Page 59 of The Cowboy's Unlikely Love

Hamill radioed the van’s current position on the logging road to the rest of the officers, who were following a good mile behind them. Nobody knew whether the criminals had joined up with others or if it was just the three men, so reinforcements were critical.

Suddenly, the van put on a burst of speed. They’d obviously spotted their tail on the old, rutted road.

“Dammit!” Hamill cursed and gunned the SUV, causing it to bounce and roll crazily on the rough trail full of bumps, rocks, and potholes. After about a mile, the van suddenly stopped, and the two men bailed out. Both ran into the forest on the right-hand side of the road.

Colt’s heart hammered his chest wall. This couldn’t be happening. They couldn’t lose them. Not now.

“Son of a bitch!” Hamill shouted and pulled up and parked behind the van. “All of you, get after them! I’ll call our backup and see where that damn chopper is!”

***

Taylor listened toHamill’s frantic voice on the radio as the agent relayed what had just happened.

As soon as the agent quit talking, the chief told Clarissa, the clerk at the front desk, “Call in the reserves. We need every man we’ve got.”

“Yes, Chief.” Clarissa glanced at Taylor, her eyes wide with the gravity of the situation.

Taylor’s pulse pounded in her ears. Colt was out on foot hunting the fugitives. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him. She couldn’t lose him. She just couldn’t. She only hoped that what was happening on the ground wasn’t as chaotic as Hamill’s phone call had been.

There had been no mention of Colt. Not that she had expected there to be, but she wished desperately to know that he was safe. The reports coming in over the radio from the other officers were confusing, and she couldn’t get a picture in her mind of exactly what was going on.

Clarissa, who was frantically making phone calls, had no time to spare for her. Taylor could only pray that the searchers would find the kidnappers and that JJ would be safe.

Please God, don’t let there be shooting. Don’t let a stray bullet find my baby. And, oh God, please don’t let them threaten to kill JJ if the law comes close. They don’t love my son; they just want him because he has Abe’s blood in him.

Lord, how she wished that she’d never heard of Abe Shelton. She was a horrible, horrible judge of men, and this was all her fault.

Tears ran from her eyes, and she turned her back on Clarissa so that the desk clerk wouldn’t see how emotional she was. The last thing Taylor needed was to get kicked out of the station because she couldn’t control herself. Shehadto get her act together. She had to be strong for Colt’s sake—and for JJ’s. There was no way she was going to fall apart, not while Colt was out risking his life to find her son.

She wiped her eyes and turned back around, gritting her teeth, determined to be strong.

Clarissa handed her a Kleenex without saying a word, so Taylor guessed she hadn’t hidden her feelings well at all. Thank goodness Clarissa hadn’t judged her.

She tuned back into the scanner, resolute now, determined that she would handle whatever happened. That she would be there when Colt needed her—when her baby needed her. Nothing else mattered.

Her phone rang. It was Lauren. Taylor almost let it go to voicemail, but she desperately wished to hear her best friend’s reassuring voice. “Hi, Lauren. I can only talk a minute.” Then she brought her up to speed. “And I’m worried sick about Colt and JJ,” she said as she finished. “I’m terrified something will happen to one or both of them. Oh, Lauren, I wish you were here.”

“I wish I were too, honey,” Lauren said. “You call me as often as you want, okay? I’ll tell my supervisor. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“Thanks, bestie. I love you, and I’ve got to go. Talk soon.”

Feeling a bit better, Taylor tuned back into the radio chatter.

***

Colt pushed throughthe dense undergrowth, keeping within sight of one of the other searchers, determined not to get lost in the unfamiliar woods. He wished that he had his compass; however, he had a pretty good sense of direction, and that should stand him in good stead.

One thing was for sure: the men they were chasing knew these woods a hell of a lot better than they did. The searchers were going to be lucky if they found the culprits, no matter how many men they had looking.

Agent Williams, who was liaising from the police station, had said that the police chief and the sheriff had put out a call asking for volunteers from other forces in the area. Colt thanked God for that. The FBI chopper should be there anytime now, but he was having a hard time putting any faith in that helping to find the criminals because the tree canopy was so dense.

His hopes lay in the fact that the helicopter might spot the house or cabin that the men had been repairing and therefore find JJ.

His text tone sounded, and he looked at his phone. It was from Taylor. Then a feeling so intense that it took his breath away filled him. He smiled, so full of joy that he stopped walking, unable to move. He reread the most important three words of his life.

I love you.

He took a quick look around to make sure that he was safe, and texted:

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