“Stop investigating or you will die.”

A Covert Operatives story

Searching for a missing pregnant foster teen, Rebecca Mason stumbles across a human trafficking ring. Now with criminals determined to silence Rebecca, security specialist Collin Walsh appoints himself her protector. But how can the secret husband who once abandoned her to join the military regain her trust? Collin will do anything to make up for the past...but first he must ensure they survive.

VIRGINIA VAUGHAN is a born-and-raised Mississippi girl. She is blessed to come from a large Southern family, and her fondest memories include listening to stories recounted around the dinner table. She was a lover of books from a young age, devouring tales of romance, danger and love. She soon started writing them herself. You can connect with Virginia through her website, virginiavaughanonline.com, or through the publisher.

Also By Virginia Vaughan

Covert Operatives

Cold Case Cover-Up

Deadly Christmas Duty

Risky Return

Rangers Under Fire

Yuletide Abduction

Reunion Mission

Ranch Refuge

Mistletoe Reunion Threat

Mission Undercover

Mission: Memory Recall

No Safe Haven

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Risky Return

Virginia Vaughan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09687-4

RISKY RETURN

© 2019 Virginia Vaughan

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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“Collin, they know all the information I’ve gathered and everyone I’ve spoken with,” Rebecca whispered.

Collin’s gut clenched as a text confirmed what he’d suspected. Rebecca’s car had been inventoried as part of gathering evidence at the crime scene, but her laptop was not there. Was this the work of a dirty cop?

“Your computer was never taken for evidence. It’s gone.” He took Rebecca’s arm. “We should go. You can recount whatever you remember to the FBI and they can pick up the trail you started.”

The sooner they got Rebecca’s witness out of town and to the FBI, the better off they were going to be. If anything happened to her, or all three of them, the trafficking ring would have succeeded in tying up their loose ends and could continue on unscathed.

Collin opened the passenger door for Rebecca. But from the corner of his eye, he spotted a car approaching them, slowing down. The window lowered and the barrel of a gun protruded.

His instincts kicked in and he grabbed Rebecca and threw her to the ground behind the car as gunshots rang out, spraying his car with bullets...

Dear Reader,

Thanks so much for joining me in book three of my Covert Operatives series. I hope you enjoyed Collin and Rebecca’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I love reunion stories and this one was no exception. These two characters fell in love at a very young age, but the pressures of real life tore them apart. This happens all too often these days, but thankfully, we serve a God of second chances. One of my favorite Bible verses is Joel 2:25, where God tells how He will restore to us what the locusts ate. I clung to this verse during a dark time in my life when it seemed all my hopes and plans for the future were ruined. I wondered if life could ever be good again. It was. My past mistakes do not define me and neither do yours because no matter how dark your situation seems right now, we have hope through Jesus Christ. He wants to heal your pains. He wants to rebuild your life.

I love hearing from my readers! You can contact me online through my website www.virginiavaughanonline.com or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ginvaughanbooks.

Blessings!

Virginia

Thou in thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

—Exodus 15:13

This book is dedicated to the men and women who serve others unselfishly in all capacities and fields. Thank you for what you do.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

It was her.

Collin Walsh spotted Rebecca across the cashier stands at the local grocery store. He would know her anywhere, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders as she picked up her groceries and walked out. He paid for his items then followed, watching her as she moved through the parking lot, oblivious to his presence. He’d wanted to play it cool when he saw her again but he wasn’t sure he could. Should he approach her? Say hello? Or turn and walk away and not open those old wounds? He didn’t even know what name she used these days. Had she kept the last name Walsh or gone back to her maiden name of Rebecca Mason?

She stopped at a blue Toyota Camry and dug through her purse, presumably for keys. He’d known he might see her when he’d returned to their hometown, but he hadn’t expected the way his heart would be racing or how his mouth would be going dry when he finally did.

He looked away. If he was smart, he would walk back to his car and drive away, pretending he’d never seen her. But when he glanced at her again, he couldn’t. She was beautiful. Just as beautiful as she’d been twelve years ago, and his brain reactivated memories he’d spent years pushing away. The feel of her in his arms. The taste of her lips. Running his hands through her hair. The way her eyes had gleamed as he’d slipped a pawnshop wedding ring on her long, slim finger.

Man, how he’d loved her.

Irritation bit at him. He’d faced down terrorists and some of the evilest people in the world in his jobs as both an army ranger and then a covert security specialist for the CIA, but saying a simple hello to the woman he’d once loved and married paralyzed him with fear.

His good sense kicked in and he walked in the opposite direction, toward his car. He’d already let her down once. No need to revisit his failure. Yet, he couldn’t resist one last look. He turned back just in time to see a man approach her from behind, grab her and slam her head against the car.

Collin didn’t even think as he dropped his bags and ran toward her, her cries of pain echoing in his ears. She slid to the ground but the man grabbed her hair and pulled her to her feet, this time whispering something in her ear. Collin couldn’t hear what he’d said but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to Rebecca before this man could do any more damage.

He screamed at the attacker, who spun to face him then whipped out a knife and slung Rebecca to the ground before lunging at Collin. Oh, how he wished he had his gun with him, but he didn’t need it to take down this man. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to fight hand-to-hand with an armed assailant. His instincts kicked in, and he batted away the knife, knocking it from the attacker’s hand as he kicked his legs out from under him. The attacker scrambled to his feet and took off running, disappearing around the corner of the store.

Collin didn’t try to follow him. He was more concerned with making sure Rebecca was all right. He bent down beside her and called her name. When she didn’t move, he carefully turned her over. Blood was running from a wound above her eye and her hands and arms were scraped from the pavement, but she was alive. Her eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness and his heart hammered against his chest when he saw her beautiful brown eyes staring back at him. She blinked several times then tried to sit up, grabbing her head in pain as she did.

“Take it easy,” he said as he helped her.

“What—what happened?”

“A man attacked you as you were leaving the store. Don’t you remember?”

She glanced at him again, but her eyes held more confusion than fear. He suspected his presence was probably only adding to it. “We should get you to a hospital.”

“No!” The confusion seemed to clear from her face. “I don’t need a hospital,” she told him. “I need to go.”

“You’re bleeding.”

She reached up and touched the gash then looked at the blood on her fingers. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

He pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the police.”

“Don’t.” She struggled to stand and he reluctantly helped her when it was obvious she wasn’t going to remain still.

“I have to call. Someone intentionally tried to hurt you, Rebecca. You at least need someone to look at that gash and I know he slammed your head against the car. You should be examined by a doctor. You probably have a concussion. The police need to be notified and the man who did this needs to be found and held accountable.”

“I just want to go home.”

He thought she must still be in shock and didn’t realize how close she’d come to being killed. Maybe she hadn’t seen the knife her attacker wielded, but he was certain she’d felt her head slamming against the car. She reached for her car door handle, but Collin intervened, keeping it closed.

“You can’t leave the scene of a crime and you certainly don’t need to be driving in your condition.” He should probably call someone on her behalf. Her family. A husband, perhaps. She would have had their sham of a marriage dissolved a long time ago and moved on with her life. They’d only been kids when she’d gotten pregnant and they’d run away together. She’d been barely eighteen and he’d been nineteen, not even old enough to get married in Mississippi without a parent’s signature, so they’d crossed state lines and married in Louisiana, where eighteen was the legal age.

He’d left town after everything fell apart and hadn’t looked back, so he’d never received any divorce papers, but he knew after certain public notices that she could have gotten one without his signature. He didn’t see a ring on her hand and although he knew it didn’t necessarily mean anything, he felt vindicated to know she was still single.

He should call her parents now, but he shuddered at the thought of even speaking to them. Collin would let the police handle that, or Rebecca, when she was able.

She looked up at him, the confusion returning to her face. “What are you doing here, Collin?”

It had to be a shock for her to see him again after all these years, but this didn’t seem like the time to go into a lengthy description of why he’d returned. She was hurt and bleeding and had just been through a trauma.

He glanced at her belongings, now scattered on the ground. Her purse was still there and so were her keys. The attacker hadn’t tried to rob her or even steal her car. This attack had been personal. “Who did this, Rebecca? And why would anyone want to hurt you?”

* * *

Rebecca’s head was still swimming when the paramedics and police arrived. She hadn’t wanted them there, but she’d agreed because she didn’t want to tell him about Missy. She allowed herself to be helped into the ambulance and her gash and scrapes tended to. Her head was pounding and she was having trouble focusing on what was happening. But she had to keep her wits about her. A girl’s life depended on it.

An unmarked cruiser pulled up to the scene and Kent Morris got out, his hair and clothes neat and orderly. He’d always dressed impeccably ever since high school and she knew he was ambitious and had recently been made an investigator with the sheriff’s office. He approached Collin first and started asking questions.

Collin Walsh! A new rush of confusion washed over her. What was he even doing here? She hadn’t seen him in twelve years, but today he’d appeared out of nowhere and swooped in to save her life. There was no denying it was him. He was older, but he had the same strong features and beautiful green eyes. He was a shadow from her past. Her first love. Her high school boyfriend, then later her husband when they’d eloped after discovering she was pregnant. And the father of the baby lost to them both before he was even born.

She’d often imagined that if their baby had lived, if she hadn’t miscarried him, he would he have had Collin’s smile and curly hair. He would have been twelve now, nearly a teenager and as witty and charming as Collin had been at that age. She tamped down that train of thought. She couldn’t go there. She wouldn’t, because it hurt too much to even imagine.

The paramedic finished bandaging her up. “You should go to the hospital to get checked out.”

“I’m fine,” Rebecca assured her. “I don’t need to go.”

“If you lost consciousness, you might have a concussion.”

“I said I’m fine.” She didn’t relish the idea of sitting in a hospital for hours on end. Her head hurt but it was nothing a few Tylenol couldn’t help. She had to get back to Missy Donovan. Rebecca had promised her food and a safe place to stay until they figured out what to do and whom they could trust with her story. She’d picked up something for her at a drive-through when she took the teen to the motel, but she’d hoped to return with more food and supplies tonight. Those groceries were now scattered around the parking lot.

Kent approached her, followed closely by Collin. His green eyes studied her, and she was suddenly self-conscious. He certainly wasn’t seeing her at her best. Her face felt swollen and the bandage on her forehead couldn’t be attractive.

Stop it. It didn’t matter what she looked like to Collin. Not anymore. Not since he’d abandoned her after she’d lost the baby.

Kent spoke first. “Hey, Rebecca, Collin filled me in on what happened here. Did you see the man who attacked you?”

“I didn’t see anything.” It wasn’t a lie. The man had blindsided her. She’d never seen his face, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have an idea who’d attacked her.

“Well, I’ve asked Collin to work with a sketch artist to see if we can identify this man. We’re also pulling prints off your car and pulling security footage from the store. Don’t you worry, we’ll find this guy.”

“I appreciate that, Kent.”

“Any idea why someone would want to hurt you, Rebecca?”

Now was the time to come clean about the notes, the threats, even the girl she was helping hide out in the Batesville Motel, but something stopped her. Missy had told her that the police were involved in the trafficking ring she’d escaped from two nights ago. And her attacker’s eerie warning to mind her own business entered her thoughts.

Collin noticed her hesitation. He could always see right through her. “What is it, Rebecca? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

All she wanted was to go home and crawl into bed and forget this day had ever happened, but she knew she couldn’t. “I’ve been receiving some threats lately. Letters and messages.”

“What did they say?”

“They warned me to stop what I was doing or I would be sorry.”

“And what is it they think you’re doing, Rebecca?” Collin asked.

She saw the doubt in his face—he was wondering if she’d gotten involved in something illegal. Could he really believe she would have changed that much? Had he? “It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it,” Kent insisted.

She looked at them both. The last few days had been a haze of suspicion and doubt. She didn’t know who she could trust in this town anymore. Even her own father was a suspect after Missy had told her about seeing the name Mason Industries, her father’s company, on the building where she’d been held.

“Four months ago, a pregnant teen in my care went missing. Kent, you classified her as a runaway, but I never stopped looking for her. I think whoever has her wants me to stop looking.”

“You believe she was abducted?” Collin asked. “Do you have any idea who took her?”

She didn’t see an ounce of doubt in Collin’s expression and she liked that, but she had to remember she hadn’t seen this man in twelve years, not since the day he’d walked out of their marriage and left her abandoned and alone in New Orleans. “When can I go home?” Rebecca asked, ignoring his question.

Kent gave her an annoyed look. “I still have some questions to ask you once we finish processing this scene and I need to see those threatening notes, Rebecca. You should have come to me when you received the first one.”

“I know I should have, but you never believed me that Missy wasn’t a runaway.”

“I might have changed my mind after seeing those.”

“I’m sorry, Kent. Please, I just want to go home. My head is killing me.”

She feared he was about to give her the you-need-to-go-to-the-hospital spiel again, but he sighed instead. “I can have a deputy take you home.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Collin said. “I’ll take her home.”

Rebecca wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Collin had swooped back into her life all of a sudden and she hadn’t even gotten her equilibrium back enough to process his return. Now, he was offering to drive her home?

He held out his hand and she took it, but as she stood, the world around her began to spin. Her knees buckled and she fell, but Collin was there in a shot, wrapping his strong arms around her and keeping her vertical. She soaked in the smell of his musky aftershave as she leaned into him.

“I’ll help you,” he said, his voice gentle and reassuring.

She allowed him to guide her to his car, but as she slid inside she realized she didn’t have the food she’d come here for. She pressed her head against the back of the seat. She wasn’t up for any more shopping today. Hopefully Missy would be okay until the morning.

Collin slid into the driver’s seat, started the car and turned out of the parking lot. She still couldn’t believe she was sitting beside Collin Walsh. It was too unreal to be anything but a dream. And how many times had she dreamed about this man reappearing in her life through the years? Now, he had.

She reached out and touched his arm just to reassure herself this was real. He covered her hand with his and the weight of it against hers convinced her it was. Collin Walsh was back in town and back in her life.

He squeezed her hand but the furrowing of his brow told her he was worried. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I will be.” She moved her hand and turned away. She couldn’t sit here drooling over Collin. She had to get back to Missy. But his reappearance in her life was something she hadn’t planned on. “I didn’t know you were back in town,” Rebecca said. In fact, she hadn’t heard of him being back in their hometown in years.

“My mom passed away a few months ago. She’d been in a nursing home for years. I thought it was time to clean out her house and put it on the market.”

His mother. Of course. Rebecca had visited with her often, keeping tabs on Collin and his jaunts around the world in the army, reading the letters he’d sent home to his mom until her health forced her to be moved. “I’m sorry about your mother. I always liked her.”

He gave a slight smile and glanced at her. “Thank you. She always liked you, too.”

If only her parents had been as easygoing as his mother, things might have ended differently between them. They had never liked Collin, even going so far as to forbid Rebecca from seeing him. That hadn’t stopped her. Nothing could have stopped her from marrying Collin Walsh back then...and nothing had.

And she’d paid a big price for doing so. She’d lost her husband, her baby and her happy future.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw you in the store,” he said. “Honestly, I was trying to decide if I should say hi or not when I saw that man grab you.”

So he’d considered not even speaking to her? It stung her to know she meant so little to him when she’d once loved him so much. But she was grateful he’d been there. She didn’t know what her attacker would have done if Collin hadn’t intervened. Would he have used that knife he’d flashed at her? Or had this attack only been a warning? She wrung her hands and looked out the window. Was he out there somewhere following them? She was suddenly very glad Collin had offered to take her home.

“Thank you for helping me.” A thousand questions popped into her mind that she wanted to ask him. She’d thought about him often throughout the years, and wondered where he was and what he was doing. “Did I hear you joined the army?”

“I did. I even became an army ranger.”

That was impressive.

“But I left the service three years ago. I’ve been working private security ever since.”

“Like being a bodyguard?”

“Sort of, but on a global scale. I was overseas when Mom passed away. Fortunately, her sister was with her when she died.”

How terrible that he hadn’t been able to be there with his mother. However, she knew his mom had suffered from dementia and hadn’t known anyone for several years. Still, she couldn’t imagine not being home when her own mother had died of cancer five years earlier.

“What about you? What are you doing these days?”

“I work for the court system. I’m a psychologist specializing in child welfare. I act as a representative for children who come through the courts, usually those who’ve been removed from their homes and gone into the foster care system.” It wasn’t the career her parents had hoped for her, but she enjoyed her work and the kids she helped. Only now, helping one of them had placed her life in danger.

She glanced out the window again and still saw no one behind them, but would she even know how to recognize a tail if she had one?

Collin reached over and covered her hands with his right hand again. “No one is following us,” he assured her. “I’ve been watching. Whoever it was that attacked you is gone.”

She gave him a warm smile. He always could reassure her.

“I knew you would do good things,” he told her. “You always had a good heart.”

But not good enough to keep him around. She grimaced at that thought as their past and present collided. She had to keep her focus on today and what was happening now. “I enjoy my work. I’ve gotten quite close to some of the kids I work with.”

“No kids of your own?”

She stared at him. How could he even ask that when they were still technically married? The day he’d left, her dreams of family and children were placed permanently on hold. “No, of course not.”

She pointed out her driveway and Collin pulled into it and got out. She got out, too, her balance steadier but still off-kilter. He held on to her arm as he walked her toward the front door.

“Are you sure you’re okay to be alone? You don’t want to go to the hospital?”

“No. I’ll be fine. It’s only a cut. I’m more shaken up than anything.” She pulled out her keys. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, to ask him, but none of them would come out. He’d come back to town not to see her, but to clean up his mother’s house and finally sever his last connection to her and this town. She wouldn’t intrude on his life. And she wouldn’t drag him into her mess. She forced herself to move away from him.

“Thank you for your help, Collin. It was good to see you again.” It didn’t sound like enough after all they’d been through. They’d never even talked about their marriage or the baby they’d lost. It had all just seemed to fade away in the years they’d been apart.

She glanced up at him and thought she saw something more in his eyes, something he wanted to say. He stepped closer and her knees weakened, and it wasn’t from the bash on her head. He still had that power over her. But he didn’t say whatever was on his mind. Instead, he stepped back away from her. “It was good to see you, too, Rebecca.” Such simple words and yet they stung her. It was really true. Everything they’d ever had was over. She turned, her hands shaking as she pushed the key into the door and stepped inside. She leaned against the door as she closed it, heaving a sigh as she closed the door on her life with Collin as well.

She opened her eyes and a scream escaped her lips.

* * *

He turned and ran back toward the house at the sound of Rebecca’s scream. Pushing open the door, he saw her huddled in the corner. Written in paint on the opposite wall were the threatening words Today was only the beginning. Someone had been here, inside her home.

“Stay here,” he warned her. “I’m going to check the house to make sure he’s not still here.”

Again, he wished for his gun, but he was ready if he saw anyone hiding. He checked room by room but saw no evidence that anyone was still here. He did find broken glass by her living room window. That must have been how the intruder got inside.

“No one is here,” he said, returning to the front hall, where she was still crouched, her face pale and her eyes wide with fright.

Rebecca was small and frail in his arms as he helped her to the couch and his instinct was to pull her to him for comfort. But he checked that feeling, since they weren’t in a relationship any longer.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “They were in my house.”

“I know, but we’ll find them.” He took out his phone and called Kent, explaining the situation. He promised to come by as soon as he wrapped up the scene at the parking lot.

Collin hurried into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water for her. Her hands were shaking as she held it and took a sip.

He cringed as he thought about the man who had attacked her earlier. Had he been the one inside her home as well? Someone was after her and they knew where she lived. “You said you had threatening letters? Can I see them?”

She nodded then got up and walked on shaky legs into the kitchen. She opened a drawer and pulled out a plastic bag. Inside were several pieces of paper with letters cut out of magazines and glued onto them to form words of warnings. They were old-school and that was notable, but it was also harder to trace than emails or text messages. The notes were chillingly to-the-point.

Mind your own business.

Stay out of our way.

Stop investigating or you will die.

He shuddered at the threat. She’d stumbled across a serious and potentially dangerous person. And they’d already tried to make good on their threats. Fear crept up his neck—fear for her and her safety. “We should get these to Kent. When did they start coming?”

“I found the first one on my car windshield eight days ago. The next two were here at my house.”

He didn’t like the fact that whoever was after her knew where she lived and had been inside her house. “Do you live alone?”

“Yes.”

“Any pets?”

“No. Why?”

“Dogs are the best alarm system you can have.” He slid into the chair opposite her.

“Do you have a dog?”

It struck him as an oddly personal question that had nothing to do with keeping her safe. “No, I don’t.” He wasn’t generally home enough to take on the commitment of a pet. That might be changing soon however, after his team’s actions in Libya. They’d been working security for a covert CIA base when an attack on an American embassy occurred only a few miles away. Collin recalled seeing the smoke from intentionally set fires even from their base, but they’d been told to stand down, as the government had decided its CIA interests were more important than the Americans dying nearly in front of them. His team had defied those orders and gone in, anyway. Assuming the CIA continued to utilize Security Operations Abroad operatives, Collin doubted his contract, and those of the others on his team, would be extended.

It looked like he was back on American soil for good.

He heard a car pulling into her driveway and walked to the window. “It’s Kent. How did that guy get to be a cop?”

“He’s worked his way up the ranks. He says it’s all he’s ever wanted to be.”

Kent entered the house, glanced at the threat painted on the wall and whistled. “You have angered someone, haven’t you, Rebecca?”

Collin pointed to the window that had been shattered. “That’s how he got inside. And the threatening letters she told you about are on the table. They’re pretty intense.”

He walked over and glanced at the letters then took out his phone. “I’ll have Forensics come by and process this scene.”

“How long will that take?” Collin asked.

Kent shrugged. “A couple of hours. We’ll try to pull prints off the windowsill and the wall.”

“Good. I’ll take Rebecca and go to the hardware store for something to board up the window and some paint to cover that.”

“We should be done by the time you get back. I’ll also have these letters sent to the lab for examination. Maybe we can pull some prints off them.”

Collin glanced at Rebecca. Even though she’d stopped shaking, she still looked so fragile sitting in that chair. He wanted to get her out of here, fix everything and make it like it was before to make her feel better, but he knew paint and boards couldn’t fix this.

She was in danger and he couldn’t make that go away with only a trip to the hardware store.

* * *

Collin did his best to keep Rebecca’s mind off what was going on at her house and, for the most part, he succeeded. Except she knew very well what the lumber and paint were for.

Rebecca stole a moment at the hardware store to slip into the bathroom and phone Missy to let her know she’d been held up and wouldn’t be returning to the motel tonight. She didn’t tell Missy about the attack in the parking lot or the threatening message on her wall. The girl didn’t need the added worry and Rebecca wasn’t entirely sure she could make it through that conversation without breaking down herself. She touched the tender spot on her forehead where her attacker had slammed her head against the car and knew Missy would find out about it tomorrow, anyway. She certainly couldn’t hide the bruises from her.

“I’m fine,” Missy assured her. “I’m going to try to sleep.”

“Good. Be sure to keep the door locked and don’t answer it for anyone. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rebecca ended the call then rejoined Collin at the cash register.

A text message from Kent alerted them that it was safe to return to the house. When Rebecca reentered her home, she flinched at the threatening message still there, but then she saw fingerprint dust everywhere. Kent’s people had left a mess but at least they were gone.

Collin got to work boarding up the window that had been broken. “Tomorrow, I’ll have someone come out and replace the glass.”

“Thank you,” Rebecca said, grateful to have someone else handling these things. She was still shaking inside from knowing someone had not only attacked her, but had also been inside her house. It felt different now, like a sacred trust had been broken. Having Collin with her eased that feeling, but how comfortable would she feel once he was gone?

He opened the can of paint he’d purchased and began covering up the threatening words, but after one coat, it still seeped through. Evil always did.

He shook his head. “Guess it’s going to take another coat. I’ll let this one dry then start on another.”

She heated up the takeout containers of ribs they’d picked up and they sat down to eat. It was surreal sitting across from Collin eating a meal. He was so different yet so much the same. He didn’t have to be here with her, yet he’d chosen to stay and help without being asked. She wasn’t surprised he’d made a good soldier; he’d always had a heart to help others.

She had to stop thinking so fondly of him. This was the man who’d promised to love her for all time then abandoned her with no word after she lost the baby. No amount of boarding up windows or painting a wall could change that. He’d left her and no matter how nice he was being today, she couldn’t let herself trust him or she’d be devastated again when he left.

They ate in silence; the awkwardness between them filled the air. Despite the pain of their past relationship, he’d shown up today and she’d once known everything about him. She knew very little about him now except the basics he’d shared—he’d been an army ranger, now worked private security and was back in town to deal with his late mother’s estate.

“So tell me something about you,” she said.

He shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. My work keeps me traveling. Or at least, it used to.”

“You’re not working overseas anymore?”

He shrugged. “That’s something that is still up in the air. What about you, Rebecca? How is your life?”

“It’s good. I’m happy.”

“You never remarried?”

She looked at him, confused. “How could I when I’m still married to you?”

He choked on his food then dropped it, looking dismayed as he stared at her. “What do you mean? You never got a divorce?”

She was surprised by his shock. Of course, he’d assumed she had taken care of it. She should have, instead of letting this joke of a marriage continue, yet she’d never been able to bring herself to file the papers. “At first, I was too heartbroken to even think about it. Then I was just too ashamed. I never told anyone that we got married. My father would have been so angry and at the time, I just couldn’t deal with it. My family still doesn’t know. After a while, it seemed easier to keep it a secret. I never told them about the baby, either.”

He leaned back in his seat and sighed. “No one knows?”

She shook her head. It seemed wrong to never mention their child and she often felt guilty for keeping it a secret, but whenever she tried to think about it or mention it to someone, it brought back all the pain and heartache of that day. “Sometimes it feels like it never happened, but I know it did.”

She stood and cleared away the containers, hoping activity would ease the tension between them. She picked up a towel and started wiping down the counters, vaguely aware of him standing behind her.

“Rebecca, I—I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” She turned around to face him. “This day has been too much for me, Collin. I can’t deal with you, too. I just want to go to bed and forget this day ever happened.”

He backed away from her, digging his hands into his pockets in a way she remembered he did whenever he’d been rebuked. “I’ll finish up that second coat then I’ll be out of your way.”

She gave a sigh of relief and thanked him when the second coat of paint covered the ugly marks. Collin cleaned up then made certain the house was secure before he left. The place felt empty with him gone, but she knew it was for the best. It felt good to finally tell someone else what she’d been struggling with. It was like a burden lifted from her shoulders. She wasn’t alone in this. But despite how grateful she was that he’d been here today, she couldn’t risk her heart by having him around long-term. It stunned her that she still had such strong feelings for him even after all this time. It had to be because of the stress of the day’s events.

She got ready for bed then slipped between the blankets, her body screaming for rest but her mind still wide-awake and the pounding in her head unimaginable. How would she ever sleep with all that had happened to her today? And she still had to decide what to do with Missy. The girl had shown up on her doorstep two nights ago, frightened and claiming she’d been abducted by people who’d wanted her baby. The timing was right. Missy had been six months pregnant when she’d vanished, she’d been missing for months, and she was certainly now not pregnant. But who were these people after her and how was Rebecca going to protect her if she wouldn’t go to the police?

Her mind turned back to Collin despite the fact that she was trying not to think about him. Seeing him again today evoked so many emotions she’d spent years trying to manage. Grief for the loss of her child. Heartbreak over the way he’d abandoned her. She should hate him. Why, then, was falling into his arms all she wanted to do?

She finally drifted off but her sleep was fitful and restless, her dreams wrought with all the pain and fear that had rocked her day. She jerked awake but was certain it hadn’t been the dream that woke her.

Panic filled her as she realized a figure was standing over her bed.

Rebecca scrambled up but the man’s hands grabbed her and wrapped around her neck. He pinned her down, choking her. She gasped for breath, fear rising in her. She kicked and clawed at him, struggling to get free, and felt her nails digging into flesh through the dark mask he wore.

God, help me.

She couldn’t go out like this. She couldn’t leave Missy to fight these people alone. She wasn’t going to let them win! One of her kicks landed, sending the man rolling off her. She reached for her bedside lamp and crashed it over his head. He hit the floor, groaning in pain as Rebecca ran. She hurried through the house to the front door and ran outside, not stopping to look back to see if her attacker was following. She crossed the lawn to her next-door neighbor’s house and knocked until he answered. He was groggy after being pulled from sleep.

“Rebecca, what’s wrong?”

Only then did she allow herself to fall apart. “He attacked me!”

TWO

The call from Kent had Collin dressed and heading toward Rebecca’s house in mere moments. He saw her when he pulled up and parked. She was sitting in the ambulance as a forensics team cleaned beneath her nails. As he neared her, the ugly bruises around her neck were just starting to form, to go along with the ones on her face. She looked pale and weak, but he knew she wasn’t. She’d survived this attack by fighting back and that took courage and strength. She’d always been strong—the strongest woman he’d ever known. She’d defied her father to be with him and that had taken real courage.

She glanced up and saw him and tears sprang to her eyes. His own rush of emotion nearly toppled him and an anger flashed through him that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Then the guilt washed over him. He should have stayed, offered to sleep on the couch, and if she’d refused his offer, he should have slept in his car outside. He would have been there to protect her, to see when some nutjob broke in and tried to harm her.

Kent approached him and Collin shook his hand. “Thanks for calling me.”

“I figured you would want to know. She’s okay, not seriously hurt. She put up a good fight, even got us some possible DNA by scratching his face.”

“Do you know who did this?”

“No, he wore a mask and was gone when the first car responded. We’re canvassing the neighborhood to see if anyone saw anything suspicious and Forensics is back inside processing the house. We’ll find something.”

He spotted them closing the ambulance doors and after a moment the vehicle drove away with her inside. Collin walked into the house and followed Kent into the bedroom, where a team was already working. There was clear evidence of a struggle—the lamp broken on the floor and blood on the carpet, blankets in disarray. She’d fought for her life in this room. Three attacks in less than twelve hours. He shuddered at the thought.

He’d seen evil before, more times than he could count, but this was personal. This was his Rebecca who had been attacked. He turned and walked from the scene, his stomach roiling with anger and guilt.

Kent followed him. “You okay, Collin?”

He wasn’t, but he would be once he tracked down whoever was after her. “I’m going to the hospital to make certain Rebecca is okay.”

He couldn’t even allow himself to think about what could have happened here tonight. He’d failed her years ago when she’d needed him most. He’d promised to provide for her and for the baby, but he hadn’t been able to. He’d struggled as a young man fresh out of high school to find work that would support a wife and a child. He still recalled the feeling of helplessness knowing that he couldn’t even keep the lights on regularly. And when she’d lost the baby, he’d lost her. She’d closed up and he was certain she knew the mistake she’d made in marrying him.

He could never recover from those failures of his youth, but he couldn’t just walk away knowing she was in danger. She was in trouble and he now had the skills to keep her safe.

He turned back to Kent. “Can you place a deputy at the hospital for her safety?”

“We’re short-staffed,” Kent told him. “I’ll never get the sheriff to authorize around-the-clock protection, especially when he knows her father has the money to hire someone.”

Her father. Collin hadn’t considered that. He was surprised Bob Mason hadn’t already hired someone to protect her if he knew she was in danger. But as he looked at Rebecca’s house, he had to wonder what he knew. It was a modest home, a surprise to him. She’d grown up in opulence, living in one of the biggest homes in town. Her parents had always had money and she’d been denied very little in her life. He was one of only a few things they’d tried to deny her. He’d expected her to at least live in a fashionable condo or a higher-class neighborhood. Even the car he’d seen her getting into, a simple Toyota Camry, seemed modest. It was a far cry from the BMW convertible she’d gotten for her sixteenth birthday. Was it possible she was estranged from her dad? Had he cut her off? Because of him and the six months they’d spent together after running off to get married? No, from what he gathered from Rebecca today, if she and her father were no longer close, it was because she was the one who’d done it.

All he knew was that it couldn’t be a coincidence he was in town at the same time Rebecca was in trouble. Collin hadn’t always put much faith in God, but He had to be the reason for this reconnection with Rebecca. Collin couldn’t leave town until he knew she was safe.

He followed the ambulance to the ER and sat in the waiting room while the doctors examined her. A nurse approached him. “Sir, are you here with Rebecca Mason?”

He stood. “I am. How is she?”

“She has a mild concussion and some bruising but she’s fortunate there were no greater injuries. You can go back to see her for a few minutes.”

He followed the nurse to a room, then pushed open the door. Rebecca was sitting up in a hospital bed, but her skin was pale and dark circles had formed around her eyes. It pained him to see how small and frail she looked and his first instinct was to pull her into his arms and hold on to her. He shoved away that thought and slid a chair to her bedside.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her, unable to stop the impulse to reach for her hand.

She didn’t pull it away. In fact, she clasped his, her long fingers cool to the touch. “I’m okay. Just shaken up.”

“That’s twice today someone has tried to hurt you, Rebecca. Three, if you count the threatening message. I’m sorry. I should have stayed with you.”

“This is not your fault, Collin. You had no idea this would happen.”

“I should have suspected something.”

“You can’t blame yourself for everything, Collin. Not everything in life is your fault.”

He looked up at her and they both seemed to realize how easily they’d slipped into matters of the past. She knew him so well, but this time, he was certainly at fault for not protecting her.

Suddenly, he felt awkward being there with her. She needed rest and time to recover from the attacks. “I’ll go now and let you get some sleep.” He stood but she didn’t release his hand. He glanced back at her.

Tears filled her eyes. “I’m glad you’re here,” she told him.

He was confused. Should he leave or stay? His heart urged him to remain by her side, but he wasn’t sure that was for the best. She was injured and concussed, wasn’t thinking properly, and he didn’t want to take advantage of that. And she’d been clear earlier at the house that she didn’t want him around.

Thankfully he didn’t have to choose. The door to her room opened and a nurse walked in. “That’s long enough. The patient needs her rest.”

Their moment was broken and their time together over. “I should go. I hope you feel better soon, Rebecca,” he said as he headed for the door.

He shouldn’t have remained so long and he never should have gone back there to see how she was. He should have gotten into his car and gone about his business once the ambulance had taken her away. Only, she was his business—at least she had been—and even though he knew they could never be together again, he didn’t want to live in a world without Rebecca Mason in it.

* * *

Rebecca pushed back the blanket and got up, intending to get her clothes and get out of here. She wasn’t safe and she had to let Missy know what was happening, but she had to be smart. She couldn’t lead these people to Missy or they would both be in danger.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the nurse asked.

“I’m leaving. I’ll sign whatever papers I need to sign, but I have to go.”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

She was about to yank out the IV when the nurse clamped her hand down on Rebecca’s arm, her fingers digging into her skin. Rebecca looked up and saw nothing but contempt in the woman’s face. “I said you’re not going anywhere,” the nurse insisted again. This time, her words had a bite to them—more bite than Rebecca would have expected from a nurse trying to stop a patient from leaving against medical orders. The woman stood like a brick wall between her and the door, and the determination in her face was evident. “Get back in that bed.”

But she wasn’t going to be pushed around. She had to get to Missy. “I’m leaving,” she said again.

Only this time, the woman grabbed her arm and twisted it, causing Rebecca to cry out and fall to her knees. The nurse leaned over her and warned, “You’re not going anywhere, Rebecca. You’re never going anywhere again.”

The hatred in her face frightened her and Rebecca knew something was very wrong. This couldn’t just be about her leaving. The nurse grabbed her other arm and shoved her to the bed, then grabbed her feet and slung her into it, pinning her down with her body. Rebecca struggled to get free but the woman was too big and strong for her to get loose. The nurse pulled restraints from her pocket and managed to get Rebecca’s hands clamped down, then moved to her feet. Rebecca frantically pulled at them, trying to get loose. She screamed for help and kicked and dodged, but this woman wasn’t fazed. She must have done this a hundred times before.

“What are you doing?” Rebecca asked as the woman pulled a syringe from her pocket and injected it into Rebecca’s IV. “What is that?”

She leaned over her and sneered. “Just a little something to shut you up. You should have listened to the warnings we sent you in those notes,” she said. “Now, you’ll go to sleep and never wake up. It’ll look like you suffered a heart attack from your previous injuries.”

Rebecca jerked, realizing what this was. Murder! Was this woman even a nurse here, or was she posing as one to kill her?

“Someone help me!” she cried, aiming her voice toward the doorway.

The nurse laughed. “No one is coming to save you, Rebecca. As far as the nurses are concerned, you’re just another out-of-control patient that had to be restrained. By the time anyone checks on you, it’ll be too late.”

She turned on the television, adjusting the volume so that it was loud, then pulled the cord that ran from the nurse’s call button to the bed out of the wall and dropped it to the floor out of reach. She turned and walked out, switching off the lights as she left.

When the door swung shut and the room went dark, terror rushed through Rebecca. The first effects of the drug the nurse had injected into her began to appear. The room started spinning and her legs and arms lost their will to fight. But she couldn’t give up. If she fell asleep, she was dead. She had to keep struggling until someone heard her.

She pulled at the restraints, forcing herself to keep going. Her life began to flash through her mind, specifically her life with Collin and the image of what could have been if only she’d been stronger and more committed. If only she hadn’t lost the baby.

Nausea rolled through her. Her body wanted to give in to the drug, but her mind continued to fight. She didn’t want to die. Her right hand at last slipped through one of the restraints and she was able to sit up a bit to loosen the other. But the call button on the floor was unplugged and useless. She loosened the restraints on her feet and forced her legs to move. They did, slipping over the side of the bed, but when she tried to stand, they wouldn’t support her and she fell, hitting the floor with a thud. Pain shot through her. She cried out but even she knew her cries were weak and would never reach past the closed doorway.

She was going to die right here in this room and no one would know.

God, where are You? Why had He left her and allowed so many terrible things to happen to her?

And where was Collin when she needed him?

She couldn’t even voice those questions as the darkness pulled her away.

* * *

Leaving Rebecca’s side had been difficult, but the decision to remain at the hospital was a no-brainer. Collin planted himself in the waiting room. He had a direct view of her room and he wasn’t leaving the hospital until he knew she was safe. His cell phone rang and he answered it and heard Kent’s voice.

“Are you at the hospital? How is Rebecca?”

“Aside from a concussion, the nurse said she would be fine. I’m going to hang around for a while to make sure she’s okay.”

“She’s definitely crossed some dangerous people and if today’s attacks prove anything, it’s that they mean business. I’ll swing by there as soon as I’m finished at her house.”

“I’ll be here,” Collin told him.

Deciding to check on Rebecca again, he pushed open the door to her room and poked his head inside but didn’t see her. She was supposed to be resting, but the bed was empty. He was about to go find the nurse when he spotted something on the floor by the bed. He stepped back inside. It was a foot poking out from beneath the bed.

His heart dropped and he ran around the bed. Rebecca was on the floor unconscious. The nurse’s call button was on the floor beside her, useless. He ran to the door and swung it open. “I need help in here!” he hollered toward the nurses’ station then ran back to Rebecca.

He kneeled beside her and felt for a pulse, his heart hammering against his chest. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.

A nurse hurried into the room and felt for a pulse, then reached over the bed and pressed an emergency button. Moments later, a team of people rushed in.

Collin was pushed aside as they lifted her to the bed and began working on her. Panic filled him. She looked so still and lifeless. He’d seen death, been around it, even caused it before, but seeing Rebecca this way staggered him.

“I need you to go wait in the family waiting area,” the nurse who’d arrived first instructed him. “We’ll find you when we know what’s happening.”

He didn’t want to go, didn’t want to leave her, but the nurse nudged him from the room and closed the door. He stood there a few moments then stumbled to the waiting area and fell into a chair. He put his head in his hands.

His instinct was to pray, but he didn’t even remember how. All he could do was cry out in his heart to God not to allow death to take her. It wasn’t fair that he’d bumped into Rebecca today, gotten to see her again, only to have her snatched away.

After what seemed like an eternity, the nurse appeared in the doorway. Two security guards followed her.

“How is she?” Collin asked.

“She’s stable for now but I need you to remain here. These guards will stay with you. The police will be coming to question you soon.”

“The police? Why?” He could see her hesitancy to tell him anything. “Please, what’s happening?” He mentally kicked himself. Why had he left her tonight?

“Miss Mason regained consciousness long enough to tell us a woman was in her room and injected something into her IV. We’re treating her and the police have been contacted. They’re on their way.”

Collin shuddered. Another attack? That made three in one day. She should have been safe here in the hospital, just as she should have been safe at her home, but someone was determined to keep her silent about whatever it was she knew about the missing girl.

Only minutes later, Kent arrived looking as tired and rattled as Collin felt. “What happened here?” he asked. “I was on my way when I got the call about a possible poisoning?”

“I don’t know the details. All I know is I entered her room to see her and she was on the floor unconscious. The nurse said she’d been injected with something. Rebecca told her a woman was in her room.”

“These people aren’t messing around. I’m having those threatening notes sent to the lab for prints. Hopefully we can pull some off them.”

The same nurse that had given him the brush-off approached Kent and relayed what had happened. “She was apparently injected with some kind of drug but it’s not charted and no one is admitting to going into her room or giving her anything. In fact, the doctor had ordered a CT scan and we were waiting for them to come take her. She shouldn’t have been receiving any medication until that was complete. We gave her a drug that counteracts most narcotics and she’s stable now.” She glanced at Collin. “If you hadn’t found her when you did, she probably would have died.”

Earlier, this nurse had treated him like a suspect. He felt vindicated but couldn’t dwell on that. She didn’t know him and had been right to be suspicious of everyone, yet saving Rebecca’s life seemed to have garnered him less suspicion by this nurse. Plus, Rebecca had said a woman attacked her. Collin turned to Kent. “Three attempts on her life in one day. Are you sure your boss can’t authorize a guard by her door?”

Kent rubbed his face. “I’ll check into it.”

The nurse continued. “In the meantime, hospital security will be placed at her door. No one will go in or out of that room without permission from me and that includes any service personnel or housekeeping.”

“Thank you,” Collin stated, grateful for her diligence. “May I see her now?”

She nodded. “Sure. She’s out of danger but she’s sleeping. I’d say she’s just plain worn out from the day’s events.”

As Collin headed for Rebecca’s hospital room, he heard Kent tell the nurse he wanted to see all her records and wanted a list of all people who’d been in and out of her room. Good. He hoped Kent’s investigation would lead to something concrete, something that would identify the person or people trying to hurt Rebecca.

He stepped inside her room and his heart broke as he saw her lying so frail on the bed. He shuddered, remembering those letters and the way he’d found her sprawled on the floor. But at least she was breathing okay now. He slid into a chair and watched her, listening to her steady breathing. He wasn’t leaving her side again, at least not until he knew what was going on and why someone was trying to kill her.

* * *

Rebecca awoke in a panic and tried to sit up. Pain ripped through her back and she gasped, causing Collin, who was sitting beside her bed, to jump up.

She grabbed his arm. “That woman! She held me down! She—she—”

“I know, I know. She’s gone now.”

Sobs racked her and she fell into his embrace. As he held her, she noticed the bruises darkening on her wrists and recalled the horror of being restrained by that monster who’d attacked her.

“You captured her?”

She saw by the grim expression on his face that they hadn’t. “Kent is reviewing camera footage with hospital security, but there’s no camera with an angle on this room. No one saw anyone coming or going.”

The contempt she’d seen in the woman’s face flashed through her mind and anger bristled through her. “So she gets away with nearly killing me?”

“She won’t, Rebecca. Do you remember what she looked like? What she was wearing?”

Rebecca could never forget her face. “She was wearing scrubs. Her name tag said Mary. She was here when you left. You don’t remember seeing her?”

He shook his head. “I guess I wasn’t paying that much attention to the staff. I’m sorry. I should have been. I mistakenly thought you would be safe here.”

“It’s not your fault, Collin. She was a tall, heavyset woman. I tried to fight her, but she pinned me down. I couldn’t move. She injected me with something and said by the time anyone found me, it would be too late.”

He squeezed her hand. “It wasn’t. I found you in time.”

She stared up into his green eyes and felt a rush of gratitude for this man. “You came back for me? I thought I was going to die, really going to die this time.” She wiped away several tears that rushed down her face. She didn’t want Collin to see her cry, but she wasn’t sure she could stop it.

“Kent is sending those threatening letters to the lab. I wish you’d given them to him when you first started receiving them.”

She should have gone to the police with the letters, but they hadn’t been particularly helpful when Missy had disappeared. She’d assumed they wouldn’t be any more helpful about anonymous notes. And she hadn’t been able to convince herself, truly convince herself, that her suspicions were anything more than suspicion and speculation.

Until now.

Until Missy had shown up at her door two days ago.

Until someone had tried to kill her.

“I should have. I didn’t show them to anyone.”

“Not even your father? He could have arranged protection for you. Hired you a bodyguard.”

“No, I couldn’t tell him.” Missy had claimed to see Mason Industries on the building where she’d been held, which meant her father might be involved in this. She couldn’t trust him. The truth was she didn’t know who she could trust anymore. Everyone was a suspect.

“Why not? What’s going on, Rebecca?”

“I have a client, a teenaged girl I worked with named Missy, who went missing a few months ago. The police investigated but ultimately listed her as a runaway. But I knew this girl, Collin, and she wouldn’t have run away. I worried something terrible had happened to her, that she’d been a victim of foul play or abducted into a human trafficking ring. Foster kids are especially susceptible to traffickers. I started asking questions of all the people she knew. I put up missing posters and set up a Facebook page hoping someone would have information about her they wanted to share. I even started checking the news online for all the surrounding areas in case her body turned up somewhere else, like if she was the victim of a serial killer.” She’d felt silly even considering that possibility at the time, but no more.

“Did they find her body?”

“No, but I did find a mention of another missing girl who was found dead. She’d recently given birth and, Collin, she was from right here in Moss Creek. She was a foster kid, just like Missy, who went missing one day. I recognized her name immediately, but I hadn’t had much contact with her because her file was transferred to another county not long after I first met her. They found her a hundred miles across the border in Arkansas, and there was no sign anywhere of the baby she’d given birth to.”

“What was her cause of death?”

“The medical examiner ruled it as an overdose.”

“But you didn’t believe that?”

“I didn’t. I also was unable to find any trace of what happened to that child. He or she was never entered into the foster care system either here or in Arkansas. I checked with a social worker friend that lives there.”

“She might have left it at a safe haven or put it up for a private adoption. Then she felt remorse and OD’d.”

“I’m familiar with the adoption process. My cousin adopted her son and it was long and complicated. I realize it’s possible this girl had no connection to Missy, but I kept digging and I found other missing girls, all of them pregnant, and none of them had reason to run away from their foster homes. I became convinced I was dealing with some sort of baby-selling ring.”

He frowned, obviously unconvinced. It was true she’d had no real evidence of a baby-selling operation—not until Missy confirmed her suspicions. Yet, he reached for her hand and squeezed it, a gesture that gave her comfort and assurance that he believed what she was saying. “Still, you’ve obviously stumbled onto something. Someone wants you dead. There has to be a reason for that.”

She took a deep breath and made a decision. She needed to trust someone and Collin had proven himself today. Besides, he’d been out of the country for the past few months. He was the only person she knew for certain wasn’t involved. “There’s more,” she said and he looked at her. “Two nights ago, Missy reappeared. She showed up at my door. She’d been beaten and terrorized. She confirmed everything I’d suspected. She’d been held hostage and had her baby stolen from her.”

His eyes widened. “What? She was here in town?”

“Somehow, she escaped and came to me for help. I’ve been trying to help her piece together where it was they were held, but she was so panicked that she can’t be sure of anything. It can’t be far away because she hitchhiked to get here. She doesn’t remember being in the car for more than an hour or so.”

Collin jumped to his feet. “Where is she now? We have to get her to the police.”

“She won’t go. She’s afraid the police are involved. She claims she saw someone in a law enforcement uniform talking with one of her captors. I don’t know who she saw or from what town or county, but she’s convinced the police are involved. She was so frightened and I knew I couldn’t keep her at my house in case they came looking for her so I hid her out at a motel.”

Collin leaned over her, his brow tightening in a way she remembered it did when he was anxious. “Rebecca, what if they followed her here? They know you have her. They could have already gotten to her at the motel. If this is true, they’ll do anything to keep her from ruining their operation.”

She saw the fear in his eyes and suddenly felt the weight of what she was doing. She’d been too deep in protecting Missy to even think about the consequences of hiding her out. But three attacks in one day had opened her eyes. “I know there’s danger, but I can’t abandon her. I also can’t take the risk that she’ll run again if I go to the police before she’s ready to talk.”

“Kent is right outside questioning the nurses. He’s going to want to talk to you about this latest attack, Rebecca. You need to tell him about Missy.”

“I can’t. Please, Collin, you’re the only one I’ve trusted with this.”

He stared at her and she saw his mind running through all the options. “Well, I can’t let you do this alone. I don’t know who or what she saw, but you can’t just assume all police are dirty because of it. We’ll talk to her and take her to the police together and try to sort this all out.”

“Thank you, Collin. That means a lot to me.” Tears pressed at her eyes. It felt so good to not be in this alone any longer.

Collin stood, his expression grim and worried. He leaned over her, placing a kiss on her head. “Try to get some rest. Don’t worry, I’ll be here making sure you’re safe. No one will bother you. I promise.”

Yet just as he made that promise, the door swung open and her cousin Janice entered the room, followed by her father. She didn’t miss the way he zeroed in on Collin’s hand over hers. Collin obviously didn’t miss it, either. He took two steps backward and Rebecca found she missed his presence.

Janice leaned over the bed and embraced her. “What are you doing here?” Rebecca asked. “How did you know?”

“Kent called us,” her father said. “He told us what happened.”

Good ol’ Kent. A family friend for years. He’d obviously neglected to mention Collin’s presence, given their reactions to seeing him.

“I’m fine,” she assured them. “I wasn’t badly hurt.”

Her statement did nothing to alleviate the concern on Janice’s face. “Honey, look at you. What happened?”

She hadn’t seen a mirror but she figured she looked as black and blue and beat-up as she felt.

“Who did this?” her father demanded, slicing his eyes at Collin, who stepped farther away from her bed. She didn’t care for the distance he’d put between them.

“Do you know why someone attacked you?” Janice asked her as she sat down.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” her father said. “That neighborhood she lives in is dangerous. You should have let me buy you a place in a nicer area.” She was used to his comments about her modest home, but she loved her neighborhood and she didn’t want his money.

He turned on Collin next. “What are you doing here?”

She rushed to his defense. “It’s okay, Dad. He was there when I was attacked.”

Her father gasped and turned to her. “He was at your house tonight?”

“No, I meant the first time I was attacked. This afternoon.” She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was four a.m. “I mean, yesterday afternoon.”

They both gaped at her and she realized Kent had obviously not filled them in about the multiple attacks.

“Someone attacked me in the parking lot of the grocery store today. Collin was there.” She glanced at him and smiled, true gratitude welling up inside of her. “He saved my life.”

Janice leaped to her feet. “Then he’s a hero.” She rushed over to him and threw her arms around Collin’s neck. “Thank you for being there. We all owe you a debt.”

“Yes,” her father said, his face less grateful than Janice’s. The man didn’t know how to admit when he was wrong. “Thank you for your assistance, but we’ll handle it from here.”

Collin’s jaw clenched in a way she remembered meant he was holding back from speaking his mind. Her father had always had that effect on him. “I’ll give you some time with your family,” he said, turning to Rebecca. “I won’t be far.”

“Will you come back?” she asked, not surprised at all by the look of disbelief from her father.

He gave her a slight nod. “Don’t worry. I’ll be close by,” he promised, and she believed him. She shouldn’t after the way he’d left her all those years ago, but something about his demeanor said he was sticking around. She needed to trust in that, at least for now.

“What is he even doing back in town?” her father demanded when Collin was gone from the room. “I thought we were rid of him for good.”

Rebecca couldn’t believe the contempt in his voice. “His mother died a few months ago. Perhaps you heard. He’s in town to sell her house.”

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Janice said, coming to Collin’s defense as she returned to Rebecca’s side. “His mother was a very nice lady.”

Rebecca was thankful for her cousin’s support. Even though they lived in a small town, they didn’t move in the same circles as Collin’s family. They wouldn’t have known that Collin had moved her to a facility to care for her several years ago. But Rebecca knew. She’d kept up with Collin’s activities through visits with his mother for years and had seen the woman’s steady decline. “I know you never cared for him, but he saved my life. He didn’t have to jump in and rescue me, but he did. He’s a good man.”

Her dad had the good sense to look chagrined. She knew he meant well, but she didn’t like being treated like a child. She was a grown woman and knew what was best for her.

Janice leaned over and hugged her neck. “We should go. Get some rest. I’ll call and check on you later.”

“Thank you.”

Her father also planted a kiss on her head but held back as Janice left the room. “I realize you’ve been through something traumatic, Rebecca, but I hope it hasn’t clouded your judgment. That Collin boy cannot be trusted.”

She couldn’t believe his gall—he was still treating her like a child. “He’s not a boy any longer, Dad.” He was a man now and she couldn’t help reliving what it felt like to be in his arms. She pushed away those thoughts. He’d proven he didn’t want her when he’d left her after the miscarriage. But she needed him now and he’d already stepped in multiple times to help her. Maybe he would continue to do so.

“Be careful, Rebecca,” her father told her as he walked out, but she wondered if he was referring to the attacks on her life today...or to getting involved with Collin again.

Rebecca lay back in the bed. She needed to guard her heart where Collin was concerned. Her father was right about that. But she believed him when he said he would keep her safe and help her navigate through the potential baby-selling ring she’d uncovered.

It felt good not to be on her own and, for the first time in a long while, she actually felt safe.

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