the week. Brodie didn’t even know Mike—surely he wouldn’t force the issue of custody right away.
And Mike’s opinion about her father and brother still rankled.
When she saw the two men emerge from the motel room, her stomach knotted. The men parted ways. Mike returned to the SUV while his buddy Hawk walked to a different vehicle on the other side of the parking lot.
She belatedly scrambled back over the console into the passenger seat. As soon as Mike was settled, she peppered him with questions.
“What happened? Where’s Duncan? Did you talk to him? Is he upset? Let me try...”
Mike started the engine, clicked his seat belt into place and turned to face her, his expression grim. “I’m sorry, Shay, but he’s not there.”
She narrowed her gaze. “You must have the wrong room.”
“No, the guy at the front desk confirmed Duncan was staying in room three and that’s his truck, now spray-painted black, parked out front. There are signs he was there, but he’s gone now.”
Her jaw dropped and she twisted to look through the back window. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Mike drove out onto the highway, heading back the way they’d come.
“But—” She glanced back at Brodie, who’d nodded off while they’d waited for Mike. She didn’t want her son to overhear her next question. “Do you think he’s hurt? Was there any sign of a struggle? Like—blood?”
“No sign of trouble,” he assured her, reaching over to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. It was the first time he’d voluntarily touched her and she was shocked by the tingling sensation that skipped along her nerve endings. She had to remind herself this wasn’t the time for long-dormant hormones to run amok. “Try not to think the worst, okay?”
She nodded, because speaking past the lump in her throat wasn’t an option. Losing Duncan would be awful. He’d been the main point of contact with her family. Her father had been upset about her pregnancy at first but had eventually come around. But being police chief took a lot of his time. Since her mother had died when she and Duncan were young, Aunt Jean had stepped in to help raise them. Once they were grown, Aunt Jean had moved to Nashville. Joining her aunt in Tennessee had been Shayla’s choice.
Aunt Jean, Duncan and her father were her only supporters.
Where was her brother? What in the world was going on?
“He’s working undercover,” she repeated, more to convince herself than anything else. Mike might claim her brother was involved in something illegal but she refused to believe it. “He knew I was safe with you, so he decided to go off on his own to work the case.”
“It’s possible,” Mike agreed. “Do you want me to pick up something for Brodie to eat?”
“Huh? Oh, no. He should be fine until morning. I have fish crackers in my purse if he needs something.”
“I don’t mind,” he insisted. “Just let me know.”
“Duncan didn’t leave a note or anything?”
“Not that I saw.” Mike glanced at her. “Try his cell again.”
She did, but naturally her brother didn’t pick up. She hadn’t expected him to.
“I’m worried,” she confessed softly. “I don’t understand where Duncan would go without his truck. This place is too far out to get anywhere on foot. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Hold that thought.” Mike’s gaze was focused on the rearview mirror. “We have company.”
“What?” She twisted in her seat, her heart skittering at the bright headlights growing larger and closer behind them. “It’s probably Hawk.”
“It’s not. Hawk took a different route. Besides, these headlights are low and widely spaced, like a sports car. They’re not high enough to be an SUV.”
Remembering the sports car that had pulled up in front of Duncan’s house caused fear to rake like talons along the back of her neck. Peering over her shoulder, she glanced at her sleeping son. “What are we going to do?”
“Lose them. Hang on.” That was all the warning he gave her before yanking the wheel hard to the left. The SUV bounced wildly as he drove toward a farmer’s field. She gripped the armrest, digging her fingernails into the cushion.
Brodie woke up and began to cry, no doubt because of the rough ride.
“It’s okay, Brodie, we’re fine. Don’t be afraid.”
Brodie continued to cry and she wanted to beg Mike to get them out of the field as soon as possible. She kept reassuring Brodie but his cries grew louder and louder.
She craned her neck, trying to see where the headlights were, when the sound of gunfire echoed through the night.
Someone in the car behind them was shooting at them!
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