Page 101 of Missing Justice

Matt hopped off the porch and peeped through the front window. The blind was down, but the edge left enough of a gap to spot someone moving inside.

“Someone’s in there. I can’t tell if it’s her or not.”

“Did you see anything else?”

“No, but let’s pretend I saw a weapon on the floor and give ourselves probable cause, shall we? I mean, who knows what’s going on in there. Someone could be dead on the floor. It’s our duty to check it out.”

Taylor rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t arguing so he lined up in front of the door, lifted his foot and kicked it right beside the door handle, sending the thing flying open.

Someone—presumably Dottie—yelped from inside and Taylor hustled in, weapon drawn and covering Matt until he got situated with his own.

“Dottie!” she said. “We’re here for the baby. Don’t do anything stupid.”

The house went silent. No shuffling feet or voices, not even a rumbling furnace and the quiet set Matt’s nerves on edge. This type of silence was never good. It was dangerous.

They cleared the living room and crossed the hallway to a set of double doors. One sat ajar and a sudden gurgling noise came from the other side.

Baby.

Shit.

Taylor’s jaw dropped. Here they were, guns drawn, Dottie somewhere in this house, possibly behind those doors and armed, with a baby.

Visions of them pushing the door open and finding Dottie using an infant as a human shield flooded Matt’s vision.

Goddamnit. He hated when children were involved.

Taylor gave him the crazy eyes and mouthed, “Crap.”

Using hand signals, he indicated he’d open the door and she should cover him again. She nodded and they lined up on opposites sides, using the wall and closed door as a shield while Matt set his hand on the cracked open door and pushed.

“Stop.” Dottie said.

Matt did a quick peek and a shot rang out. A bullet whizzed by just as he snapped his head back and his heart slammed so hard the pounding drowned out any noise.

“Dottie,” Matt said. “This is over. There’s no place to go. Ros and Glaw are in custody.”

“Liars! She texted me a little while ago.”

“Right before she and Glaw were apprehended.”

Taylor met his gaze. “Dottie, I read your text. The one that confirmed you’d deliver the baby an hour later.”

Silence.

“Dottie,” Matt said. “let’s get the baby out of here and we’ll talk. Maybe see if we can help you. Okay?”

When she didn’t respond, he slid along the wall, putting one foot into the doorway.

“No!” Dottie said. “Don’t come in here.”

Another shot went off, the bullet flying through the doorway and Matt’s already banged up nerves sent his blood barreling.

He stepped back, rested his head against the wall and drew a few breaths. “Dottie, all I want right now is to get the baby to safety. That’s the most important thing. Can we do that?”

On cue, the baby howled.

Jesus. A baby near a gun. He hated crap like this.