torment victims then you’re doing a hell of a job.”
“I thought Hadley would appreciate knowing what Quinton is saying about her.”
“It’s all lies,” Hadley said. “Cruel, evil lies. The man is despicable.”
“I’m not saying I believe him,” Lane said.
“But you are repeating his lies,” Adam said. “The next thing we know, we’ll be reading them in the newspaper.”
“I’m sorry that my visit upset you, Hadley. I wish I could have come with better news. But we’re doing everything we can to find your daughters. You can rest assured of that.”
“Then find them,” she said, still so angry she was shaking. “Keep a tail on Quinton the way you did on Adam and me.”
“Without question.”
“I have one more question before you go.” Adam stepped into the detective’s personal space. “Where is Quinton staying?”
“I can’t share that information. Play this smart, Adam. Don’t go looking for Quinton. You get in the way and I’ll have no choice but to have you arrested for interfering with the investigation.”
If he got arrested, so be it. Fred would carry on.
R.J. hitched up his khaki trousers. “If you want to find the abductor, forget criminal records, false accusations and usual suspects. See who’s got the most to gain and is arrogant enough to think he can outsmart all of you.”
Not bad advice, Adam thought. R.J. might have a lot more on the ball than he’d given him credit for. His so-called father might be worth getting to know after all.
Adam would reserve judgment on that until things were back to normal around the Dry Gulch Ranch.
R.J. showed Lane to the door. Adam turned back to Hadley. “Lane is really starting to piss me off.”
“At least the police are questioning Quinton.”
“True, but I didn’t like his attitude when he slammed you with you those ludicrous accusations.”
“He could have been more sensitive, but I’m glad he told me about them. If Quinton is making up lies like that about me, he must be trying to transfer suspicion from himself.”
“That’s definitely possible.”
“I think it’s a lot more than possible. I’m convinced he’s behind the abduction. I just wish there was something we could do besides wait for him to call all the shots. I hate that he’s in charge of their fate.”
“We’re working to change that,” Adam assured her. “When the kidnapper calls, Fred will be ready for him.” It was Adam who wasn’t doing his part. And Lacy and Lila were his daughters, too.
His daughters. Daughters he’d never seen. Never rocked to sleep as babies. He’d never taken them to the park and pushed them in a swing. Never read them a bedtime story. Never told them he loved them.
He’d never even seen them. What if he never did?
“The military called me a hero,” he muttered. “They gave me medals to prove it. But what kind of man can’t rescue his own daughters from an incompetent kidnapper?”
He felt Hadley’s hand on his arm. He turned and she leaned into him, letting her head drop to his shoulder. A second later she was in his arms. He held on tight, knowing she wanted only his comfort.
The mother of his children. The woman who would always hold his heart in her hands. The woman he could never claim as his own as long as he was only half a man.
But, God, please let her have her daughters back. He’d gladly give his life for that.
* * *
SHE KICKED OUT of her shoes and stretched across the lumpy bed. “I saw Lacy and Lila’s mother today. She’s probably very pretty when her eyes aren’t red and swollen. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, either, not even lipstick.”
“You got close enough to see all of that?”
“I was standing just a few feet from her.”
“Did you have to get that close?”
“Don’t worry. I was standing in an empty room just down the hall from her mother’s hospital room. I only had the door open a crack. She couldn’t see me.”
“What the hell were you doing in the hospital? I never said for you to follow her around.”
“I didn’t follow her. I just waited outside her mother’s hospital room until she showed up.”
“I told you to locate Adam’s truck or Hadley’s car in the parking lot and then leave the package taped to the windshield. I even gave you the license plate numbers. Do you know how much trouble I went to to get those?”
“Do you know how many cars are parked in that lot? And they’re constantly coming and going. I couldn’t possibly check