Santa Assignment

by Delores Fossen

"Any idea where your brother, Hyatt, is?" the detective asked Trevor.

  "No. I haven't seen him since he escaped." Trevor ran his hand through his prematurely thinning but perfectly styled blond hair—again—a gesture he'd repeated several times. "But he did call me about a week ago."

  That captured Brayden's attention. Ashley had been back in San Antonio for a week.

  "Hyatt didn't say much," Trevor continued. "And he didn't talk long. He was concerned the phone might be tapped—even though I assured him that it wasn't. I asked him where he was staying, but he wouldn't tell me, and he'd blocked his number so it didn't show on caller ID."

  "Hyatt didn't say much?" the detective repeated. "What did he say exactly?"

  Trevor paused and tried to answer, but had to work his way through another stuttering and hair-touching bout first. "That he might be coming home soon."

  The detective picked right up on that. "He does that often—calls to say he might be coming home soon?"

  Trevor shook his head. "He's never done that. I don't know why he did it this time. He wouldn't say. But he sounded pleased about something."

  Pleased? That couldn't be a good sign. Especially since what might please Hyatt would almost certainly cause trouble for Ashley.

  "Are you thinking what I'm thinking about that P.I. you hired to do a background check on Ashley?" Garrett asked.

  Brayden nodded. "If he wasn't careful, Hyatt could have found Ashley by following him."

  And that meant Brayden had led Hyatt right to her.

  Hell.

  Of course, there was another alternative. That Trevor's Milquetoast demeanor was all an act. That he'd been the one to follow the P.I. and find Ashley. That Trevor had been the one to fire those shots.

  "I want to talk to him." Brayden didn't wait for his brother to respond. He started out of his office. "I want to find out what he really knows."

  Garrett caught his arm. "Stating the obvious here, but I don't think that's wise."

  "I don't think it's your decision to make." Brayden shook off his brother's grip and headed toward the interview room.

  Garrett followed, as he'd known his brother would do. "If Trevor is the person trying to kill Ashley, we'll find out without you risking your badge."

  Brayden tossed him a glare. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? I just want to ask him a few questions." But he knew exactly what Garrett meant.

  "Yeah, and that fire in your eyes won't come into play when you're asking those questions, right?"

  His brother's sarcasm set Brayden's teeth on edge. "I know how to interrogate a suspect, Sergeant O'Malley."

  "You do, Lieutenant O'Malley. When you're objective. Which you aren't right now." Garrett latched onto him again just outside the interview room. "What's really going on here anyway?"

  Brayden hitched a thumb to the door. "I'm trying to get in that room to ask Trevor Chapman some questions."

  "Try answering my question first. Why the flash of temper? And don't say it's the shooting. I've seen how you react to being shot at, and, brother, this ain't it." Without more than a few seconds of hesitation, Garrett's eyes widened. "It's Ashley. Are you falling for her?"

  "No."

  But it felt like a lie.

  Worse, it sounded like one.

  "This flash, as you call it, is just concern. Concern for her safety." Since his brother was now staring at him, Brayden added, "Tomorrow is the sixth day. Ashley should know if she's pregnant or not."

  That didn't stop his brother from staring, even though it turned into somewhat of a flat look. "Are you falling for her?" Garrett repeated.

  Brayden ignored him and went for a further explanation of why he was so damn agitated. "One way or another she'll leave. And I can't stop her. I'm afraid for her life."

  "Are you falling for her?"

  Brayden wanted to be thoroughly pissed off by his brother's repeated question. He wasn't. But that didn't stop him from going on the defensive. "I'm concerned about her. There's nothing wrong with that."

  "No," Garrett quickly assured him. "And it wouldn't be wrong even if you fell in love with her."

  Brayden felt as if he'd slugged him. "Say what?"

  "You heard me. The way I see it, Ashley came through for Colton, for all of us. That makes her all right in my book."

  Well, it made her all right in his book, too, but it sure didn't make his feelings all right. "She's Dana's sister," Brayden pointed out.

  "She's a good woman."

  "She's off-limits!"

  "Only because you put her there." Probably because they were starting to attract attention, Garrett thankfully lowered his voice. "Sheez, I'm not telling you to pop the frickin' question. All I'm saying is that it's okay for you to care for Ashley."

  Brayden gave a troubled sigh. "Then why doesn't it feel okay, huh?"

  Garrett didn't have time to answer. The interview-room door opened, and Brayden found himself face-to-face with Trevor Chapman. The moment obviously caught them both off guard. Brayden saw a glimpse of surprise in Trevor's attentive mud-brown eyes. Surprise and possibly something else.

  Something that put Brayden's cop's instincts on full alert.

  "Lieutenant," Trevor greeted.

  Brayden shook his hand. Like the guy's forehead, it was sweaty. "Thank you for coming in today."

  "I wanted to cooperate."

  "Good. SAPD likes citizens who cooperate." And because he couldn't resist, because he just couldn't continue the nice-guy routine, Brayden added, "I wish your brother would do the same."

  Trevor nodded. Not necessarily a nod of agreement, though. "Hyatt feels w-w-wronged by the justice system."

  "The majority of people in prison feel that way. I doubt their victims do, though. In fact, I'd imagine the man your brother beat within an inch of his life would think he's the one who'd been wronged by the justice system. After all, his attacker was a coward who ran rather than doing time."

  Trevor's Milquetoast demeanor took a serious nosedive. Those brown eyes narrowed slightly. "If Hyatt calls again, I'll be sure to pass on your…sentiment."

  Pleased that he'd finally gotten an honest reaction from the man, Brayden didn't stop there. "Pass this on to him as well—tell him I'd like to express my sentiment in person. Just the two of us. In fact, I'm looking forward to it."

  Instead of the veiled threat Brayden expected as a comeback, Trevor looked past him. Well past him. Over Brayden's shoulder, in fact.

  "Ashley?" Trevor said.

  Brayden whipped around, dreading who he'd see.

  Ashley was indeed there, and Katelyn had her by the arm. Ashley was resisting, but his sister was trying to pull her into one of the interview rooms, away from Trevor.

  But it was too late.

  Trevor saw her.

  Ashley saw him. Worse, she moved out of Katelyn's grip and went toward him.

  "Why are you here?" Brayden snarled. The last thing he wanted was for Trevor and Ashley to do a face-to-face.

  Ashley didn't answer. She spared Brayden a glance and nailed her gaze to Trevor. "Are you the one who's trying to kill me?"

  If Trevor had a reaction to that, he didn't show it. He simply leaned closer and dropped his voice to a secretive tone. "Is someone trying to kill you, Ashley?"

  "It appears that way." She leaned closer, as well, despite Brayden's attempts to stop her. "I thought it might have something to do with what happened two and a half years ago. Some unresolved issues, perhaps? A little leftover venom?"

  Trevor shrugged. "Why would there be venom?" But there was. Suddenly, his voice wasn't just whispered and secretive, it was bitter, a bitterness that made it all the way to his eyes. "Oh, unless I suspected that, instead of Dana and you working to get two acquittals, you cut a deal with the D.A. so Hyatt would go to jail."

  "It wasn't a deal that convicted Hyatt. It was the evidence against him."

  Trevor shrugged again.

  When Ashley's expression turned to a scowl, Brayden knew he had to do s
omething to get her out of there. He slipped his arm around her waist. "We have to talk now," he insisted.

  Garrett did his part. He put his hand on Trevor's back and got him moving in the opposite direction. But not before Ashley and Trevor exchanged arctic glares.

  "Coming here wasn't a bright thing to do." Brayden pulled her into the interview room.

  "Probably not. But if Trevor's the stalker, then he obviously already knew I was back in town. I just wanted to see how he'd react."

  It sank in then. This wasn't an impromptu visit on Ashley's part. "Katelyn told you that Trevor and Miles Granville were coming into headquarters today?"

  Ashley stepped away and avoided his gaze. "She might have mentioned it."

  Great. He'd have a little talk with his sister about that later. "What if Trevor's the stalker, huh?" And to emphasize his point, he got right in her face. "What if your coming here allows him to find you?"

  "Katelyn and I aren't going to advertise where I'm staying. We took precautions on the way over, and we'll take even more on the way back."

  "You shouldn't have come," Brayden reiterated. "Seeing Trevor's reaction isn't worth risking your life."

  "Well, Trevor's not exactly why I came. That was a perk, of sorts. I really wanted to talk to you."

  "Nothing is so important that you should have risked coming here."

  "I beg to differ." She reached in her purse, extracted a pen and handed it to him.

  Except it wasn't a pen.

  Brayden glanced down at the ocean-blue pen-shaped device. Specifically, at the tiny screen on it.

  "We did it," Ashley whispered, pointing to the plus sign. "We really did it. I'm pregnant."

  * * *

  ASHLEY HADN'T BEEN SURE how Brayden would react to the fact that they were on their way to becoming parents. She'd braced herself for anything from jumps and shouts for joy to a tear-laced reckoning that they'd made it past the first step in saving Colton.

  Neither of those things happened.

  With his attention solely on that plus sign, Brayden nodded. "This is good news."

  She'd gotten more jubilant reactions from her dentist for a good checkup. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what you wanted, right?"

  "Of course it is." He pulled his gaze from the test stick. "This baby is what we need, what I prayed for."

  Okay. So they were on the same page.

  Sort of.

  Except Ashley was feeling a lot more jubilant, and there was no way she could contain it.

  "I'm floating," she admitted, trying to keep her voice steady. She failed. "And the love is just unbelievable. I mean, I never thought it would feel like this. Never. But the love is automatic. Volumes and volumes of love for this tiny baby that didn't even exist a week ago."

  Ashley was surprised and more than a little embarrassed when tears threatened. Here she was babbling like a hormone-infused idiot while Brayden just stood there—not babbling. In fact, not saying anything.

  She blinked back the tears. "Okay, sorry about that. Gushing session over. I suspect you need some time to come to terms with what you're feeling right now."

  She turned to leave, but only made it one step.

  "I know what you mean about the love for the baby," Brayden said, his words slow and careful. "I feel it, too. And I feel the happiness. The floating."

  Ashley turned back around and studied his face. "You don't exactly look like you're floating."

  "It's a little tempered because I know this is just the beginning."

  Yes. It was. And that was as good a lead-in as she would probably get.

  "Dr. Ellison wants to see me tomorrow morning for a checkup." She'd intended to say it in one breath. Without hesitation. So that he'd know it didn't lack resolve. But Ashley didn't quite manage it. "After that, it's time for me to leave."

  No shocked look, which meant he'd known what was coming. Part of her wanted to believe that was the real reason he hadn't jumped for joy about the positive pregnancy test, but it was a sad day in a woman's life when she toyed with the idea of lying to herself.

  Brayden's less than enthusiastic response was no doubt because of Dana. Because this pregnancy reminded him of when Dana was pregnant with Colton. With their child. Brayden might never feel the same about this baby as he did about Colton. The idea of that bothered her far more than she'd ever thought it would.

  "What about the amnio?" he asked.

  "They can't do it for at least eight more weeks." Ashley paused to reinforce her voice so she could finish what she'd started. "And it doesn't have to be done here. I can have the test at a hospital in Houston."

  Brayden's head whipped up. His gaze snared hers. "Why Houston?"

  She shrugged. Then, shrugged again. "I thought I'd stay there until after the baby's born. And maybe even longer. Houston's not too far of a drive, so you'd be able to visit as often as you like."

  "It might not be safe for you to go," he pointed out.

  "It isn't safe for me to stay, either. I'll do what I did last time. Use an alias. Start a new life. Keep a low profile. I'll put my house up for sale here. I own it outright, and the market value's good, so there'll be no pressure for me to go back to work for a while."

  His jaw muscles tightened. "You've given this a lot of thought."

  She nodded. "Well, I've had a lot of time to think things through over the past five days."

  "I know." He rubbed his fingers over his forehead and repeated it. "I'm sorry I haven't been there much."

  "That wasn't a slam. Well, maybe it was a little one. And that brings me to what I really want you to hear. There's no reason for you to feel guilty about what happened between us. It was a necessity, and now there's just this weird intimacy because we made a baby together, that's all."

  "You're not going to blame the kiss on primal instincts again?"

  He'd asked it so casually, without changing his inflection, that it took Ashley a moment to realize he'd just zinged her.

  "No. It was lust. Basic attraction," she readily admitted. "Hey, what can I say? You're cute, a good kisser, and you really get the juices flowing."

  Brayden fought it. She could see him fight it. But he finally gave up and smiled. For a moment anyway. Before he obviously remembered the gist of this conversation.

  Then he groaned. "What can I do to talk you out of leaving?"

  "Nothing. Because it's the right thing to do. If I stay, Colton and you have no chance of a normal life. None. He wants to go home, Brayden. He needs normal. And that can't happen as long as I'm here."

  His gaze came to hers again, and in his eyes she saw a lot of regret. "You're a brave woman."

  It touched her that he'd think that about her. Even if it wasn't the truth. "No, I'm not. Bravery is for people who have a choice about what to do. Or so I've been told. What I'm doing is just common sense. This way, we all stand a chance of being safe."

  Ashley prayed that was true and not just lip service. Because there was a new player in this dangerous game.

  Her baby.

  And even though she'd only known about the baby for a couple of hours, it was more precious to her than her own life. She'd do whatever it took to protect it.

  There was a soft knock at the door and a moment later, Garrett opened it. "Miles Granville is here."

  Ashley instantly felt her heart rate kick up a notch. She'd known he was coming, of course. Katelyn had told her. Still, it renewed old concerns. Brought back old memories.

  "I'll go with you to see him," Ashley insisted, hoping Brayden would automatically agree. "Just to say hello."

  But Brayden didn't agree. He was already shaking his head before she finished her sentence. "It's too dangerous."

  "Not really. We're at police headquarters. I'll have two, possibly three armed and dangerous O'Malleys with me. What do you say, Garrett?" she asked without looking back at him. "If it came down to it, would you protect me from Miles Granville?"

  "Gladly," he assured her. "But I'm not the on
e you have to convince."

  True. But Ashley knew Brayden's Achilles' heel. He was, after all, a cop. "I've known Miles since I was in high school. If he's the one who took shots at us, I don't think he'll be able to conceal it from me. All I want is to see him for a moment or two, and then I'll back off. You can take things from there."

  "She might have a point," Garrett volunteered.

  That earned him a scowl from Brayden.

  "A quick hello," Ashley bargained before Brayden could do more than scowl. "With you and Garrett right there next to me."

  Brayden hesitated. "What if Granville goes berserk? What if he comes after you right then, right there?"

  "Then, it'd put an end to lots of our problems, wouldn't it? Because if he did that, then you'd know he was the stalker, the one who tried to kill us. Then, either you or Garrett would take him out."

  Of course, even if Miles Granville was the stalker-gunman, Ashley didn't think he'd be stupid enough to attack her in police headquarters. And if she had thought that, for even a moment, she certainly wouldn't be risking Brayden's or her baby's life.

  "You're sure you want to do this?" Brayden asked.

  She nodded. "Absolutely."

  Brayden grumbled something under his breath. Something about how he was sure he would regret this. It was punctuated with some profanity. But what he thankfully didn't do was try to stop her when Garrett motioned for her to follow. Of course, Brayden followed, too.

  Right next to her.

  Garrett led them to the interview room at the end of the wide tiled hall. Ashley stepped in quickly, before Brayden could change his mind. Miles was there, near the wall, gazing into the two-way mirror that separated the interview and observation rooms.

  Since his back was to her, Ashley took a moment to watch him. No expensive suit like Trevor's. Miles wore jeans, a plain white shirt and a nondescript blue jacket. Very low profile. Something she understood completely, especially since Miles had been in hiding, as well. Like her, he may have taken a risk just coming here.

  "Miles," she greeted.

  He turned. His eyes widened, and his head did a little bob as if he were doing a double take. Which he probably was.

  "Ashley, is that you?" But he didn't wait for a confirmation. "Wow, it really is you. I didn't even recognize you. You changed your hair."