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Sean jerked his head up, away from the hands holding him down. The woman was carrying Emma to a car. They were taking his daughter away from him!

Shouting Emma’s name, and with superhuman strength, Sean threw the man off of him and ran toward the car. When the engine started, he flew through the air, his heart thudding, his lungs straining for breath. He was only inches from reaching the car, when it sped up and zoomed down the street. Emma stared at him through the back window, her face scrunched up in terror, her little body jerking with sobs. He could no longer hear her cries, but he read her lips, and she was screaming for him.

He couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop. Sean ran after the car, but when it turned down another street and picked up speed, he knew he had lost her.

“Sean Donavan!”

Anguish and fury whirling within him, Sean twisted around and faced three men. One was pointing a gun at him. One was holding handcuffs. And the last one said in a deep, authoritative voice, “Sean Donavan, you’re under arrest for kidnapping.”

Chapter Two

Harland County Jail

Corley, Oregon

Sean sat in an interview room at the police station. He’d been here for hours. No one had answered a single question. No one had told him why his daughter was taken from him. No one had explained the charges. Kidnapping? That was insane!

When he’d arrived at the police station, he’d been thrown into a cell and told to simmer down. Ten minutes after that, two uniformed policemen had brought him out of the cell, stuck him in this room, handcuffed him to the table like he was some sort of maniac, and then left. He’d been here ever since. Not a single soul had stepped in to tell him anything. He had already decided that he wouldn’t physically fight them. They’d made it more than clear that he had angered them when he’d fought earlier. If he stayed calm, showed them he could cooperate, surely they would tell him what was going on and how to fix this mess. Whatever it took to get the answers he needed, he would do.

It was absurd to think he had been accused of kidnapping his own daughter. She had lived with him since her birth. His name was on her certificate of birth as her father. How could anything get so mixed up that he was accused of such a vile thing?

There had to be a simple explanation. He made a promise to himself that he would keep his calm and find out what he needed to do to get this worked out. The thought of what Emma was going through was driving him crazy. She was so tiny, so vulnerable. So innocent. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her little face scrunched up in anguish. She must be so terrified.

The door opened, and a tall, skinny man about ten years older than Sean entered the room. “Mr. Donavan, my name is Craig Barclay. I’m your court-appointed attorney.”

At last, someone who seemed to be on his side. Maybe he could get some answers and get him to understand how insane all of this was.

“I didn’t kidnap Emma.”

“I’m aware of that, Mr. Donavan. Those charges have been dropped.”

Relief like he’d never known washed over him. Finally, things were looking up.

“Then why⁠—”

The attorney held up his hand. “Let’s start from the beginning. You were once in a relationship with Bridget Miller?”

“Yes, she’s Emma’s mother, but she left us over a year ago. We’ve not seen her since, and she’s not been involved in Emma’s life. Said she didn’t want to be a mother.”

“Unfortunately, she’s changed her mind.”

Sean pulled on his hair in frustration. He should have known this was Bridget’s doing. She was an immature, selfish girl.

“She doesn’t care about her daughter,” Barclay said. “That much is obvious.”

Sean frowned at the contradictory statements. “Then why⁠—”

The attorney shoved his fingers through his hair as if uncomfortable or frustrated. He was a hard man to read, but Sean got the feeling that he hated his job, and this case in particular.

“Do you also know a Joe Stewart?”

Fury flushed through his body at the name of the man Bridget had dated before Sean. Even though she had said the guy had abused her, he’d heard she had gone back to him. Sean was cynical enough to know that money was a big factor. Joe’s father, Russell Stewart, was one of the richest guys in the state.

“I know him,” Sean said. “What does he have to do with this?”

Something in Sean’s voice must’ve made Barclay even more uncomfortable, because he shifted in his chair and moved a few inches away.

Instead of answering, the man slid a folder in front of Sean. “Here’s why Emma was taken from you.”