by Barb Han
Linking their fingers again, he led her downstairs.
“How are you? Everything okay?” He glanced at her stomach and saw the T-shirt move. “What just happened there?”
“She kicked. I swear this kid is either going to be a swimmer or a black belt in kung fu.” She grimaced and the shirt moved again. “See.”
“Crazy to think there’s a kid in there.”
“Do you want to feel her move?”
He should say a resounding no. Maybe it was the father-daughter bond he’d been thinking about earlier. His own father barely had a chance to get to know his only daughter before she was taken away from him.
“Yes. I do.” This wouldn’t change anything between him and Alyssa. She’d made her choice and he’d learned to live with it. The kid, however, was innocent. She shouldn’t suffer because her parents weren’t getting along.
Alyssa took his hand and placed it on her belly where the kicks had been. She lowered her voice and said, “Hey, little bean, this is your father.”
Nothing happened.
“Just hold on a minute,” Alyssa said. “Once she gets going, she never stops this soon.”
He waited.
Still nothing. Maybe the kid didn’t like him already. Or he was too unfamiliar. “How far along did you say you are?”
“Eight months,” she said.
Meaning he had a few weeks to get ready.
“Can I ask a question?”
He nodded, removing his hand from her belly. The shirt moved the second he stopped touching Alyssa.
“Why didn’t you ask the doctor for a paternity test? It would have been easy enough. I think it’s literally as simple as a spit swab.”
“If you say I’m the father, I don’t doubt your word.” He shrugged his shoulder. Part of him had tried to put up the argument that he couldn’t be the child’s father. Simple math said he probably was, as long as there was no one else in the picture. “If you want the test, we can get it.”
“I may not remember everything that happened in recent months, but I’m clear on who her father is. There could only be one option. I’m sure I didn’t leave you for someone else. I haven’t been with anyone else. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.”
He let the last sentence slide. It was his bruised ego that wanted it to be true. Time to change the subject.
“Do you want to put your feet up while I check the entrances?” He motioned toward the couch.
“I’m wide awake now, so, yes.” She moved over to the couch and then stacked a few pillows to prop up her back. She lay across it lengthwise.
He addressed the front door first. It had been left slightly ajar, so he opened it—careful not to interfere with any prints—and then tested the locking mechanism. Professional job. The perp used a universal key. The good news was the lock wasn’t broken. The bad news was that it clearly needed a dead bolt added.
An officer met him at the door.
“Evening, sir,” the officer started. “Are you Blake O’Connor?”
“Yes, sir.” Blake checked the man’s name tag. It was a big department and he didn’t recognize this officer. “Thank you for stopping by, Officer Barton.”
“May I come inside, Officer O’Connor?”
“Yes, sir. And, please, call me Blake.” He was careful to open the door fully. “The perps entered through the front door and the back. You’ll probably want to dust the knobs. Although, I’m almost certain they had on some type of gloves.”
“Yes, sir. They did.”
Well, that explained why the officer hadn’t brought his dusting kit to the door with him. He knew he didn’t need it.
Blake introduced the officer to Alyssa. Barton took her statement, and then Blake’s. By the time he finished, a knock at the door interrupted them.
He opened it to find Liz standing there. All five feet two inches of fury. She stalked past before barking a few orders at Barton. Apparently, the two knew each other fairly well. He excused himself after she told him to go file the report.
Once he was gone, she turned to Blake. “Tell me what the hell happened here tonight.”
Blake went over the story again for her. “I need to get someone out to dead bolt this door and the one in the garage.”
Liz glanced over at Alyssa who had closed her eyes and turned onto her side.
“She’s bringing trouble to your doorstep, Blake,” Liz said low and under her breath.
Alyssa blinked her eyes open. She seemed to think better of making a comment.
“That’s out of line, Liz. Everything that happens to her while she’s carrying my child is my business.” He kept his voice low as he motioned for Liz to follow him into the next room.
“The kid is yours?” Liz didn’t bother to hide her shock, or her disdain. More of that anger was rolling off her. He knew she cared about him, but this was over-the-top.
“The timeline of her pregnancy matches up to our relationship.” Although, he didn’t think sexual relations with his then-wife were anyone else’s business.
“Please tell me you got a paternity test.”
* * *
ALYSSA WASN’T SURE how long she’d nodded off. Lack of quality sleep combined with late-term pregnancy had her dozing off every chance she got. The sun was rising, and the house was quiet. She pushed up to sitting to find Blake at the table with his laptop, nursing a cup of coffee.
“Is there any chance you have decaf?”
“No. Sorry.”
“I figured as much.”
“Never saw the point.” He smiled and a dozen butterflies released in her chest.
“Neither did I until I got pregnant.”
“Yeah, I see your point. I hadn’t thought about the sacrifices you’ve been making. Has it been awful?”
“Sometimes.” She figured he wouldn’t judge her for being honest. “Once I got over the initial shock and sacrifices, it got a lot easier. Then she started moving around in there and I guess I was hooked. Suddenly, it was easy to forget how hard it was at first. It helped that I stopped throwing up every five minutes.”
He made a face.
“It wasn’t that bad in retrospect. At the time, I was probably pretty dramatic about it, though.” She laughed as she looked around. “The door?”
“Had a locksmith change out the lock and add a dead bolt.”
“And I didn’t hear it?”
“You were pretty out of it.”
“How out of it do you have to be not to hear a hammer?”
“It was an electric screwdriver and my guy was stealth.” He picked up his mug. “Are you hungry?”
“Is that a real question?” Now, she really laughed. “I’m always hungry now. Even when I don’t think I’m hungry, I’ve found that I can eat.”
She joined him in the kitchen.
“Pregnancy agrees with you.” He looked at her with appreciation and it was the first time in months someone looked at her with anything but a sweet smile or a look of apology. She figured the reactions to her pregnancy from strangers must mirror whatever their experience was. The sweet ones must’ve had an easy time of it. The others, well, maybe not so much. Either way, she always smiled back.
Blake had always made a mean omelet. This morning was no exception. She literally groaned with pleasure while she ate it. He added fresh greens and a sliced tomato. Pure food heaven.
“Have the police called?”
“Gruff’s real name is Christopher Desmond. And the one you called Nasal is Jordan Bennett. Do either of those names ring a bell?” He picked up the plate after she’d cleaned it.
Nothing automatically came to mind. She tried to reach deep and came up with nothing. “No idea who they are.”
“Liz called your office to ask to speak to one and then the other. Neither one works for you or worked
for your father. She had the manager check the HR files.” He paused. “Doesn’t mean they aren’t connected to the business in some way. The manager didn’t recognize the names and they don’t work at Hazel Imports. That’s as much as we know for now.”
“At least they’re locked up and we know who they are.” There was some relief in knowing these guys were off the streets. “I forgot to tell you last night that my mom checked in with me. I saw it on your phone. She made it safely to her friend’s house.”
“She might want to stay there a couple of days to be on the safe side.” Blake’s cell buzzed. He checked the screen. “It’s Liz.”
After hearing Liz’s comments last night, Alyssa couldn’t say she was thrilled. This seemed like a good time to remind herself they could use all the help they could get. As the saying went, she wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Taking in a deep breath, she moved into the kitchen and refilled her water glass. While she was there, she figured she’d make herself useful and rinse off the breakfast dishes. A mild cramp was followed by a stronger one as she bent over to load the bottom rack of the dishwasher. She glanced at the clock. Her doctor’s appointment was still a ways off. She could make it until then unless the cramps started coming more regularly or hit as hard as the ones last night. Stress? Dehydration?
“Okay, thanks for the information.” Blake paused. “Yes. She’s awake.” He was silent for a few beats. “All right. Talk to you later.”
Blake ended the call and joined her in the kitchen. He took one look at her and asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yes. All good here.” She forced a smile.
He stopped and stared at her for a long moment. “You sure?”
“Yes.” She did a thumbs-up move that was as cheesy as it felt. “What did Liz say?”
“The perps are asking for a deal in exchange for information about who is truly behind all this.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” She didn’t use her thumb to help communicate this time.
“If the information turns out to be solid, it will be.”
“Are the chances pretty good we’ll get what we need from them?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about this being a bigger operation. Or about how many other women might have been locked inside that same closet. That same bedroom. The flooring had been ripped up. Had someone been inside there for days? Weeks? Chipping away at the flooring, praying to open it enough to make a breakaway? The thought sent a cold chill down her back.
“I want the names of Bus Stop and the Judge. That’s what they’re promising.”
“You don’t think the Judge is an actual judge, do you?” It wouldn’t surprise her, but it would mean they were up against someone on the inside of the legal system. That was almost unthinkable.
“I hope not. I’d like to think everyone who takes the same pledge I did means it just as much. Criminals are scum, but a person sworn to protect who turns is lethal.”
“I believe the same thing.” She was nodding as he spoke.
“It would also make the case a lot more complicated, so I’m hoping it has a different meaning.”
She hadn’t thought about it in those terms, but he made a good point. Complicated and dangerous were two terms she didn’t want assigned to her case.
“How long will it take to make the deal and find out?”
“A few hours. Maybe. Hopefully sooner. There’s usually a bit of negotiating involved, so it can take time to reach an agreement on both sides.”
“What do we do in the meantime?” Every minute counted while her life hung in the balance. Alyssa wasn’t as worried for herself as she was for the baby.
“Keep a low profile.”
“If those two found us their bosses must know where we are,” she pointed out.
“Which is why I wondered if you’d want to go to the ranch to stay for a few days until all this blows over.”
“Are you serious?” The last place she wanted to show up pregnant after a divorce was his family’s ranch. They were good people, but uncomfortable didn’t begin to describe how she would feel surrounded by O’Connors under the circumstances. She’d walked away from the family that had taken her in and treated her like one of their own. They’d accepted her with open arms and hearts, and she’d repaid their kindness by divorcing Blake. It just didn’t add up.
“Yes.” He softened his eyes and cocked his head to one side. “No matter what is going on between us, the baby is my first priority right now. I can’t think of a better place to keep her safe.”
“Poachers make it onto the land. Your father was killed there.” She wished she could reel those words back in the minute she heard them come out of her mouth. She’d had a knee-jerk reaction and wanted more than anything to take it back. She put her hands up, palms out, hoping to stop him long enough to apologize. “I didn’t mean to say—”
Rather than get angry with her, he stood there. A look of understanding was stamped on his features. His hands were at his sides, open, with his palms facing her. “I know it’s asking a lot.”
She issued a sharp sigh. It would have almost been easier if he’d gotten mad at her. She didn’t want to suffer the embarrassment of showing up in her present condition without remembering the past eight months of her life without Blake. And yet, he was right. This was her daughter’s family. Considering it was only Alyssa and her mother on the Hazel side, the baby could use all the family she could get. And Alyssa was going to have to face the O’Connors at some point.
She folded her arms across her chest, resting them on her burgeoning belly, considering her options. “The ranch is pretty far from here. It’ll be impossible to check in at work let alone my apartment and with my doctor.”
“It’s time to leave the investigation up to my colleagues. If these jerks are part of a bigger organization, it could get messier. In fact, I’d like to pick up your mother and keep her at the ranch too. What do you think about putting her up in the guest room at the main house? I’m certain my mother would love the company and it would give her something to focus on besides losing my father.”
The way he was talking, the men behind bars seemed like the least of her problems. And that sent an icy chill racing down her back.
“When did you think would be a good time to head that way? If I agree?” She was short on options.
“After the doctor’s appointment.”
“Speaking of which, what if I actually do go into labor, Blake? What if I’m too far away from my doctor and the hospital? The ranch is remote.” She was starting to freak out a little bit when she thought through the possible issues with the plan.
“You’re eight months along, right?”
She nodded.
“Which should mean you have at the very least a few more weeks before it’s ‘go’ time. Right?” His voice was a study in calm.
She nodded again. He was being rational whereas she was working off raw emotion—emotion that was heightened thanks to pregnancy hormones and the fact that some random scary people were after her.
“Then we should be fine for a few days until my fellow law enforcement officers can get a handle on who is behind this.” He walked over and closed the dishwasher before taking her hand and walking her over to the kitchen table.
All kinds of warning bells sounded at the underlying message. She was potentially in even more danger than before, now that two perps had been arrested.
Chapter Thirteen
“I’ll do it.”
Blake wasn’t quite ready to let his guard down after hearing those three words. They were a step in the right direction.
“Thank you for your trust,” he responded. She needed to know her confidence meant something to him.
“If it can help keep her safe, I’d walk through fire at this point.” Alyssa’s hands went to her belly. He noticed she did that whenever s
he was stressed. She’d cradle her bump or rub her belly like she was trying to soothe the baby. Her voice was different now too. She had a calming quality when she spoke. He didn’t think she was aware of what she was doing so much as acting on instinct. She was going to make a great mother.
Shared birthdays and every other Christmas wasn’t how he imagined his family would look. Alyssa was as much his family as the baby. He would do whatever he could to ease her burden now that he was in on the pregnancy. His only regret was that he didn’t know about it sooner. He couldn’t imagine going through this alone.
Alyssa had her mother, even though their roles seemed reversed to him in the last year or so of the marriage.
“Believe it or not, we’re making progress.”
“I’m still in shock those jerks would break into a police officer’s home. I thought we’d be safe here.”
“You are. Both of you. For now. I don’t want to tempt fate and it’s obvious these perps know where I live. They figured out you came here, so we have to get on the move, but we have to be smart about it. Give the legal system time to do its job.” He believed in the institution despite the fact it had let his family down.
“You’re right. I feel like I put you in danger by coming here.” She stared up at him with those wide eyes. He’d been thinking about the kiss they’d shared more than he should allow himself to. Being this close wasn’t helping control the urge to touch her. He brought his hand up, brushing the backs of his fingers against her cheek. Her skin was just as silky as he remembered. Those eyes were just as beautiful as he remembered. And her lips were just as pink as he remembered. Before he could stop himself, he dipped his head and brushed a kiss against her mouth. At least he had enough sense to stop there.
He leaned his forehead against hers and did his level best to slow his racing pulse.
“I’m glad you showed up here, Alyssa. You did the right thing.” His defenses lowered for just a few moments even as he reminded himself not to get too comfortable.
“I just realized something. I’ve had a strange feeling that in some way leaving you would protect you. Did I know these people were after me? Did I do something illegal? Immoral?”
