Free Kade by Delores Fossen

fingers to Leah’s cheek. The baby automatically turned in her direction. “You should have woken me up sooner.”
    Bree wondered if there was a time when that wouldn’t seem like such a huge deal. She hoped not. Because now everything seemed like a miracle, and just looking at her baby washed away all her dark thoughts and mood.
    “You needed sleep,” Kade insisted.
    When he didn’t continue, Bree looked up at him. And she waited. Clearly, he had something on his mind, and thankfully he didn’t make her wait long to deliver the news.
    “The doctor got back your lab results.”
    That hung in the air like deadweight. Bree couldn’t speak, couldn’t ask the question that put her breath in a vise—had the drugs permanently harmed Leah or her?
    “You had a large amount of Valium in your system. It caused the grogginess and the temporary memory loss.” He paused. “It was temporary, right?”
    She nodded and felt relief. Well, partly. “Any chance they gave me Valium when I was pregnant?”
    “It’s hard to tell, but Leah is perfectly healthy,” Kade assured her. “I suspect because they wanted to use the baby for leverage that they didn’t do anything that would risk harming her.”
    Good. That was something, at least. And with that concern out of the way, Bree could turn her full attention back to Leah.
    “The doctor said any gaps in your memory should return,” Kade explained. “So, it’s possible you’ll remember other details about your kidnappers.”
    She had a dozen or more questions to ask Kade about the test results and an update on the case, but Bree couldn’t get her attention off Leah. She had to be the most beautiful baby ever born.
    Or else Bree’s brain had turned to mush.
    “How is she this morning?” Bree asked.
    “Fine. She just had her bottle.” He motioned toward the empty one on the table.
    She felt a pang of a different kind. Bree wished she’d been awake to feed her, and she cursed the long sleep session that had caused her to miss all these incredible moments.
    “How long before she’ll want another bottle?” Bree asked.
    “Around one or two.” He paused again. “There’s a problem,” Kade said.
    Bree’s gaze flew to his because she thought he was going to say that something was wrong with Leah, after all. She held her breath, praying it wasn’t that.
    “Late yesterday, Nate’s detectives at SAPD found the gunman who shot at us,” Kade finished. “He’s dead.”
    Bree groaned. So, the problem wasn’t with Leah, but it was still a big one.
    “Please tell me he managed to make a confession before he died?” Bree asked.
    “Afraid not. His name was Clyde Cummings. We ID’d him from his prints since he had a long rap sheet. In and out of trouble with the law most of his life.” Another pause. “Word on the street is he was a hired gun.”
    That didn’t surprise Bree. Whoever had masterminded her kidnapping had no doubt hired this goon. A goon who would have succeeded in killing her if Kade hadn’t arrived in time to save her.
    “Cummings didn’t die in a shoot-out with the cops,” Kade continued. “When Nate’s men found him, he was already dead.” Kade paused again. “He died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.”
    Oh, mercy. An execution-style hit on a hit man. That meant someone didn’t want Cummings talking to the cops, or maybe this had been punishment for allowing Kade and her to get away. It didn’t matter which. The bottom line was this case was far from being over.
    Bree looked at Leah and hated that Kade and she had to have a conversation like this in front of her. A baby deserved better, even if Leah was too young to know what they were saying. Still, she might be able to sense the tension in the room. Bree could certainly feel it, and it had her stomach turning and twisting.
    “Since we don’t know who hired Cummings,” Kade went on, “my sisters-in-law and the kids are leaving town for a while. Darcy came back to