Maverick Sheriff (5 page)

So much for that plan.

“I hate being like this,” she said in a breathy whisper. “Hate that all of this is happening.” Jessa eased back, looked up at him. “Please tell me you’re not doing this because you hate me.”

“I’m not doing this because I hate you.” And since they were both wearing their hearts on their sleeves, Cooper went a step further. “I don’t even hate you. I just don’t like what you’re trying to do to me and my family.”

“It’s my job. It’s not personal. But this situation with Liam feels personal.”

“It
is
personal. I lost my son, and there’s a small chance that he’s still alive.”

Just saying that was too much, and it was Cooper who moved away from her. He wouldn’t let her or anyone else see how close this was to breaking him, but it’d brought back all the old memories and gouged into wounds, making them bleed and fester all over again.

“How old was Liam when you adopted him?” Cooper asked.

“Three months old, but that doesn’t matter,” she quickly added. “I checked, and Liam was born four days after your son.”

“Birth records can be altered.”

That did it. Jessa the A.D.A. was back. Her chin came up, and even though there were still tears in her eyes, she managed to look tough as nails.

She wasn’t.

Cooper was betting she was on the verge of falling apart. Especially if what he was about to show her made the connection that he hoped it’d make.

He took the silver framed photo from his desk. A photo he looked at every single day, wishing that his life hadn’t turned on a dime. Cooper didn’t need to look at it now. He’d memorized every detail. It was a picture of Molly sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch. She was holding a tiny Cameron in her arms. The sunlight on their faces.

Keeping his attention pinned to Jessa, he handed her the photo, and after giving him a glance, she studied it.

There.

He saw it in her eyes. That flash of surprise. Maybe even recognition. Because the baby in the picture was only two months younger than Liam was when Jessa adopted him. If Liam was his son, then there’d be a resemblance.

“All babies look the same,” she said. But the color had drained from her face.

Cooper figured his color was gone, too, and for a moment he thought he might disgrace himself by dropping to his knees.

His baby was alive.

Well, maybe.

He couldn’t jump off that ledge just yet, even though he’d felt more hope than he had in nearly two years. What he needed now were the results of that test, and he reached for his phone to call the doctor again.

However, Jessa’s phone buzzed first.

Without taking her gaze off the photo, she blindly groped in her pocket and pulled out her cell. One glance at the screen, however, and she practically tossed the photo back at him so she could hit the answer button.

“Mom, is everything okay?” Jessa quickly asked.

“No,” he heard the woman say.

Cooper’s heartbeat doubled, and he reached over and moved Jessa back a bit so he could hit the speaker button on her screen.

“What’s wrong?” Jessa’s voice was trembling now, and she was already opening the door.

“Jessa, you need to get here right away,” her mother insisted. “And bring Sheriff McKinnon with you. Someone’s trying to kidnap Liam.”

Chapter Four

“Why isn’t my mother answering her phone?” Jessa snapped, and she tried again. But like the other dozen times, the call went straight to voice mail.

“There are plenty of dead zones in the hospital,” Cooper told her. “And maybe your mother turned off the ringer because she’s hiding.”

It sickened her to think of her mother running through the hospital, trying to protect Liam while kidnappers chased after them.

“Hurry,” Jessa said, but she knew Cooper couldn’t drive any faster without risking an accident. Still, she wouldn’t care if they wrecked as long as she could just see her son.

And prevent him from being kidnapped.

Everything inside her was racing. Her heart. Her breath. The horrible thoughts firing through her head.

The loud wail of the siren didn’t help her nerves, but she was thankful for them. Because of the siren and the flashing blue lights, other drivers were moving out of Cooper’s way, shaving off precious seconds. Maybe that would be enough.

It
had
to be enough.

She couldn’t muffle the sob that tore through her throat. Why was this happening? Why had everything in her life turned upside down?

Another sound shot through the truck, and because her nerves were so frayed, it took her a moment to realize it was Cooper’s phone. She didn’t see the screen before he sandwiched the phone between his shoulder and his ear.

“It’s Reed,” he told her.

Reed Caldwell, one of his deputies, and it wasn’t Reed’s first call but rather his third since this nightmare had begun. Cooper’s brothers had called him, also. Tucker and Colt were headed to the hospital in another vehicle.

“No. Stay back,” Cooper said to the deputy. “If possible, get me a photo. I’ll be there in about five minutes.”

That might be five minutes too late.

“Reed’s on the scene,” Cooper relayed to her the moment he ended the call. “And he just got an update from the security guard. There are two masked men in the hall of the pediatric ward. They’re armed, and they’ve taken a hostage.”

Jessa pressed her fists to the sides of her head. “Please, not Liam or my mother.”

“No. Not them,” Cooper quickly assured her. “They grabbed a nurse when she tried to stop them from entering Liam’s room. She screamed, alerted the security guard, and that’s when the men put a gun to her head. The security guard wisely backed off and called Reed.”

“But what about Liam and my mother?”

“Reed talked to your mother right after she called us. She phoned the 9-1-1 dispatcher, too, and he got her number from them. Reed told her to take Liam into the bathroom of his room and lock the door.”

That was a start, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Not for her son, her mother or the poor nurse who’d tried to protect Liam.

“There’s probably no reception in the bathroom,” Cooper went on. “The walls are concrete block.”

Jessa prayed that was the only reason her mother wasn’t answering the calls. Her mother was a strong, levelheaded person, but an ordeal like this could cause anyone to panic.

“What do these men want?” she asked. “Why did they try to take Liam?”

Cooper shook his head, and for a split second his gaze met hers. She saw the same fear mirrored in his iron-gray eyes that was no doubt in hers. “They’ve yelled out that they want to talk to you.”

Her heart slammed against her chest. So they knew who she was.

Jessa had held out hope that this was some kind of misunderstanding—maybe a situation of mistaken identity or some kind of custody dispute. But if these men had tried to kidnap Liam and then demanded to talk to her, then the chances of a misunderstanding were slim.

“This could be connected to one of your cases,” Cooper added. He jammed even harder on the accelerator to pass a car. “Once Liam’s safe and these idiots are behind bars, I’ll find out.”

His jaw muscles were tight again, as were most of the muscles in his body. He seemed absolutely determined to help her son. And she prayed it wasn’t because he believed Liam was his. He wasn’t Cooper’s. He couldn’t be.

That was another thing she’d get straight as soon as this was over.

“You told your deputy to stay back,” she reminded him. “Why?”

He took the final turn to the hospital. “I don’t want to give them a reason to start shooting. Once all the deputies are in place, I’ll try to negotiate with them.”

Cooper didn’t seem like the negotiating type, but she was. She’d give the men whatever they wanted as long as they left Liam alone.

Without taking his attention off the road, Cooper made another call. “Colt, as soon as Tucker and you arrive, head to the back entrance of the hospital. If it’s not clear, clear it. Then get upstairs. Go in low and quiet. Stay out of sight.” He paused, glanced at her. And blew out a long breath. “If you need to shoot, just don’t miss,” Cooper added.

That sent a new round of fear and panic through her. God, she had to get to her baby.

Cooper’s phone dinged just as he pulled into the parking lot, and he glanced down at the screen before he handed his phone to her. “Reed just sent me this photo.”

It was a grainy shot, obviously taken from a distance, but Jessa could see the two men wearing dark masks. Both were bulky, both armed, and one was indeed holding a terrified-looking woman in front of him like a human shield. The other one was behind his partner. Out of the direct line of fire.

These were the men who wanted her son, and Jessa wished she could reach through the phone lines and stop them.

“I know they’re wearing masks, but look at the body language and the hair,” Cooper instructed. “Could one of those men be the person who sideswiped your car?”

Jessa’s shoulders snapped back. “You think these things are connected?” But she immediately realized they could very well be.

Mercy, why hadn’t she thought of it earlier? If that accident hadn’t been an accident, then she should have figured out she and Liam were in danger.

Jessa had to shake her head. “I don’t recognize anything about them, but then I barely got a glimpse of the driver.”

Cooper gave a weary sigh and braked to a stop directly in front of the emergency room doors, where there were people and staff hurrying out. Jessa reached for the door handle, but he stopped her.

“Look, I know I stand zero chance of asking you to stay in the truck, so here are the rules,” he said. “No matter what happens, you stay behind me. No going nuts and trying to get to Liam. No doing or saying anything unless you’ve cleared it with me first. I sure as hell don’t need to babysit you while I’m trying to save Liam.”

That stung. Because she didn’t need him babysitting her. But Jessa agreed with Cooper only because she wanted him to hurry so they could get inside.

Cooper drew his gun, and she threw open her door at the same moment that he did and ran toward the emergency room. It wasn’t easy because there were about a dozen panicked people still trying to get out. Cooper and she made it through the crowd and bolted up the stairs to the pediatric unit.

They didn’t get far.

Deputy Reed Caldwell was there, stooped behind a wall while he peered into the hall. The moment Reed spotted his boss, he shifted over so that Cooper could take the lead. He did. Cooper took aim at the gunmen.

“My brothers just arrived,” Cooper said.

Jessa glanced out into the hall, but she didn’t get a good enough look before Cooper gave her a warning glare to get back.

“Tucker and Colt are at the other end of the hall, behind the gunmen,” Cooper whispered to her. “I’m Sheriff Cooper McKinnon,” he called out. “Let the hostage go, put down your gun and let’s talk.”

Jessa held her breath, praying they would but figuring it was unlikely they’d comply. The men had taken a huge risk in coming here like this, and that meant they wouldn’t want to go away empty-handed.

“You wanna protect the little boy inside that room?” one of the men shouted. “There’s only one way to do that. Tell Jessa Wells to step out now, or I start shooting. You’ve got thirty seconds to decide if it’s the kid or her.”

* * *

C
OOPER HAD TO
catch Jessa again to stop her from bolting toward the gunmen. But she didn’t exactly cooperate with his attempt to restrain her. She fought, trying to push him away.

“You heard what they said,” she snapped, hysteria in her voice.

“Yeah, and I don’t believe them. You shouldn’t, either. They’re criminals, Jessa, and if you go out there, at best they’ll gun you down. If you’re not so lucky, they’ll start shooting up the place, kidnap Liam and take you both to a secondary crime scene. I’ll let you guess what they plan to do with you, but I’m thinking it won’t be fun for you or Liam.”

That froze her, thank goodness, and the tears spilled down her cheeks before she dropped back. Cooper hadn’t thought the tears would bother him that much. After all, he’d seen Jessa crying just two days earlier while Liam was in surgery and again when she challenged him about Liam’s paternity. But this was different.

Okay,
he
was different.

Because as long as there was a chance that Liam was his, then it upped the stakes a thousand times over. And Jessa was one of the few people who was as aware of that as Cooper.

“You can’t let them take him,” she whispered. Her mouth was trembling. The rest of her, too. And her eyes begged Cooper to make this situation right.

“I won’t let them,” Cooper promised, though he had some doubts about the plan he’d come up with.

“Well?” the man shouted. “What’ll it be? Because time’s up.”

Cooper ignored him. “Call Colt,” he whispered to Reed. “Tell them to fire on my count of two. The nurse is a head shorter than the gunmen. That gives them six good inches, and I want both men taken out together. I don’t want one of these idiots to get off a shot and hurt their hostage.”

Reed nodded, did as he said and then moved just to the side of Cooper so he’d be able to fire if necessary. And it just might be necessary if this plan went south.

Cooper glanced down the hall, past the waiting gunmen. The thirty-second time limit was long since up, and it was showing in their body language. They were getting antsy, and the last thing he needed were itchy trigger fingers in an already volatile situation.

“If you think I’m just going to let you walk out of here with the A.D.A. and her son,” Cooper told them, “then you’re a special kind of stupid. Put down your guns now!”

That stirred them up. They cursed. Fired nervy glances all around them. Trying to figure out what to do.

Had they really thought he wouldn’t challenge them or try to stop them? Maybe they’d heard of the discord between him and Jessa and thought he’d turn a blind eye so they could kidnap her.

He wouldn’t do that. Not ever.

Cooper took a deep breath. Readied his gun. And nodded for Reed to do the same.