by Lara Lacombe
She was quiet, clearly digesting his words. Matt knew what he wanted to do, but it wasn’t up to him. This was Emma’s mother, her family. She had to be the one to decide.
“Running would be easier,” she said. “But I can’t just abandon my mom. I’d rather try to save her than leave her to die.” She met his eyes, her gaze determined. “But I’m only willing to do this if you can promise me Christina won’t be in any danger.”
He glanced at the sleeping baby, his heart softening as he watched her thumb fall from her relaxed mouth. “There are no guarantees in life,” he said, swallowing hard. “But I promise you this—they’ll have to go through me to get to this little girl.”
Emma searched his face, perhaps looking for confirmation he truly meant what he’d said. He met her gaze unflinchingly, letting her see his absolute determination to keep her daughter safe.
Apparently satisfied, Emma nodded. “All right,” she said softly. “What do we do now?”
“I’m going to make a few phone calls,” he said, already reaching for his cell. “In the meantime, we wait.”
* * *
The hours ticked by slowly, each moment seeming to last longer than the one before it. Emma’s anxiety mounted as the day wore on, her worries for her mother increasing as her imagination ran free. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured her mother bound and gagged, her face bruised and bloody as a circle of faceless men surrounded her, laughing at her fear and pain.
She tried to keep herself occupied, to keep her mind focused on the mundane. She slipped into the shower while Matt made his calls and Christina slept. The hot water felt good, and the hotel soap washed away the last of Matt’s scent from her skin. Her heart ached a little at the memory of their time together. In the moment, she’d opened her heart to him, secretly hoping they might have a future together. But as she’d listened to his story about Fisher, she’d realized Matt would never be able to accept Christina as his child. The recognition had hurt, but she couldn’t bring herself to be angry with him. Besides, it was better to find out how he really felt now, before she let herself fall all the way in love with him. Knowing he couldn’t accept Christina should make it easier for Emma to give up on her dreams of a relationship with him.
And yet she still found herself yearning for him, hoping he might change his mind. It was hard to reconcile Matt’s lack of interest in being a father to another man’s child with his actions toward Christina. He said he couldn’t do it, and yet he kept playing with her daughter, holding her, rocking her, putting her to sleep. He was a natural, and he seemed so comfortable with her baby. What’s more, Matt seemed to genuinely enjoy Christina.
His promise to keep her daughter safe had been heartfelt; Emma had seen the emotion in his eyes, and at this point, she knew him well enough to realize he didn’t make empty assurances. The fact that he was still here was a testament to his own feelings. He could have left her and Christina at several points over the last day or so. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d simply driven them to the nearest police station and washed his hands of them. But he’d stayed. And even now, he was working on a plan to save her mother from the traffickers. Those weren’t the actions of a man who was simply trying to do the right thing. The fact that he cared enough about her and Christina to help them so extensively had to mean something.
But deep in her heart, she knew it wasn’t enough. As much as she liked him, as much as he seemed to care for her...none of it mattered if he couldn’t step up and be a father to Christina. Emma wasn’t willing to put her own happiness before her daughter’s. It would be easy to overlook his reluctance to care for a stranger’s baby, especially since he seemed to like Christina. She and Matt could have a relationship and build a life together. But not if it meant Christina felt forever disconnected from Matt. Children were often more perceptive than adults acknowledged. It wouldn’t take long for her daughter to realize Matt didn’t see her as his own. That he held part of himself back when it came to his relationship with her. And if she and Matt were to have a baby together? Her heart broke at the possibility Matt would show obvious favoritism to his biological child, leaving her daughter out in the cold.
No, she couldn’t do that to her baby. Better for Christina to lack a father figure than to have one who was distant and reserved, or worse, one who saw her as a burden and grew to resent her presence over time.
She dressed and returned to the room, rubbing her hair with a towel as she turned her thoughts in a different direction. No sense in spending time worrying about something that was never going to happen. Better to focus her energies on Matt’s plan so they could save her mother.
She sat on the bed, waiting for him to finish with his call. Christina still napped, but Emma knew from experience it wouldn’t last much longer. Hopefully she would wake up in a good mood...
Matt nodded at her in acknowledgment, his voice a low murmur as he spoke into the phone. Something about his body language told her he wasn’t going to be finished anytime soon, so she propped some pillows against the headboard and leaned back to wait. Before she recognized what was happening, her eyes drifted shut and she surrendered to the pull of sleep.
* * *
Emma jerked awake, her heart jumping into her throat as she stared at the unfamiliar surroundings. A breath later, it all came flooding back; the diner, the traffickers, the hotel.
Christina.
She rolled over, her eyes searching the other bed for her sleeping daughter. But her baby wasn’t there.
Her stomach twisted as she clawed her way free from the bedsheets. “Christina,” she croaked, blinking back tears as she scanned the bed, hoping perhaps her daughter had rolled behind a pillow or snuggled under the comforter.
“Easy, Emma.”
At the sound of Matt’s voice, she whirled around to find him sitting in the corner, her daughter in his lap. “She’s okay,” he said gently. “I told you, I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Emma sank down on the bed, relief making her a little light-headed. “How long has she been awake?”
“About forty minutes.”
She rubbed her forehead, trying to piece together the timeline. “How long was I asleep?”
“Almost an hour and a half.”
“What?” She hadn’t meant to sleep that long, hadn’t meant to sleep at all, for that matter. How had she not heard her baby wake?
“You were out,” he confirmed. He smiled, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “Snoring like a band saw.”
Emma sniffed, choosing to ignore that particular statement. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Matt tilted his head to the side. “You needed the rest.”
“Yeah, but once Christina woke up—”
“I handled it,” he interrupted. “It’s not a problem.”
Emma frowned slightly, trying to reconcile his actions regarding Fisher with his treatment of Christina. The contradiction was enough to drive her mad, if she let it.
She shook her head, dismissing the questions swirling in her mind. “Thank you,” she said instead.
“You’re welcome.”
Christina reached for her, grinning widely enough to expose her teeth. “Ma, ma, ma, ma,” she babbled.
Emma gathered her into her arms and pressed her nose against her daughter’s neck, breathing in her sweet baby smell. “Hi, love,” she said gently. “Did you have a good nap?”
“Ah-bah,” Christina confirmed.
Matt chuckled, his eyes full of warmth as he watched her daughter. “She’s got a lot to say.”
“Tell me about it,” Emma replied. “I look forward to the day I can actually understand her.”
“It’ll probably be sooner than you think,” he said. “I can tell she’s a smart one.”
His observation pleased her, but Emma was determined not to read too much into it. “That’s true,” sh
e said. Time to change the subject. “Did you get all your calls made before she woke up?”
“Yes.” Emma took a step back as he got to his feet. He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn, the hem of his shirt lifting to expose a stripe of skin. Emma averted her eyes, trying to ignore the heat creeping up the back of her neck, while her fingers tingled from the memory of touching him there.
If he noticed her reaction, he didn’t show it. “In fact,” he continued, headed for the bathroom, “I have to leave soon to meet some people.”
She waited for him to return to the room. “Who are you meeting?”
“Some friends of mine from the army.” He walked to the desk in the far corner of the room and slipped his wallet in his back pocket, then reached for his watch. “A few guys I served with retired early and started their own private security company. They’re going to help us out.”
That sounded promising. Emma’s spirits brightened a bit, but she was careful to keep her sense of hope under control. “They’re local?”
“Not really. But they’re nearby. And they agreed to meet me here. They started driving after we finished talking, so they’ll be getting close by now.”
“I want to come with you.” She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the argument that was sure to come.
Matt paused in the act of fastening his watch. “All right.”
Some of the wind left Emma’s sails. “That’s it?”
He lifted one eyebrow. “Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?”
She blinked, a bit taken aback. “Well...yes. But I figured you’d protest.”
Matt’s lips curved in a knowing half smile. “Would it have done me any good?”
“Probably not,” she said sheepishly.
“You’re an adult,” he said simply. “I’m not going to waste my time trying to tell you what to do, especially where your family is concerned. If it were me, I’d want to meet the people who were going to work to save my mom, too.”
She nodded, feeling mildly embarrassed at having doubted him. He’d been nothing but good to her and Christina. It wasn’t his fault she’d started to hope for more after this was all over.
Matt stepped into his boots, then walked over and opened his hands. Christina offered him a toothy grin, leaning forward until Emma had no choice but to decant her daughter into Matt’s waiting arms. “Go ahead and get ready. I’ll change her diaper and give her a snack.”
It was such a normal offer, a simple division of labor negotiated by parents all the time. But for Emma, it was a novelty. She was so used to being a single mother she hadn’t even thought to ask him for help in that respect.
She headed for the bathroom, pausing at the door to watch Matt gather a fresh diaper before placing Christina on the bed. It felt a little strange to watch someone else care for her baby, but at the same time, seeing Matt and Christina together gave her an unexpected sense of peace during this troubled time.
He glanced up, saw her watching. He flashed a smile and made a shooing motion with his hands. Emma nodded, stepping into the bathroom with a lightness in her heart. Her mother was in danger, her own safety far from guaranteed. But in this moment, the man she’d grown to care for was gently tending to her baby. Her troubles were far from over, but right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care.
Chapter 12
The restaurant hostess greeted them with a bright smile. “Good evening. Table for two?” She eyed the car seat Matt carried. “And a high chair?” she amended.
“Actually,” Matt said, glancing past her. “I see our party has already arrived.” He put his hand on the small of Emma’s back and guided her around the hostess stand, steering her toward the booth in the corner where his buddies sat waiting. He jerked his chin up in greeting as they approached, tried to ignore Dave’s knowing smirk.
“Gentlemen,” Matt said. “Thanks for coming.”
He gave Emma a gentle nudge into the booth and pulled over a chair for the car seat. He slid in next to Emma and placed the bulky seat next to him, being careful not to jostle it too much.
“LT,” Dave said. “Good to see you.”
“LT?” Emma asked questioningly.
“Lieutenant,” Matt answered quietly.
“Ma’am,” Dave said, nodding politely at her.
“Hello,” she replied.
“Emma, this is Dave Lowden and Skip Hardy. They’re the ones I told you about earlier. Guys, this is Emma Foster.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Dave. Skip gave her a nod but didn’t speak.
“Who’s the little one?” Dave craned his neck to see into the car seat, but Matt had pulled the hood down to keep the bright lights out of Christina’s sleeping face.
“That’s my daughter, Christina,” said Emma.
“Damn, I was kind of hoping you’d settled down and made yourself a family,” Dave said. He elbowed Skip with a grin. “Don’t you think LT needs a woman’s touch in his life? It’s unnatural for a man to be single for so long.”
Matt gritted his teeth but tried not to look affected. He’d known he was going to have to deal with a certain amount of teasing before they could get down to business. In fact, he’d made a point to warn Emma in the car, so she wouldn’t be offended when Dave started mouthing off. And it was always Dave—Skip either couldn’t be bothered or had too much sense to join in.
Emma’s hand rested lightly on his thigh, a silent, hidden gesture of support. He subtly moved his hand to cover hers, giving it a gentle squeeze of acknowledgment.
Skip eyed Emma and then slid his gaze to Matt. He tongued his wad of dip to the other side of his lip, then spit discreetly into a bottle that he returned to his lap. “Maybe,” he said shortly.
“How is life as a park ranger?” Dave asked, grinning as he took a sip of his beer. “Aren’t you tired of campouts and s’mores yet? Why don’t you come work with us, make some actual money?”
“You mean babysitting American businessmen working in Juárez?” Matt shot back. “No, thanks.”
Dave shrugged off the insult. “It’s steady work.”
“And the tips are nice,” Skip put in.
“And you two are bored out of your skulls,” said Matt.
“Now what makes you say that?” Dave asked.
Matt tilted his head to the side. “You about jumped through the phone when I told you I had a situation that needed handling. I figure if you were really happy, you’d have told me to buzz off.”
“LT, you wound me.” Dave clapped his hand to his chest in dramatic fashion. “I can’t believe you think we would leave you in your time of need.” He nudged Skip again, who tolerated the intrusion into his personal space with an expression of long-suffering patience. “Are you hearing this?”
“Yep,” Skip confirmed.
“So what exactly do you need us for?” Dave continued. He focused on Emma. “Excuse my language, ma’am, but are you some kind of damsel in distress?”
Matt expected Emma to blast Dave for his sexist assumption, but instead she chuckled softly. “Not exactly,” she said.
“Bummer,” Dave replied. “It’s been a long time since I’ve rescued a pretty lady.”
“Try never,” Skip said drily.
It was Matt’s turn to laugh as Dave took another drink, ignoring Skip’s comment.
“You boys about ready to listen?” he asked.
“What’s the story?” Dave asked, leaning forward to plant his elbows on the table. All trace of joking was gone from his tone, and his expression was now deadly serious. “You didn’t share a lot of the particulars over the phone, so I wasn’t sure what to bring.”
“Out of curiosity, what did you bring?” Matt asked.
“Everything,” Skip said.
Matt lifted one eyebrow. “Really?”
Both men nodded. “I’ve got an arm
ory in my trunk. Say the word, and we’re ready to deploy.”
Matt felt a surge of appreciation rise in his chest. This was what he missed the most about the army—the unwavering loyalty and ready willingness to help a fellow soldier, no questions asked. It was frustrating, not knowing if they could trust the police right now. But the fact that Dave and Skip had his back made all the difference in the world.
“Here’s the situation.” He briefly explained the backstory, filling them in on Emma’s run-ins with the traffickers. Both men listened intently, their eyes flickering to Emma’s face every so often, as if to gauge her reaction. For her part, she remained quiet, letting him brief the guys without interruption.
“What do we know about these men?” Dave asked.
“Not much,” Matt admitted. “There were three men at the diner, and I counted two more in the cab of the semitruck as we drove by. There might be more in the trailer.”
“Armed?” said Skip.
“Definitely. Pistols on the ones who chased us. Probably more substantial weapons in the truck.”
“Did you get a plate?”
“Only a partial,” Matt said.
Dave made a tsking sound. “You’re slipping, LT.”
“Don’t remind me,” Matt replied, feeling a flush crawl up his neck. There was a time he wouldn’t have missed a detail like that; civilian life had made him soft.
“Police?” Skip asked.
Emma shook her head. “We called them after the encounter at the truck stop, and I spoke to a detective in El Paso. He said he was going to talk to some people and get back to me, but I haven’t heard from him again. I’m scared to call him now, after the threat to my mother.”
“You think the traffickers have men on the inside?” Dave asked.
