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Her house had been ransacked.
Glass from picture frames she’d hung on the wall littered the wood floor. The cushions on her couch had been sliced open, the stuffing flung around the living room like a tornado of clouds. Books were ripped open, dishes smashed. Every drawer had been gone through. Her television had been ripped from the wall and broken into pieces. Nothing was left untouched. Even pieces of the floor had been pried up to reveal the subfloor underneath.
Owen on her hip, Ellie stood in the center of her destroyed house and turned in a circle, taking in the destruction. Indignation burned in her chest. They were only things, but they wereherthings. She'd refinished the bookcase by hand, chosen throw blankets to match her dishes, and nursed an ivy plant until it covered her cabinets.
All of it gone in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t touch anything.” Glass crunched under Daniel’s cowboy boots as he entered the house behind her. “It’s a crime scene.”
“I’m aware,” Ellie snapped. She didn’t have the patience or the emotional control to measure her tone. Fury was the only thing keeping her from bursting into tears. “Is the entire house like this?”
Sympathy flashed across his handsome features. “Yes. It doesn’t appear the intruders took anything, although you’ll have to go through the house to be sure.”
Anger vibrated through her. The only thing worse than seeing her living room in total chaos was knowing that Owen’s beautiful nursery was also destroyed. It normally took a lot to get a rise out of Ellie, but today had broken through the tight walls of control she kept on her emotions.
The baby whimpered, likely picking up on Ellie’s tension. She forced herself to take a deep breath and wrangle herself back under control. She pressed her lips to Owen's cheek and cupped the back of his head. Ellie could be mad later. Right now, she needed to think like a cop. “Did the men who attacked me in the parking lot do this?”
“Too early to say. If they did, it was before the attack. I doubt either of them was interested in breaking into your house with an aching knee and a broken nose.” Daniel leveled a look in her direction. “Whoever it was, they didn’t steal any electronics. This wasn’t done by someone looking to make a quick buck.”
Ellie agreed with his assessment. Sirens wailed in the distance.
“I don’t understand. Why would someone break into my house, search it, and then try to kidnap my foster child…”
The pieces snapped together as she said it aloud.
Her stomach tightened with dread. “They were searching for something.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as the realization detonated like a bomb. “Something they didn’t find.”
“Yes.” His tone was grave as he gestured toward the fireplace. “They left a message.”
She turned and her blood ran cold.
A teddy bear had been taken from Owen’s room. The animal's head had been nearly severed and hung loosely to one side. Stuffing poked out, stark against the mantel’s dark wood. A note had been attached to the bear’s chest by a knife from her kitchen. On unsteady legs, she stepped closer to read the hastily scrawled message.
We know you have it. Give it to us.
Or else.
The threat was clear. The men who’d attacked her today had meant for Ellie to find this messageafterOwen was kidnapped. Whatever they were looking for, however, she couldn’t give them. She didn’t know what it was.
She blinked and realized Daniel was standing directly in front of her. His gaze was intense, his attention fixed on her as his hands came to rest on her biceps. Owen was nestled between them.
“I know you don’t want to believe this, but you’re the target, Ellie.You.So I need to know what you’re hiding. It’s the only way I can protect you and Owen.”
SIX
Ellie watched as the sun rose over the Perez family ranch. Golden rays spilled across the hilltops like melted gold, painting the fence posts and the barn with an ethereal glow. Wildflowers carpeted the fields. A few delicate clouds drifted across the sky, and at this early hour, the moon was still faintly visible. Ranch hands escorted horses into the fields to graze. In the distance, greenhouses dotted the landscape.
Peaceful. It was the only word to describe it. But this morning, Ellie felt none of the serenity she’d prayed for.
She glanced at Owen, nestled in the portable crib set up in the corner of the guest room. He was on his side, one arm slung across his trusted dog, Scout. Long lashes kissed chubby cheeks. His breathing remained deep and even, his sleep undisturbed by yesterday's terrifying events.
Ellie gripped the cell in her hand and willed it to ring. She’d retrieved the burner phone from its hiding place, a secret pocket in the diaper bag, and dialed the only phone number programmed into it. An emergency line given to her by her former boss when the FBI erased her old identity. She’d left a message on the voice mail hours ago. No one had replied.
Maybe she was overreacting. Ellie wasn't one for wishful thinking, but she kept hoping the break-in and attempted kidnapping were unrelated to her failed undercover mission. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t the case. The Iron Fist had found her, and the only reason she was still breathing was because she had something they wanted. Or, at least, they believed so.
What were they looking for? How had they even found her? Ellie couldn’t answer either question, and at the moment, it didn’t matter. Her priority was keeping Owen safe. It was why she’d accepted Daniel’s offer to stay on his family ranch last night. The location was surrounded by fields, making it difficult to approach unseen, and was outfitted with a top-notch security system. It’d bought her a little time.
But the clock was ticking. With every second that passed, Ellie was put in a more precarious position.