Last First Kiss (28 page)

“You think Wa
de Linl
ey’s not going to come after you. I know him.
That family is
like his own. You’ve started a war here.”

“Well maybe if you’d just paid off Ambrose like I told you instead of buying that fucking salon.”

Sophie swallowed. She knew she’d heard that voice before. It was Cathy
’s
. She was involved in all
this
,
and
now Wade was having a baby with a criminal.

Sophie tried to free her wrists. She’d kill both of them for every
thing they’d done to Grans.  However, all
her
fussing
did was tighten the knots
even more
,
and
the rope bit into her skin.

“Don’t worry
. Making
him think he’s the fathe
r of our baby probably puts you
in a safe position. Most sensible thing you’ve done since you got to this fleapit of a town.”

Sophie relaxed her shoulders. Wade was not the father. Even if they killed her, she
’d
die knowing
that. And how dare he call
Greenville
a fleapit town. This was her home
,
and she was proud of it.

The door opened
,
a
nd in he walked
.

“Okay, honey. Your
lover boy
has agreed to the terms
,
and you’re going home.”

He
put the blindfold around her eyes again, untied her
,
and then dragge
d her outside where she was pushed
into the back of the van again.

A few minutes later it
moved. T
he ride
was bumpy wherever he was taking her
.  The
man and woman
were
talking again
,
but this time
Sophie
couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying.

The van stopped
. She listen
ed, footsteps
on
gravel.
The door opened
,
and someone grabbed her
,
pulled her out and tossed her onto the ground.

It was rocky, and a stone or something sharp cut her arm and shoulder. Next thing she knew
the van had driven off, sending
what was probably plumes of dust in the air because she coughed and her nose burned.

“Hello. Can anyone hear me?”

That was stupid. She was obviously in the middle of nowhere and probably the only things that would hear her were birds
.
Bears
and coyotes
,
too.

Sophie flopped onto the ground. She was going to die
,
and she hoped that Wade and Grans knew how much she truly loved them.

Chapter Fifteen

Wade stopped by his office and loaded his gun and put it into his holster. He wasn’t taking any chances. He’d sho
o
t
first
,
ask questions later if need b
e. Emily had wanted to come along with him
,
but he’d finally talked her into staying put.

He got into his SUV and headed for the
outskirts of town. His vehicle
threw up dirt and gravel
.
A
s he approached the area they’d promised to l
eave Sophie
, he
scanned it
for both people and
vehicles, thinking this could
all be a trap. He saw n
o
one,
not even Sophie. He dr
ove further along
,
and then he spotted
her crawling on along, her hands bound and
a bandana over her eyes.

He jumped out of the vehicle
and almost fell in his rush to get to her.

At fir
st she screamed when he touched her
.

“Leave me alone.”

“Soph, it’s me, Wade.”
He took the rag from her eyes.

“Oh, Wade, I thought I was going to die.”

He
untied her and pulled her into his arms. He could see she had
some cuts and scrapes on her. She also
looked pale and dehydrated.

He scooped her up
and carried her to the SUV where he sat her in the passenger seat and
made her drink some of the water
he’d brought with him.

“I’m going to take you to the ER.”

“No, I’m okay.”

“You might think you are
,
but that’s where you going anyway.
I’ll tell Emily to meet us there.”

He rushed around to the driver’s side
and started the SUV
. He turned
the vehicle around and put his foot down as far as the
accelerator
would go.

“Wade, Cathy’s part of all this
.”

“What?”

He couldn’t believe that.

“She was talking to the guy who took me. I heard them outside. Ambrose must have been blackmailing them
,
and the guy mentioned her buying the salon.”

Wade hit the steering wheel with his fist. “Shit, she’s the partner I found out about when I went to
Denver
. They both worked in a real estate office
,
and it looked like they’d been c
reating phony deeds
.”

“And
,
Wade, about the baby?”

“I know
,
honey and I’m sorry, really I am.”

Sophie shook her head. “You’re not the father.”

“Soph, I’d like to really believe that.”

“The man, he’s the baby’s father.”

Wade took a deep breath.
He
had to be dreaming. One part was like a nightmare, the other half a dream come true. He now had no obligation to Cathy whatsoever.

****

Sophie hated hospitals
,
but the docto
r insisted she stay in
for observation. He’d ordered an IV for her
,
and she’d needed a couple of stitches to close up the gash on her arm
.
Grans decided to stay with her while Wade went to see Cathy.

“You doing okay, sweetie?”

“I’m fine,” said Sophie. “Just really tired.”

“Just shut your eyes and rest.”

“I can’t. I’m worried about Wade.”

“He can take of himself.”

“I know
,
but…”

“
Ssh
, close your eyes. And I’m sorry you got called home and involved in all this.”

“It’s not your fault. And if I hadn’t Wade and I wouldn’t be together.”

“Set the date yet?

“Yep, after you’re found not guilty.”

****

Cathy was finishing up with a lady
’s
highlights when Wade walked into the salon.

“Wade, I didn’t expect t
o see you. I hear
Sophie
is
missing. Did you find her
?”

“Yes, but I think you know that.”

“Me, how
should I know
?
”

“Because you know the person who abducted her.”

“How dare you come in here and accuse me of something like that
,
and in
front of my
clientele
.”

“And you feel up to allowing me a
paternity
test to see if that baby’s really mine.”

She slapped him.

“What do you think I am?
I only sleep with o
ne man at a time
,
and you were him
this time around.”

“So you won’t mind having th
e baby tested?”

She rubbed her stomach. “I think I should speak with
my
attorney about that.”

“Oh
,
I think you need to spea
k to one
,
but not about a test for
who fathered your baby.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you.”

“Sophie heard
you.”

“If she’s filled your head with all this
garbage, well I can’t blame her. S
he must be upset knowin
g we’re having a baby together.”

“We are not having a baby together.”

“It’s yours
,
Wade. It was conceived the weekend we went to the hotel in
Jackson Hole
.”

“So you won’t have a problem proving that to me.”

She didn’t say anything
,
and Wade decided to pull her away in the corner out of earshot because people were looking and whispering.

“Look
,
I can help you. You turn over your partner to me
,
and I’ll tell the police and judge you cooperated.”

She
looked him in the eye and
suddenly burst into tears.

“Why does the past always catch up with us?”
she asked.

Wade took a deep breath. He’d keep his word because she had Max
,
and the poor kid didn’t deserve going into foster care because his mom was behind bars.

“Who is he?” asked Wade.

“My
ex-
husband.”

“And the two of y
ou worked with Michael Ambrose?”

She nodded as a tear flew from her cheek.

“He rolled into town and wanted money to keep quiet about some phony deeds we’d created.”

“And while he was here he thought he’d buy an old lady’s property.”

“I didn’t know about that
,
but my ex overheard her shout at him and…”

“Thought she’d be the perfect patsy.
”

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry
,
Wade. I had no idea how this was all going to end.”

“Where is he now?”

“At my place looking after Max.”

“Okay, you’
re going to take me there
,
and then the three of us are going to the police station.”

She nodded again. “And
,
Wade, you will remember to tell the judge that I cooperated?”

Wade nodded. “Not for your sake but for your son’s.”

Chapter Sixteen

Wade thought about confronting Cathy’s ex by himself. After all, he was an ex-cop
;
he had a gun
,
but he had Sophie to consider now.
They had a lifetime ahead of them
,
and it would be foolish to risk that all for the sake of playing lawman.
He
’d
played it safe and relayed everything Cathy ha
d told him to the sheriff. 

“I can honestly say I’m more than relieved,” said Sheriff Bradley. “In my wildest dreams I couldn’t believe that Emily Richardson was capable of murder. This all makes perfect sense now that an outsider would frame her.” He tipped his hat back.

“I’ve told Cathy Moran that we’ll take the fact that she did volunteer the information and is cooperating fully into consideration. After all, she is pregnant and has a four year old son,” said Wade.

The sheriff nodded. “So how would you like me to handle this?”

“I’ve suggested that Cathy take me to her house where her ex is babysitting her son
,
and we’ll talk. However, I would like your guys to be waiting as back
-
up.”

“Sounds like a plan. And
,
Wade
,
if you’re ever thinking about joining the police department again
,
I always have a need for a good guy like yourself.”

“I’ll definitely think about that.”

****

“You’ll keep your promise about telling the judge that I cooperated,” said Cathy as she put the key in the front door.