Not with her,” she added when she must have seen the shock on his face. “But she was no longer pregnant.”
That didn’t make sense, either. Sonya’s doctor was in town. So was the hospital she’d intended to use to deliver. If she’d had the baby there, Raleigh would have certainly heard about it.
“Did she say anything about the baby? About the man?” Raleigh pressed.
“No. He had her gagged and already in the yard when I got here. I moved toward him, but there must have been a second man. Or a second person. He hit me with a stun gun when I came onto the porch. I think they took Sonya that way.” She tipped her head to the woods.
Thea was lucky the guy hadn’t killed her. Or maybe luck didn’t have anything to do with it. Maybe keeping her alive had been part of the plan.
“I would tell you to wait here, but I doubt you will,” Raleigh grumbled to her, and he started for those woods.
He didn’t get far though, because he heard the sound of a car engine. At first he thought it might be the deputy, but it was a woman who came running out the back door, and Raleigh recognized the tall brunette.
Yvette O’Hara.
The woman who’d hired Sonya to be a surrogate. Like Thea and him, Yvette was wet from the rain. The woman was breathing through her mouth, her eyes were wide and her forehead was bunched up.
“Where’s Sonya?” Yvette blurted out.
“We’re not sure.” Raleigh figured Yvette wasn’t going to like that answer. Judging from her huff, she didn’t. But it was the best he could do. “Stay here. Deputy Morris and I were about to look for her.”
Yvette glanced at Thea. “What’s going on? Did something happen to Sonya, to the baby?” She was right to be concerned—especially if she’d noticed the toppled furniture and messages on the walls.
“Stay put,” he warned her again.
But Yvette didn’t listen. She barreled down the steps, and also like Thea, she had some trouble staying steady. In her case though, it was because she was wearing high heels.
“Sonya’s doctor called me,” Yvette said, her words running together. “She missed her appointment. She wouldn’t have done that if everything was all right.”
Probably not. But Raleigh kept that to himself. Yvette already looked to be in alarm-overload mode, and it was best if he didn’t add to that. He didn’t want her getting hysterical.
“Just stay here,” he said. “That way, if Sonya comes back, she won’t be here alone.”
Yvette finally gave a shaky nod to that and sank down onto the porch steps. Good. It was bad enough that he had Thea to watch, and he didn’t want to have to keep an eye on Yvette, too. If those armed thugs were still in the area, it was too dangerous for Yvette to follow them.
Thea didn’t stay back though. Despite her unsteady gait, she kept on walking, straight toward the woods, and Raleigh had to run to catch up with her. He’d just managed that when he heard someone call out to him.
“Raleigh?” It was Deputy Dalton Kane. Since Raleigh hadn’t heard a siren, it meant Dalton had done a silent approach, and Raleigh was glad he was there. He needed some backup right now.
“Stay with Mrs. O’Hara,” Raleigh told him. “The woman on the porch,” he added in case Dalton didn’t know who Yvette was. “And get more backup and some CSIs out here. I want the house processed ASAP.”
Again, Thea got ahead of him, and Raleigh had to catch up with her. She didn’t even pause when she made it to the trees; she just walked right in. Since it was obvious that she wasn’t going to be cautious, Raleigh moved in front of her.
“I think the thugs were parked back here somewhere,” Thea said. “Shortly after the one hit me with the stun gun, I believe I heard a vehicle leaving.”
Raleigh silently groaned. If that was true, then there was no telling where Sonya could be. “Is it possible one of the men had the baby with him?” he asked.
“No.” But Thea paused and shook her head. “Maybe. I didn’t get even a glimpse of him. After the stun gun hit, I fell on the porch, and I think I passed out.”
Perhaps because she’d hit her head. Raleigh could see the bruise forming on her right cheekbone. Of course, if this was a kidnapping, the person could have even drugged Thea to make sure she didn’t come after them.
But who would want to kidnap Sonya?
Raleigh drew a blank. Sonya hadn’t been romantically involved with anyone. At least he didn’t think she had been, but it was possible she’d met someone. It was something Raleigh hoped he could ask her as soon as they found her.
They kept walking, and it didn’t take long for Raleigh to spot the clearing just ahead. He’d been born and raised in Durango Ridge, but he hadn’t been in this part of the woods. However, like the rest of the area, there were paths and old ranch trails like this one that led to the creek.
“The rain is washing away the tracks,” Thea mumbled, and she sped up.
She was right—if there were any tracks to be found, that is. And there were. Despite the rain, Raleigh could still see the grooves in the dirt and gravel surface. A vehicle had been here recently. He took out his phone to get photos of the tracks just in case they were gone before the CSI team could arrive. He’d managed to click a few shots when he heard Thea make a loud gasp.
Raleigh snapped in her direction, following her gaze to see what had captured her attention. There, in the bushes, he saw something that he definitely hadn’t wanted to see.
Sonya’s lifeless body.
Thea fought the effects of the adrenaline crash. Or rather she tried. But while she was waiting on Sonya’s front porch, she was also fighting off the remnants of that stun gun, along with the sickening dread that another woman was dead.
Oh, God. She was dead.
For a few seconds after she’d seen the body, Thea had tried to hold out hope that it wasn’t Sonya. That it was some stranger, but that had been an unrealistic hope to have. After all, she’d seen the gunman taking Sonya. She’d known the woman was in extreme danger.
“Why did the gunman even take Sonya from the house?” Thea mumbled. “If he was just going to kill her, why didn’t he do that when he first broke in?”
She hadn’t intended for anyone to actually hear those questions. Not with all the chaos going on. But Raleigh obviously heard her, since he looked at her. What he didn’t do was attempt an answer, because he was standing in the front doorway while giving instructions to the CSIs, who were now processing Sonya’s yard and house.
Because it was a crime scene.
One that wasn’t in Thea’s jurisdiction.
That’s why she just sat
