the operator said, then asked for the address.
Derrick gave her directions, then snapped his phone closed, and brushed Brianna’s hair from her cheek. “Brianna, can you hear me?” He gently shook her, turning her face sideways to check her injuries.
The bruises on her face made his gut clench.
She hadn’t just fallen. Someone had hit her.
Anger churned in his gut, then panic slammed into him. The house was quiet. Too quiet?
Where was the baby?
His heart pounded as he vaulted to his feet and searched the downstairs, then raced up the steps. He spotted Brianna’s bedroom on the left, then a guest room across the hall with a crib inside. He hadn’t prayed in ages, but he said a silent prayer that the baby was safely asleep in the crib.
But when he looked inside, the baby was gone.
T HE SOUND OF A MAN ’ S GRUFF voice penetrated the fog enveloping Brianna, but a screeching sound trilled in the distance, compounding the pain hammering in her head.
“Brianna, can you hear me?” Soft fingers stroked her cheek. “It’s Derrick McKinney. I need you to wake up and talk to me.”
She moaned, but slowly roused, and tried to open her eyes. Where was she? What had happened?
“Brianna,” he said a little more harshly. “Please. I need you to talk to me.”
Panic and fear pummeled her as reality returned. Oh, God…the baby.
“Ryan…” Tears choked her, and she pushed at the floor with her hands, desperate to get up. “The baby…a man…he broke in and took him.” The room swirled as she lifted her head, and pain rocked through her again, sending nausea in waves.
“Easy,” Derrick urged. “You’d better lie flat until the EMTs get here. You might have a head injury.”
“No, I’m okay.” She had to drag in a breath to stem the nausea. The room twirled, and she closed her eyes and willed herself not to get sick on him. “Just help me to the couch.”
He eased her onto the sofa, then knelt beside her. “Tell me where it hurts,” he said.
“I’ll be fine,” she claimed through gritted teeth, “but he took Ryan.” She clutched his arm with an iron grip. “You have to find him, Derrick. You have to.”
“I will,” he declared softly. “Just tell me what happened. What do you remember?”
She massaged her temple, struggling to recall the details. “I put Ryan to bed after I got home and then went to bed myself. Later, I heard him crying, and went to the nursery, but a man was standing over the crib. Then he grabbed Ryan and started to leave.”
“Did you see his face?”
She shook her head. “No, it was so dark, and he was dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask. The only thing I saw was his eyes.” A shiver rippled through her, and she slowly sat up. “He had cold, mean eyes.”
He stroked her arm as if to calm her. “Then what happened?”
“I tried to stop him, but he hit me, so I ran after him. I caught his arm on the steps, but he threw me down them. Then he ran by me on the stairs.” Tears leaked from her eyes and rolled on her cheeks. “I grabbed his ankle, but he kicked me in the face and chest. I was dizzy but I tried to get to him, but he kicked me again and I must have passed out.”
She dropped her face into her hands. “Oh, God, Derrick…Ryan is gone and it’s all my fault.”
D ERRICK TRIED TO STEEL HIMSELF against the torment in Brianna’s voice, but if there was one emotion he understood, it was guilt. And hers was genuine. No act.
Her sobs tore at him, and he couldn’t resist. He pulled her into his arms and held her. It was a cop thing to do, a human comforting another. He’d done it a thousand times on a case.
But never had the person’s pain made him ache inside like a knife had ripped open his heart.
And never had he felt so connected with anyone in his life.
The thought scared the crap out of him.
The connection had to do with the missing baby—the baby he thought might be his.
Grasping onto that reality, he gently lifted her away from him. “Brianna, I have to call the sheriff.”
“What time is it?” she whispered.
His expression turned grim. “A little after 6:00 a.m. What time did you wake up and hear the baby crying?”
She swiped at the tears streaking her pale, bruised cheeks. “I’m not sure, maybe four, four-thirty.”
A siren wailed outside. About damn time, Derrick thought. She could have died before help arrived. If he hadn’t stopped by, she might have been lying there for hours.
He stood and reached for his phone. “I’ll meet them and call the sheriff. We need to issue an Amber Alert.”
“Yes, of course.” She clutched his hand. “Please, Derrick. We have to act fast.” She caught her lip with her teeth on another sob. He wanted to console her again, but time was of the essence.
She leaned back against the sofa looking stricken as he hurried to meet the ambulance. The paramedics jumped from the vehicle, and walked toward him.
“We got a 9–1-1 call.”
His training kicked in. “Yes. Brianna Honeycutt was attacked by an intruder during a baby kidnapping. The perpetrator knocked her unconscious before he escaped. She’s awake now, but probably has a concussion. And she may be going into shock.”
The medic in the lead nodded. “And you are, sir?”
He produced the ID that Gage had given him. “Guardian Angel Investigations. Before that, I was with the Raleigh P.D., Special Victims Unit.”
The medic nodded. “We’ll check her out and prepare to transport her to the hospital for tests and observation.”
“Thanks. I’ll call the local authorities to report the kidnapping.” He breathed in the early morning cold air, needing to clear his head as he punched in the sheriff’s number. On instinct, he’d immediately programmed into his phone the pertinent numbers he’d need in the area. He’d done his homework, too, and knew that Beau Cramer had taken over as sheriff after Charlie Driscill had resigned. He didn’t know the full story there, but he would find out. Driscill’s resignation had something to do with Gage and his wife Leah, but he hadn’t pushed yet. But if it pertained to a case, he would.
Friends with Gage or not.
“Sheriff Cramer.”
“Sheriff, this is Derrick McKinney of Guardian Angel Investigations. I’m with Brianna Honeycutt at her house. You need to get out here. She was attacked, and the baby she adopted was kidnapped.”
“I’ll
