LITMIR.BIZ

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couldn’t say the words, just pulled up the messages and showed Rachel. Daniel, too. No sense hiding the truth of this fiasco from him now. He scowled for a long moment at the phone, but he didn’t say anything.

      Meeting Shannon’s gaze, Rachel only cried harder. Daniel handed her a roll of paper towels. “They had Aiden before I knew what was going on,” she said, blotting her face dry. “I’m so sorry, Shannon. You know I love him like my own.”

      “I know.” She sat down and hugged her friend, taking and offering comfort through an unthinkable crisis. “They didn’t hurt your boys?”

      “These two seem to be fine,” Daniel said gently. He had the twins perched on stools at the kitchen island and had given them each a juice box. He handed Rachel a bottle of water. “Tell us how it went down.”

      “I heard a loud bang near the gate and suddenly two men stormed into the yard, out of nowhere.” She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and dabbed at her eyes.

      “They smashed the gate like Hulk,” one of the twins reported, while his brother nodded.

      “I was over there—” she pointed “—at the sink, watching the boys play while I cleaned up breakfast. And...” She coughed again.

      “Take your time.” Shannon urged her to sip the water.

      Rachel obliged. “One of them had my boys,” she continued. “The other was hauling Aiden off the swing, toward the gate.

      “There was no time to react. I grabbed my phone to call for help, but it was too late. The one with the twins kicked the door in and shoved his way inside with my boys.” She went over and laid a hand on each head. “He pushed them through the basement door. I screamed and he sprayed something in my face. Knocked my phone out of my hand.” Lost in the recollection, she stared at the cracked phone screen.

      “How long ago?” Daniel prompted.

      “Two hours, maybe?” She squinted at the oven clock. “No, a little more than that. We’d just had breakfast.”

      Shannon’s vision blurred with tears. Two hours was a big head start. “They only called me a few minutes ago. They could be anywhere with Aiden by now.”

      “Did he say anything?” Daniel asked.

      “Told me not to make a report or—or else.”

      Daniel’s nostrils flared and Shannon had the feeling he was suppressing a string of choice words and opinions unfit for the ears of little boys.

      “Did they say anything to you guys?” Daniel asked the twins.

      “They were bossy,” the first twin replied.

      “And mean,” his brother added. “They smelled like spaghetti.”

      “Seriously?” Daniel cocked his head.

      The boys nodded in unison.

      Rachel shrugged. “Maybe. Whatever he sprayed in my face made me groggy and choked me. I woke up on the landing, the boys crying over me and trying to wake me up.”

      “You always wake up when we cry,” one twin declared.

      “We can take you to a hospital,” Daniel offered. “Get you checked out.”

      “I’m fine,” Rachel said.

      “The cough may be more related to the spray,” he said. “You shouldn’t take the chance.”

      “Not now, not today,” she insisted. “What are you going to do?” she asked Shannon.

      What could she do? “I’m not sure,” Shannon confessed, staring at her phone. “I won’t report it,” she promised Rachel.

      “You have to,” Daniel countered. “The kidnappers are gone, coming back isn’t smart.”

      She shook her head as Rachel gasped in fear. “I believe the threats. I won’t put this family at risk.” She pulled Rachel into another hug. “I don’t know why this happened, but I don’t want you in the middle of it.”

      “The men this morning put me in the middle of it. You’re one of my best friends. You and Aiden are family. Whatever you need, we’ll help.”

      Moved beyond words, Shannon could only hug her again.

      Daniel pulled out his phone. “I’m calling one of the guys to take care of this door and the gate.” He turned the phone to Rachel. “Is there someone else to stay with you when he’s done?”

      “My husband’s traveling on business. He won’t be home until next week.”

      Shannon caught the flare of concern in Daniel’s dark blue eyes. “I’d feel better if you could go somewhere else for a few days at least. You shouldn’t be here alone,” she said.

      When Rachel agreed, Shannon helped her and the boys pack while Daniel and one of the Jennings carpenters she didn’t normally work with repaired the damage. She kept expecting another message from the kidnappers, some proof of life or a demand she could work with, but nothing came through.

      She leaned against her car door, trying to smile as she waved to Rachel’s boys as the family left their house to visit her mother a few hours away in New Jersey. “At least they’re out of harm’s way. What now?” she murmured, at a complete loss.

      “You need to call the cops,” Daniel said flatly.

      “I can’t. You heard Rachel.”

      “They took your son,” he said, incredulous.

      “I know!” She bit her lip against another outburst.

      “What aren’t you saying?”

      “He called,” she said. “When I got here. When I walked into the backyard, he called and said...” She couldn’t get the words out. “He said he’d send Aiden back to me in pieces if I involved the police.”

      “Oh, Shannon.” He rubbed her shoulder.

      The immense sympathy in those two words overwhelmed her. She didn’t know if she should lean into him or run away. “Thank you for helping her and fixing everything.”

      “I followed you to help you,” he said, a lick of impatience in his voice. “You need to report this.”

      “If I do and they hurt my baby, it will be my fault. I can’t live with that.”

      “What’s really going on?”

      “I don’t know much more than you do.” She didn’t realize she was crying again, or that Daniel had her wrapped in his arms, until the fabric under her cheek was damp.

      “Will you trust me?” he asked when she quieted.

      It seems she already did. She eased back from his solid warmth and tried to regain some distance and some dignity, a lost cause at this point. “I won’t speak with the police. Not yet, not after those threats.”

      “How do you feel about former police?”

      She shook her head. “Daniel—”

      “Your place is nearby, right?” He looked toward the corner, squinting at the street signs.

      “Around the corner,” she answered, caught off guard by the shift in topic. She supposed he knew her address from her personnel file.

      “We’ll drop off your car and then you’re coming with me.”

      “You need to get back to the job site.” She should go back as well, there wasn’t anything she could do other than wait for the kidnappers to make a demand she could work with.

      “Ed’s got it under control.”

      She groaned, thinking of her immediate supervisor and the project manager on the house they were finishing up. A little older,

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