by Lisa Childs
Dane tensed, the muscles in his neck standing out like cords. With a deep groan, he came, too. His big body shuddered as his passion overwhelmed him.
* * *
She overwhelmed him. And the things she made him feel, things he’d never felt before. He took his time in the bathroom, cleaning up. So she was asleep when he came back into the bedroom.
He could have walked away, or he could have at least gone down to the couch to sleep. But just like at the police department, he couldn’t walk away from her.
And now that he was with her, he couldn’t leave. Eventually he would have to once they’d caught whoever was after her. She wouldn’t need his protection then. She wouldn’t need him.
That was good, though.
Because his protection was all he really had to offer her.
Maybe he was losing it because he heard that faint crying. Was the son of a bitch in the house again?
He’d had the front door and broken jamb replaced and had personally changed the locks on both. The intruder wasn’t going to come back—not now when he knew Dane was staying there—when Dane had nearly caught him. Twice now.
So the crying wasn’t some sick recording. It must have been Blue.
Emilia murmured in her sleep and began to awaken. But he leaned over and whispered, “Shh... I got this. Go back to sleep.”
Moments later, he wondered what the hell he was doing when he lifted the baby from his crib. The kid blinked and stared up at him, his blue eyes bleary with sleep.
Dane expected him to cry louder. But Blue was too taken aback by his presence. He should have been getting used to him. Dane was getting used to him, to his slight weight and his startling blue eyes.
He wasn’t used to changing diapers. But the baby was damp. So he had no choice. Fortunately—for Blue—he had disposable diapers. There were no pins. Just tape.
Dane managed to change the diaper and find a new sleeper thing for the baby. Getting his tiny legs into the garment was a new challenge, but he managed.
The struggle must have fully awakened the baby, though, because he didn’t seem at all tired now.
“Do you need a bottle?” Dane asked. He could probably figure out how to make one. The kid wasn’t crying though, so Dane didn’t think he was hungry.
“No bottle,” Dane murmured. He sat on the rocker in the corner of the nursery and clasped the baby against his chest. The kid was warm and smelled good now that he’d been changed. He shifted around until he settled against Dane’s shoulder, which was exactly where his mother slept.
“That’s what you need, isn’t it?” Dane mused. “Your mother...”
Dane was afraid Blue wasn’t the only one who needed Emilia, though.
“I’ll make sure you don’t lose your momma,” he promised.
He should have been alarmed at the number of promises he’d been tossing around lately. But these weren’t empty promises. He had every intention of keeping them, even if it cost him his life.
* * *
He wished he still had the knife. He so wanted to plunge it into another heart—into Dane Sutton’s heart.
He had done a little more research into Emilia’s self-appointed bodyguard.
A former war hero.
A boy who had been given up for adoption.
How could he help a woman who’d nearly done the same thing his mother had? Couldn’t he see that she didn’t deserve to have her son?
Bradley Zeinstra hadn’t deserved him, either.
What a fool. Killing him had been doing the world a favor. And it should have gotten Emilia put behind bars.
Even though she’d been arrested, she hadn’t stayed in jail. Why had they released her?
It didn’t matter now, though.
Without Zeinstra to claim custody of her child, the baby would go to Emilia’s next of kin, to her Neanderthal brother and his fiancée. And they wouldn’t give him up like Zeinstra had agreed to do.
Too bad that idiot had gotten greedy. He’d wanted more money. But that wasn’t all he’d wanted. He’d wanted a relationship with his kid, wanted to stay part of his life.
When he’d been told that wasn’t possible, Zeinstra had claimed that he’d changed his mind. He’d even threatened to come clean to Emilia about the plan.
So Zeinstra had had to die, even though his death hadn’t been part of the plan. And now the plan had to change.
Again.
If they couldn’t get the baby the original way, they would have to just take him. They probably should have done that weeks ago—when they had first gotten inside the house. When they’d been able to see him...
But only see him...
They hadn’t dared to touch him, to disturb him and wake him up. They hadn’t wanted Emilia to catch them. They hadn’t wanted to kill.
Then.
Now it was clear that was the only way.
Bradley Zeinstra had had to die.
But he wasn’t the only one.
With Dane Sutton living there, it wouldn’t be as easy to take the baby. But Dane Sutton wouldn’t be a problem much longer.
Because he would be taken out the same way Bradley Zeinstra had been—with a knife through his heart.
Chapter 18
“I guess I should be relieved you didn’t slap the cuffs on me this time,” Dane mused, but he rubbed his wrists anyway, remembering how the steel had felt against his skin. How it had hurt to have his arms shackled behind his back.
Yeah, it was good Nick Payne hadn’t put the cuffs on him again. But it wasn’t good that he’d picked him up from Emilia’s.
Fortunately, Cole and Manny had arrived before he’d been hauled off in the back of another police car. They would protect Emilia and the baby.
He’d fallen asleep with Blue in his arms. Emilia had awakened him early that morning with a kiss. For a moment Dane had let himself imagine what it would be like to wake up that way every morning—with Emilia’s lips brushing softly, tenderly across his.
But that wouldn’t happen. She was just grateful for his protection. She didn’t love him. And he...
He didn’t know how to love. She and Blue deserved more than he could give them. For now they needed what he could give them—protection.
But he couldn’t keep them from danger if he wasn’t with them. And he still didn’t know why Nick Payne had had him picked up. He’d already made it clear he wasn’t going to press charges against Lars for sucker punching him in the lobby. So he wasn’t here about that.
The acting chief stared at him across his desk in his corner office with the glass walls. If Dane were still a suspect, wouldn’t he have been brought into an interrogation room with no windows but for the two-way mirror? Wouldn’t he have been handcuffed to the table, so he couldn’t try to escape?
He returned Nick’s stare. The guy looked so much like Cooper they could have been twins like Logan and Parker Payne were. If Dane had the story straight, they were only half siblings. Penny Payne wasn’t Nick’s mother although she acted like it.
Apparently, she acted like everyone’s mother—everyone’s but his, which was a good thing. Nobody had ever acted like his mother, and he was fine with that. He didn’t need anyone. Never had. Never would.
Nick Payne’s unreadable face cracked with a slight grin, and he chuckled. “You and I are a lot alike.”
“Really?” Dane doubted that. Nick was part of a huge, loving family.
“I didn’t know I had any family until a few years ago,” he said.
And Dane started. Had the guy read his mind? How could he have possibly known what he was thinking?
“I was also a Marine,” Nick said.
Dane shrugged. “So you had me brought in so we could become friends?”
“I’v
e never been a smart-ass, though,” Nick said.
Dane could not say the same. But his snarky humor was his way of handling things. He’d never needed it more than now.
“I’m not always smart,” he admitted. He’d risked his life so many times. But then he didn’t have much to lose.
“Is that why you got involved with your best friend’s sister?” Nick asked.
Anger surging through Dane, he fisted his hands. He didn’t care who the hell Nicholas Payne was. If he said anything about Emilia...
As if he could see the fists through his desk, Nick motioned with his hands for Dane to settle down. “I’m not passing judgment,” he assured him. “That’s yet another thing we have in common.”
“What?”
“I fell for my best friend’s sister, too,” he said with a grin. “And I fell hard.”
Panic chased away Dane’s anger, and his hands shook a little. “No, no, that’s not the case.”
He hadn’t fallen in love with Emilia. Not at all.
“What is the case?” Nick asked.
“It’s not love,” Dane insisted. “I don’t know anything about love.”
“Neither did I,” Nick said. “Until I met the Payne family. Then I realized what love is. And that I had already loved Annalise for a long time.”
Dane shivered. “I thought you picked me up to interrogate me,” he said. “Not counsel me on my love life.”
Nick snorted. “Yeah, you are a smart-ass.”
He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, as if they were just having a casual conversation.
Dane guessed it was anything but, because he surmised he was still a suspect in Zeinstra’s murder.
“I’ve known Annalise a long time,” Nick said. “All her life. I know she’s a good and honest person.”
Dane tensed. Maybe he wasn’t the suspect.
“How well do you really know Emilia Ecklund?” Nick asked.
“She’s my best friend’s sister,” Dane reminded him.
“A best friend you didn’t meet until boot camp,” Nick said.
Dane’s tension increased. Acting Chief Payne had thoroughly investigated him. “Just because I haven’t known him as long as...”
“I grew up next door to Gage and Annalise,” Nick remarked. “When did you meet Emilia?”
Irritation frayed Dane’s nerves. “I’m sure you already know.” But he answered anyway, so Nick would remember what she’d been through. “When her brother and your sister rescued her from weeks of captivity.”
Nick nodded. “She endured a lot.”
“Yes,” Dane said. “Unfortunately her ordeal hasn’t ended.”
Nick narrowed his blue eyes as if skeptical. “That’s what she says.”
“That’s what I say, too,” Dane said.
“So you’ve heard the tape of crying she claims she’s heard?” he asked. “You saw the intruder slit her wrist the other night?”
Dane’s stomach muscles tightened with dread. “No, but I saw the man running away from Zeinstra’s rented cabin. He was dressed like she said he’d been dressed the night he attacked her at her house, with the zombie mask and the hood.”
If only he’d caught the son of a bitch, there would have been no need for either him or Emilia to be questioned.
It would all be over...
She wouldn’t need him anymore then. He could move back to his studio in the old warehouse. He could leave her and the baby and get back to his life. Why did that life suddenly feel very empty?
“She didn’t call the police the night her home was broken into,” Nick mused. “Wouldn’t she have done that if she’d truly been frightened?”
She had been frightened that no one would believe her. Apparently she’d had good reason to fear that.
“The guy got in before she could call,” Dane said. “And then I showed up.”
“But you didn’t see him.”
“I saw him yesterday,” he said. “I was chasing after him when I heard her scream.”
Nick nodded. “That’s right. So he got away. And when you went back to her, you found Bradley Zeinstra with a knife in his heart.”
“Yes. He’d been stabbed.”
“Did you see it happen?” Nick asked.
Dane’s head began to pound with confusion. This was the interrogation. Nick had asked him these questions the day before, though. Was he double-checking his story or Emilia’s?
“No,” Dane said. “The knife was already sticking out of his chest when Emilia found him.”
“You were with her?”
Dane’s breath caught for a moment. He wasn’t the suspect. Emilia was. “I heard her scream when she found him.”
“So you weren’t with her.”
He uttered a heavy sigh before slowly admitting, “No.”
“So you really have no way of knowing how that knife got in Bradley Zeinstra’s chest.”
“The guy in the mask,” Dane said, the irritation fraying his nerves so that his voice got sharp. “He’s the one who stabbed him.”
“With a knife from Emilia Ecklund’s kitchen.”
“Yes,” Dane said. “She told you that. The guy took it after he cut her wrist with it.”
Nick nodded. But he appeared even more skeptical now.
“She’s telling the truth,” Dane said.
“How do you know?” Nick asked him. “You didn’t see who stabbed Zeinstra. She entered that cabin alone.”
“And found him dead.”
Nick tilted his head. “Or killed him.”
“No!” Dane stood up now. He’d heard more than enough. “If I’m not under arrest, I’m leaving.”
“You’re not under arrest,” Nick said as he stood up, too. He was tall like his brothers. But Dane was a bit taller, a bit broader. “I believe you.”
“Good!”
“I’m just not so sure you should believe her.”
“How can you question her after everything’s she’s been through?” Dane asked.
“Sometimes bad experiences can change a person,” Nick said. “But you don’t even know what kind of person she was before she was taken hostage.”
“Lars—”
“Lars is her brother,” Nick said. “And she wasn’t completely honest with him, either. She didn’t tell him she was pregnant. She met with that lawyer instead of Cooper. She might not be the person Lars thinks she is.”
Dane shook his head. “You don’t know Emilia.”
“Unfortunately, neither do you,” Nick persisted.
Dane wanted to argue with him, but he couldn’t. He hadn’t known Emilia long enough to know her well. He only knew what her devoted brother had told him. And maybe Lars loved her too much to see the truth about her.
Maybe Dane loved her too much to see the truth, as well. The thought shocked him.
It wasn’t true. None of it could be true.
Emilia couldn’t be a killer. And Dane couldn’t be in love with her.
* * *
Where the hell was Dane?
He had been gone a long time, so long that Cole had bailed on Manny, leaving him alone to protect Emilia and her baby. Cole claimed he’d been called into the office. But Manny wondered if he’d actually gone to check on Dane.
Dane would be furious with him.
“Where is he?” Emilia asked.
“Cole?” Manny asked as he paced the length of the living room. He could clearly see the street through all the windows. But no police car pulled up to drop off Dane.
Her brow furrowed for a moment. She must not have even realized Cole had left. Or perhaps she didn’t even know his name. Dane had introduced them before he’d left. He’d intended to go to Payne Protection and meet up with
Nikki to do some computer searches for possible suspects. But before he’d been able to get in his truck, the police car had pulled up.
“Dane,” she replied. “His truck is out there. I thought he left...” Her voice cracked a little with fear and emotion. Didn’t she feel safe without Dane?
Of course Dane was a damn good bodyguard. He had no qualms about risking his life for anyone and everyone else. So she knew that and was worried about Dane. He was safe where he was now. Probably safer than he’d be anywhere else.
“He’s at the police station,” Manny replied. “They picked him up as he was leaving.”
The color drained from her face. “Was he arrested?”
Manny shrugged. “I don’t think so. They didn’t put handcuffs on him or anything.”
“He’s been gone a long time,” Emilia finished for him. And now her face flushed with color. “I need to go down to the police department.”
“Why?” he asked.
“To bail him out if he’s been arrested.”
Manny shook his head. “He wanted you to stay put.”
“Who else would bail him out?” Emilia asked. “Lars isn’t talking to him.”
“Cole left.” In the Payne SUV, leaving Manny stranded there.
“So he didn’t care about Dane’s orders to stay put,” she said. “And neither do I.” She headed from the room then only to return moments later with her baby and a purse and diaper bag slung over her shoulder.
He shook his head. “You can’t leave.”
“You can’t stop me,” she said as she headed toward the front door.
This was why he was single. And why he would remain so. Women were a pain in the ass. They were too damn stubborn and too much trouble.
If something happened to this one, though, he’d lose two friends—Lars and Dane. Or they’d lose him, killing him like Lars had threatened to kill Dane. He uttered a ragged sigh. “I’ll drive...”
As he helped her and the baby into her small SUV, he kept one hand on his holster. He had that feeling—that had the skin tingling between his shoulder blades—like someone was watching him.
It was probably Lars. Knowing his sister was in danger, he wasn’t likely to stay away from her. Yeah, it was probably Lars. So he had to make sure his friend knew Manny was doing a good job as a bodyguard. He secured the baby in the back and Emilia in the passenger’s seat before sliding behind the steering wheel.
