Silent Run

true,” Manning replied.
    â€œIt is. Right now my main concern is finding Caitlyn. How can I help?"
    â€œI’d like to take the photograph of the child with me, so that we can broadcast a description of your daughter. If anyone saw Ms. Tucker with her child before the accident, that would give us a fixed time and location to work from."
    â€œThat picture is old. It was taken a couple of months before Sarah left,” Jake said, his voice laced with bitterness. “Caitlyn would be much bigger now, sixteen months and a few days. She’d be talking and walking.” His voice faltered as he drew in a sharp breath. “I missed a lot of her firsts, but I won’t miss any more, Sarah. No more. I want my daughter back."
    Sarah swallowed hard, his raw, painful words cutting her to the core.
    Jake turned back to Manning. “The only reason I have that picture is because it was in my wallet. Sarah took the other photos with her when she left, or she destroyed them. If I hadn’t had that one, I would have been left with nothing."
    Officer Manning cleared his throat, breaking the thick tension in the room. “I’ll give this back to you when I’m done.” He took the photo from Sarah’s hand. “We’ll have to sort out the rest later. Why don’t you come down to the station with me, Mr. Sanders? I can fill you in on our investigation, and you can tell me more about your relationship with Ms. Tucker."
    Sarah wanted to protest. Who knew what lies Jake Sanders would tell the deputy? Then again, she didn’t want to be left alone with Jake. Maybe it was better if he went down to the station. She would have some time to figure out what to do next.
    â€œAll right.” Jake sent Sarah a meaningful look. “But I’ll be back. We have a lot to discuss."
    As the men left the room, Sarah knew she wasn’t going to sleep again. She was going to do what came naturally to her -- run. Her instincts told her to get out of the hospital. She needed to find her daughter.
    Swinging her legs to the side of the bed, she gently put her feet on the floor and tried to stand up. Dizziness hit her again like a huge ocean wave dragging her under, and the pain behind her left eye was stabbing and intense.
    She took several deep breaths, waiting for the pain to subside. It didn’t, so she just ruthlessly pulled the IV needle out of her arm. Then she grabbed her clothes off the end of the bed and began to dress. It seemed to take forever, every movement painful. She had just finished tying her shoes when the door opened, and her heart sank.
    â€œI knew you were going to run,” Jake said, meeting her gaze head-on.
    â€œWhere’s Deputy Manning?” she asked in a shaky voice.
    â€œI realized as soon as I stepped out of the room that there was no way in hell I could leave you alone. I told the deputy I’d talk to him later. It’s just you and me, Sarah.” He shut the door behind him with a definite click. “Just you and me.”

Chapter Four

    Sarah instinctively backed up until her legs hit the bed and there was nowhere else to go. Jake moved forward until he was inches away from her. He towered over her by at least half a foot. He was too big, too strong, and too male. She felt an overwhelming sense of fear, but she couldn’t let him see that she was afraid.
    They were in a hospital, she reminded herself. There were doctors and nurses out in the hall. He couldn’t hurt her here.
    â€œWhy don’t you tell me where you’re going?” he said.
    â€œTo find my daughter.” She refused to be intimidated by this man. At the moment she didn’t know if what he’d said about her was true or false. Until she did know, she was going to follow her instincts. Right now her instincts told her not to show any weakness.
    â€œI thought you didn’t know where Caitlyn was."
    â€œI don’t know where she is, but I can look. I can’t just lie here and do nothing."
    â€œOr maybe you’re going to get her, so you can take off again,” he suggested.
    If she knew where her daughter was, maybe she would do that, because something was off between her and this man. She couldn’t imagine behaving the way he’d described -- unless she’d been desperate to escape. However, she couldn’t help thinking that to remove all evidence of her existence before she left seemed more premeditated than desperate,