Finger on the Trigger

by Delores Fossen

  “Just stay put. I’ll have a medic bring you another kit,” the doctor stated. “It’ll probably be similar to the one you took two weeks ago. You’ll get a quick result. I’ll also have the medic get a blood sample from you, and I can have that tested in the lab.”

  He ended the call, and Rachel just stood there for several long moments, staring at her phone after she took it from Griff. She was too stunned to think of anything beyond redoing the test, but reality soon started to sink in. It was obviously doing the same for Griff, because she heard him groan. Then, she saw the apologetic look in his eyes.

  “Don’t,” she warned him. “I’m not going to let you put the blame for all of this on your shoulders. No one forced me to get in bed with you.”

  “No, but you weren’t thinking straight.”

  That was the truth, but it also stung. Because it made it seem as if she’d been with him only because she’d been out of her mind. But the truth was she’d always been attracted to Griff, and that night had been no different.

  “Let’s just wait until I repeat the test,” she said. Rachel also glanced over Griff’s shoulder to see if her father had heard any of this. His back was to them, his attention still focused on the computer screen. If he’d heard anything, he wasn’t showing any sign of it.

  Good.

  She needed to process this before she had a conversation about it.

  A baby.

  That sent emotions slamming through her. She’d always wanted children, but the timing couldn’t be worse. Even though things were improving between them, Griff and she were still at odds. And that wasn’t the biggest problem. There was someone trying to kill them, and if she got hurt in an attack now, a baby she carried could be hurt, as well.

  “You need to sit down,” Griff whispered to her.

  He put his arm around her and started walking. Not toward the office, but rather to the family room. He had her sit on the sofa, and she didn’t stop him from giving her the kid-glove treatment, because her nerves were tangled and raw.

  His phone dinged with a text message, and even though Rachel knew it could be important, she didn’t move so she could see the screen. In fact, she wasn’t sure she could move, and the bad thoughts came. Not just of their attacker, but also her seizure meds. She wasn’t sure they should be taken during pregnancy. And then there was the seizure itself. That couldn’t have helped, either. Sweet heaven. She needed to ask Dr. Baldwin about that, too.

  Griff disappeared for a couple seconds, then came back with a glass of water. “That was a text from Egan,” he said. “He’s going to have to let both Marlon and Buddy leave.”

  Since Egan didn’t have enough concrete evidence against either of the men, she’d expected that, but the news still twisted away at her. Buddy and Marlon were suspects, possibly both very dangerous, and as long as they were at the sheriff’s office they weren’t a threat. But now they’d be back on the street, where they could plan another attack. Of course, they might not have to do any planning if Simon was the one behind this.

  She had a long drink of water and looked at Griff from over the rim of the glass. “You could fix yourself something stronger.” Rachel tipped her head to the bar in the corner of the room.

  He shook his head. “I’m okay.”

  “Liar.” Nothing about his expression or body language indicated that he was okay. In fact, Griff possibly looked worse than she did, and Rachel passed him the glass of water. “Don’t worry. If I really am pregnant, just know you don’t have to do anything.”

  A new emotion went through his eyes. Anger. “Yes, I do.” He gulped some of the water as if he’d declared war on it. “You think I’d let you go through something like this on your own?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Because I would never abandon my child. Never.”

  Only then did she realize she’d hit a nerve. His own parents had basically abandoned Thea and him, and even though Griff rarely spoke about it, that abandonment had cut him to the core. It had also left him struggling to try to fit in. Warren had helped with that. Some. But there was probably nothing that would make Griff forget the feelings of being unwanted by his own father.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to feel trapped or anything.”

  Anger flashed through his eyes again, but he didn’t get a chance to respond to that because his phone rang. It wasn’t Egan. This time it was her mother’s bodyguard, Kevin Teal, and it gave Rachel a new jolt of concern that something else might have happened at the hospital.

  Griff answered right away, and even though he hesitated, he put the call on speaker. He was probably debating if he wanted her to hear this. She did. But if it turned out to be more bad news, Griff no doubt would have preferred to give her a toned-down version.

  “Griff, I thought you’d want to know that Mrs. McCall just called Alma Lawton and asked to meet with her. Alma agreed. Neither her doctor nor I could talk her out of it. Her doctor definitely doesn’t think this is a good idea.”

  Rachel didn’t think so, either. She groaned and took out her phone so she could call her mother, but stopped when the bodyguard continued.

  “Alma’s on her way here now,” Kevin said. “And she’s not alone. She said she’d be bringing her lawyer, Simon, with her. Griff, I think it’d be a really good idea if you got here right away.”

  * * *

  GRIFF TRIED TO FOCUS. Hard to do, though, with all the thoughts flying through his head. Well, one specific thought, anyway.

  The baby.

  Rachel could be pregnant. He kept emphasizing the could be part of that, but the doctor hadn’t seemed to think this was a false alarm. Still, Rachel and he needed to wait for the test to be repeated. Of course, there’d be a delay with that, since they were on their way to the hospital in San Antonio.

  It was this trip that Griff knew should have his full attention, and that’s why he kept trying to shove the idea of a baby to the back of his mind. He needed to keep watch to make sure someone wasn’t following them to launch another attack. Besides, it wasn’t as if Rachel and he could discuss the pregnancy, anyway, while Thea drove them in the cruiser. Since Rachel hadn’t volunteered anything about this to her father or his sister, Griff would keep it to himself, too.

  But he wasn’t having much luck keeping it out of his thoughts.

  A baby. He wondered just how long something like that would take to sink in. And just how hard this would be on Rachel. She was already dealing with too much right now, and this certainly wouldn’t help. The pregnancy alone would have been enough pressure, but the fact that it was his child would only add to it.

  And if there was a baby, it was his. Griff had no doubt about that.

  And that would give Rachel some new baggage. After all, the child would have been conceived while he was still keeping her father’s secret. That was the same as lying, and he was still trying to rebuild her trust after he’d done something like that. The distrust wouldn’t help right now, because she might not want him to be part of her or the child’s lives.

  That wouldn’t stop him from being a father, though. A real father.

  Griff continued to keep watch. Rachel was doing the same. Both were making sweeping glances all around them, and at the end of one of the glances, their gazes connected. Even though she didn’t say anything, Griff recognized the shell-shocked expression. Probably he looked the same.

  “It’ll be okay,” he said. He’d been repeating that a lot lately, and Rachel didn’t seem to believe it any more now than she had the other times.

  The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. Definitely not from humor, though. She started to say something, but then shook her head. “You’re sure Kevin will call you if Alma and Simon try to get into Mom’s room before we arrive?”

  She already knew the answer to that was yes. Griff had spelled out to Kevin that no matter how much Helen insisted
, Alma and Simon would not be allowed into her room. The reason for that was simple. Simon was a suspect, and Griff didn’t want him anywhere near Rachel’s mom unless he was there with her. And as for Alma, well, Griff couldn’t see anything good coming out of a conversation between Warren’s wife and his mistress.

  “They’d better not upset my mother,” Rachel added in a mumble.

  That could very well happen. If Rachel couldn’t talk Helen out of seeing Alma, then the visit might happen no matter how much everyone protested.

  Rachel glanced behind them again, and while Griff knew she was looking for an attacker, she was also no doubt making sure her father wasn’t following them. From the moment Warren had heard that Alma was going to the hospital, he’d wanted to be there, as well. But since Helen had repeatedly refused to see him, that wasn’t a good idea, so Rachel had nixed it.

  That didn’t mean Warren would stay put at the ranch.

  Griff only hoped if the man did leave, he would at least take a couple of the ranch hands with him. After all, threatening letters and emails had been sent to Warren, too, and he could possibly become the target for the attackers.

  But that didn’t feel right.

  This felt more personal. Of course, both Brad and Marlon had personal connections to Rachel. Simon was a different story, and maybe Griff would get a chance to talk to the lawyer when they were at the hospital. Which shouldn’t be long at all now, because Thea took the final turn into the parking lot and pulled to a stop directly in front of the hospital doors.

  “Stay here with the cruiser,” Griff told his sister. He didn’t want anyone tampering with it.

  Court was already there by the door, waiting for them, since he’d had a shorter distance to drive. He came out to stand guard while Griff hurried Rachel inside.

  “Are Alma and Simon here?” Rachel immediately asked her brother.

  Court tipped his head to the waiting room, and Griff spotted them. Simon was pacing while talking on the phone, and Alma was seated with her hands in her lap. They weren’t alone. There were six other people in the area, and Griff gave each one an uneasy glance. None of them looked like would-be killers, but anyone could be carrying a concealed weapon.

  Hell. He hated bringing Rachel here.

  “Mom’s still insisting on seeing them,” Court explained, “and Alma’s still insisting on seeing her.”

  Rachel sighed. “Let me talk to Mom.”

  She started walking toward the elevator, and Griff and Court stayed right with her. But they’d gone only a couple yards before Alma got to her feet and headed in their direction. Griff had hoped Rachel could avoid a confrontation with the woman, but they seemed to be on a collision course.

  “Rachel,” Alma said to her.

  “Mrs. Lawton.” Rachel dragged in a deep breath. “You shouldn’t be here. My mother is not mentally strong right now, and seeing you could set back her recovery.”

  Alma nodded without hesitation. “That’s why I was surprised when she called and asked me to come.”

  Griff looked at Court to see if that was true, and he nodded. What the heck had Helen been thinking?

  “I don’t especially want to see Helen,” Alma went on. “I mean, she’s the wronged woman in all of this. I had an affair with her husband.”

  “Why did my mother want to talk to you?” Rachel pressed.

  “She said she wanted my side of the story.” Alma paused. “If she’d sounded bitter or angry, I would have said no. But she sounded broken.” She glanced away, her mouth quivering a little. “I understand a lot about that. When Warren and I parted ways, I was not in a good place. If someone could have given me answers, I would have wanted to hear what they had to say.”

  “There’s no answer you can give Helen that will help,” Griff assured the woman. He braced himself in case Rachel objected to his interference, but she kept her attention on Alma. “However, just about anything you say to her will hurt.”

  “I’m asking you to tell my mother that you’ve changed your mind, that you can’t see her,” Rachel said to Alma, and there was just as much emotion in her voice as there had been in the other woman’s.

  And speaking of emotion, Simon ended his call and practically stormed toward them. “I hope you’re not harassing my client,” he snarled.

  “No, they’re not,” Alma said, before any of them could answer.

  The lawyer flinched and narrowed his eyes at Griff. “What did you say to her?”

  “The truth, that she should go home,” Griff answered, but he also kept watch around the waiting room.

  “That’s not for you to say. For any of you to say,” Simon insisted, sparing Court and Rachel a glare. “If Mrs. McCall wants to see Alma, then she will.”

  Griff was instantly suspicious. “Why would it matter to you whether or not Alma sees Helen?” And he hoped like the devil that it wasn’t so Simon could get into Helen’s room and carry out some kind of sick revenge against Warren and his family. If that was the case, the lawyer would never admit to it.

  Simon hiked up his chin. “I think a good air-clearing is exactly what we need. What Alma needs,” he amended. “Warren pursued her in their relationship, and Helen should know that.”

  Alma took hold of his arm. “No. She shouldn’t.” She looked at Rachel. “I’m sorry about coming here. I thought it would be a good thing if your mother talked to me, but I can see I was wrong.” With her grip still on Simon, Alma started to walk away.

  The lawyer immediately started to protest, but Alma kept moving. Because Griff had his attention on the doors, he saw the man walk in.

  Brad.

  “What the heck is he doing here?” Rachel asked, taking the question right out of Griff’s mouth.

  Griff didn’t know the answer to that, but he stepped in front of Rachel. Brad noticed the move, and he frowned.

  “Relax,” the DA growled, and he looked past Griff at Rachel. “I got here as soon as I could.” He tipped his head toward Alma and Simon, who were leaving through the hospital doors. “I see you told them to get lost. Good. I came here to do that for you.”

  Rachel moved to Griff’s side and stared at Brad. “How did you know they were coming to see my mother?”

  “I have a friend who works here,” Brad readily admitted. “I asked her to keep an eye on Helen for me.”

  Rachel huffed. Griff did more than that. He cursed. Because it wasn’t Brad’s place to do something like that without telling the McCalls.

  “Why would you do that?” Rachel demanded.

  He looked at her as if the answer was obvious. “You’ve had so much trouble lately that I thought you’d want an extra pair of eyes on your mother. Especially since someone’s doing their damnedest to try to kill you.” He shot Griff a glance to let him know he blamed him for that.

  “I don’t want your friend watching my mother. We have a bodyguard to do that,” Rachel said, and she turned to Griff. “Could we leave now?”

  That surprised him, because Griff had been certain that Rachel would want to see her mother. And that meant something was wrong. He slipped his arm around her waist, and that’s when he felt her trembling.

  “I’m dizzy,” she whispered to him.

  Well, hell. At first he thought she might be on the verge of another seizure, but if she was, she wouldn’t be asking to leave the hospital. No. This might be pregnancy related.

  “You’ll explain to your mother that Alma can’t see her?” Griff asked Court.

  Her brother nodded. “Just go ahead and get Rachel back home. She looks like she’s about ready to keel over. Should I call Dr. Baldwin and tell him you need another exam or something?” he added to Rachel.

  “No.” She answered too fast. So fast that it caused Brad’s attention to snap toward her. The DA studied her. Not just her face, either. He glanced at her stomach.

  G
reat. Now Brad was suspicious. Griff didn’t mind him knowing that Rachel might be pregnant. It could get the man to back off from trying to have a relationship with her. But Rachel wasn’t ready for anyone to know just yet.

  “Be careful,” Brad said to her, and it sounded a little like a warning. Probably a warning for her to be wary of Griff.

  Ignoring Brad and his comment, Rachel kissed her brother goodbye, and Court followed them back to the entrance. As he’d done when they’d arrived, he stood guard while Griff and she got into the rear seat of the cruiser. Brad stayed back, but he continued to stare, or rather, glare, as Thea drove away.

  “Brad is in love with Rachel,” Thea mumbled under her breath as she glanced back at the man.

  Yes, he was. Or maybe it was more like an obsession. For years, Warren and Brad had pressed the notion of Rachel marrying the DA, and now that it was pretty clear that wasn’t going to happen, maybe Brad just couldn’t accept it.

  “Uh, is something else going on that I don’t know about?” Thea asked. His sister was looking at him in the rearview mirror.

  “No.”

  Griff said it at the same moment that Rachel answered, “I’m just worried about my mom.”

  Thea shrugged and made a suit-yourself sound, and got onto the road that would eventually take them back to the interstate. It had two lanes, with traffic going in both directions. That meant he needed to keep watch not only behind them, but ahead, as well.

  As Griff had done on the drive down, he glanced around and immediately spotted something he didn’t like.

  A dark-colored truck that pulled out of the hospital parking lot behind them.

  It was probably nothing, he told himself. After all, this was a busy area, since it was the route to the hospital and other businesses, but there was something about the vehicle that put a knot in his stomach. In part it was because the driver was speeding. This was only a thirty-mile-per-hour zone, and the truck was doing more than that, catching up with them.

  Rachel must have picked up on his sudden concern because she turned in the seat, looking to see what had captured his attention. “Is something wrong?” she asked.