Page 17 of Valiant

“Oh, that’s awful! Of course we’ll help,” Kelsey said. “We’ll be right there.” It wasn’t likely that she’d know the woman, but checking the photograph was the least she could do.

“It’s so scary,” Heather said as she backed out of the room.

Kelsey turned to Cole and could tell by his expression that he was running a risk assessment.

“Shut everything down,” Cole said in a tight voice. “We’re leaving as soon as we hear what the police have to say.” He was gathering up Eddy’s things and shoving them into the diaper bag.

“It could be completely unrelated to us,” Kelsey said, but her heart was sinking. Abductions didn’t happen in broad daylight in an office building in downtown San Diego. Cole shot her a look that said he wasn’t buying it. “All right. I’ll get ready to go.”

Before she could log out of the company’s system, she heard the distinct squawk of a police radio. She took the baby from Cole and walked out to the common area with him. Four police officers were walking around showing a photograph of a woman. It looked like it had been pulled from the security cameras downstairs.

“Does anyone recognize her? We need to notify her family—and figure out why she was targeted.”

“Can you tell us more of what happened?” Cole asked when an officer stood in front of them. The police sergeant eyed Cole, seeming to take his measure. Cole was unmistakably military or police. He had the stance and attitude that came with the uniform even when he wasn’t wearing it.

“As the woman was approaching the main entrance, a white van pulled up to the curb. Two men jumped out and snatched her. Do you recognize her?” The sergeant held out a photograph. It was a surprisingly clear shot. The woman had dark blonde ombre hued hair that fell to the middle of her back. She was of medium height and fair skin and was dressed professionally in a skirt and blouse.

“I don’t know her. Poor woman,” Kelsey said, her heart thudding hard in her chest, even as she realized that the woman was almost a perfect match for her from the back. It could have been her nabbed off the sidewalk. Itshouldhave been her, because she was almost certain this woman had been grabbed by mistake.

“Did you get the plates of the van?” Cole asked. “Or any images of the kidnappers?”

“The investigation is ongoing. That’s all I can tell you for now.” The sergeant moved on to talk with the other people gathered.

She and Cole went back into her office where she packed up the remainder of her things quickly, trying to remain cool even though she felt queasy. They didn’t need to say a word because they were both thinking the same thing. It was supposed to be her. Would have been her, if not for Cole.

Kelsey’s hands shook as she put the laptops into her bag, her stomach twisting into knots. Some woman was taken just because of her resemblance to Kelsey. She prayed the woman would be safe.

“Should we have told the police?” she asked in a low voice.

“Later. For now, knowing that won’t change the procedures the police are taking to locate her, and I want to get you and Eddy home ASAP. We’ve probably got a small window of time before the kidnappers realize they have the wrong woman. Let’s roll.” With the diaper bag over his shoulder and Eddy in his arms, he held the door open for her.

To the office staff, it probably just looked as though they were going out to lunch. She’d send an email later making an excuse for leaving and skipping her afternoon meeting. All she wanted was to get home to her house in Coronado where she felt safe, assuming she’d ever feel safe again without Cole nearby, assuming she’d ever feel safe again without Cole nearby.

TEN

Cole was torn between hustling Kelsey and Eddy to the car and trying to gain more information about the abduction. In the building’s lobby, a few police officers lingered near the door, but they were uniforms and probably wouldn’t say much. Instead, Cole set his sights on the security desk. It was clear that the police had gotten the image from their footage. What else did that footage show? It was worth taking the time to ask.

“Over here,” he said, putting his arm around Kelsey’s waist and steering her toward the desk. “I want to ask a question.”

“Can I help you, sir?” a man in a suit asked when Cole approached. There were a number of guards at the desk, but Cole addressed his remark to the man who was clearly the one in charge.

“Are you the head of security here?” Cole asked.

“That’s right.”

“I’d like to see the footage of the abduction if that’s possible.” Cole knew it was a long shot, but he took it. As briefly as he could, he explained that they had reason to believe that the same people who had taken the unknown woman might be targeting Kelsey as well. He wanted to keep the information as locked down as possible, but the man had the right to know that there was something serious at stake here. Cole wasn’t just asking out of curiosity.

“Sorry.” The man shook his head, looking genuinely sympathetic. “Even if company policy allowed me to share it, I couldn’t. The police have taken the drive to analyze it. At this point, it’s out of my hands.”

“All right. Thanks.” Cole was disappointed, but not surprised. He could go to the police and explain that Kelsey was the intended victim, but as he’d told her, it wouldn’t help the woman who’d been taken. If anything, it might distract from their search for her. Getting Kelsey and Eddy both home safely was his priority. Then he’d plan his next move.

He got Kelsey and Eddy back to his truck and took a circuitous route to get them home. Part of him wanted to get them back into the house as quickly as possible, but he forced himself to be smart. The men in the van must have realized that they had the wrong woman by now. They could have swung back by the office and planned another attack, this time taking them out on the road. It did no good for him to rush home if there were trucks or vans waiting along the road to force them into a ditch. Kelsey sat silently in the back with her son. She’d been shaky when he helped her into the truck, but she’d said nothing and hadn’t broken down. She was tough. He’d always known it, but now he was seeing how she reacted underrealpressure. Strong as hell.

“There’s something on the porch,” she said as they drove in front of her house on the way to the garage. “I think it’s another envelope. Stop so I can get out and pick it up.”

“No, we’ll get it after I check the house.” He’d seen the item, too, but retrieving it could wait until he knew the house was secure. He pulled into the garage and left Kelsey and the baby in the kitchen as he checked every room for intruders or anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing, he opened the front door and picked up the manila envelope—a perfect match for the one that had delivered the first threat, all the way down to Kelsey’s name scrawled on the outside in dark ink.

He should call the police and let them open the envelope, check it for fingerprints or fibers or whatever else they might be able to find, but he wasn’t willing to wait that long. He did take the precaution of putting on gloves before touching it as he carried it into the kitchen and put it down on the table. Kelsey, who’d been pacing the room with Eddy in her arms, stopped and stared at the envelope, eyes wide and scared, and he wished he could tell her that everything was going to be fine, but his pounding heart wouldn’t let him say the words because he could make no guarantees.

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