Sinister Intentions & Confiscated Conception

by Heather Graham

  The footsteps stopped. Directly in front of her. And she saw the visitor’s legs. It was a man wearing dress slacks, and he was so close she could have reached out and touched him.

  She pressed her fingertips to her mouth. And waited. She didn’t have to wait long. He moved quickly. Away from the front of the desk. Behind it.

  Behind her.

  “Mind telling me what you’re doing down there?” the man snarled.

  The sound that she’d choked back escaped as a small, barely audible gasp. A thousand thoughts went through her head. None good. But she forced herself not to panic. Maybe she could defuse this situation so Jared wouldn’t have to use his gun.

  Praying, Rachel crawled out from beneath the desk and looked up at him. Whoever he was, he was huge and towered over her. A wide face, hulking shoulders, and a thick head of cropped blond curls.

  However, it wasn’t just his physical appearance that sent her heart pounding. It was the shoulder holster and gun she saw beneath his open jacket. That coupled with his mere presence would have been enough to scare her, but it was only the beginning. Her gaze landed on his name tag.

  Sergeant Colby Meredith.

  This was the very person that Jared suspected of being a leak in the department, and he was also likely on Esterman’s payroll.

  Now, this was a worst-case scenario.

  Rachel somehow got to her feet. How, she didn’t know. Her whole body suddenly felt as sturdy as cotton balls, and there was a shiver going up her spine. If she’d been an animal in the wild, she’d have run for cover immediately because her every instinct was telling her that she was in danger.

  “I’m Mr. Livingston’s new cleaning lady,” she managed to say. “It’s my first day on the job.”

  “Oh. And what were you doing under the desk—looking for dust bunnies?” His voice was a throaty growl, and his icy gray eyes matched that tone.

  Good question. Rachel said the first thing that came to mind. “I didn’t think anyone was supposed to be here so I got scared when I heard you come in. I thought maybe you were a burglar.”

  God, could she possibly sound wimpier? She would never convince him to back off if she didn’t put up a better front. Rachel hiked up her chin and tried to look as if she belonged there.

  It didn’t work.

  The step that Meredith took toward her put a serious dent in what little fight she had managed to assemble. All she could think of was Jared and the baby. If Meredith was the one who killed Aaron Merkens, then he probably wouldn’t show much mercy to Jared or a child.

  Rachel caught the edge of the desk to steady herself. The last thing she wanted to do was faint, but by God she felt a dizzy spell coming on. Still, she didn’t let that dizziness turn her to mush. She instinctively knew she had to show some backbone or things might quickly get out of hand.

  “I’m leaving,” Rachel said with authority that she certainly didn’t feel. She fought all the old demons, the old fears from her parents’ deaths. “I’ll come back after Mr. Livingston is at work.”

  Meredith caught her arm.

  Because she had nothing else to rely on, Rachel went on pure instinct. She shoved his hand away and again tried to go around him. She had nearly made it to the patio door before Meredith snagged her arm again. His fingers dug into her skin. It hurt, and she winced in pain.

  That did it. Rachel gave up any pretense that this would end with placid requests. “You’re asking for a knee in the groin, mister.”

  Inching his body closer, he trapped her against the door. “Don’t you think I know what you’re doing?”

  As threatening as that sounded, she preferred that to his knowing who she was. She hoped he thought she was a thief. Now, the real question was how she could get away from him without Jared having to use his gun.

  “It was stupid for you to come here,” Meredith insisted. “Dillard didn’t do a very good job of protecting his woman, did he? But his stupidity is my gain.”

  He knew.

  God, he knew.

  Meredith pushed harder, and Rachel felt the sting of his hand on her arm. She’d have bruises, but she prayed that was all she’d have. It didn’t help that he loomed over her and outweighed her by a good seventy-five pounds.

  She could feel the rage in him. And he was ready to unleash it all on her. Since this could easily turn into a fight for her life, Rachel lunged for a glass paperweight on the desk.

  Meredith beat her to it, and knocked it out of reach.

  Rachel tore herself away from him, but before she could put some distance between them, he latched onto a handful of her hair. With seemingly no effort Meredith shoved her face-first against the wall.

  “You really shouldn’t have done that,” she said through clenched teeth.

  She hadn’t wanted to fight him, but she wouldn’t stand there while he beat the heck out of her, either. Rachel pivoted, fully intending to send his reproductive organs right into his throat, but with a flash of motion, he drew his gun.

  And aimed it right at her.

  Her reaction was instant. Something she couldn’t stop. Something beyond fear. Something raw, primal and totally beyond her control. Rachel felt every muscle in her body turn to iron. Her breath froze in her lungs.

  Move, she ordered herself. Do something.

  But she couldn’t. Her feet wouldn’t cooperate. Neither would the rest of her body. Only her mind seemed to be functioning at full capacity, and all she could do was stare at the gun.

  That thin black chamber.

  The glint of the morning sun on the metal.

  Meredith’s finger on the trigger.

  He probably wouldn’t kill her. Because he needed her alive to testify. But from that cold look in his eyes, she had no doubt that he would hurt her. Rachel fought a silent battle. She had to move. She had to save herself.

  Meredith suddenly snapped backward. She heard the slam of muscle against muscle just a split second before she saw Jared. He rammed his fist into Meredith’s face and sent the man sprawling.

  Meredith cursed and put his hands on the floor, preparing to launch himself at Jared.

  “I’d think twice about doing that if I were you,” Jared warned. He kicked Meredith’s pistol aside and aimed his gun at the man.

  Meredith hesitated. He shook his head and slowly started to get to his feet.

  “Are you all right, Rachel?” Jared asked without taking his attention off Meredith.

  “Yes.” She was afraid to say differently. Jared had a dangerous edge to his voice, and Rachel wasn’t sure what he would do. “Where’s Livingston?”

  “Tied up in the bedroom.”

  So that left just Meredith for them to deal with. Of course, that was more than enough.

  As if on cue, Meredith actually grinned at them. He seemed to be on the verge of saying something arrogant, or just plain stupid, but then he shut his mouth. But then, almost anything he said at this point would probably be incriminating.

  “You’ll regret this, Lieutenant Dillard,” Meredith challenged.

  “Not as much as you will. I’ve got nothing to lose, so listen carefully. Don’t even think about going for your gun. Instead, do the smart thing and cooperate. Get facedown on the floor and do it now.”

  The moments seemed endless, but Meredith did as Jared requested. Jared worked fast. He took a roll of clear packaging tape from the desk and used it to truss Meredith’s wrists to his feet. In less than a minute, he had Meredith restrained, and they were on their way out the door.

  Jared had parked at the end of the street, but he slowed her to a walk when she tried to run. She realized that it would attract too much attention from the neighbors. Still, if anyone took a close look at her face, they’d know that all was not well. She’d just endured one of the most frightening incidents of her life—and what made it so bad was that it w
asn’t over.

  “Are you really okay?” Jared asked after he’d gotten them in the car and sped out of the neighborhood.

  “Yes.”

  He glanced at her. “Try that answer again, Rachel, but this time leave the B.S. out of it.”

  “All right. I’m still a little shaky.” It was a huge lie. She was a lot shaky, but Rachel tried to keep the moment light, hoping it would soothe some of the anger she saw in Jared’s eyes. She didn’t want him to lose it, especially since she was already so close to the edge herself. “Meredith really gave me a scare when he pulled that psycho-without-a-cause routine.”

  “Yes.” And he repeated it under his breath. “I don’t think he knows how close he came to dying. When I came in that room and saw his hands on you, I wanted to kill him.”

  Because she knew it was the truth, Rachel touched his arm and rubbed lightly. She only hoped that he didn’t notice that her fingers were trembling. That would certainly cast some doubt on her I’m okay. “You showed great restraint, considering.”

  “The day’s not over yet. I’m still toying with the idea of going back after him.”

  “But you won’t. It’ll only cost us time that we can’t afford to lose. Besides, we have to find this Dr. Randall Sheridan. He’s the key, Jared. I just know it.”

  He nodded. “We need to talk to him. I’ll call Tanner and get him started on this right away. It’s probably not a good idea if we go searching for the doctor in broad daylight, but Tanner’s people can locate Sheridan and set up a meeting.”

  “Yes.” Rachel had to take several deep breaths before she could continue. “And Sheridan will lead us to the baby.”

  This time, Jared didn’t nod. But she repeated the words to herself. For reassurance.

  They would find the baby and get him to safety, away from people like Meredith. They had to.

  Because the alternative was unthinkable.

  Chapter 10

  Jared tossed the car keys on the desk and swore liberally. “I never should have taken you to Livingston’s house with me. Never. I had a bad feeling about the place the second we got there—but did I pull back? No. I let you walk in there and face Meredith.”

  With each mile that he’d driven to get them back to the hotel, reality had sunk in a little deeper. Just minutes earlier, Rachel had practically been killed, and—damn—it was all his fault.

  “Hindsight is such a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” she murmured.

  Rachel looked the pillar of strength standing there. She had her arms folded over her chest and her eyes focused. She even had her mouth set in that stubborn line. The facade worked, temporarily.

  Until Jared glanced at her arm.

  “What the hell is this?” He caught her wrist, shoved up the loose sleeve of her T-shirt and examined the reddish marks on her forearm.

  Rachel didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. Because Jared put it together immediately. And it turned his stomach.

  “Meredith did this to you.” The cursing reached a whole different level and intensity. “Hell, I can’t even protect you while you’re in the same house with me.”

  Rachel pulled her arm from his grip and slid her sleeve back in place to cover the marks. “It’s not your job to protect me, Jared. As I recall, you were busy taking care of Livingston at the time. Besides, these are just bruises. They’ll go away in a couple of days.”

  A spark of rage shot through him. “But the memory of that bastard putting them there won’t.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I know.”

  She sank onto the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. Only then did Jared realize she was trembling. But not just trembling. She was shaking. Hell, here he was ranting and venting, and he had forgotten all about what she might be going through.

  He went to her immediately and wrapped his arm around her. While he was at it, he checked her eyes to make sure she wasn’t going into shock. She wasn’t. But Jared saw things in those green depths that made him want to tear Meredith limb from limb.

  “It’s over,” Jared said softly, hoping his words would soothe her enough to stave off a panic attack. He brushed a kiss on her temple and felt her pulse hammer against his mouth.

  “It’s never over,” Rachel countered. “Any idea how many hours of therapy I’ve had?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Too many to count. Plus, the hypnosis and the various medications. You name it and I’ve tried it. Nothing’s worked. I’m still too terrified of guns to protect myself. Talk about a genuine wuss.”

  “You’re not a wuss. You have a phobia. Lots of people do. But that didn’t stop you from standing up to Meredith today. I know how much it cost you to do that.”

  She waved him off. “I don’t want your sympathy.”

  “Good, because this isn’t sympathy. This is me telling you that we succeeded this morning. You managed to get the info about Dr. Sheridan, and we both made it out of there alive.”

  “Yeah, thanks to you. I froze, Jared. When I saw that gun, I was seven years old again. I was right back in that room with my parents’ bodies, and I was just as ineffective today as I was then.”

  “You were a kid when that happened—you were supposed to be ineffective. If you’d tried to confront that burglar, he probably would have used that gun on you.” The reminder didn’t do much to settle the acid churning in his stomach. “And even with all that baggage from your past, you still didn’t have a panic attack today.”

  She shrugged. Not a casual, dismissive gesture—every muscle in her body was still knotted. “I’ll repeat what you said earlier about Meredith. The day’s not over yet. I still might go medieval on you, so you might want to hold back on those compliments.”

  Because there was a slight touch of humor mixed in with all the other emotions, Jared smiled and pushed the hair away from her face. “No way. Because of you, we’ll soon find the doctor. And the baby.”

  Of course, that last part was wishful thinking. He’d phoned Tanner with the information on the drive back to the hotel, and he had no doubt that Tanner would find Dr. Sheridan, in time. There was no guarantee that Sheridan would lead them to the baby, but then, there’d been no guarantees of anything right from the start.

  Rachel lay her head on his shoulder and slid her arm around his chest so she was holding him. “Thank you for stopping Meredith and for getting me out of there.”

  “No problem.” He went for a cocky, light tone, hoping it would help. “Consider it my knightly deed for the day.”

  Jared skimmed his fingers over her cheek. Rachel turned, moving into his touch. And he suddenly found his fingertips on her mouth.

  They didn’t stay there for long.

  Just like that, she brushed his hand aside, and Jared saw her eyelids flutter down. That was the only warning he had before her mouth came to his. Not some gentle kiss of reassurance.

  Not this.

  This was hot and needy. Pure, uncut passion. Rachel wound her arms around him, pressed herself against him and made love to him with her mouth.

  Jared took everything she offered. Everything. The silky heat of the kiss. The intimate contact of their bodies. The promise of more. Much more. But then, he felt her hand on his arm.

  She was still trembling.

  “Rachel,” he warned. Somehow, he managed to untangle himself from her. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

  She stared at him, her breath coming out in short spurts. “Sorry. I thought...well, I just thought...” She shook her head. “Obviously, I thought wrong.”

  “No. You didn’t.” Jared started to explain, to tell her that he’d pulled away not because he’d wanted to but because she was responding to leftover adrenaline. But the words didn’t come.

  “You need to rest,” he finally managed to say.

  Because he was watching her so closely, he saw the emotions run
through her eyes. Not hurt, exactly. Something deeper. Something that sent him reaching for her. Rachel stopped his hand before he could touch her.

  They sat there. In silence. Their gazes connected. Jared could still hear her breathing even over the heartbeats that pounded in his head.

  “There are rules about this sort of thing,” he said. “I can’t—”

  Jared knew anything he was about to say would be a useless explanation. Rachel knew their situation as well as he did. She was scared—yes. And coming down from a terrible ordeal—definitely. Still, that didn’t change what was going on between them now.

  It wasn’t just adrenaline he saw in her response. He saw heat. The same need that he felt racing through his body. Too bad their mutual needs were racing in the same general direction.

  And it was really too bad that he wasn’t going to do a thing to slow them down.

  There would be hell to pay. No doubt about it. But Jared figured whatever the price, it’d be worth it. After all, this was Rachel.

  * * *

  Rachel waited for Jared to give her another get-some-rest snarl.

  That didn’t happen.

  Instead of a snarl, Jared reached out and laced their fingers together. Gently.

  “Jared?”

  It wasn’t even close to a warning, but he didn’t let her finish, anyway. He pressed his fingers to her mouth and shook his head. “If you’re planning to stop me, Rachel, do it now.”

  That warning wasn’t much of a deterrent, and she certainly didn’t stop him. Nor would she. Rachel had known that the moment she started this.

  Jared settled things. He reached for her and kissed her. It was one of those hard, slow, long ones. One that fed the passion she already felt. The heat seeped from his mouth all the way to her toes.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “I’m not stopping anything.”

  Rachel braced herself for a frantic onslaught, for the fire and energy she’d felt during the toga kiss. But Jared surprised her when he gently took her by the shoulders and laid her on the bed. He didn’t continue the kiss. Not on her mouth, anyway. Instead, he worked his magic on her neck, trailing a line of kisses to her breasts.