High Stakes Gamble by Mimi Barbour Page B

bloody from her ravaging teeth.
    She looked exactly like a woman on the edge and all he wanted were those moments back that they’d shared in the doctor’s office. The moments when she’d tried to bury herself inside him. When everything he was, every sinew of his soul demanded he declare his love and commitment.
    The only thing that had him backing off from demanding he take her home was her typical self-confidence that she knew exactly what needed to be done and would do it no matter what. Plus the look in her eyes warned that anyone dumb enough to thwart her would pay dearly.
    For a second their eyes caught, and hers, shining with pooled tears, increased the agony already ripping through his insides. He gasped and had to inhale to stop the love he felt from gushing out of his mouth and upsetting her even worse.
    He’d seen the panic she couldn’t hide. The identical feeling had stricken him. First, unending fear clawed, leaving a person feeling helpless. Then the ‘what ifs’ had to be forced back so madness couldn’t grab hold.
    Stop it!
    He wouldn’t go there, because if he let the images of the terrible things that could happen to his darling little baby without anyone to protect her, without her Daddy or Mommy… My God, please keep her safe!
    Having recently lived through a disaster when his wife Debbie and son Alec had been kidnapped by a crazed maniac, Kai knew that Cory understood their suffering. His intentions were obvious. To keep their minds occupied and off of what they might find at their destination, Cory started sharing facts with Kai and Aurora about the ongoing case to bring them up to date. Kai forced himself to listen. Anything that might help get Lily back into her mother’s arms needed his attention.
    Soon the boss called on Aurora to explain certain elements, the parts she’d been involved in personally. Smart as a fox, he forced her to join in the conversation. Concentrating on the upcoming battle made sense and Kai felt indebted to Cory for his quick thinking.

Chapter Nineteen
    Cory, driving like a madman with his lights flashing and noise deafening, pulled up behind a multitude of other police vehicles. The lack of activity told its own story. They knew exactly what they would find.
    Nothing!
    Disappointment made Aurora clench her teeth so hard it brought a new surge of tears to her eyes. God how she’d wanted to see that white Peterbilt surrounded by law enforcement—and the babies safe. Hungering to hold Lily ate away at her insides and made her breasts swell painfully.
    From the front seats, the men readied themselves to join the group.
    Kai turned to her and asked; his voice considerate but flat. “You ready?” She saw the pain in his expression, the tightening around his mouth and knew he suffered.
    She didn’t trust herself to speak so instead she nodded.
    Flashlights, passed out between them, helped them walk over the uneven ground. Approaching the yellow tape with their badges in full sight didn’t get them beyond the boundary. Following orders, the young officer stayed them by holding his arms out. Only a roar from Cory towards the strutting peacock dressed like a SWAT general got them admitted.
    Aurora heard the snarl growing in Kai’s chest before even a hint of it surfaced and wondered how she held her own cool. Frustration ate away all her civility. Pulling her gun and putting a bullet into that incompetent bastard, Haynes, began to seem like a really good idea.
    How the hell they thought they’d keep a crime scene from being contaminated with so many people milling around, she’d never know. Half the vehicles could leave and take 80% of the personnel and it would still be too many.
    Cory and Kai approached Haynes with questions. But Aurora didn’t trust herself around the man who’d waited too long and ruined the best lead they had to getting Lily back safe. She would do her own investigating.
    On the way to the warehouse, Cory had shared the earlier report