Countdown Read Free Page A

care. He stared right back. A shiver ran down her spine.
    The cops immediately responded in pursuit. A second later the man broke eye contact and scaled the closest fence.
    â€œGet him,” she whispered.
    James straightened, the boys still in his arms. His eyes flicked from the officers in pursuit back to her. She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. Judging by the way the muscles along his chiseled jaw tensed, barely controlled rage was the emotion of the moment.
    â€œWas that a bad man?” Ethan asked.
    â€œYes.” A steely tone radiated off that one word.
    Caleb tugged on his collar. “And they’re going to put him in jail?”
    His chest heaved. “Yes.” His voice cracked. “So he can never try to take you away again.”
    Rachel’s ribs constricted. A man like James should never have had to lose his wife or even worry about having to lose his kids. She’d seen the way he parented them at church, during their car-pool rides, and occasionally through her window as they ran around their backyard while the boys giggled and taunted James with cries of “Chase me, Daddy.”
    Such a man didn’t deserve to deal with this kind of fear, the kind she’d experienced most of her life. An inevitable darkness surrounded people like her.
    James frowned, snapping her out of the morose thoughts. His dark mop of curls hung low and emphasized his blue-gray eyes. She followed his gaze as paramedics crossed the grass, heading toward them. “Are you hurt?” James asked.
    She put a hand on her neck. “Nothing a good stretch and a visit to the chiropractor won’t fix.” She reached out and gently touched the twins’ blond heads, needing reassurance they were fine.
    Two officers approached. “Sir? Ma’am? We need to talk to both of you.”
    James nodded but his gaze didn’t leave her. Two paramedics flanked James. They each talked to the boys in hushed tones as they asked questions and tried to evaluate them. The boys clung even tighter to their father’s neck. Their little red T-shirts against his navy-collared shirt gave a resemblance to a superhero.
    Rachel inhaled sharply. His gaze always sped up her heart a little. It needed to stop because they could never, ever, be anything more than neighbors.
    She turned on her heel and faced the officer. “Of course. Anything you need.” The stagnant air, mixed with the smell of diesel and tar from construction, threatened the start of a headache. Her stomach gurgled with hunger pangs, as if jealous for attention.
    After a series of endless questions, the beeps from a tow truck backing up halted her train of thought. They were taking her car. The muscles in her back tensed. Transportation meant freedom and control. How long would it take for them to fix the air bag and the transmission she felt certain she’d dropped?
    The officer pressed his lips in a firm line, as if impatient. She nodded for him to continue, but she half heard his next question. Her gaze, fueled by a desperate need for proof the kidnapper was gone, swept past the blue uniform. She studied the hedges, flowering bushes and trees surrounding her. She couldn’t get past one question the officer hadn’t yet asked: Why would the kidnapper return to the scene and spy on them?
    * * *
    James studied the boys in his rearview mirror on the drive back home. Physically they were unharmed and seemed like themselves, but they remained silent, their gazes locked on the blur outside their respective windows. A clear sign that his normally talkative twins weren’t fine.
    Their mom would’ve known how to help them cope after the attempted kidnapping. His throat tightened. Nikki had been gone two years. The boys probably didn’t even remember the sound of her voice.
    He squeezed the steering wheel. Ever since the hit-and-run had taken Nikki away from him, he drove only when absolutely necessary. So much so, his