Protecting Her Daughter (Wrangler's Corner) (8 page)

Aaron rubbed his chin and fell into silence while he wrestled with his thoughts. Lance drove with a quiet confidence and alertness that made Aaron feel glad the man had come with them. “So, why would you want to kidnap a kid and get rid of her mother?” he asked Lance in a low voice.

“Because there’s some advantage. Something the kidnapper gets. Money? Highly likely.” He grimaced. “There’s the whole human trafficking thing, of course, but this feels like something more. Those men at the house were waiting on something. They were communicating with someone.”

“Speaking of which, I wonder if Clay had any success tracing the numbers from Pete’s phone.”

“We’ll be sure to ask him.” He tapped his fingers on the wheel. “They didn’t want Sophia hurt.”

“It sure seemed that way. So it’s someone who cares about Sophia, but not Zoe?”

“No, Zoe’s obviously in the way.”

“She said her sister-in-law offered to have them move in with her and her husband, but Zoe didn’t want to. You think she could be forcing the issue?”

“It makes sense. Get rid of Zoe and get custody of Sophia—and get control of any money that might come with her.”

“I don’t think the motive is money,” Zoe said.

Lance grunted. “I hate to tell you this, but it’s almost always about money.” His phone rang. “It’s Clay.” He pressed the Bluetooth button on the radio. “Hello.”

“Lance, where are you?” Clay’s voice filled the car.

“Still with Aaron and Zoe. What’s up?”

“Our guy Pete is still out cold. He roused a bit and then went back under so he’s no help right now. But I’ve been doing some digging into Trevor Collier.”

Zoe stirred. “Trevor?”

“You found something?” Lance asked.

“Maybe. Looks like he had a thing for the horses.”

“Gambling?”

A gasp came from the backseat, and Aaron turned to see Zoe shaking her head.

“Yeah,” Clay said. “But I can’t find that he ever lost that much. I mean his bank accounts are closed now, of course, but I was able to access them and there’s nothing there to indicate it was an addiction.”

“Maybe he was using someone else’s money.”

“He wasn’t gambling,” Zoe said. “He hated gambling.”

“Then what was he doing at the tracks?” Clay’s voice came over the speaker. “His buddies at the office said he was there most weekends.”

“Like I told you earlier, Trevor was there to watch Thunderbolt race. He hated gambling, but he loved horses.” She glanced at Aaron. “Trevor’s grandmother had left him a trust fund and when she died he bought a horse with the money. The prestige of owning a winning horse was something he enjoyed. It was just fun for him.” She shrugged. “A hobby that paid well.”

“Paid well how?”

“Trevor got a percentage of every race the horse won, he allowed other people to pay him to use Thunderbolt in the hopes of producing winning offspring. There’s a whole slew of ways a horse can generate income without gambling, you know this.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t sure that’s what you meant.”

“It was. Trevor went to the track on race days to support and encourage the jockey who was a good friend, almost like a son to Trevor. He just wanted to cheer him on. But Trevor didn’t gamble. Ever.”

“You hear that, Clay?” Lance asked.

“I heard it.”

“But you don’t believe me,” Zoe said, her lips pressing into a flat line.

“It’s not a matter of—”

Lance stiffened. “Hang on, Clay.”

Aaron straightened. “What is it?”

“What is what?” Clay echoed.

Lance’s fingers tightened around the wheel and he looked back. “There’s a car coming up fast on our rear.”

They’d taken the back roads to Nashville instead of the highway thinking it would be easier to spot a tail than on the busy interstate. They were about thirty minutes outside of Wrangler’s Corner on a two-lane road that ran between sprawling acres of land with private homes. The area was sparsely populated, but not isolated at all. Would someone really try something out in the open like this? Of course they would. “Looks like you were right to be concerned about someone following us.”

Lance stepped on the gas, and the car surged forward just as a bullet shattered the back window.

NINE

Z
oe screamed and ducked down into the seat, the seat belt sliding off her shoulder and allowing her to lie flat against the upholstery. All she could think was that she was grateful Sophia wasn’t with her. She covered her head as the car swerved left then back right. “Stay down!” Lance hollered. Another pop, and the vehicle surged forward, limped a few paces then jerked to a stop. “Watch out, he shot out the tire and he’s going to hit us!”

Zoe rose up and caught the flash of movement in the side window. When the slam came, she rocked to the side, hit the door with her shoulder. Ignoring the flash of pain, she gripped the door handle and held on.

Another crunch against the driver’s side, then the teeth-grating screech of metal on metal. An engine revved, tires squealed.

Then silence.

Her heart pounded in her ears.

Then her seat belt flew off and hands clamped down on her upper arms and pulled. She let out a low scream. “It’s me,” Aaron said. “Come on. They shot out the tire, and we can’t sit here.”

Zoe scrambled out of the car, her arm throbbing when she pushed too hard with it. Aaron’s grabbing it hadn’t helped. She ignored it, knowing he hadn’t meant to hurt her, and followed Aaron around to the side of the car. “How did he find us?”

“Who knows?”

Lance rounded the front of the car, his weapon drawn, face tight. “They drove off, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be back.”

Aaron was already on the phone with Clay. Zoe listened, her mind spinning, blood still pounding through her veins with ferocious force. This was getting ridiculous. She was going to have to grab Sophia and disappear. She couldn’t keep putting people in danger. Even if they were cops. But Aaron wasn’t a cop. He’d just stumbled into this mess.

While Lance kept watch and Aaron held her against him, they waited, not wanting to leave the relative cover the vehicle provided. “What kind of car was it?” Aaron asked.

Lance glanced at him. “It was a dark blue sedan. A Ford, I think. I got a partial plate, it was a Tennessee one. G34 something.”

Sirens sounded in the distance but were closing the gap fast. Zoe let Aaron’s warmth wrap itself around her. She shouldn’t let him comfort her. She should move away, but she was so tired, so worn out, so scared...

Three police cruisers pulled to a stop, and the sirens cut off abruptly. Zoe slipped out of Aaron’s arms. She heard Clay send two of the deputies to search the area but as she hugged her coat around her, she met Aaron’s gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing she was. The shooter had escaped once again.

When Clay had finished taking all of the information the three of them could give him, he motioned for Joy to join them. She approached and Clay said, “Do you mind taking Zoe home? We’ve got to get a tow truck out here and get this scene cleaned up.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” She smiled at Zoe. “Come on.”

“I’ll go with her,” Aaron said.

“And I’m going to have Ronnie follow you to watch your back,” Clay said. “We don’t need a repeat of this.” He lifted his notebook. “Now I’m going to go put this partial plate into the system and see if I can get a hit.”

Zoe walked with Joy to the woman’s cruiser and slid into the backseat. She shut the door. Tremors shook her, and she knew it was from the adrenaline crash. She took a deep breath closed her eyes. Then opened them. She looked up to see Aaron standing there. “Want some company?”

“Are you still mad at me for wanting to leave?”

“No.”

She scooted over, and he slid in beside her then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She laid her head against him. “Why did you get so upset when I asked you for help?”

He glanced out the window, and she followed his gaze. Joy and Clay stood talking next to the driver’s door.

“I had a bad experience, and your statement sort of brought it all back.”

She shifted and looked up at him, into those eyes that she never grew tired of looking at. Probably why she dreamed about them sometimes at night. She blinked, pushing the thoughts away. “What happened?”

“I recently dated a woman named Darla. She and I knew each other from high school. We’d been good friends, hung out with the same crowd, that kind of thing. She eventually married a guy named Barry Foster. About four years into their marriage things turned ugly and she and Barry divorced. Anyway, about a year ago, she found a hurt puppy on the side of the road and brought him into my practice. She was sweet and we hit it off while catching up. I took her to dinner and we wound up in a relationship that I thought had the potential to lead to something permanent. Her son was a great kid.” He looked away and swallowed. “But she had other plans. Apparently she knew as soon as Barry heard she was interested in someone else, he’d come crawling back. She kept pushing him away, toying with him, telling him she was going to marry me when she actually had no intention of doing so.”

“Oh, my, how awful of her. I’m so sorry.”

“Apparently she was just using me to teach Barry a lesson.”

“Did it work?”

“I guess. She went back to him and the three of them moved out of town shortly after that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Now.” He shot another glance out the window. Joy was writing something down. Zoe waited to see if Aaron had more to say. “When I first met you in town, I wanted to get to know you better, but you didn’t seem interested.” She looked away. She wasn’t blind. She’d seen the spark of interest in his eyes and had felt a tug on her heart in response. She’d been interested, but also wary. He cleared his throat and placed a hand under her chin. “I’m just saying you’re the first person I’ve looked at twice since Darla. The first person to capture my attention and I’m curious to see if...ah...that could grow into something. To put it awkwardly, but there you go.”

She let out a low shaky laugh. “Wow. You just kind of lay it out there, don’t you?”

He gave a derisive chuckle. “Not usually, but I want you to understand so I’m trying to make sure I’m pretty clear. I’m saying that my feelings have a lot to do with why I reacted so strongly. I don’t want you to leave.” He sighed. “But I’m not a completely selfish moron. I do want you to be safe.”

She frowned. “I want that, too. I’ve grown to love Wrangler’s Corner and the people who live here, but someone is out to kill me and take my daughter away. I just don’t know what else to do.” She felt like a broken record.

“We’ll figure it out.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, and her pulse shifted into overdrive. “I’ll help you do whatever you need to do.”

“Thank you,” she whispered just as Joy opened the driver’s-side door and climbed in.

“Did you find anything out?” Aaron asked.

“Not much. We matched the plate with the car and it came back as stolen. But the home it was taken from has security cameras around the perimeter so we might get a hit from one of those.”

“I’m not holding my breath.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t, either.”

The ride back to town was silent and calm, but Zoe’s tension didn’t ease until the small house came into view. It looked like a haven, an oasis in her world gone mad. It was exactly the kind of house she would have chosen to buy had she been looking. But she wasn’t. She was hiding out, praying whoever was after her and Sophia would either give up and go away or be caught.

However, for now, she was thankful to be alive, grateful for the friends who’d taken it upon themselves to protect her and Sophia. Especially the man beside her. Her mind lingered on Aaron’s story—and from the pensive look on his face, he was thinking about hers.

When he’d told her his experience, he hadn’t tried to hide the pain he’d suffered, hadn’t tried to brush it off as no big deal. He’d let her see him, who he was deep inside. And that made her want to get to know him even more. One reason she’d been able to open up about her past and her struggle with the addiction. Even now, some days the desire to use something to escape reality prodded her, but thanks to coping strategies and thoughts of her daughter, she was able to resist. Getting to know Aaron on a deeper level would just make leaving harder.

But if running meant keeping Sophia safe then she’d do what she had to do. And that might just break her heart.

The next two days passed without incident, which just made Zoe’s nerves stretch tighter and tighter until she thought they’d surely snap if she even moved wrong.

Sophia had an escort to and from school and someone with her at all times while on campus. Letting Sophia out of her sight kept Zoe on pins and needles until her child was back safe, but Sophia enjoyed the interaction with the other children and needed it. She needed for her life to feel normal. So while it was her desire to smother her child and keep her close, she’d decided to trust the people helping her. To a point.

Zoe couldn’t help but stay tense, constantly wondering when the other shoe was going to drop. Now that she didn’t have the animals to take care of, she spent her days alternating between racking her brain, searching for a reason someone would want to kill her, and painting. She still took online orders and didn’t want to get too far behind. Customers were counting on her to get the paintings done in a timely manner for gifts.

Zoe walked into the small sunroom and stared at her half-finished painting. She studied the photograph then picked up her brush. Swift strokes finished the newborn’s rosy cheeks and long lashes. Zoe glanced at the clock then moved into the kitchen to sit on the bar stool in front of the open laptop.

The gun felt heavy in her ankle holster, but after the latest incident, she wouldn’t be caught without the weapon.

She finished the last bite of her club sandwich and clicked on the link that would take her to the email detailing the transaction of the horse she and Trevor had purchased together. This morning, she’d been getting Sophia ready for school when Ginny had picked up the newspaper and said something about the local winter bazaar that was to be next weekend with vendors and every kind of food available. And pony rides.

The mention of the pony rides had made Zoe think of the conversation in the car about Trevor and the horses. They thought he’d been gambling, but he hadn’t been. She would have known because she kept up with the money and their bank accounts. He could have used money from his business, she supposed, but there’d never been any hint that anything had been amiss there. She thought she’d been clear about that fact when they’d all been at the house for breakfast, but figured they had to do their own investigation, their own digging for facts. And while she appreciated the thoroughness, she hated that they’d wasted time that could have been spent going in another direction.

She scanned the email that contained all of the documents that pertained to the purchase of Thunderbolt. She read it again, but nothing looked any different than the first time she and Trevor had gone over it together.

A knock on the door brought her head up, and she stood but allowed Joy to answer it. Joy kept a hand on her weapon while she looked out the window. Then her tense posture relaxed. “It’s Aaron.”

Two little words that sent Zoe’s heart beating a little faster. Anticipation leaped inside her, and she curled her fingers into fists. She really had to put this whole attraction thing aside. Unfortunately her heart had other ideas. She wanted to bolt to the foyer mirror and check her hair and what little makeup she’d applied this morning, but resisted.

Aaron stepped inside and gave her a small smile. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I had a break at the clinic so thought I’d come by and see how you were doing.”

She shrugged. “I’m hanging in there.”

“I’ll be in the study,” Joy said. She disappeared through the open door to the left, and Zoe appreciated the deputy’s discretion.

She led Aaron into the kitchen and gestured to the computer. “I’m just trying to figure out who’s behind all this and if our purchase of Thunderbolt had anything to do with it.”

“Any success?”

“Not really. Although for some reason I keep coming back to the conversation in the car about Trevor and the racetrack.” She shook her head. “I know Trevor wasn’t gambling, though, so it’s not that he owed people money. Clay and Lance have already determined that. I thought maybe there was some detail in the purchase agreement that I’d missed, but I can’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

Aaron sat on the stool next to her. “Where’s the horse?”

She ran her palms down her jeans. Being around him always seemed to make her hands sweat and her pulse kick it up a notch. “He’s boarded at a barn in Knoxville where the monthly fee is drafted from an account set up especially for that. The jockey, Brian Cartee, goes by the stable and rides the horse on a regular basis and then races him during the season. Any money generated is automatically deposited back into the same account. Brian’s crazy about that horse and spends as much time as possible with him. It’s a wonderful arrangement.” She shook her head. “Trevor was like a father to Brian. Brian was devastated when Trevor was killed in the accident.”

“What happens to the horse if something happens to you?”

She frowned. “You think this is about the horse, too?”

“I don’t know. How much is he worth?”

She stared at him, her brain whirring. “A lot,” she whispered. “The last time Trevor checked he said Thunderbolt was valued at a quarter of a million.”

Aaron’s eyes widened. “That is a lot.”

She pressed her thumb and forefinger against her eyes as she thought. Then she looked up. “Yes, it is a pretty good chunk of change, isn’t it? So it could be someone after the money that Thunderbolt would bring. Why not just steal the horse?”

“Have you ever tried to sell a black market horse?”

She wrinkled her nose and frowned. “Of course not.”

“Thunderbolt’s a well-known horse in the racing arena. He’d be recognized as soon as he got to the tracks.”

She pondered that. “True.”

“So who gets control of the horse if something happens to you?” he asked again.

“He goes to Sophia.”

“And Sophia goes to...”

“...Nina and Gregory,” she said. “It keeps coming back to them, doesn’t it?”