H E CURSED AT THE SOUND OF THE baby crying from the backseat. “Hush up, kid. I’ll get you out soon.”

      He swung the car into the motel parking lot, circled around to the backseat and unbuckled the kid, then picked him up. The baby’s cries escalated to a blazing crescendo, and he jiggled him up and down. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered. “It’s so not worth the cash.”

      With the key he’d pocketed earlier, he strode down the row of rooms, and let himself inside.

      Candy, his girlfriend, lay stretched out on the bed, blowing at her hot red fingernails reading a magazine. When she looked up at the screaming infant, she pursed her lips. “I can’t believe you brought the brat here.”

      “You have to take care of him, sugar, until we can drop him off.”

      “You’re kidding, right?” She stood, hands on voluptuous hips. “I don’t know anything about taking care of a baby.”

      “Then learn.” He gestured toward the bag of baby supplies he’d stowed earlier. “Get him a bottle and take him. I gotta make a call.”

      She frowned and made a pouty look, but did as he said.

      Shoulders straightening, he stepped outside with his phone and punched in the number. “I have the baby. It’s done.”

      “And Brianna Honeycutt?”

      “She woke up and tried to stop me. I threw her down the stairs, but she’s alive.”

      “Damn. If she keeps asking questions, we’ll have to get rid of her, too.”

      “You have a plan?”

      “Yeah. We’ll kill her, then fake a suicide note where she confesses that she dropped the baby at an orphanage because she couldn’t handle the kid.”

      “And she cried kidnapping to throw suspicion from herself?”

      “Exactly.”

      Laughter boomed from his chest. That sounded like a plan that would work. They’d drop the kid, get rid of the problematic woman, take their money and run.

       Chapter Four

      “Where does Dana Phillips work?” Derrick asked.

      “She’s a receptionist at the insurance office in town.” Brianna stewed over whether she believed the young couple would resort to kidnapping. “And Robert is the head of the construction team building those new cabins on the east side of town.”

      “They were arguing when he left the house,” Derrick said. “Maybe their fight had to do with the baby.”

      “Or it’s possible it had nothing to do with this and the kidnapper is long gone.”

      “There hasn’t been a call?” Derrick asked.

      Brianna shook her head. “No. I can’t figure out what the kidnapper wants.”

      Derrick’s silence added to the anxiety knotting her insides. “I’ll talk to Dana.”

      “I’m going with you,” Brianna stated.

      He paused, his look filled with concern. “Are you sure you’re up to that, Brianna? You have a concussion, and the medic said you probably cracked some ribs.”

      “I’ll be fine,” she said. “I can’t just sit here and wait, Derrick. I’m going crazy.”

      “All right. But if you start to feel bad, let me know.”

      Brianna agreed, grabbed her coat and purse, and they hurried to his Jeep. The temperature had dropped, and she burrowed in her coat, but the chill inside her had nothing to do with the weather. Images of Ryan crying, cold, in the hands of a madman taunted her.

      Christmas lights and decorations glittered in town, decorative snowflakes and wreaths adorning the storefront windows, and red bows had been tacked on every streetlamp and sign. It would be a picture perfect Christmas with the snow blanketing the town.

      Except that a kidnapper had escaped and a tiny little baby was missing. Her son.

      “There’s the insurance office,” Brianna said.

      Derrick swung the vehicle into a parking space in the square, jumped out and circled to the passenger’s side to help her, but Brianna was already pushing open the door and getting out. He took her arm to steady her as they dodged an icy patch on the sidewalk, and climbed the two steps to the office door. A Santa had been painted on the window, advertising that he would bring savings in your stocking with a life insurance plan.

      Derrick opened the door, and Brianna spotted Dana sitting at the front desk typing on the computer. When Dana saw Derrick, a wariness darkened her expression.

      A frisson of guilt attacked Brianna. If Dana hadn’t kidnapped Ryan, accusing her was cruel. But Dana was their only viable suspect right now.

      “Brianna, what are you doing here?” Dana asked.

      “I have to talk to you.” Brianna lowered her voice. “Ryan has been kidnapped, Dana.”

      Dana’s eyes widened. “What?”

      Brianna gestured to the bruises on her face. “Someone broke into my house early this morning, knocked me unconscious, then took the baby.”

      The color drained from Dana’s face. “My God, that’s horrible. Do you know who did it?”

      For a brief moment, Dana stood as if to console Brianna, then her expression changed as if she realized the reason for their visit. “You can’t think that I had something to do with this?”

      Derrick cleared his throat. “Mrs. Phillips, my name is Derrick McKinney. I’m with Guardian Angel Investigations and I’m trying to find the baby. If you know something, please tell us now.”

      “ If I know something,” Dana echoed shrilly. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I can’t believe you’d come here like this, Brianna. First of all, you were supposed to help me adopt a baby, then you adopt the first infant that comes along, and now you have the audacity to accuse me of kidnapping.”

      “Please, Dana,” Brianna pleaded. “I’m just trying to find Ryan. I…don’t know where to turn. You were really upset with me yesterday and you said you wanted Ryan.”

      “I did,” Dana said. “And if you find him, I still think he’d be better off with me and Robert. After all, you had him and you let someone take him from your home. What kind of mother are you?”