Hunter dialed Lexi’s sister’s number again, wishing he could deliver this news personally. But Cort’s safety was his top priority.
“Hello?” Annette York’s voice had the breathless, disoriented quality of someone roused from a deep sleep.
Hunter introduced himself as The Guardian.
Lexi’s sister woke instantly, wariness rippling into her voice. “Why are you calling?”
“I’m afraid I have some difficult news.”
“Is it Riana? Have you found her?”
Hunter’s stomach tightened into a lead ball. “No. It’s Ross and Lexi. There’s been an explosion. I wanted you to know before it hit the news. They were both killed. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, my God! Are you sure? There’s no chance you’re mistaken?” The shred of hope clinging to her voice nearly obliterated his self-control.
“There’s no mistake.” He gently told her about the rented house in the Adirondacks and the suspicion that the explosion was caused by a bomb.
“But I talked to Lexi two days ago. She didn’t mention they were going,” Annette protested in numb disbelief.
Hunter selectively chose what information he could share with her. He saw no point in informing Annette of the purpose of the trip. Or that Juliana and Cort had narrowly missed being caught in the explosion.
“Perhaps the decision to go away was made last minute,” he said tactfully. “Ms. York, I realize this is a terrible shock, but you must listen to me carefully. Ross gave me instructions to protect Cort in the event something like this should occur. Someone killed your sister and her husband—quite possibly the same person who abducted Riana. You and Cort could be next on the list.”
Dead silence greeted his explanation.
He forged ahead. “It would be prudent to act with extreme caution. We must be very careful not to let slip any information about Cort. I want you to pack your bags. I’ve sent a car for you. You’ll be brought to a hotel here in New York where I’ve registered you under another name. I don’t want any reporters finding you. You can issue a family statement to the press via Ross’s lawyers.”
“What about Juliana and the baby? Where are they?”
“They’re safe. For your nephew’s protection, I’d rather not tell you any more than that until we have a chance to speak privately. I’m sure you understand.”
“No, I don’t understand. My sister and her husband are dead. I want to know where my nephew is now.” Her shrill voice scraped his ears like a blade cutting glass. “I’m his aunt—his only living relative. You have no right to keep him from me.”
“On the contrary, Ms. York. I’m acting on Ross’s wishes and at the specific request of the infant’s legal guardian, whom Ross and Lexi appointed in their wills. You’ll be informed of Cort’s whereabouts and a visit will be arranged when his guardian feels it’s safe to do so.”
“Just who did Ross and Lexi think was fit to raise their son—the butler’s daughter? Or someone in that damned company?”
Hunter genuinely felt sorry for her. He knew what it felt like to have your family shattered and suddenly be set adrift in a sea of uncertainty. Her hurt and disappointment that her sister hadn’t chosen her to rear Cort were obvious. Anger was only one of the emotions she would be experiencing in the painful days ahead. “I regret that I’m not at liberty to reveal that information.”
“I’ll go to the media,” she threatened.
Hunter felt the beginning pound of a headache. “Ms. York, take a deep breath. You’re upset. You’re not thinking clearly. Going to the media could endanger your life, as well as Cort’s. I’ll contact you at the hotel and we’ll discuss this privately. Is there anyone you’d like to stay with you? The next few days are going to be very rough.”
“No,” Annette said very softly. Quietly. “Our parents died just after Riana’s abduction. And Lexi was my best friend.”
Hunter’s chest tightened with the dull ache of his own heavy heart. “I’m very sorry for your loss.” Somehow the words seemed inadequate.
He hung up the phone, promising himself that he’d find out who had done this. Make them pay for destroying a family. And he’d do his best to be the kind of father Ross had wanted for his son.
Hunter made a couple more quick phone calls, checking on the increased security measures he’d put in place on the Collingwood estate. Apparently, the press was already gathering at the gates. One of the operatives he’d dispatched to the hospital called with Goodhew’s doctor on the line. Hunter convinced the doctor he was Goodhew’s son-in-law and listened grimly to the doctor’s report on the extent of the elderly man’s injuries. At least he was expected to recover.
Feeling much older than his thirty-three years, Hunter made his way down the hall to Juliana’s room.
If she was sleeping, he’d let her rest.
His knock went unanswered, but the sound of the shower running in the bathroom told him she wasn’t sleeping. He entered the room. The bed hadn’t been touched.
The door to the ensuite bathroom was closed, steam escaping the crack at the bottom of the door. Hunter frowned. How long had she been in there? Concerned, he rapped briskly on the door. “Juliana?”
There was no answer. Beneath the rhythmic drum of the water, he thought he heard a sob. Was she crying?
He knocked once more on the door. “I’m coming in.”
Mist surrounded him, ghostly fingers of it swirled around him as he stepped into the bathroom. He couldn’t make out Juliana’s shape through the mist-cloaked glass doors of the shower, but the water was running.
What on earth? Where was she?
“Juliana? Are you here? Are you all right?”
A muted sound like an animal in pain echoed from out of the shower stall. Hunter opened the door to the stall and saw her huddled on the marble floor, a sodden trembling ball of white flesh. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees and damp ribbons of hair were plastered to her shoulders and back.
Sympathy pierced his body like a sword from his groin to his heart. Hunter quickly shut the water off and reached for the thick white towels she’d set out.
He snapped one open and stepped into the shower, crouching down to gingerly wrap it around her. Somehow he hadn’t associated a marriage of convenience with the inconvenience of having a sodden naked young woman in his life.
“Juliana, we have to get you out of here,” he said gently, worried she was in shock.
She lifted her head, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes. Fear, dark and turgid, shadowed her gaze. Hunter fervently wished that he were anywhere else in the world but here. Her eyes were a mirror into his own soul. “My father?”
“I just spoke to his doctor.” Fighting a reluctance to touch her in this vulnerable state, he massaged her back through the thickness of the towel, careful to keep his gaze from drifting onto the gleaming damp softness of her limbs or the delicate shape of her feet peeking out beneath the towel. She looked like a frightened swan, ready to take flight. “It’s good news. Your father’s made it through surgery—he’d been struck by some flying debris. He broke a few ribs and shattered his shoulder blade, but the surgeon has repaired the damage. Apparently your father’s suffered some burns on his face and hands, but the doctor expects him to make a full recovery. They’re moving him into ICU to keep a careful eye on him. He’s heavily sedated.”
Her eyes shuttered closed. “Thank God. I should be there with him, but if I went he’d only be angry. He told me to stay with Cort.”
Hunter didn’t contradict her. A tremor was shuddering through her body. He wasn’t letting her or Cort anywhere near that hospital. If the killer was intent on finding Juliana, that would be the first spot the killer would look. “You’re exhausted,” he said. “And you’re shivering. You need to be in bed.” He lifted her effortlessly against his chest, his senses reacting simultaneously to the feel of her buttocks molding sweetly to his abs and the scent of apple blossoms clinging to her damp hair.
Sh
e didn’t protest.
The shock of what had happened was setting in.
Carrying her into the bedroom, he yanked the covers back from the bed and laid her gently on the crisply ironed powder-blue sheets. Stopping long enough to extinguish the bedside lamp and curse his predicament under his breath, he removed his shoes and climbed in bed beside her.
Every self-protective instinct in his body rebelled, his legs and arms moving as if hindered by rusting armor as he wrapped his arms around Juliana, awkwardly spooning his body to hers. Despite the steaming heat of the shower, her limbs were ice cold.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.
Hunter closed his eyes, not caring that the dampness from her hair seeped into his pillow. He grudgingly allowed the exquisite softness of this woman he’d committed himself to marrying to register on his senses, to distract him from the headache grinding at his temples.
The faint shallow sound of her breathing gradually deepened and became regular.
She’d fallen asleep.
Hunter told himself he could leave her now, strip himself away from the forced intimacy of their joined bodies. Take some pain reliever for his headache. It would be light soon. There were numerous tasks still requiring his attention. But he didn’t move. Ross and Lexi were dead, their lives extinguished far too soon. Though Hunter never would have thought it possible, somehow, holding Juliana close to him like this made his own grief more bearable.
A MONTAGE OF PHOTOGRAPHS of Ross and Lexi Collingwood flashed on the TV screen, each looking as if it had been lifted straight out of the pages of a storybook fairy-tale romance—white teeth, stylish clothes, not a pimple to be seen or a hair out of place. There was no mention of the butler’s daughter or the baby.
A curled fist hit the desktop. Damn!
After all that careful planning, the baby had escaped his fate.
Not for long, though. Not for long.
Ross and Lexi’s killer smiled smugly and rose to thumb through the clothes hanging precisely one inch apart on the row of expensive wooden hangers. The specially chosen attire purchased for the funeral waited expectantly at the back of the closet like a gift to be unwrapped and savored on Christmas morning. The brand-new black leather shoes lined up beneath it, toes and heels aligned as if at attention. Half of the plan had been achieved. The baron of Wall Street and his oh-so-perfect wife were dead. How hard could it be to find the butler’s daughter?
The baby would be with her.
Soon, very soon, all the Collingwoods would be dead.
Chapter Three
Cort’s cries tore Juliana from sleep, uprooting her from what felt like a tangle of heavy branches until she realized that the branches flung over her torso were long and muscled—and belonged to a man.
Sunlight peeped through the partially closed drapes allowing her a glimpse of the slumbering man beside her.
He looked just as handsome and dangerous this morning as he had last night. What was Hunter doing in her bed?
A draft of cold air on her bare shoulder brought an even greater worry. How had she ended up naked in bed with him?
His eyes fluttered open, pinning her in the sights of his azure gaze. Juliana stared at him, transfixed, as his pupils narrowed to tiny dots and shifted downward to her breasts. Too late, she scrambled to pull the sheet up to cover herself, conscious of the heat that exploded in her stomach and crept over her body to sear her face.
“The baby’s crying,” she gasped. “Where’s my robe?”
Hunter blinked as if orienting himself, then threw back the covers and leaped out of bed. He was fully dressed. Memories slapped her like physical blows to the heart as she remembered the explosion. The Collingwoods were dead. Her father was in the hospital, clinging to life. And Hunter, the man she’d woken up beside this morning, expected her to hand over her freedom and her dreams and marry him to protect Cort’s identity.
“I’ll get Cort,” Hunter said gruffly, “and bring him in here while you find your robe.”
“He doesn’t know you—” she protested, searching the floor and the bedclothes for the practical toffee-colored velour robe her father had given her last Christmas.
He cut her off abruptly. “Then it’s time we got acquainted. Besides, a new father would be eager to see his son. Marquise and Valentina would expect it.”
He was right, Juliana realized, finally spotting her robe on the carpet on the opposite side of the bed. It looked like a mud puddle on the pale-blue wool—as glaringly out of place as she was in this apartment. Had Hunter climbed into her bed last night because he’d thought the servants would expect that, too?
She snatched up her robe, jamming her arms into the sleeves and hurried to the dresser to find fresh underwear and clothes. She doubted Hunter knew the first thing about diapering a baby.
Cort’s cries had stopped by the time Juliana had changed into a pair of black slacks and a sleeveless black cowl-neck sweater. Her hair was a mess, so she twisted it into a ponytail. Then she hastily brushed her teeth and splashed cold water on her face. She’d call the hospital and get an update on her father’s condition right after she’d checked on Hunter and Cort.
The deep murmur of Hunter’s voice coming from the nursery pulled at her in a curious way. She paused in the doorway, feeling both protective of her charge and uncertain of the man holding him near the window.
Cort’s blond head leaned trustingly on the biceps of Hunter’s arm as the infant cooed and gurgled up at the dark, unshaven face hovering over him. Hunter’s eyes were intent on the infant, but he glanced up as if he’d sensed Juliana’s arrival. Her heart locked solidly in her throat when she noticed moisture glimmering in the clear blue of his eyes.
“He’s beautiful,” he said simply. A muscle flexed rigidly in his jaw as if capping the pain inside him.
Juliana took a hesitant step into the room, torn between conflicting duties. The butler’s daughter would never intrude on his private sorrow. But as Hunter’s bride-to-be she supposed she should say something. Offer some comfort.
She stood there awkwardly, feeling completely out of her element, yet drawn to this dangerous-looking man who could be abrupt and cynical one moment and deeply compassionate the next. Words whispered from her, razor-edged with grief for Cort’s parents who would never know their son’s delightful nature. “He’s a bundle of joy. How did you do with his diaper?”
“No sweat. Just peel and stick. I’ve changed diapers before.”
“You have?” Why did her heart beat so fast when he looked at her like that—as if he could intuit every thought, every secret she’d ever harbored? She crossed her arms over her chest and resisted the urge to reach for Cort. Somehow seeing him so secure in Hunter’s arms seemed threatening, a reminder that Hunter had all the power to make decisions for Cort’s care.
Hunter shrugged his massive shoulders, Cort’s eyes widening at the sudden movement. “My sister, Brook, has two sons resulting from two of her three failed marriages. Both boys’ fathers work in New York and she brings them for visitation.” Juliana didn’t miss the wry curl to his tone.
“That explains the nursery. How old are they?”
“Mackensie is eight and Parrish is three. They’re rascals.” Hunter frowned, thinking of his nephews’ dubious futures and the way Juliana had her arms drawn over her breasts as if she thought he might pounce on her. Of course, she’d been somewhat underdressed when they’d awoken this morning. And the glimpse he’d had of one sleep-warmed, pearly breast and its rosebud tip had been so disconcerting he’d practically pole-vaulted out of the room to attend to Cort.
Even now, in that typical chic black New York getup, her wild tangled hair and the circles under her eyes, there was a freshness in her clear skin. An honesty dwelling in those rich brown eyes and a sweet sensuality to her curves that made the prospect of marrying her doubly alarming.
He’d never once considered taking a wife. His sister’s three disastrous marriages had cemented that resolve.
And thankfully, had produced the requisite heir and a spare to the Sinclair family coffers.
Hunter had no illusions that he’d be any better than his sister or his father in choosing a soul mate.
How many times had he cautioned his clients about marrying in haste? Rushing into a relationship based on physical desire or—especially among the wealthy—an attraction to an individual’s net worth. He’d been worried when Ross had told him Lexi was pregnant and they were getting married.
But Ross had assured him he’d learned his lesson from their Harvard days when women were eager to fall into his bed, and more than one had tried to trap him into marriage. Lexi was different.
And Hunter acknowledged the truth of that. Even though her parents had been pushy and middle-class with aspirations of grandeur for their daughter, Lexi had been Ross’s soul mate in every way. Even after Riana’s abduction, a tragedy that would have destroyed many relationships, the core of love between them had remained rock solid. The looks they exchanged excluded everyone else around them because Ross and Lexi had a private world unto themselves. Ross would have moved heaven and earth for his wife’s happiness, even asking the butler’s daughter to raise their precious son.
And Hunter could understand Ross’s reasoning. He’d met Juliana’s father and knew how highly Ross had regarded Goodhew, who’d looked after Ross like a second father after J. Ross Collingwood had died of a massive heart attack when Ross was barely out of college.
Goodhew knew how J. Ross had run the Collingwood empire, knew which senior executives and which board members could be trusted and which were sharks circling for a meal. While he’d brushed suits and laid out Ross’s Oxford button-down shirts and silk ties, he’d dispensed advice. And Ross had taken the Collingwood empire further than his father had ever dreamed.
Cort playfully drummed his heels against Hunter’s forearm, vocalizing his little heart out with chirps and coos. Hunter smiled down at his godson, feeling a laugh trying to burst its way to the surface.
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