIs before she lost her license. And her kids. Twins.”
“Oh, God,” Addie managed to say.
“No, the kids, her son and daughter, are alive,” Judson was quick to add, cutting through what would have been some horrible worst-case scenarios for Addie.
“They’re in their early twenties now and were adopted by what appears to be a stable family, but Yvette lost custody of them when they were infants.
” He paused again. “For a while, her kids were fostered at the Horseshoe Ranch.”
Addie groaned and fought back both fresh tears and a hot fury over this happening.
Two decades ago, both Judson and she had been at the ranch in foster care, and kids came and went all the time.
Sometimes they would be there for only a couple of days before their adoptive parents or other family members came to get them.
The Horseshoe hadn’t changed much in those decades, so Yvette would likely have known not only the location of the ranch but where in the house to find the nursery.
Added to that, the news and social media had been jammed with reports and comments about the orphaned Alcott twins.
Yvette would have had all the info she needed to pull off this abduction.
But why?
Was she trying to replace her own kids? If so, why wait all this time? Or did Yvette have a personal connection to Lily and Rose?
Addie desperately wanted the answers to those questions, but for now, she focused on keeping watch, looking for that black car.
Livvy continued to drive, slowing when they reached a four-way intersection.
Then stopping. Livvy cursed and smacked her palm on the steering wheel.
Addie totally understood her frustration.
Four roads and not another vehicle in sight.
A hoarse sob tore from Addie’s mouth. This was crushing her heart, but she had to keep focusing. Had to keep thinking.
“Do you have a phone number for Yvette?” Addie asked.
“Getting it now,” Judson replied.
Addie wanted to talk to her, wanted to try to convince the woman to surrender both herself and the babies.
They were still so little, preemies, and they needed special formula every three to four hours.
Addie thought if she could just speak to Yvette, she could make her understand the harm she might be doing.
“Got the number,” Judson said, “and I’m calling it now.”
From the back seat, Addie heard Judson’s phone that was now on speaker. Heard the ringing on the other end of the line. The sound of each ring echoed through the cruiser. But there was no answer, and the call went to a generic voicemail, saying to leave a message.
Addie saw the debate Judson was having with himself. If he left a threatening message, Yvette might panic and do something even more horrible than she’d already done. Instead, Judson hung up and rang the police station again to request the contact info for both of Yvette’s kids.
“It might not even be Yvette in the car,” Livvy said, taking one of the concerns right out of Addie’s mouth.
Yes, someone could have borrowed or stolen the vehicle, and if it was the latter, then that was only going to complicate the search. Addie didn’t want more complications. She wanted those babies safely back at the ranch.
“I’m going to drive toward the interstate,” Livvy let them know. “I’ll have Grace contact the county sheriff’s office so they can check these other routes.”
Livvy took off again, using her hands-free function to call Grace. Addie tuned that out and instead listened to the info Judson was getting. He apparently had the phone number for Yvette’s daughter, Jennifer Rankin, and he tried to call her. Addie prayed Jennifer would answer.
And someone did.
“Hello,” the woman barely managed to get out before Judson started talking.
“I’m Deputy Judson Docherty from Renegade Canyon PD,” he said. “Is this Jennifer Rankin?”
“It is,” she verified, and there was instant concern in her voice. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”