Read Online Colorado Abduction by Cassie Miles - Free Book Online Page B

ways.”
    “Why?”
    “That’s what we need to find out.”
    “You’re right.” And her outburst was wasting precious minutes. Ashamed and scared and angry, she pushed against his chest, separating herself from him. “What should we do?”
    He held up his cell phone. “I’m calling Corelli. If that phone number from the call is listed, he can give us a name.”
    Still shuddering from the outpouring of emotion, she sank back against the seat and listened to Burke’s end of the conversation. While he talked, he linked his hand with hers.
    From the moment they met, he’d told her that he didn’t come to Carlisle Ranch to make friends. He’d warned her that some of his advice would seem cold and hard. But she’d felt his compassion. With her free hand, she pulled her shirt collar out of her jacket and dabbed the moisture from her cheeks. It had been years since anyone saw her weep. Even when her father died, she’d kept her tears to herself.
    Ending his call, he squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”
    “I blubbered all over you, and I don’t even know your first name. What does the J.D. stand for?”
    “Jeremiah Davenport.”
    She could understand why he went by initials. “You’re definitely not a Jerry.”
    “Or a Davenport,” he said. “Let’s get back to business. Who would call you on that phone? Who has that number?”
    “This is my personal phone,” she said. “It’s not the PDA I use for business. Some people in Denver have this number, but very few. That’s why I used this phone to contact my financial people. I wanted to keep the line clear.”
    “Here at the ranch,” he said, “who knows the number?”
    “Only Dylan.” But somehow the kidnapper knew .
    “Last night when we heard the gunshots, where was your phone?”
    She cast back into recent memory. “I was in the dining room, talking to you. The phone was in my hand. I set it down on the table.”
    “And when we responded to the gunfire?”
    “I left my phone on the table. Didn’t pick it up until much later.”
    “After half the people on the ranch had come into the house. Any of them could have picked it up and gotten your private number.”
    She didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking, but she couldn’t deny his logic. “Are you saying that someone on the ranch is working with the kidnappers?”
    Burke’s cell phone jingled and he answered.
    Dark thoughts of betrayal flooded her mind. When she’d learned of the many people who held grudges against the Carlisles, she’d been surprised and hurt. This was worse. Someone who worked for them—a trusted employee—was involved in Nicole’s kidnapping. Anger sparked inside her, burning away the last vestige of her tears. When she got her hands on that traitor, they would pay dearly.
    “We’re in luck,” Burke said. “The kidnapper’s call came from a public telephone in Riverton.”
    F IFTEEN MINUTES LATER , Burke parked the truck at the only gas station in Riverton—a small town that was about ten miles from Delta and an equal distance from the Carlisle Ranch. He’d considered taking Carolyn back to the safety of the ranch house but decided it was more important to follow this lead as quickly as possible.
    The public phone hung on a dingy brick wall beside theclosed doors of the auto repair bays. The windows of the gas station were dark. “What time do they open?”
    “Whenever Silas O’Toole gets around to it. Usually, that’s from about ten in the morning until six at night.”
    When the kidnapper called Carolyn at a few minutes after nine, he had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Using the public phone was actually a clever move because their trace resulted in a dead end.
    It seemed unlikely they’d find any witnesses in this dusty little western town. Main Street’s sidewalk stretched one block with storefronts and offices on either side. Limp red bows hung from the streetlights in a feeble attempt at Christmas decorating. At the other