A man's voice cut through the nanny's hysteria. "This is Harris."
"This is Jolene Davis. Why are you at my house?"
"We have an emergency pickup order for the minor child, Cordell Joseph Davis, pending a hearing on termination of parental rights."
Her heart seized, and she couldn't force words past the pain in her chest. Her father took over.
"This is J. Rand Davis. You touch my grandson and I'll see your ass in jail."
"I have a court order, sir. We are removing the child per that order."
A wail tore from Jolie's very core, but she clapped hands over her mouth to cut it off as her dad squeezed her leg. "My daughter and I are en route. I'm also notifying my attorney. You will do nothing until we arrive."
"That's not the way it works." The line went dead.
Tears overflowed, and Jolie could barely breathe between the sobs, her fear and a boiling anger so strong she could melt the polar caps. By the time they arrived at her house, the men had gone, taking CJ with them. Mrs. Corcoran sat at the kitchen table, sobbing. A Nichols Hills police officer stood there looking uncertain. When Rand pressed for an explanation, the local cop explained that Mrs. Corcoran had hit the panic button on the security system's alarm panel and he'd responded, but not in time to stop the men.
"Yes, sir," he told Rand. "The papers are on the table. They were signed by a district judge. I'm sure sorry 'bout all this. Your nanny told me you were on your way, so I figured it best to stay here with her until you arrived."
"I appreciate that, Officer." Rand's voice left icicles in its wake.
Fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Corcoran had calmed enough to make coffee. Rand and Jolie had both read the papers the men left behind, but none of it made sense to her. When one of Rand's attorneys arrived, he quickly leafed through the papers and explained while Jolie paced the length of the family room, pivoted and paced back.
"CJ won't go into the foster care system. Judge Braxton signed the order, which appears to be civil, not criminal. The order was filed on behalf of the alleged father, and I'm guessing that's where they took your son."
"Have some coffee, honey." Mrs. Corcoran held out a mug as Jolie stalked past her.
Jolie didn't want coffee. She didn't want a drink. She wanted blood. If Cord Barron had been there, she would have sliced him into little pieces and fried him up with hash browns for breakfast. "That means Cord took him. He's probably at Cord's house right this minute. How do I get CJ back?"
The attorney continued perusing the paperwork and it was her father who answered. "I'll call Judge Wilson." Rand patted the seat next to him. "Sit down, Jolene, before you wear out the carpet. The judge owes me a favor. He'll sign a temporary order returning CJ to you."
She didn't want to sit, either. Anger surged through her veins, leaving her hot and cold in waves. "CJ must be scared to death, Daddy. I want him home." Jolie made another pass across the room. "I can't believe Cord would do this, the sorry son of a bitch."
Rand folded his arms across his chest. "I suspect he's gotten desperate, Jolene. You haven't exactly been trying to work through the custody issue with him."
"Whose side are you on, Dad?"
Mrs. Corcoran cleared her throat. "Miss Jolie? Wasn't CJ's daddy who came with those men."
Jolie stopped dead, fingers and toes tingling from the surge of adrenaline. "What do you mean, Mrs. C?"
"The man looked like Mr. Cord, but it wasn't him. When CJ saw him, the little tyke stopped cryin' and ran to him. Called him Uncle Cash."
"That's it." She grabbed her purse and coat. "Give me your keys, Daddy."
"What are you doing, Jolie?"
"I want my son back. I'm going to go get him."
When Rand didn't react fast enough, she rooted in the pockets of his overcoat, found the keys and dashed for the door. She didn't wait for the men as she jumped into her dad's SUV and headed off in a reckless charge to reclaim her little boy.
That twenty-minute drive was one of the longest in her life. As she parked in front of Cord's condo, she let her anger surge. By the time her dad and the attorney arrived, she was standing at the door, tight-lipped, hands fisted at her sides, her heart thudding. She was going to kill Cordell Barron for this.
She pounded on the door. "Cord, open up!" She pounded again and yelled even louder.
Lights blazed on inside and a voice yelled, "What the hell? I'm comin'. Give me a sec."
The locks on the door clicked and the door swung open to show a sleepy-eyed Cord with bed-tousled hair, wearing nothing but gray cotton gym shorts. He absently rubbed fingers through the hair on his chest as he blinked at her, and then registered the presence of her father and the attorney.
Jolie had a moment when anger and fear toppled over into arousal. Damn, but Cord was sexy. How could this man dissolve her into a puddle of wanton desire just by opening the door? Especially now, since, according to those papers, he'd taken her son. What was wrong with her?
* * *
Cord stared at Jolie, his eyes narrowing as he recognized J. Rand. The other man standing outside his door looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place him. "What the he-?"
His question was choked off as Jolie slapped him. "Where's CJ?"
Cord really regretted the beers he'd drunk with the pizza he'd ordered for dinner. Nothing was making sense-not the rude awakening, being slapped by Jolie or her question. Jolie looked frantic. And pissed. Very, very pissed. He wondered just how many beers he'd had to drink because he sure couldn't figure out what was happening. Before he could ask what she meant, she hit his chest with a balled-up fist. "Where is he? What have you done with him?"
Cord stared at her, wondering how a crazy woman could make his shorts tent. He backed up a step so she couldn't slug him again. He looked at the clock in the foyer. It was after midnight. He'd fallen asleep during the ten o'clock news. "What's going on, Jolie? Why are you asking about CJ?"
"You filed those papers you threatened me with. You're trying to take CJ away from me."
"I did what? Whoa, baby. Slow down, back up and rewind. What papers?"
"You sent men to my house to get CJ. They had a...a..."
"A temporary custody order," the man who'd come in with Jolie and J. Rand finished. He stepped forward and gave Cord the evil eye. "Michael Weller. I'm representing Ms. Davis in this matter."
"What matter?" Cord figured he looked as confused as he felt. "Jolie, I have no idea what you're talking about. I haven't filed any papers. I don't know anything about a custody order, and I damn sure didn't send anyone to your house to get CJ. Are you saying some men took him? Where is he?"
"He's supposed to be here."
"Supposed to be here? Why? I'm telling you, he's not!" Panic threatened to close his trachea so he couldn't breathe, but he didn't have time for that. He had to find out what had happened to his son. "I didn't take him, Jolie." He half turned to Rand, but stopped as tears welled in Jolie's eyes. She looked so lost all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and make it all better. He reached for her, but she jerked up her shoulder in self-defense. "Baby, talk to me. What's going on? Where's CJ?" He reached for her again, and this time she fell into his arms, tears staining her cheeks.
"He's gone."
Eighteen
Heat drained from Cord's body, leaving only ice behind. "Who took him?"
"Your brother."
"Dammit, I have four brothers. Which one?" Cord attempted to focus, but his brain wasn't firing on all cylinders yet. Jolie's announcement had his heart racing like a hamster on a wheel. Who would take CJ? Chance? No way, not after what he and Cassie had gone through to be together. Chase wouldn't be bothered to leave Vegas. Or Nashville. Or wherever he currently happened to be. Clay was in Washington. He answered his own question when he ran out of brothers. "Cash."
She nodded mutely, trying to control her tears.
"I didn't have anything to do with this, Jolie. I promise we'll get him back." He breathed a little easier when her arms tightened around his waist. He brushed a kiss across the top of her head and reluctantly loosened his hold. "I need to get dressed and go get my-our son."
Jolie pushed away from him and flicked tangled hair back from her face. "I'm coming with you."
He didn't want Jolie there when he confronted Cash. Didn't want her to see how badly he'd been betrayed by his family, but he couldn't stop her, either. "I'll be ready in five minutes."
Four minutes later, he was locking the door and headed to his truck. Rand and Weller stood next to a Lexus, arguing with Jolie. She wheeled and marched toward him. "Where are we going?"
"The ranch."
She turned back to her father. "Do what you do best, Dad. I'll keep you posted." She climbed into his truck without help. Once they hit the interstate headed north, Cord barely spared her a glance as he focused on the lines on the highway, knuckles white where they gripped the steering wheel.