Sinister Intentions & Confiscated Conception

by Heather Graham

  Then he took her arm and started back toward the house.

  They hadn’t made it far when she heard the sound. Not gunfire, but something much more frightening.

  A helicopter.

  And it was about to land on the roof of the house.

  “The baby,” Rachel managed to say. “Livingston’s going to take the baby.”

  Rachel started to race toward the house but only made it a couple of steps. With her attention on the approaching helicopter, she didn’t even hear Meredith step out from a cluster of shrubs.

  Jared aimed his gun.

  But it was too late.

  Meredith latched onto her, hauled her in front of him and put the gun to her head.

  * * *

  Jared’s heart jumped to his throat. The bastard had Rachel. He had her.

  Hell, how had this happened?

  Jared met her gaze. For only a second. But he couldn’t believe the look he saw in her eyes. Not fear. Not even a hint of it. And he knew it cost more to hide the fear than to show it.

  “Let her go,” Jared bargained. “There’s no reason for you to do Livingston’s bidding. With your connections, God knows how low you can plea down this case. Turn state’s evidence, and you could be a free man.”

  It was another lie—there would be no plea bargaining for a hired killer—but Jared was willing to do whatever it took to save Rachel.

  “I’d rather not call my lawyer right now, if you don’t mind.”

  Meredith’s voice was calm. Too calm. Either he was a certifiable lunatic or else he killed as easily as he breathed. Jared didn’t want to guess which.

  Meredith glanced at the rifle that Jared held. “Put that down. Now.” And to emphasize his request, Meredith shoved his gun even harder against Rachel’s temple. She winced in pain. “And, Jared, if there’s anyone else waiting in the wings to try to help out, remind them that I can do lots of damage to her before they can even get a shot off. I’m not as committed to keeping Rachel alive as Livingston is. If necessary, I can kill her and Esterman myself, and that way cut out the middle men. By the way, you and Rachel are the middlemen, in case you haven’t figured that out already.”

  He was right. But not for long. One way or another, Jared would eliminate the threat. Then, he had to make sure Rachel was all right. In the grand scheme of things, Meredith was the disposable one.

  “Just go after the baby, Jared,” Rachel managed to say. “Save him.”

  Meredith tightened the chokehold on her neck. “Bad advice. Real bad. If you turn to run, I shoot you. It might be quick and relatively painless, but I can promise you, it won’t be nearly as nice and neat for Rachel.”

  That was enough. It was too big a risk to take. Jared reluctantly placed the rifle on the ground. From the corner of his eye, he saw the helicopter approach. It was definitely going to land on the roof. Once that happened, Livingston could be out of there before they had a chance to stop him.

  “Now, step back,” Meredith ordered. “I’m going to take Rachel here for a little drive straight to the courthouse. If all goes well, and if she cooperates, I’ll release her unharmed. I’ll let you find your own way to take care of Clarence.”

  “Why don’t you take me on that trip instead?” Jared suggested. “I make one hell of a hostage.”

  Meredith smiled. “Yeah. I’ll bet you would, but I prefer Rachel. She’s half your size and a lot less trouble.”

  And much easier to hurt.

  But Jared didn’t get a chance to voice that.

  Rachel shouted, the sound of rage and fear. Using one of those Shaolin moves, she rammed her elbow into the man’s stomach, pivoted and went after him with her fists. Even though Meredith managed to turn, he wasn’t as successful at turning his gun toward her.

  Jared caught Rachel and shoved her aside. That didn’t deter Meredith. He spun toward Jared.

  His gun aimed.

  Ready to fire.

  Jared had only a split second to react.

  He dove for Meredith’s feet. Rachel went after him again, as well. Together they knocked Meredith to the ground, and Jared grabbed the gun from his hand.

  Jared didn’t have time to go back for the fishing line so he could tie up the man. But what now? He didn’t want to take Meredith back inside, not where he could continue to be a threat.

  With such limited choices, Jared rummaged through Meredith’s pocket and found what he was looking for—a pair of thin plastic cuffs. Standard cop issue. But just one pair. Still, it would have to do. Jared clamped one side onto Meredith’s wrist, and hauled him to one of the thick shrubs and handcuffed him in place.

  When Jared was sure Meredith was sufficiently restrained, he turned to Rachel. “Let’s go,” he shouted over the noise of the helicopter. “We need to get to the roof.”

  They sprinted to the house. Jared didn’t want them to be out in the open any longer than necessary. Besides, every second counted. If Livingston left with the baby, they might never find him.

  Trying to keep watch around them, they hurried up the stairs. Both flights. And came to a narrow door that led to the roof.

  The noise from the helicopter stopped. Maybe the pilot had turned off the engine so they could get the baby inside. Or maybe the baby wasn’t up there at all.

  God knows what he would face on the other side, but since he didn’t have a choice, Jared moved Rachel behind him. He took a deep breath and kicked open the door.

  He got a glimpse, just a glimpse of Agnes holding the baby. And of Livingston.

  Before the bullet slammed into Jared’s right shoulder.

  * * *

  Rachel screamed and tried to catch Jared so he wouldn’t fall.

  She wasn’t successful.

  Livingston was there. Right there. He grabbed her and slung her out of the way. Rachel landed against the wall, and Jared fell just inside the door. So did his gun. Livingston kicked it across the floor.

  Rachel came up fighting. For all the good it did her. Livingston merely smiled and aimed the gun at the baby. Both the gun and his murderous expression stopped her in her tracks. She would risk her life without thinking twice, but she couldn’t risk the baby’s.

  “Jared, are you all right?” she asked. She held her breath.

  “I’m fine.”

  But he wasn’t. There was a bright red stain making its way across his shirt. She prayed the bullet hadn’t hit an artery or a major organ. If so, she didn’t stand much of a chance of getting him to the hospital in time. She could lose him. Dear God, she could lose him.

  The pilot stepped from the helicopter and aimed an accusing finger at Livingston. “You said no one would get hurt—”

  Livingston was quick. He turned and fired two shots—both hit the man in the chest. Then he calmly aimed the gun back at the baby.

  Rachel glanced at the pilot. If he was still alive, he wouldn’t be for long. She wanted to beg Livingston to call an ambulance for Jared and the other man, but it wouldn’t do any good. She could see it in his eyes. If Jared died, Livingston would just make other arrangements to deal with his partner.

  In his mind, Jared was expendable.

  So was the baby.

  So Rachel tried a different approach. There was no icy sneer on Agnes’s face. She was scared, volleying wide-eyed glances between Livingston and the pilot. Maybe that fear was a weakness Rachel could exploit.

  “Agnes, you can’t let Livingston get away with this. It isn’t right. That’s my son you’re holding. Do something to stop all of this.”

  The woman frantically shook her head and backed up a step. “I can’t. I can’t stop anything.”

  Jared moved. Just a fraction. Still clutching his shoulder, he leaned closer to Livingston.

  Rachel almost called out for him to stop. But she knew in her heart that Jared felt the same way she did.
They had to do whatever it took to save their child.

  In this case, that meant a distraction, whatever the risk.

  “I’ll go with you now,” Rachel told Livingston.

  It was a lie. But it worked. Well, at least it got his attention.

  Livingston eased the gun away from the baby. And smiled. The smile quickly faded, however, when Jared grabbed his leg. He managed to knock Livingston off balance, sending the man to the floor.

  Jared didn’t stop there. Despite his injuries, he dove at him. There was a clash of bodies. Muscle slamming against muscle. Livingston somehow managed to hold on to his weapon and do some other damage. Jared grunted in pain when Livingston landed a punch to his wounded shoulder.

  Rachel lurched toward them to help Jared. However, she wasn’t fast enough. Livingston threw Jared off him and against the doorjamb.

  “No!” Rachel yelled.

  Jared groaned in pain but went after the man again. He wouldn’t stop. Not until one of them was dead.

  Rachel heard a sound and snapped her head toward it. Agnes had kicked Jared’s gun her way, and it skittered across the floor and stopped at her feet. The woman had decided to help them, after all.

  All Rachel had to do was pick it up.

  She sank to her knees and forced her hand to move toward it. But the pitch-black tunnel that her mind created closed around her, narrowing her vision so that all she could see was the gun.

  Not Livingston’s gun. But the one that had killed her parents.

  Livingston shoved Jared aside, slamming him full force into the helicopter. There was no way Jared could get to him in time if Livingston decided to shoot him again.

  And Rachel was sure Livingston would do just that.

  If she didn’t act now, he’d kill Jared.

  “You can’t do it, can you,” Livingston taunted. While he held the gun on Jared, he chuckled. “Clarence told me all about your little problem. Too bad.”

  She clamped her teeth over her bottom lip to stop it from trembling. Nothing could stop the feeling of terror. Absolute terror. After everything she’d done to keep it away, the nightmare had returned.

  And here she was, right in the middle of it.

  Focus, she heard Jared say. But he hadn’t spoken. Rachel heard the reminder from deep within her heart. Focus. Yes, that’s exactly what she had to do.

  Livingston got up from the floor. Not easily. Obviously the blows from Jared had shaken him. But not enough. He still had his weapon, and, dismissing her, he turned toward Jared.

  “Don’t you dare shoot him,” Rachel warned, her voice a whisper.

  Livingston tossed her a carefree smile. “What—do you plan to stop me?”

  She nodded.

  Just nodded.

  Livingston stared at her. A challenge. While he took aim at Jared.

  Something slammed through her. Not fear. Nor the turmoil of childhood trauma. Rachel had never felt more in control in her life. She reached down. Her fingers closed around the gun.

  She lifted the weapon and turned it on Livingston.

  He laughed. And she heard in that laughter what he planned to do—kill Jared.

  “You won’t stop me,” he assured her.

  Rachel shook her head. “You are so wrong.”

  Without taking her gaze from his, she aimed low. Curved her finger around the trigger. And squeezed.

  The blast was instantaneous. Deafening. The bullet slammed into Livingston’s leg. He howled in pain, but even that didn’t stop him. He turned the gun toward her.

  Just as Jared dove at him.

  The men collided and went sprawling. Rachel heard herself scream. They were right at the edge of the roof. The left side of Jared’s body was dangling in the air.

  “Jared, be careful!” she shouted.

  Livingston levered himself up and brought back his arm so he could fire at Jared. It was a mistake. A huge one. The maneuver off-balanced him. Livingston reached for Jared to try to stop himself from falling.

  He dropped the gun.

  His hand grasped at the air.

  And he plunged over the side.

  It took Rachel a second to understand what had happened. Moving back out of harm’s way, Jared looked down and shook his head.

  “It’s over. Livingston’s dead.”

  “Over,” she repeated. It was really over.

  Still on her knees, Rachel tossed the gun aside and went to Jared as fast as she could.

  At the same time, Jared scrambled across the floor. They met halfway, and he hauled her into his arms. “What you did was stupid. God almighty! You never should have gone at Livingston like that. He was armed, and he’s a killer. You could have died.”

  Rachel pulled back and pressed her hand to his mouth. “I’m all right. You hear that? All right. You’re the one who’s hurt. And it wasn’t stupid. You would have done the same thing in my place.”

  She could also tell that Jared wasn’t prepared to hear the truth. Maybe later he’d listen to reason. For now, Rachel settled for a quick kiss and helped him to his feet.

  “Come on. Let’s take the baby and get you to the hospital.”

  She made eye contact with Agnes and said a quick prayer that the woman would cooperate. Rachel didn’t want to fight any more battles right now, but if necessary, she would.

  “I’m sorry,” Agnes muttered. “I’m sorry for everything.”

  Agnes’s hands were shaking when she walked to them. She held out the baby and put him in the crook of Rachel’s arm. Without releasing her grip on Jared, Rachel took her son, pulled him to her and held on tight to both of them.

  Chapter 20

  It was a scene as close to perfect as Jared figured he’d ever see. Rachel and his son napping peacefully on the bed next to him.

  He sat up a little, wincing at the tug of the stitches in his shoulder, and just watched them. Unable to resist, he touched his finger to his son’s cheek. Ben opened his eyes for a second and then nestled back into his mother’s arms.

  Jared smiled. Only a new father would consider that tiny event to be a miracle.

  The doorbell rang, but he was so happy, it was hard to get riled even by an interruption.

  “It’s Captain Thornton,” Tanner called out a moment later. “Should I let her in?”

  Okay. So Jared had been wrong. He could get riled. He’d been out of the hospital only a couple of hours and he didn’t want to share his homecoming with anyone, including but not limited to, his ex-boss. In fact, he’d planned on thanking Tanner and sending him on his way as soon as Rachel woke from her much-needed nap.

  “This won’t take long,” he heard Thornton say.

  In other words, she was trying to barge her way past Tanner. While it might have been fun to hear Tanner try to stonewall her, this was a meeting he probably should get out of the way.

  “Let her in,” Jared answered.

  As he’d known it would, the sound of his voice woke Rachel. Her eyes were still ripe with sleep when she lifted her head and looked in his direction. The sleep, however, soon cleared, and she smiled at him.

  Another miracle.

  Jared managed to plant a kiss on her mouth before the captain appeared in the doorway. She stood there a moment and studied them.

  “Well, well, Dillard. You’ve gone all domestic on me. Looks good on you. Both of you,” she added, nodding a greeting at Rachel.

  “I didn’t expect you today,” Jared said quickly.

  “Yeah. But it couldn’t wait.”

  Dressed in a dull gray pantsuit and wearing her usual sensible shoes, she propped a shoulder against the doorjamb. There were a lot of compliments he could pay the captain. Good cop. Hard worker. Loyal. But fashion sense wasn’t something that readily came to mind. And she wouldn’t have considered that an insult.

 
“The chief’s pressing me for an update on your condition. I’m supposed to check your boo-boos and give him a report.”

  Jared eased back the side of his shirt so she could see the bandage. “The boo-boo should be healed in a couple of days.”

  “Weeks,” Rachel corrected. “The doctor said weeks.”

  She raised herself to a sitting position. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she leaned over and put the baby in his arms.

  “I’ll give you and the captain some time alone.”

  Before Jared could tell her that he didn’t want her out of his sight, Rachel brushed a kiss on his cheek and the baby’s before she disappeared into the adjoining bathroom.

  “Cute kid,” Thornton said, walking closer. She peered into the blanket. “I heard the doctor gave him an a-okay. And he doesn’t seem to be any worse for wear. He’s sleeping like a baby.”

  “Are you just going to stand there and toss around bad clichés?” Jared asked.

  “Nope. Guess it’s time to toss something else at you.” She sat on the foot of the bed, reached into her pocket and pulled out his badge. She dropped it next to him.

  Jared looked at it and then her.

  “What?” she barked. “Did you expect me to polish it or something before I gave it back to you?”

  “No. But I did expect you to give me some grief about what I did to find my son.”

  “No grief. Livingston and Esterman put Rachel and you through more than anyone should have had to go through. Still, you owe me. I’m talking about working patrol on New Year’s Eve with all those drunks barfing all over your shoes.”

  He pretended to look very unhappy about that, but it was a small price to pay for what he’d gotten in return. “Thanks.”

  “Yeah, yeah. What can I say—I’m a sap for a guy holding a cute kid. Brings out all my maternal instincts.” She stood and ran her fingers over the baby’s toes, which were peeking out of the blanket. “You fed him a bottle and burped him yet? I hear they like to spit up all over the place during that little maneuver.”