Page 493 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

She didn’t think. Slamming the truck door, Claire spun toward the lake. It was a dark shadow. The long dock extending into the water wasn’t visible, the moon obscured by the thunderstorm’s cloud cover. She took off.

Jacob, hold on, baby. I’m coming.

Her heart said prayers even as her mind focused on rescuing her child. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The dock came into view. A boat bobbed on the water, secured by a rope to a mooring pole. Claire ducked into the tree line. She couldn’t save Jacob by acting recklessly. Now was the time to rely on her training.

Moving closer, using the trees as cover, her gaze swept the area. A small form lying in the middle of the dock caught her attention. Jacob! He was motionless.

Dead? Her heart threatened to splinter in two. No, it couldn’t be. She forced the devastating thought aside and focused on the task at hand. Getting to her son.

There was no way to reach him without exposing herself. Claire knew it was a trap. A sniper with a night vision scope would have no trouble killing her. There could be one on the boat. She should wait for backup. It had to be moments away. But what if Jacob was injured? Bleeding out? It was a risk Claire wasn’t willing to take.

She burst from the tree line, keeping her head up, searching for any potential danger. Her feet pounded against the wooden dock. The injury from her earlier fall throbbed. She counted the distance in heartbeats, anticipating the crack of a gun followed by the fire of a bullet blazing through her. Jacob came into sharper focus. His eyes were closed.

Claire dropped to her knees beside him. Her fingers were numb from the cold. She couldn’t tell if Jacob was breathing. The memory of finding Faye on the side of the road flashed in her mind.No, please, no.

With a shaking hand, she touched the smooth column of Jacob’s throat. A steady beat thumped against her fingers. Alive. He was alive. Tears coursed down her cheeks. “Thank you, God.”

There was no way to carry Jacob while holding her gun. Claire shoved it into the back of her pants and slipped her handsunder her son. Lifting him into her arms, she leaned on her knees in preparation to stand, ignoring the screaming pain from her swelling knee. They needed to get off this dock.

A noise scraped against the dock one second before the barrel of a gun pushed against the back of Claire’s head. She froze.

“Hello, Sheriff. I’ve been waiting for you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The trooper had been shot and left for dead.

Gavin used gauze from a first aid kit in the patrol car to staunch the wound. Smoke and flames poured from Claire’s childhood home. Her parents were gone. It’d taken eight minutes for two deputies to arrive at Maribelle’s cabin. Every second had been torture. Gavin couldn’t leave until they arrived. He had a duty to keep Xavier in custody and to provide first aid to Maribelle.

And now…he had no idea where Claire or her family were.

The trooper groaned at the pressure applied to his injury. His eyes fluttered but didn’t open. It wouldn’t be possible for him to tell Gavin anything.

Footsteps came from the other side of the patrol car. Gavin whirled, raising his weapon. He found himself face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. Relief flooded through him when he recognized the man holding the weapon. Ryker.

The ranger rushed to Gavin’s side. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Gavin lowered his weapon as Keith circled the vehicle. “Keith, take over providing first aid. I need to find Claire and her family.”

The chief deputy knelt and grabbed more gauze from the first aid kit. “Claire’s mother called. She’s racing to the hospital. Daniel was shot and Jacob kidnapped. Claire went in pursuit. Last thing she knows, Claire was headed for the dock.”

Gavin bolted to his feet. The gunshot wound sent white-hot agony racing down his nerve endings. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Gavin broke into a run, heading for the lake. He barely heard Keith shout, “More deputies are coming. Five minutes out.”

Ryker fell into place beside him without a word, gun in hand. The heat from the blaze eating the log cabin faded as they raced for the dock. A boat—similar to the one the intruder had escaped in on the night of the bombing—was pulling away from the mooring pole.

Claire and Jacob were on it. There was no question in Gavin’s mind.

“The boathouse.” He deviated from the path to race for the building. Claire’s father owned boats for his business and had moved several into the newly secured boathouse. Gavin’s head swam, and he stumbled. Ryker caught him before he hit the ground.

“I’m driving the boat,” Ryker said.

“Good idea.” Gavin didn’t intend for the rescue to turn into a suicide mission. He brushed off Ryker’s aid and kept running. At the boathouse door, he punched in the code. The two men boarded one of the vessels quickly and fired up the engine. Every movement took time, precious seconds that Claire and Jacob were in danger, but there was no way to move faster.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

The biblical verse popped into Gavin’s mind. It was a reminder that Claire and Jacob were not alone. Neither was he. They had God and He would be with them every step of the way.

Please, Lord.This couldn’t be how their story ended. Gavin and Claire were falling in love. And Jacob…it was unthinkable to lose him. Gavin shoved the bleak thoughts from his mind and focused on his prayer.Help me find them in time, Lord. You sent them to me. You opened my heart. Please don’t take them from me now.