words were delivered in a disguised voice. A male voice, she thought, though she couldn’t be sure.
Adam slipped an arm around her waist as the message continued.
“I will call you on the phone when I’m ready to exchange them for the five million dollars. Have the money ready. Any sign of cops or deceit and you will never see Lila and Lacy again. They send their love.”
Adam called the messenger a few choice names. She agreed with them, but nothing could steal the respite that seeing the girls alive and happy had given her.
“They’re alive, Adam. I can deal with anything knowing that.”
The tears flowed like a summer rain, soft and warm on her cheeks. Adam’s arms tightened around her. Her head fell to his shoulders and she gave into the need to be wrapped in his embrace.
Her girls were alive. She and Adam would get them back. They were in this together now and they’d let nothing stand in their way.
* * *
ADAM HATED THE EMOTIONS that erupted inside him. Feeling anything except empathy for Hadley was dangerous and would lead to complications neither of them were ready for.
Even if she wanted him back in her life, the reasons he’d walked out on her hadn’t changed. If anything the chance of any kind of meaningful relationship had grown slimmer. Now they had the added strain of more than three years of distrust and resentment.
But it was useless to lie to himself. In spite of what he’d told himself time and time again, he’d never gotten over her. He doubted that any man could.
And yet her ex hadn’t come running to her rescue the way Adam had.
The tears subsided and Hadley pulled away. His arms felt empty. The rest of him felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. With all they had to deal with, he was crazy to let her nearness get to him.
“I’d like to look at the video again,” he said. “I’d like to study the more subtle details, see if there’s any background or sounds that might suggest a location.”
“I thought it looked like the kind of patio-size yard you have with a condo,” Hadley said.
“I agree. It’s too hot to stand around in the garage. There’s a roadside park on the way to the ranch. We could grab a sandwich somewhere and sit in the shade to eat and study the video.”
“I might even be able to choke down some food now that I know the girls are alive.”
They seemed to be unharmed—for now. Though he wouldn’t dream of saying it out loud, the kidnapper’s message had unnerved him. No matter how good Fred Casey was, a thousand things could still go wrong with the transfer, especially since they didn’t have five million dollars.
Fred had said they wouldn’t need it. But Adam figured the kidnapper meant exactly what he’d threatened. It was expertise and sanity against a madman. He didn’t like the odds.
Adam powered down the computer. “Do you want to call Lane now?”
“Not now. You heard what the kidnapper said. No cops. I can’t take chances. Besides, isn’t Fred supposed to run the show from here on out?”
Adam checked his watch. “Yes, and his airplane should be on the ground at DFW by the time we get to the ranch.”
The ranch and the reunion with R.J. As they say in combat, the easy way is always mined.
* * *
R.J. LADLED THE warmed-over chicken and dumplings into a cracked pottery bowl. The fragrant odors made his mouth water. He wasn’t much of a cook himself, but his neighbor, Carolina, was as good a cook as she was pretty.
Every old man fighting a losing battle with a brain tumor needed a neighbor like her. Come to think of it, he wondered if his daughter, Jade, could cook.
Probably not. Her mother couldn’t scramble an egg without it tasting like cardboard and that was a fact. She’d had other talents, though. He smiled just thinking about those.
All in all, he couldn’t complain about any of the mothers of his six kids. They could sure complain about him, though. He reckoned most of them did.
One complaint they couldn’t make if they were honest. He might have been late on some of his child support payments, but he never missed one entirely. Not even in the beginning when his bad habits chewed up his income like that old goat he’d kept around for a while back in the eighties.
Seemed like yesterday. That was the thing about time. It flies