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Authors: Joanna Wayne
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sixteen hours now.
When he reached the station, he grabbed a cup of black coffee and went straight to his desk. He shuffled through his messages. The one he wanted was about halfway through the pile, attached to a research file he’d ordered on Hadley O’Sullivan.
The note at the top said it all.
Hadley O’Sullivan had been caught in a blatant lie.
Chapter Five
Adam woke abruptly, his senses keen, his instincts sharp. That had been the means of survival in Afghanistan when he’d learned to sleep in short spurts and wake up ready to spring into action.
Back then his body was up to the task. The bullets and the burns he’d suffered when their patrol had been ambushed put a quietus on that. Even after two years of rehab, he didn’t have the raw strength or the agility he’d once taken for granted.
He stretched and sat up on the couch slowly, trying to overcome the stiffness that had settled into his muscles and joints.
Oddly thoughts of R.J. crept into his mind. Yesterday morning at this time he’d been dreading his trip to the Dry Gulch Ranch for the reading of the will.
But R.J. wasn’t dead. He’d decided years too late he wanted a chance at being a father. But where was Lila and Lacy’s father. Had he opted out of their lives? Or was he somehow involved in the abduction? And why was Hadley so determined to keep everything about him a secret?
Aches persisted as Adam stood and went in search of Hadley. He found her lying sideways across one of the twin beds in the room where she’d put her daughters to bed two nights ago.
Like him, she was fully clothed except for the sandals she’d kicked out of and left next to the bed. Even in sleep, she looked tormented. He doubted she’d slept an hour, though the first light of dawn crept into the room through the slatted blinds.
She’d paced most of the night, jumped every time her phone rang and then ignored the call when a friend’s name popped up on the caller ID screen.
Moving as silently as he could, Adam grabbed the lightweight quilt from the other bed and spread it across her bare feet and legs.
He started to walk away, but poignant images from their past stole into his mind. Nights when he’d slept beside her, their bodies entangled, still slick from their lovemaking. Who’d have ever thought they would end up like this? Together but yet worlds apart.
And he would never make love to her again. That might be the cruelest trick the war had played on him. Doctors had given him back his life but not his manhood.
One day, he might be able to examine the past with a degree of objectivity. But not now. The stakes were too high to get bogged down in what-ifs.
Getting Lila and Lacy back safely wasn’t only the top priority. It had to be the only priority.
Tiptoeing from the room, Adam walked to the kitchen, emptied the stale coffee and old grounds and started a fresh pot. The sound of hammering broke the early-morning silence.
Raking his fingers through his thick, mussed hair, he went toward the front lawn to check it out. He spotted two middle-aged women in jogging suits about halfway between him and the curb. One steadied a yard sign. The other pounded the stake that would anchor it in place.
“What’s with the racket? It’s barely dawn.”
The woman kept hammering.
“This is private property,” he called as he started walking in their direction. His socks became wet with dew as he hurried across the manicured grass.
The woman with the hammer waved it at him threateningly. “We don’t want murdering mothers in our neighborhood.” She stood back so that he got a good look at the sign.
CHILD KILLER
The words were printed in bright red spray paint that dripped from the letters like fresh blood.
Fury gripped him, bunching his muscles, knotting in his stomach. He rushed toward them and yanked the sign from the ground.
“Hadley O’Sullivan is going through hell right now. She hasn’t slept, hasn’t eaten, can barely breathe she’s so
When he reached the station, he grabbed a cup of black coffee and went straight to his desk. He shuffled through his messages. The one he wanted was about halfway through the pile, attached to a research file he’d ordered on Hadley O’Sullivan.
The note at the top said it all.
Hadley O’Sullivan had been caught in a blatant lie.
Chapter Five
Adam woke abruptly, his senses keen, his instincts sharp. That had been the means of survival in Afghanistan when he’d learned to sleep in short spurts and wake up ready to spring into action.
Back then his body was up to the task. The bullets and the burns he’d suffered when their patrol had been ambushed put a quietus on that. Even after two years of rehab, he didn’t have the raw strength or the agility he’d once taken for granted.
He stretched and sat up on the couch slowly, trying to overcome the stiffness that had settled into his muscles and joints.
Oddly thoughts of R.J. crept into his mind. Yesterday morning at this time he’d been dreading his trip to the Dry Gulch Ranch for the reading of the will.
But R.J. wasn’t dead. He’d decided years too late he wanted a chance at being a father. But where was Lila and Lacy’s father. Had he opted out of their lives? Or was he somehow involved in the abduction? And why was Hadley so determined to keep everything about him a secret?
Aches persisted as Adam stood and went in search of Hadley. He found her lying sideways across one of the twin beds in the room where she’d put her daughters to bed two nights ago.
Like him, she was fully clothed except for the sandals she’d kicked out of and left next to the bed. Even in sleep, she looked tormented. He doubted she’d slept an hour, though the first light of dawn crept into the room through the slatted blinds.
She’d paced most of the night, jumped every time her phone rang and then ignored the call when a friend’s name popped up on the caller ID screen.
Moving as silently as he could, Adam grabbed the lightweight quilt from the other bed and spread it across her bare feet and legs.
He started to walk away, but poignant images from their past stole into his mind. Nights when he’d slept beside her, their bodies entangled, still slick from their lovemaking. Who’d have ever thought they would end up like this? Together but yet worlds apart.
And he would never make love to her again. That might be the cruelest trick the war had played on him. Doctors had given him back his life but not his manhood.
One day, he might be able to examine the past with a degree of objectivity. But not now. The stakes were too high to get bogged down in what-ifs.
Getting Lila and Lacy back safely wasn’t only the top priority. It had to be the only priority.
Tiptoeing from the room, Adam walked to the kitchen, emptied the stale coffee and old grounds and started a fresh pot. The sound of hammering broke the early-morning silence.
Raking his fingers through his thick, mussed hair, he went toward the front lawn to check it out. He spotted two middle-aged women in jogging suits about halfway between him and the curb. One steadied a yard sign. The other pounded the stake that would anchor it in place.
“What’s with the racket? It’s barely dawn.”
The woman kept hammering.
“This is private property,” he called as he started walking in their direction. His socks became wet with dew as he hurried across the manicured grass.
The woman with the hammer waved it at him threateningly. “We don’t want murdering mothers in our neighborhood.” She stood back so that he got a good look at the sign.
CHILD KILLER
The words were printed in bright red spray paint that dripped from the letters like fresh blood.
Fury gripped him, bunching his muscles, knotting in his stomach. He rushed toward them and yanked the sign from the ground.
“Hadley O’Sullivan is going through hell right now. She hasn’t slept, hasn’t eaten, can barely breathe she’s so
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