Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 1 of 2

by Delores Fossen

  “Yes.”

  She couldn’t say it fast enough. Especially not with his brother and mother just a few walls away. Mothers and siblings tended to have a sixth sense about that sort of thing, and she already had enough on her plate without incurring another dose of Crockett anger.

  Since some of that anger would also be aimed at Jericho.

  They would forgive him, eventually, for fathering a child with her, but that forgiveness wouldn’t extend to starting up their relationship again.

  “I should check on Maddox,” she said, though she knew he was fine. Laurel just didn’t want Iris and Levi to notice that Jericho and she had been behind a closed door for much too long.

  “Do we look guilty of...something?” Laurel asked him as she opened the door.

  He didn’t answer, other than emit a soft grunt, which let her know they did indeed look guilty.

  They went into the family room, and yes, both Levi and Iris were still there. Levi was at the window, keeping watch, but he glanced in her direction, giving her one of those Crockett snarls. He was like Jericho in so many ways. Just slightly less intense. But he made sure she got some of that intensity.

  Iris, too.

  Except her expression was one of apprehension. She stood, facing Jericho. “Are you sure this marriage is the only way?” Iris asked.

  “It’s the fastest way,” Jericho assured her. “If all goes well, I’ll have custody of Maddox in a day or two, and then we can focus fully on dealing with Laurel’s legal issues. We’re already working on that, but Herschel has a lot of judges and important people in his pocket.”

  “Maybe a lot of hired guns, too,” Laurel added.

  “Maybe?” Iris questioned. Despite the truce Iris had offered, it was clear it was going to take a while for the woman to fully trust Laurel. “Even now you doubt him.”

  Laurel looked her straight in the eye. “No. I don’t. I know what he is, but there are other suspects. Theo and his mother. Plus, it might be someone who’s upset about the business deals that fell through when I broke off my engagement with Theo.”

  Obviously, Iris wasn’t buying any of that. And she might be right. Her father was certainly the top suspect for the attacks, and that’s the main reason Laurel didn’t want to exclude the others. Someone, like Theo, could be using this to get revenge on her while her father would get the blame.

  “I don’t like this.” Iris shook her head, looked at Jericho. “If you’re her husband and if it comes up that she knows something about Herschel murdering your father, then you can’t testify against her.”

  Oh, so that was the reason Iris was worrying. Well, one reason, anyway. The bad blood was playing into this, too.

  “As my husband, Jericho can’t be forced to testify. But if Jericho found anything, I’m sure he would testify even if it meant putting me behind bars.” That kiss had made her weak in the knees, but she wasn’t delusional. “I promise you, though, I had nothing to do with your husband’s murder.”

  Iris’s chin came up. “But you never tried to have your father convicted of it, either.”

  “True. I looked, but I didn’t look hard enough.” Because she’d known that her father would get back at her through her mother.

  And he had.

  “Mom,” Levi said, “it’s okay. Jericho knows what he’s doing.” However, despite the lack of bite in his voice, Levi didn’t sound any more convinced than Iris looked.

  Jericho’s phone buzzed, and she saw Dexter’s name on the screen. Laurel hoped the deputy wasn’t calling with another round of bad news. Jericho went into the kitchen to take the call, and Laurel followed him. This time, he put the call on speaker. Probably because he didn’t want any more close contact with her. After what had just happened in the bedroom, that wasn’t a bad idea.

  “Jericho, we’ve got a problem,” Dexter greeted. “There were just two cops here from the Dallas PD, and they were looking for Laurel and you. I told them I didn’t know where you were.”

  “Thanks.” Jericho paused. “What else did they say?” he asked, because he no doubt heard the hesitation in his deputy’s voice.

  “I tried to buy you some time. Said I’d need a day or two to find you. But they didn’t believe that. They left, but they said they’d be back. They’re giving you six hours to turn over Laurel, or they’ll swear out a warrant for your arrest. And for me and all the other deputies. They said they’d get the Texas Rangers in here to take over the whole sheriff’s office.”

  Jericho said a single word of profanity under his breath. Laurel silently said a whole lot more. She didn’t want anyone to go to jail to protect her, but she also didn’t want to hand over her son to her father.

  “I’ll handle this,” Jericho assured Dexter at the same time that Levi called out from the living room. “Jax and the justice of the peace are here.”

  “Good.” Though there was nothing in Jericho’s body language that indicated anything about this latest news was good. “I’ll phone you back,” he added to Dexter, and he ended the call.

  “I’ll have to turn myself in,” Laurel insisted. And her mind began to whirl with the possibilities of how to do that while keeping Maddox safe.

  Jericho gave her a look that could have withered an entire forest, and he took hold of her hand to lead her back into the living room. “Come on. Once the vows are finished, we’ll work out what the hell we’re going to do.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Jericho checked the time. Laurel and he had been married exactly one hour, and he was already on his sixth phone call. He’d never really given much thought to his wedding day, but he sure as heck hadn’t figured that he’d be spending his time trying to keep himself and his entire department out of jail.

  But that’s exactly what he was doing.

  Along with putting some things into motion that he hoped would buy Laurel and him some time. Time he needed, because the only way to put a stop to this situation was to find the link between those hired thugs and Herschel.

  “I might have something,” Levi said the moment Jericho finished his latest call.

  Since Levi, too, was working on his own string of phone conversations, Jericho hoped his brother had a whole lot better news than he did.

  “It’s about Rossman and Cawley,” Levi explained. “The FBI wiretapped their office months ago and recorded all their calls. There are several from Laurel to discuss a real estate transaction. But there’s one from a man who doesn’t identify himself. It could be Herschel. There’s nothing that out and out incriminates him. Only one sentence—‘Let’s get this done.’ If it’s Herschel’s voice, then we’ll at least have proof that he was in on the deal.”

  “You can access my phone messages if you need a sample of my father’s voice to compare to the recording,” Laurel said, walking into the kitchen. She’d obviously been listening. “I don’t have my phone with me. Jericho said maybe it could be traced, so I took out the memory card and left it at the ranch.”

  “I can access your phone messages from here,” Levi assured her.

  She blew out a breath of relief and turned her attention to Jericho. Laurel was obviously waiting for good news. Too bad Jericho didn’t have a string of good news to give Levi or her. But he did have something.

  “The custody papers have been filed,” Jericho explained to them. “They’re being walked through, so they’ll be done before the judge and his staff leave for Christmas break.”

  Jericho hoped. That was the plan, anyway, but it was possible that key players needed for the process had already left work for the holidays.

  “Good,” Laurel said under her breath and then repeated it. “And what about the arrest warrants for you and the deputies?”

  Jericho looked at Levi, hoping he’d made some progress in that area. But Levi shook his head. “The warrants ha
ven’t been sworn out yet, but the Dallas PD has probable cause if they believe you’re harboring a fugitive.”

  Yep, there it was in a nutshell. He was indeed doing just that. And in this case, he was now married to the fugitive.

  His wife.

  The word didn’t exactly stick in Jericho’s throat, but it was close. He’d had no plans for marriage, but he’d always thought when and if he got around to saying I do, that it wouldn’t have been to save his son. Or to save Laurel.

  “I’m really sorry,” she said as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

  “Don’t,” Jericho warned her. He would have liked to have added that this wasn’t of her own making. But that was only partly true. She had brought some of this mess on herself by not seeing the truth about her father sooner.

  She didn’t listen to his warning. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. First to Jericho. Then to Levi. “How much time do we have before I turn myself in and stop those arrest warrants from being issued?”

  “I’ve already told you, that’s not going to happen,” Jericho snapped.

  “No, you glared at me when I said I was going to do it. Now that you’ve got the custody papers started, I can turn myself in.”

  Jericho got to his feet so he could make eye contact with her and so she could see that he wasn’t leaving room for argument. “Your father’s past the brow-beating stage with you. He wants you behind bars, and he wants Maddox. Turning yourself in won’t stop that.”

  Laurel lifted her hands in the air. “Then how do we stop him?”

  He had a plan, all right. Jericho just wished it was a whole lot better than it was. “I’ve asked the county sheriff to file charges against Herschel for trespassing on the ranch.”

  Levi looked at him as if he’d sprouted an extra nose. “That won’t put Herschel behind bars.”

  “No, but it’ll keep him occupied for a few hours while he’s trying to sort it out.” Maybe. “In the meantime, Jax and Weston are digging into the backgrounds on the shrinks who gave fake reports regarding your mental health. They’re looking to find a way to connect Herschel to the illegal activity.”

  Laurel didn’t exactly jump for joy. Probably because she knew her father would have covered his tracks well.

  “Chase will help them when he can, but he’s on a lead right now to find the Moonlight Strangler,” Jericho added.

  He hated he couldn’t pull Chase away from that case, but it was critical that the Moonlight Strangler be stopped. Especially since the snake would no doubt strike again. And soon.

  She stayed quiet for a few seconds before her gaze drifted toward the living room. “Maddox deserves better than this,” she whispered.

  Yeah. He did. A whole lot better.

  Jericho didn’t know a lot about babies, but he knew this should be a time of celebration. Presents, Christmas trees, lots of excitement. Well, there was excitement, all right, but it was the wrong kind.

  “I’ll make sure he has some gifts,” Jericho assured her. He wasn’t certain how he would manage that, yet, but he’d get him something even if he had to download some games and books from the internet.

  Levi must have decided this wasn’t a conversation he needed to be in on, because he took out his phone again and headed out of the kitchen. “I’ll see what I can do about speeding up the process for that voice comparison.”

  Jericho thanked his brother, was ready to launch into some calls himself, but he stood so he could glance into the living room and check on Maddox. Still asleep. So was his mother. She was napping in the recliner next to Maddox.

  He went closer, his attention on his son’s face, and he wondered if it would always be like this when he looked at him. That strong wash of love. So strong that it seemed to crush his chest. Twenty-four hours ago, Jericho hadn’t even known Maddox existed, and now he couldn’t imagine a life without him.

  That meant a life with Laurel, too.

  Even after they put an end to the danger and sorted out all her legal troubles, she would still be in his life. Jericho was guessing she’d want some kind of split-custody arrangement. And maybe that’d work. But he didn’t want to lose another minute with his son, much less the time he wouldn’t have with Maddox if he had to share custody with Laurel.

  He glanced at Laurel and realized she was staring at him. “What?” Jericho asked.

  “Magical, huh? I mean, people tell you what it’s like to love a child, but you can’t imagine it until it happens to you.”

  Jericho didn’t trust his voice and settled for a nod. But Laurel kept staring. “Something else on your mind?”

  She waved it off, literally, but then shook her head. “You didn’t cough or choke when you said I do.”

  “Neither did you.”

  “It was different for me.” Laurel sank down in the chair across from him. “You’re the one doing me the favor. I wanted the marriage.”

  “This isn’t a favor.” Or a real marriage, for that matter. “I did this for my son.” Which seemed a stupid thing to say since Laurel was doing it for the same reason.

  She nodded. Paused, then nodded again. “Did you keep your blue rock?”

  Now, here was the part where he could be ornery and say no, that he didn’t have a clue what’d happened to it. But considering that he and Laurel had been through hell and back, it didn’t seem fair.

  “Yeah. It’s in the junk drawer in the kitchen.”

  “A good place for it.” And yes, there was a touch of sarcasm in her tone.

  “I was going to toss it, changed my mind, and the drawer was nearby.”

  Best not to tell her that he also kept his father’s badge in that drawer. And some family photos. A drawer he walked by and saw every time he came in and out of his house.

  “It was a silly memento, anyway,” Laurel added.

  She looked up at him, their gazes connecting, and it seemed as if a dozen things passed between them without them saying a word. Of course, most of those dozen things included the puppy-love kisses when they’d found those rocks.

  And the lust-induced kissing session they’d had just before the wedding.

  Nothing puppy love about that.

  Hell, he still was having trouble walking. He didn’t want to know how long it’d be for the memory of her taste to fade.

  Maybe never.

  Since this wasn’t something he wanted on his mind, Jericho was thankful when his phone buzzed. That thankfulness didn’t last long, though, when he saw Theo’s name on the screen.

  “I’ll take this in the bedroom so I don’t wake up Maddox and Mom,” Jericho said, showing Laurel the screen.

  She followed him, of course, and once Jericho was in his bedroom with the door shut, he put the call on speaker.

  “Where are you?” Theo demanded the moment Jericho answered.

  “Really? You think that’s any of your business?”

  “It’s my business because I’m worried about Laurel. Is she with you?”

  “Again, none of your business. And if this is the only reason you called, then you’re wasting my time and yours—”

  “It’s not the only reason.” But Theo didn’t exactly hurry to continue that explanation. “I found something. About Herschel.”

  Laurel opened her mouth, no doubt to ask what, but Jericho shook his head. Even though Theo no doubt thought they were together, Jericho didn’t want to confirm that for him.

  “What’d you find?” Jericho snapped. “And this better not be a waste of my time.”

  “It’s not a waste.” Still, Theo took several moments to add something to that. “Herschel had fake psychiatric evaluations done on Laurel.”

  This time, Jericho huffed. “Tell me something I don’t know. Laurel’s sane. Herschel’s not. Of course he faked them.”

 
“Yes, but I can prove it.”

  Laurel’s gaze flew to his, and he saw the hope in her eyes. Hope that Jericho wasn’t ready to feel just yet. After all, this was Theo. And it wasn’t jealousy playing into his dislike of the man. Well, maybe it was still a small part of it, but Jericho didn’t trust anyone who was in cahoots with Herschel.

  “How can you prove it?” Jericho pressed.

  “I talked to the psychiatrist, and then sent a follow-up email. He admitted in a roundabout way that he never even saw Laurel for evaluation.”

  That hope in Laurel’s eyes got even stronger, but thankfully she stayed quiet.

  “The shrink put that in writing?” Jericho asked.

  “Yes, in an email. But it’s not an outright admission of wrongdoing. He just says he made his recommendation based on the medical records Herschel provided to him.”

  Fake records, no doubt. “I want that email,” Jericho ordered.

  “I figured you would. It might not keep Laurel out of jail, but you could perhaps use it to discredit Herschel in some way.”

  Oh, yeah. And he could do that by giving it to the press.

  “But the email’s not all I have,” Theo added. “Herschel’s using two reports by two different psychiatrists, and I believe I can discredit the other one, as well.”

  Jericho didn’t care for the way Theo let that hang in the air for a while. “I’m guessing you want something in exchange for this?” Jericho asked.

  “I want to talk to Laurel. Face-to-face.”

  Hell. Jericho figured there’d be a catch. “You’re withholding evidence in an active criminal investigation. I can have you charged with obstruction of justice if you don’t turn over the information.”

  “You could, but I could also destroy the evidence, and Laurel could end up in a mental hospital or jail for years. I doubt either you or Laurel want that.”

  He didn’t, but Jericho didn’t want to deal with this snake, either. “Why is it so important for you to speak to Laurel?”

  “There are things I need to tell her, and I can’t do it over the phone.”