Tainted Love Read online

  “No. But she looks exactly like those sketches on the news.”

  “I appreciate you calling. And we can reach out to you if we have more questions?”

  “Of course. I hope you catch her!”

  Alex repeated the phone number. “Is that a good number to reach you at?”

  “Yeah.”

  He thanked her again and ended the call.

  “Sure you won’t go home?” Nick handed him a steaming foam cup.

  Alex sipped the coffee. “Not a chance. I’ve been on the blogger’s trail too long. We know she was at that gas station this morning. She’s this close!” Alex held his finger and thumb a hair width apart.

  Nick nodded. “If you need a nap, feel free to crash on my couch. Can’t guarantee my office will be quiet, but it’s a comfy couch.”

  “I’m not sleeping until she’s behind bars and the kids are returned to their parents.”

  “That last part could be a while.” Nick leaned against Alex’s desk. “Social services will have to get involved. You know how it goes.”

  “Yeah. Fine, I’ll sleep once the kids are safe. How’s that?”

  “Sounds good. I—”

  “We know where she is!” Chang shouted. “A woman just spoke with her in a courtyard an hour away! She thinks she was going to try to take her infant. Our suspect was posing as a lactation consultant. I’ve just alerted that precinct.”

  The entire office went into a frenzy of activity after Chang finished giving all the details from the call he’d just taken.

  Alex’s heart raced. They were so close to catching her! A sense of pride swelled in him. If he hadn’t insisted following the tips, the blogger would be taking another baby that very day. Actually, she still could.

  Anything was possible until she was captured.

  Alex turned to his laptop and updated his blog. He’d never posted four times in one day about the same case before, but a lot of people were refreshing his page for the latest updates. Even the news sources were getting their information from it.

  Crazy times he was living in. Alex never would’ve dreamed any of this was possible just a few years earlier.

  He quickly reviewed the latest, urging people in the area to look for her in any of her disguises. She could have red, brown, blonde, or black hair. Or even something different altogether. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she shaved her head at this point.

  New comments flooded his updated post. Alex could hardly keep up as he sorted through them, trying to find any that had new information. Despite him encouraging his readers to call his precinct with tips, some insisted on leaving them in his comments.

  He finished off his coffee and walked around, listening to the chatter of people on the phone, taking calls about the case. Despite his racing heart, his eyelids were growing heavy.

  Maybe a power nap was what he needed. He slid into the captain’s office.

  Nick, on the phone, nodded toward the couch.

  Alex sprawled out and pulled a dark blue crocheted blanket over himself, closing his eyes. Sleep overtook him right away.

  Conversation woke him. He glanced at the clock.

  Two hours! He’d slept that long?

  Alex bolted upright. “What’s going on?”

  “We have a location.” Chang glanced at his phone.

  Nick rose from his chair. “She’s still posing as a lactation consultant, but now she’s at someone’s home. And the mom is trying to hold her until officers arrive.”

  Alex jumped to his feet. “Where is she?”

  Chang’s expression tightened. “Here in town.”

  “What?” Alex’s stomach knotted. “She’s actually here?”

  “Let’s go!”

  “That’s what we’re doing!”

  Everyone raced for the cruisers. Alex went with Nick, and they led the way, sirens blaring. Once they neared the neighborhood, everyone silenced them but left the lights on. They pulled up to the house, blocking the driveway and the cars in it.

  Alex’s heart raced. They were about to catch a kidnapper that had started out as a clue given to him through his blog.

  They got out of the cars and crept around the house. He and Nick headed for the front door. Alex looked inside the window. Just as he did, the door opened.

  A woman with a baby in a wrap carrier stepped out. “She just left. I don’t know if she got spooked because I was trying to keep her here, or if she figured out what I was doing, but she’s gone. I’m sorry.”

  “You did great,” Nick said. “Did you happen to see what kind of car she was driving?”

  “Her car’s still in my driveway. She ran out my back door!”

  Nick and Alex exchanged a quick glance.

  “Which way did she go?” Nick demanded.

  The woman led them through her house to the backyard and pointed toward the woods.

  Always with the woods.

  They burst into a run, both scaling the fence then drawing their weapons. Alex called in the update and the other officers on the scene headed for the woods.

  Nick nudged Alex and pointed to fresh footprints.

  They both burst into a run, following them.

  Race

  Jess pressed a palm against a tree and gasped for air. Her legs burned. Back ached. She needed to lose the fake belly. It was weighing her down. Making everything harder. She could barely breathe.

  It would be tough explaining to the kids why she wasn’t pregnant anymore, yet didn’t have a baby, either. But that would be better than getting caught and going to jail. Then who would take care of her children?

  She needed her new baby. This was just a kink in her plans.

  Jess lifted her shirt and removed the belly. She set it behind a bush so she could come back for it later. Once she’d gotten away and nobody was after her.

  Now she’d be able to run. Her whole body felt better. Free.

  Leaves rustled not far away.

  She bolted in the opposite direction. It felt like she was moving at twice the speed as before. Like she could run and never have to stop.

  “Stop!”

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  The last thing she was going to do was to give up. She would get away and hide until the cops left and she could get back to her car and go home. Or she could just walk. It wasn’t that far. But first she had to lose them.

  Jess glanced back. Two uniformed men were behind her. Yelling at her.

  She darted behind every tree and bush she could find. Nothing would keep her from getting back home to her kids. Not the cops, not anything.

  “We’ve got you surrounded!”

  Liars. No way they could be on every side. They were in the middle of the woods.

  Jess ducked behind a bush and stayed put, breathing hard. She did her best to stay quiet, though her lungs cried out. Her throat was parched.

  The cops ran right past.

  She breathed a sigh of relief and out of habit put her hands where her belly should’ve been protruding. Instead, her palms landed on her shirt. She muttered curses at the police.

  Why couldn’t they just leave well enough alone? Couldn’t those jackals pick on someone other than a pregnant single mom? Jerks. The whole lot of them.

  After her breathing returned to normal, she listened.

  Everything was quiet.

  All the cops must’ve run on past.

  Jess couldn’t go in the same direction. Either she’d catch up with them or they’d double back and find her. She also couldn’t go back to the house for her car. No doubt they’d either blocked it in—she never should’ve parked in the driveway—or one of them was waiting for her.

  Why couldn’t they find a real criminal to go after? All she was doing was trying to raise a family. None of them had any idea how hard it was to be a single mom.

  She was left with only o
ne choice. Going through the woods a different route. Hoping she came out close to home or somewhere familiar. If she was lucky, these woods might even connect to the ones she lived in. They were near enough. It was possible. Unlikely, but possible.

  Regardless, she needed to do something. Sitting in the same spot only heightened her chances of being found.

  She rose and stepped out from behind the bush.

  The barrels of two guns faced her.

  Two cops aimed their weapons at her. The younger one looked familiar. It took a moment to place him. She’d seen his face on a blog.

  Alexander.

  “Hands in the air!”

  Jess didn’t budge.

  “Raise your hands!”

  She spun around and ran.

  Bang!

  A bullet whizzed past her so fast she felt its wind. It was so loud, it made her ears ring.

  Her bladder emptied. Urine ran down her legs, soaking into her pants.

  “Stop! Next one won’t miss. That was your only warning shot!”

  Jess skidded to a stop and turned around slowly.

  “Hands in the air!” Alexander’s brows drew together. “Now!”

  She swallowed and put her palms up. Then she glanced down at her pants. “Look. My water just broke! You need to get me to the hospital.”

  “You don’t look pregnant. Get your hands up higher!”

  “I’m just a single mom trying to raise my kids. Let me be!”

  The cops stepped closer with their guns still aimed at her.

  She screamed at the top of her lungs. Louder, and louder still, until her throat was raw.

  Alexander cuffed her while the other guy took her purse and held her down.

  “Don’t touch me like that! Perverts!”

  “Shut up,” one of them said. She couldn’t tell who.

  They dragged her toward the house. She continued yelling accusations. No way was she going down without a fight.

  Alexander shoved her into the back of the police car while the other guy read her rights.

  Rights. That was a joke. If she had any rights, she’d be free to go home.

  “Where are the kids?” Alexander demanded from the front passenger seat.

  “I’ll never tell you.” She folded her arms. “You’ll never get my kids.”

  He scoffed. “Your kids?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, mine.”

  The other guy turned around. “Who’s going to take care of them when you’re in jail?”

  “Not your concern.” Jess looked out the window.

  “You want them to die?” Alexander yelled. “We know from your blog that you live alone with them.”

  “Willow’s perfectly capable of taking care of them.”

  “What about when they run out of food?”

  Jess turned to him as a brilliant idea struck her. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? “Let me go, and I’ll tell you.”

  “You’re never getting out of jail after what you’ve done. And if we find out that you’ve killed Connor, you might just get worse than a life sentence.”

  “I didn’t kill him!”

  “But he is dead?”

  She looked away.

  “Now you’re going to take your right to be silent?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “Where are the kids?”

  “I want immunity.”

  “Nope.”

  Jess glared at him. “I’m going to sue you personally. Take everything you value.”

  “Really? How?”

  “Because you’re harassing a single mom! How will that sound in the papers?”

  Alexander turned to the other guy. “I think she’s delusional.”

  “You think?”

  They both laughed, then Alexander held up her purse. “Your purse is vibrating. Think the kids you abducted are trying to reach you?”

  “There’s no phone there, Einstein. Think I’m dumb enough to leave something there that could be tracked?”

  “Let’s see.”

  The other officer turned a sharp corner, and she hit her head on the hard plastic seat.

  Alexander pulled out her phone and stared at the screen, his face paling.

  Jess’s mind raced, trying to figure out what could scare him like that. “What?”

  He stared her down. “This alert says there’s a fire at your house!”

  Her throat closed up. Then she realized he was playing her. “Liar!”

  Alexander shoved the phone up to the bars separating them.

  He was telling the truth. The alarm system app showed a fire.

  Her kids were actually in danger.

  “Am I ever getting out of jail?”

  They both shook their heads no.

  The kids were better off staying where they were in that case. If she couldn’t have them, nobody could. Nobody could love them or care for them like she could. “I’m not telling you anything.”

  Jess sucked in her lips, determined to use her right to remain silent.

  Fire

  Nick radioed in what little they knew about the fire. He told them the name of the app, in hopes that they could use that to find the address.

  Alex notified the local fire departments, but none of them knew of any fires. He turned to the back seat. “Are you playing us? Is the app a fake, to throw us off?”

  In the rear-view mirror, Nick saw the woman suck in her lips and close her eyes.

  “Don’t you care about the children’s well-being?” Nick squeezed the steering wheel. “Your children, as you said. They’re in a burning building!”

  She hummed.

  Nick counted silently and glanced over at Alex, who looked as furious as he felt.

  Alex turned more toward the kidnapper. “You know what? I have three kids, and if any of them was in danger, I’d do whatever it took to keep them safe! I’ve even risked my own life! How can you do this?”

  She hummed louder.

  Nick took a deep breath. “Because she knows she isn’t really their mom.”

  “Shut up! I’m their only parent—the only person who cares about them.”

  “Not true!” Alex growled. “Right now, we care about them more than you do. We’re trying to save them.”

  New information came in over the radio. They had a location for the house, and Nick and Alex were the closest ones to it.

  Nick made a sharp right turn. “Change of plans.”

  After a few more turns, they came to a dirt path. Pines and maples on both sides shadowed the long driveway.

  Smoke rose from above the trees in front of them.

  Nick held his breath and hit the gas, spraying dirt behind the car.

  Alex radioed in that they had a visual.

  The large two-story home looked like a log cabin. The dark smoke came from the back of the house. There were no flames visible from the front.

  Nick slammed on the breaks, and both he and Alex flung open their doors.

  “What about me?”

  Alex turned to her. “You get to watch. And if they don’t make it, you get to live with it being your fault!”

  “Not if I—”

  Nick slammed his door, not wanting to hear another word from her. He glanced at Alex. “See if you can get in the front. I’m going to look around back.”

  “Be careful!” Alex ran up the steps.

  Nick raced around the building, looking for both flames and a way inside. There were no windows on this side of the house. But around back there were windows galore. He just needed to find something to break one with if the kids were unable to let him in.

  He pounded on the sliding glass door and looked inside. No kids were in sight. “Police! We’re here to help!”

  Smoke was filling the air, but there were still no visible flames.

  Nic
k pounded some more, calling out the same thing.

  Nothing.

  Boom!

  Glass shattered to his right. The pieces fell down from the second level. Flames burst out from the broken windows.

  His heart jumped into his throat. There were up to four kids inside, maybe more if she’d abducted more than they knew about. He looked around for something to break the glass.

  There was a pile of firewood leaning about the house.

  Nick ran over and grabbed a piece. He shoved it against a window, knowing that would be easier to break than the door. The window cracked, but didn’t shatter.

  He took a deep breath and threw all his strength into the task. The wood went straight through with such force he let go and it flew against a wall inside.

  Sirens wailed in the distance.

  “Hurry!” Nick knocked the rest of the broken shards free of the frame with another piece of firewood, then, careful not to slice himself, climbed in. The smoke made his eyes water. He covered his mouth and nose with his arm and raced from room to room, calling out to the children, making sure not to breathe in the smoke.

  He came to the front door, unlocking and opening it for Alex. Sirens sounded louder outside.

  “Did you find them?”

  Nick shook his head and pointed to the stairs. “Check up there!”

  Alex covered his face and ran up.

  Nick turned back around to search the rest of the downstairs. “Is anyone down here? I’m here to help!”

  He checked closets, behind couches, and everywhere he could think that a scared child might hide.

  Crash!

  That was upstairs.

  Nick spun around.

  A whimper sounded behind him.

  He froze. Spun back around.

  Another whimper.

  “Is someone down here?”

  Nothing.

  Nick crept toward where he’d heard the noises. Two little bare feet stuck out from underneath a curtain.

  His heart skipped a beat. He leaped over and pulled aside the curtain.

  A little girl, no more than two or three, huddled with a teddy bear. Her eyes widened.

  Nick squatted and reached for her. “I’m a policeman, sweetie. I need to get you out of here.”

  She cowered, clung to the toy.