Mommy Under Cover

by Delores Fossen

  Mercy, did he ever.

  Still pinning her in place, not with his hand but his solid, lean body, he unzipped her jeans and he slipped his hand inside. She felt his fingers, warm and rough, rub across her stomach. And lower, past the top of her panties. And lower still. Until his fingers found her. Wet and hot. He made his way through the slick moisture.

  One touch, and her breath shuddered.

  One touch, and he already had her close to release.

  Riley made a sound, too. Part moan, as if the sensations were torture. Tessa knew how he felt. It was sweet, relentless torture for her, as well. Because he kept moving.

  His fingers, sliding hot inside her now.

  His mouth, sucking not so gently on that delicate place on her neck. Until it was almost unbearable.

  Yet he continued.

  Those gifted strokes of his fingers took her almost to the brink. Almost. And then he pulled her back so he could give her even more.

  Tessa, uncertain of just how much more she could take, reached out and pressed her hand against that hard ridge in the front of his jeans. But he didn’t let her do that for long.

  Riley snagged her wrists again. “You’ll be able to think this through if your body isn’t burning.”

  Ah, now she got it. If she were semisated, she might change her mind about having sex with him.

  She wouldn’t change her mind, of course.

  She would have never allowed that first kiss if she’d planned to stop.

  So, Tessa slung off his grip, caught his shoulders and reversed their positions. And she wasn’t gentle with him, either. They were past that point. His back landed, hard, against the wall. A little maneuver that earned her a husky laugh and a few raunchy suggestions.

  Still, Riley never missed a beat. Or rather, he never missed a stroke with those clever fingers. In fact, he turned up the heat.

  The room didn’t just turn, it whirled. Her breath vanished. Her heart slammed against her chest. And she was lost. Willingly lost. But Tessa didn’t intend to be lost without him.

  Too bad Riley had other ideas.

  “You first,” he said, and he obviously meant it.

  He hooked his arm around her waist, holding her in place. Stroking her until the fire inside her raged and burned so blistering hot that she couldn’t bear it any longer.

  Still, as powerful as it was, that alone wouldn’t have sent her over the edge. No. Tessa could have still pulled back enough to take Riley with her.

  “Tessa,” he said, and she was lost.

  Her name was a sweet whispered plea that sent the fire blazing out of control, until it consumed her. She could hold on no longer.

  Riley’s touch released her and set her free.

  The spiral of pleasure racked her body. She felt her legs give way, but Riley was right there to catch her. Right there with a tender kiss that made her heart ache for more. Yes, he’d sated her body. For now.

  But that only made Tessa want him more.

  More was exactly what she planned to give him, too. After she’d gathered her breath.

  And if the phone hadn’t rung.

  The sound shot through the room.

  “Let the machine get it,” Riley insisted, pulling her back to him. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

  A comment that sent her heart racing all over again.

  “I’m the one with some finishing to do,” Tessa informed him. She went after his zipper. No easy task, since his erection was testing the limits of his jeans.

  Even though she was giving almost all her attention to ridding Riley of his clothes, she heard the caller when the answering machine kicked in.

  “Tessa?” It was Karen Sandoval, the agent who’d left the other message on her machine. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for the past two hours.”

  With that reminder, Tessa realized she’d turned off her cell phone during the flight and had forgotten to turn it back on. “Mercy,” she snarled. She pulled back and looked at Riley. “Hold this thought,” she said, sliding her fingers over him.

  Cursing Karen and whatever had prompted the phone call, Tessa momentarily untangled herself from Riley, which was no simple maneuver since they were wrapped around each other. She hurried across the room, intending to find out what had gotten her friend so obviously agitated. However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard the next part of the message.

  “Your father’s on the way to your place.” Karen warned her. “Something’s come up.”

  And right on cue, her doorbell rang.

  Tessa didn’t have to guess who it was, and she didn’t have to speculate about what her father’s reaction would be to seeing Riley. He would take him to headquarters to speak to the chief. He would likely be suspended. Or worse. Of course, that would be the appropriate thing to do. It was what the regs insisted be done.

  But she couldn’t let that happen.

  She just couldn’t.

  “Wait in my bedroom.” Tessa latched onto Riley’s arm to do her part to take him there. “I’ll get rid of him as fast as I can.”

  “I won’t hide from him.”

  Great. Just great. Riley intended to argue with her attempts to save his butt. Well, this was no arguing matter as far as Tessa was concerned. “We’re going to salvage your career,” she informed. “And that won’t happen if my father finds you here.”

  Tessa all but pushed Riley in the direction of her bedroom while she tried to fix her clothes and while Karen continued to talk through the answering machine. “Anyway, it’s obvious you’re not there, or you’d be picking up. Right, Tessa?”

  Karen cursed.

  Again, Tessa almost answered the phone, but Riley wasn’t moving nearly as fast as she wanted him to move. Her father had a key to her condo, and she didn’t want him using it. And he probably would. Since her car was out front, he knew she was here.

  “Heck, I might as well just say this so your father doesn’t blindside you with it,” Karen went on. “We just got back the results from the routine physical you took this morning before you left Denver.”

  That captured Tessa’s complete attention.

  But not nearly as much as Karen’s next remark.

  “Tessa, you’re pregnant.”

  Chapter Ten

  Riley held his breath.

  And he waited.

  Because he didn’t know what else to do. There were a lot of thoughts racing around in his head and he didn’t know how to deal with any of them.

  Tessa snatched up the phone. “It’s true?” she asked Karen. She paused. Shook her head. “But it can’t be. The test is obviously wrong.”

  And Riley waited some more. Until he heard Tessa say, “It was positive.”

  That didn’t sound like a question to him.

  Oh, man.

  When the full impact of that nonquestion registered, it felt as if someone had punched him in the solar plexus with a sledge hammer. Not once, but repeatedly.

  The air in his lungs was gone.

  Completely gone.

  Sucked right out of him.

  He stepped back, bracketing his hands on his hips to stop himself from doing something totally dignity-reducing such as falling. But, by God, he needed some kind of support right now. Then again, so did Tessa. Probably more than he did.

  “I didn’t see this one coming,” Riley finally managed to say.

  Tessa shook her head. Jerky, almost frantic motions, and she dropped the phone in the direction of its cradle. She missed. “Neither did I.”

  She made a small, helpless sound that came from deep within her throat. A rattle of breath. Her palms landed flat against the wall.

  Riley tried to think of what the heck he should do to make this situation better for both of them. No words of wisdom came to mind, but plenty of thoughts did.

  Bad thoughts.

  He wasn’t exactly father material by anyone’s standards. He’d been shot at too many times to count. His body was a patchwork of scars from hi
s previous assignments.

  But that particular “bad thought” was just for starters.

  “Hell, in the past two years, I haven’t even been able to commit to a phone plan,” he mumbled.

  Why, he didn’t know.

  Unfortunately he’d mumbled a little louder than he should have.

  Tessa lifted her head, met his gaze and laughed. A single burst of sound. Not from humor, either. Pure uncut irony. “Riley, this isn’t your problem.”

  That wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear.

  “Oh, yeah?” He silently cursed. “This isn’t going to turn into a discussion about how I’m not a part of this. If you have objections or doubts about how all of this will play out, then they’ll have to keep, all right? I think we’ll both need time to deal with this little bombshell.”

  She nodded. Not exactly a gesture of compliance, though. Nor was it because she agreed with him. Her response was more likely from shock.

  A response Riley totally understood.

  And that was exactly how John Abbot found them when he unlocked the door and opened it.

  Tessa thankfully didn’t try to hide him again, probably because she was too stunned to move. But Riley wouldn’t have run for cover anyway. Not before he’d heard Karen’s news, and definitely not afterward.

  Right now, they needed to deal not only with John Abbot’s visit but also with the fact that their world had just been turned upside down.

  Abbot didn’t seem surprised to find him there. His gaze landed on Tessa first. Just a cursory look. Then he aimed a at glance Riley.

  Not so cursory.

  It was laced with displeasure and probably even some disgust. And then Abbot looked at the phone.

  “You heard,” her father concluded. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

  “Karen says it’s true,” Tessa offered. “Is it?”

  Abbot hesitated. Not long. And unlike Tessa, his motions weren’t frantic but slow and calculated. His forehead bunched up slightly. “Yes. The test was positive all three times I had the lab run it.”

  Well, that would have been Riley’s next question. Abbot had verified the test. So the results were almost certainly real. Tessa was pregnant.

  Man, she was pregnant.

  Despite the jolt of the news, Riley didn’t have any trouble carrying that info through to the next step. Tessa had already admitted that it’d been months since she’d had sex, so that meant the child had been conceived during Fletcher’s medical procedure.

  During that insemination.

  Riley took that through to the ultimate conclusion.

  The child was his.

  Her father pulled out the single stool tucked beneath the bar and sat down. “We need to talk about what happened in that clinic.”

  That didn’t sound like the opening to good news that Riley figured they all needed right now. What little air he had managed to recoup, he lost again. He sank down onto the arm of the sofa and tried to brace himself for whatever Abbot was about to add.

  “Thanks to surveillance video you recovered before the explosion, we were able to determine that Fletcher didn’t tamper with any of the material he used during the insemination,” Abbot explained.

  “Material.” A generic word for something that hadn’t been generic.

  “So, Riley is…”

  That was as far as Tessa got.

  She made another attempt, repeating those same three words, but then gave up and shook her head.

  “The baby’s mine,” Riley said for her.

  And he was damn glad he was sitting.

  Powerful words indeed.

  Life-changing words.

  Words he thought he’d never hear himself say.

  “Our baby,” he corrected a moment later.

  Abbot issued another of those crisp nods. “The surgery that Tessa had for the endometriosis was obviously successful after all.”

  “Obviously,” Riley and she mumbled in unison.

  Probably because her legs were about to give way, she sank down onto the floor and leaned her back against the sofa. She made another of those soft groans and buried her face in her hands.

  “I know the timing for this question might seem too soon, especially since you haven’t had a chance to discuss it, but as your mission commander, I have to ask.” Abbot paused again. “What are your plans regarding this pregnancy?”

  Riley held his breath.

  Tessa pulled her hands from her face, slowly, and stared at her father. “I’ll continue it, of course. There’s no other option. Not for me.”

  Riley hadn’t expected her to say otherwise. Tessa wanted a child, and it wouldn’t matter to her that this was unexpected. She would still want this child.

  Odd that he’d known that and her father hadn’t.

  “All right,” Abbot finally said. But his resolute expression gave nothing away. If he had any opinion as to how he felt about his daughter’s decision to make him a grandfather, he didn’t show it. “There’ll be paperwork. You’ll need to get it started after we’ve resolved what we’re going to do about Fletcher.”

  Even with everything else going on in his head, Riley didn’t miss that. “What about Fletcher?”

  “He’s looking for info on the two of you.” No pause or hesitation this time, which meant Abbot was probably more comfortable discussing a killer than Tessa’s pregnancy. “He’s also digging well beyond your cover identities. Well, at least he’s trying to do that. He took your fingerprints, we believe, from the pen you used to sign the agreement, and he’s having various labs run them for matches. In addition, he’s distributing photographs.”

  Riley hadn’t wanted to hear that. Especially now. Tessa and he already had enough to deal with, but apparently fate was about to dish out even more. “Clear photographs?”

  “Clear enough. It appears he culled out some stills from the surveillance videos at the clinic. If he shows them to someone that either of you have worked with on a case, or even some casual contact who knows your real identities, then Fletcher could find you.”

  “We’re in danger,” Tessa concluded.

  And because her voice trembled, because she was trembling, Riley moved down on the floor and put his arm around her.

  “Not immediate danger,” John Abbot assured them as he stood. “Your covers have held. At least I believe they have. But I’m placing a security operative in front of the condo to keep an eye on the place.”

  Riley knew that wasn’t standard procedure. After all, Tessa and he were agents. Security operatives were for people who couldn’t take care of themselves. Maybe Abbot was just being overly cautious.

  If so, Riley would join him in that overly cautious status and stay alert.

  Abbot took his keys from his pocket, but he didn’t leave. He stood there a moment as if debating what he would say. “Tomorrow, I’d like the two of you to go to a safe house for a few days.” He glanced at Riley. “In the meantime, I suppose you’d be willing to stay here? Temporarily, that is.”

  “I’m staying,” Riley confirmed.

  Tessa looked at him, as well. That look didn’t exactly carry an engraved invitation with it, either.

  “That’s not up for negotiation,” Riley assured her, just in case she was about to launch into an argument about being able to take care of herself.

  “After we have security measures in place, I expect you to contact the chief,” Abbot interjected, calling Riley’s attention back to him. “For whatever disciplinary action he deems appropriate.”

  Riley didn’t care what anyone deemed appropriate. Chiefs, disciplinary action and everything else would have to wait in line.

  Right now, he had only one thing on his mind.

  He needed to concentrate every ounce of his energy on keeping Tessa safe.

  WITHIN SECONDS of her father’s departure Riley got up from the floor, went to the door and locked it. He also reset the security system, even engaging the motion-detector lights for both the front and
back of the condo. Tessa was sorry she hadn’t thought of that first. But there was too much going on in her head for her to remember such things.

  Not good, because it was a really bad time not to be vigilant.

  Riley walked into the kitchen, rummaged through the cabinets until he located a glass and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. He poured himself a shot, a huge one, and downed it in one gulp. He made a sound. Half groan, half grunt. It had a ring of approval to it, so the drink must have accomplished its intended purpose.

  “I’m sure you could use one,” Riley commented, putting the bottle and glass away. “But under the circumstances, you should probably pass.”

  Because she was pregnant.

  The one word pounded in her head. Definitely not a word she’d ever thought would apply to her. And yet, it not only applied, it created a whole new set of emotions and problems that Riley and she would have to deal with eventually.

  Well, at least she’d have to deal with them.

  She wasn’t sure if Riley even fit into the picture. Again, this was new territory.

  “Say something,” she insisted, unable to make her voice louder than a whisper. “Anything.”

  “Anything, huh? Well, I can say with absolute certainty that this evening has been memorable.” Riley went to her, reached down and scooped her up into his arms. “I want you to take that bubble bath you mentioned when you first got home, and then you can get some rest.”

  “You’re dodging the issues, and that’s not necessary. I’m not fragile, Riley.”

  “Oh, yes, you are. About this, anyway.” He carried her through the doorway, deposited her on the foot of her bed, unzipped her boots and went into the adjoining bathroom so he could turn on the water in the tub. “You’re allowed to be fragile. And you’re allowed to be upset. Just because you’ve always wanted a baby, it doesn’t mean you can’t be distressed by the timing and by the surprise of it.” He paused. “By the irony of it.”

  Yes. The irony. And what an irony it was.

  She’d lost hope of ever having a child of her own, and yet a killer, the very man she was trying to stop, had given her the thing she wanted most.

  True irony.

  Of course, by giving her the baby, he’d thrown everything else into chaos. And drawn Riley into that chaos, as well. Because even though it would have been easier to dismiss this as her problem and hers alone, she couldn’t.