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FIVE
The barrel of the gun jabbed into Faith’s kidney, sending pain shooting along her back. Faith ignored it. She clutched Anna close to her chest, her gaze scanning the empty alley behind the grocery store, desperate for someone to come out and notice them being dragged away by the man in the ski mask. But there was no one. Evening had given way to night, and although the grocery store parking lot was busy, darkness shrouded them.
Faith berated herself for letting down her guard. She’d been consumed with cleaning up the baby and hadn’t noticed the attacker coming in through another door in the rear of the bathroom—the same one he’d used to drag her out of the grocery store. Her muffled cries had gone unnoticed—thanks to the tape covering her mouth—and she couldn’t fight off the attacker, not with Anna in her arms.
She dragged her feet, attempting to slow their progression to the other side of the alley where a silver truck waited. Her kidnapper jabbed his gun into her kidney again, hard enough to leave a large bruise. His grip on her arm felt like a vise.
“Move it,” he growled.
His voice was harsh and barely discernible over the roar of Faith’s own heartbeat. The truck loomed large. Everything was happening too quickly. She had to figure out a way to delay, to give Chase time to realize she was missing. Anna stirred against her chest. Who knew what their kidnapper would do to the sweet baby? Faith had to protect her at all costs.
There was only one option she could think of. Prayers in her heart, Faith melted to the cold ground, catching the attacker off guard. He nearly tripped over Faith. His iron grasp on her bicep loosened. She scrambled to back away from him while keeping Anna safe, but her movements were ungainly.
The attacker’s arm rose and then came down quickly. Pain exploded through Faith’s skull as the butt of the gun collided with her head. She toppled onto her back. By the grace of God, she managed to keep her arms around Anna, preventing the child from tumbling to the hard ground. Stars danced across Faith’s vision. She felt, rather than saw, the attacker grab her arm again.
In the distance, a door slammed against something. A shout emanated from the other side of the alley. Chase!
“Police!” His voice was authoritative. “Freeze!”
The attacker dropped Faith’s arm, and for a blessed moment, she thought it was over. Then his rough hands wrapped around little Anna. He tried to pull the baby away.
Faith yelled, her shout muffled by the tape around her mouth. Blood from the injury to her scalp ran down her forehead into her eyes. She clung to Anna, blindly kicking out, attempting to do everything possible to stop him. The infant’s screams tore at her heart. She feared the tug-of-war was hurting her, but letting the kidnapper escape with Anna wasn’t an option. Not while Faith had breath still left in her body.
Footsteps pounded down the alley. The kidnapper glanced over his shoulder and then released Anna. He took off. Seconds later, the truck’s engine turned over and he peeled out of the alley.
Faith collapsed against the asphalt, sobs rising in her chest as she hugged Anna close. She couldn’t breathe. She ripped the tape from her mouth. Tears streamed down her face as she ran her hands over the baby, checking her for obvious injuries. There were none.
Chase crouched next to them. His gun was in one hand and his gaze swept over her and the baby. “You’re hurt. How bad?”
She couldn’t answer his question, emotions overwhelming her. Chase tucked his gun back into its holster and tore off his jacket and then his shirt. He wore an undershirt beneath. It molded to the hard planes of his chest.
“You’re bleeding.” His tone was angry, but as Chase pressed the fabric to her hairline, his touch was tender. Faith was tempted to sink into his embrace, but she pushed off his concern for her welfare. Anna was more important. The baby’s cries had quieted to a whimper, but that didn’t matter. She could be seriously injured from the attack.
Faith struggled to her feet. “He tried to kidnap Anna. We need to get her to the hospital and make sure she’s okay.”
Half an hour later, she hovered over the exam table at the emergency clinic as Dr. Robert Whitcomb examined the baby. Anna wore nothing but a diaper. Faint redness marred her soft skin, the marks in the shape of large fingers. The sight of them churned Faith’s stomach. On the other side of the room, Chase stood sentry. His expression was hard, but worry lurked in the depths of his eyes.
Robert gently palpated Anna’s tummy. Mid-thirties and handsome, he’d moved to town last year after losing his wife to cancer. Faith didn’t know him well, but his son attended her daycare. Robert was an attentive father, and so far, seemed to carry that same trait to his work. He checked Anna’s reflexes and did a few more things Faith couldn’t name. She chewed on a fingernail as he shined a light into the baby’s eyes.
Chase pushed off the wall and came to Faith’s side. He tugged her hand down from her mouth and interlaced their fingers. She leaned into his touch, letting her head rest against the chiseled line of his shoulder. He was her rock.
“Well, everything looks fine.” Robert clicked off the tiny flashlight. “I don’t see any cause for concern. These marks on her tummy may deepen into bruises, so be careful when handling her since they may be sore to the touch, but otherwise Anna is perfectly healthy.”
Faith’s breath caught. “Are you sure? I was holding on to her so tightly—” Tears burned behind her eyelids as the memory of the attack washed over her. It’d been an impossible situation. Let Anna go and risk the kidnapper escaping with her, or fight to hold on and potentially injure her.
“I’m positive.” Robert lifted Anna off the exam table. “Babies are surprisingly resilient.”
Relief washed over Faith, the emotion so heady her knees weakened. “Thank you, God.”
“Amen.” Chase eased her onto the examination table. “Now it’s your turn to be looked at. That head wound might need stitches.” He turned toward Robert. “Dr. Whitcomb, you can give Anna to me.”
The other man didn’t move. Faith glanced at him. There was a strange look on Robert’s face as he gazed down at the child in his arms. It sent a chill of apprehension through her veins. She reached for Anna.
Her movements seemed to jostle Robert back into the present, because the look melted away and a smile replaced it. “Sorry, I got lost there for a minute, remembering when my son was this little. It goes by so fast.”
Faith blinked. What on earth… The knock to her head must’ve scrambled her brain more than she’d thought. Robert didn’t have anything to do with the attacks on her. Her imagination was running away with itself, a side effect of having her life threatened twice within twenty-four hours.
A cell phone beeped. Robert shook his head. “That’s mine. Please excuse me for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
