Page 89 of Nothing to This

It was the usual scene, horses going up and down, round and round, kids smiling and waving.

“There’s Kye,” Stone said, pointing at a particular horse as the ride rotated.“And Sky.Two behind him on the outer row.”

They were his kids, yet with such an obscured view, he wasn’t sure he’d have ID’d them on that first round.The ride went around again and Stone pointed to each of the kids.JD’s smile curled when Sky tried to wave but grabbed for the horse again the moment she let go.Kye didn’t even try to wave, but he bounced like he was actually riding a horse, in his own wonderful world.

“She’s more of a swimmer than an equestrian,” JD said, spying the determination on his little girl’s partially hidden face.

The ride slowed and he steadied his breathing, wary of what he might see.Stone paused the footage and clicked it forward frame by frame.Kye went by the camera which darkened and wavered just before Sky came into view.Fuck, that could be his last chance to see his little girl.

The light returned just as the ride came to a halt.Kye was at the edge of the screen, still bouncing up and down.Doing as told, Kye waited until his aunt came up to help him, the two laughed as Lotta struggled to unfasten the strap around his little waist.

“There,” Stone said and froze the image.

What was he supposed to be looking at?People freeing the kids from the ride and the dying fall leaves caused chaos, it was difficult to discern.

“What are you…”

Stone pointed at the screen for a second, then lowered his finger to select and zoom in on a specific area.“That’s the front of Sky’s horse,” he said.The nose of one of the horses was just visible through a tiny crack in the melee of nature and nurture.“Gotta be grateful Roxie’s guy is recording in the highest def.”

Stone clicked something.The image went through a couple of scrubs, increasing the definition until…

“Fuck,” JD breathed out and wiped a hand over his mouth.

“That’s a hand, a female one I’d say,” Stone said.“Just on the nose of the horse, someone is talking to Sky.They took her off the ride… Why wouldn’t she scream bloody murder if a stranger—”

“Because that’s not a stranger,” JD said, pushing away from the table, fury coursing through him when he stalked toward the door.“Stone, bring a guy and grab a cop to make an arrest.”

“Dawes,” Stone said and whistled.Two S.I.S.men closed in, blocking JD’s access to the front door.“You’re emotional, too close to this.Who is it?Tell us, and we’ll handle—”

“You’ve got a son, right?”JD asked, grabbing his jacket from the hooks by the door and snatching one for Sky too.“How old is he?”

“Three,” Stone said.“We’ve got a daughter on the way.”

The whole room focused on him, but JD didn’t flinch.“And you’re married?”Stone nodded.“I’ve known my daughter two years longer than you’ve known your son.If someone was holding him, keeping him from your wife, would you leave it to someone else to retrieve him?How would you look her in the eye if you sat on your ass and let strangers rush in on your scared, upset child?Back me up or back down.One father to another.”

Stone looked at him for another second then breathed out.“Rocco, you’re with us.You’ve been doing the father thing longer than both of us.”

One of the S.I.S.men blocking the door spoke up, “Sure thing, boss.”

“Shep,” Stone said, coming toward them.

Another S.I.S.man fell in at his side.“And here I thought Little Lady had given you your balls back for this mission,” Shep said.“Guess I was wrong if you’re falling for speeches like that.”

JD stepped aside, letting Rocco open the front door.

The S.I.S.leader shoved Shep out first.“Least my lady doesn’t chew mine up and spit ‘em out like yours,” Stone said, pulling a weapon from his hip to check the clip.

“You won’t need that,” JD said.After they were in the hallway, he turned to look at Brenna standing at the foot of the table.“Let Rylee sleep, don’t wake her.But if she gets up, tell her I’ll be back with our girl in less than an hour.”

Relief put a grin on Brenna’s face.“You mean it?You know where she is?”He nodded.“Oh, Jame!”

JD went into the hallway and closed the door to look at the men he had.“We need a cop to make an arrest.”

“We’ll radio from the car,” Stone said.They all started toward the elevator.“Now you want to fill me in on who we’re taking down?”

“A very desperate woman.”

THIRTY-TWO