by Debra Webb
Nick’s green eyes were accusing, and full of bitterness. Defeat weighed heavily on Laura’s shoulders as she met that unsympathetic gaze. Pain riddled her insides. She had lost her son and no one on earth cared or wanted to help her. She was alone, just as she had been alone since the day her parents had died when she was ten years old. Nothing but a burden to her much older brother, Laura had known from day one that he couldn’t wait to be rid of her. As soon as she had come home from college, James Ed had tried to push her into marrying the son of one of his business associates, but Laura had refused. Then the attempts on her life had begun.
She supposed that it was poetic justice of sorts. James Ed had considered her a nuisance her entire life, but being the responsible, upstanding man he wanted everyone to believe he was, he had offered Laura an out—marry Rafe Manning. Rafe was young, reasonably handsome, and rich. What more should she want? Why couldn’t she be the good, obedient sister James Ed wanted her to be?
If only James Ed had known. Rafe’s wild stunts had made Laura’s little exploits look like adolescent mishaps. Between the alcohol and the cocaine, Rafe was anything but marriage material. Not to mention the apparently insignificant fact that Laura had no desire to marry Rafe or anyone else at the time. She had been too mixed up herself, too young.
So Laura had thumbed her nose at her big brother’s offer, and he had chosen an alternative method of ridding himself of his apparently troublesome sister. Maybe Rafe had been in on it, as well. How much would James Ed have paid him to see that his new bride had a fatal accident? James Ed always preferred the easy way out. Hiring someone to do his dirty work for him was a way of life.
Perversely, Laura wondered if her showing up now would be an inconvenience considering James Ed had no doubt already taken control of her trust fund. Only weeks from her twenty-fifth birthday, Laura would be entitled to the money herself. Then again, that might be the whole point to this little reunion. James Ed would make sure that she didn’t show up to claim her trust fund. What would a man, brother or not, do to maintain control of that much money?
Nick stepped closer and Laura jerked back to the here and now. Robby was gone. Doc was gone. What did anything else matter? Panic skittering up her spine once more, she backed away when Nick reached for her. She had to find Robby and Doc. Laura rushed to the door of the house that served as both clinic and home to Doc Holland. She banged on the old oak-and-glass door and called out his name. He had to be here. He simply would not just disappear. She twisted the knob and shook the door. It was locked up tight.
Doc never locked the door to his clinic.
“This isn’t right,” she muttered. Laura moved to the parlor window. She cupped her hands around her eyes and peered through the ancient, slightly wavy, translucent glass. Everything looked to be in order. But it couldn’t be.
“He wouldn’t just leave like this,” she reminded herself aloud. Bounding off the porch, Laura rushed to the next window at the side of the house. The kitchen appeared neat and tidy, the way Doc always kept it.
But something was wrong. Laura could feel it all the way to her bones. Something very bad had happened to Doc. Her heart thudded painfully. She knew Doc too well. He would never just disappear with Robby without leaving her some sort of word. “They’ve gotten to him, too,” she whispered, the words lost to the biting wind. Forcing herself to act rather than react, Laura ran to the next window, then the next one after that.
That same sense of emptiness she had felt at Mrs. Leeton’s echoed inside her.
“No one’s here, Laura.”
She struggled against the fresh onslaught of tears, then turned on Nick. “He has to be here,” she snapped. Her heart couldn’t bear the possibility that her child was in the hands of strangers who might want to harm him. Or that something bad had happened to Doc. “Don’t you understand? Without him…” Anguish constricted her throat, she couldn’t say the rest out loud.
Nick lifted one brow and glared at her unsympathetically. “We’re leaving now. No more chasing our tails.” He snagged her right arm before she could retreat. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it already is,” he warned.
Difficult? Laura could only stare at him, vaguely aware that he was now leading her back to the car. Did he truly think her situation was merely difficult? Could he not see that someone had cut her heart right out of her chest? Her child was missing! And she had to find him. Somehow…no matter what it cost her.
Another thought suddenly occurred to Laura—Doc’s fishing cabin. Maybe he had gone to the cabin to hide Robby. Hope bloomed in Laura’s chest. It wasn’t totally outside the realm of possibility, she assured herself. She paused before getting into the car and closed her eyes for a moment to allow that hope to warm her. Please, God, she prayed once more, let me find my baby.
Now, all she had to do was convince Nick to take her there. She opened her eyes and her gaze immediately collided with his intense green one. Despite everything, desire sparked inside her. How she wanted to tell Nick the truth—to make him believe in her again. But she couldn’t. And when they arrived at the cabin, if her son was not there, Laura would do whatever she had to in order to escape. She would go to James Ed all right. But she would go alone and on her own terms. Somehow Laura would devise a fail-safe plan to get her son back.
Whatever it took, she would do it.
NICK KEPT a firm hold on Laura as they emerged from the car outside Dr. Holland’s rustic fishing cabin. The place was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods on three sides and the unpredictable Mississippi River on the fourth. The cabin sat so close to the water’s edge, Nick felt sure it flooded regularly. But from the looks of things, there appeared to be no amenities like electricity. It served only as modest shelter for the hard-core fisherman or hunter. So what did a little water hurt now and then? he mused. Most likely nothing.
Now that he had gotten a good look at the place, Nick was surprised there had been a road accessible by car at all. Once again, quiet surrounded them. Only the occasional lapping of the water against a primitive old dock broke the utter silence. The sun had peaked and was now making its trek westward. Nick would give Laura five minutes to look around and then they were heading to Jackson. They had already wasted entirely too much time.
She hadn’t spoken other than to give him directions since they left the clinic. Nick glanced at her solemn face now and wondered what was going on in that head of hers. His gut told him he didn’t want to know. And his gut was seldom wrong.
At the steps to the dilapidated porch, Laura pulled free of his loosening grip and raced to the door. Nick followed more slowly, allowing her some space to discover what he already knew: there was no one here. Considering nothing about the cabin’s environment appeared disturbed in any way, and the lack of tracks, human or otherwise, there hadn’t been anyone here in quite a while. Nick swore softly at the pain that knifed through his knee when he took the final step up onto the porch.
Damn his knee injury, and damn this place. He plowed his fingers through his hair and shifted his weight to his left side.
The wind rustled through the treetops, momentarily interrupting the rhythmic sound of the lapping water. Nick scanned the dense woods and then the murky river, a definite sense of unease pricked at him. Maybe it was because the remote location reminded him of the place he and Laura had shared two years ago, or maybe it was just restlessness—the need to get on with this. Whatever the case, Nick’s tension escalated to a higher state of alert. If he still smoked, he’d sure as hell light up now. But he’d quit long ago. He had even stopped carrying matches.
“Doc’s not here. No one’s here.”
Nick met Laura’s fearful gaze. Drawing in a halting breath, she rubbed at the renewed tears with the back of her hand. She looked so vulnerable, so fragile. He wanted to hold her and assure her that everything would be all right as soon as she was back home. But what if he was wrong? What if someone still intended to harm her?
And what if
he were the biggest fool that ever put one foot in front of the other? Don’t swallow the bait, Foster. You’ve seen this song and dance before. “Let’s get on the road then,” he suggested, self-disgust making his tone more curt than he had intended.
She blinked those long, thick lashes and backed away a step. “I can’t go with you, Nick.” Laura shook her head slowly from side to side. “I have to find Robby. I…I can’t leave without him. If you won’t help me, I’ll just have to do it alone.”
Keeping his gaze leveled on hers, Nick cautiously closed the distance between them. “Don’t do anything stupid, Laura,” he warned. “If you say you have a kid, I’m sure it’s true. And if you do, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to take him, can you? What about the boy’s father?”
The cornered-animal look that stole across her face gave her away about two seconds before she darted back inside the cabin. She had almost made it across the solitary room and to the back door when Nick caught, then trapped her between his body and a makeshift kitchen cabinet. Anger and pain battled for immediate attention, but at the moment jealousy of a man he had never even met had him by the throat. He leaned in close, pressing her against the rough wood counter, forcing her to acknowledge his superior physical strength.
“Does Rafe know about his son? Or is there some other unlucky fellow still wondering whatever happened to his sweet little Laura?” Nick snarled like the wounded animal he was.
In a self-protective gesture, Laura braced her hands against his chest, unknowingly wreaking havoc with his senses. How could she still affect him this way? Her scent tantalized him, made him want to touch her, taste her, in all the ways he had that one night. Every muscle in his body hardened at the imagined sensation of touching Laura again. When she turned that sweet face up to his, her eyes wide with worry and pleading for his understanding, his resolve cracked….
“He doesn’t know about Robby.” She licked those full pink lips and a single tear slid slowly down one porcelain cheek. “I’m afraid I won’t find him, Nick. Please help me.”
…his resolve crumbled. Nick allowed himself to touch her. His fingertips glided over smooth, perfect skin, tracing the path of that lone tear. The sensation of touching Laura like he had dreamed of doing for so very long short-circuited all rational thought.
Slowly, regret nipping at his heels already, Nick lowered his head. He saw her lips tremble just before he took them with his own. Her soft, yielding sigh sent a ripple of sensual pleasure through him. She tasted just like he remembered, sweet and innocent and so very delicate. Like a cherished rose trustingly opening to the sun’s warmth, Laura opened for him. And when he thrust his tongue inside her sweet, inviting mouth the past slipped away. Only the moment remained…touching Laura, tasting her and holding her close, then closer still.
Nick threaded his fingers into her long blond hair, reveling in the silky texture as he cradled the back of her head. “Laura,” he murmured against her mouth, and she responded, knotting her fists in his shirt and pulling him closer. His body melded with hers, her softness molding to his every hard contour as he deepened the already mind-blowing kiss.
Lust pounded through him with every beat of his heart. Nick traced the outline of Laura’s soft body, his palms lingering over the rise of her breasts, then moved lower to cup her bottom and pull her more firmly into him. She slid one tentative hand down his chest, then between their grinding bodies. Laura caressed him intimately. Nick groaned loudly into her mouth as she rubbed his erection again and again through his jeans.
Her tongue dueled with his, taking control of the kiss, just as her body now controlled his. Her firm breasts pressed into his chest, her nipples pebbled peaks beneath the thin cotton of her T-shirt. The urge to make love to Laura—here, now—overwhelmed all else as she propelled him ever closer toward climax with nothing more than her hand, and in spite of the layers of clothing still separating them.
The unexpected blow to the side of his head sent Nick’s equilibrium reeling. He staggered back a couple of steps and Laura took off like a shot. He stared at the thick ceramic mug shattered on the primitive wooden floor. He hadn’t even noticed it on the counter. Nick shook his head to clear it and took several halting steps in the general direction of the door. When he got his hands on Laura he intended to wring her neck. At the moment he had to focus on reversing the flow of blood from below his belt to above his neck.
She was already at the car when he stumbled across the porch, his body still reeling from her touch. He rubbed the throbbing place just behind his temple then checked his fingertips for any sign of blood. No blood, just a hell of a lump rising. A half dozen or so four-letter words tumbled from his mouth as he lurched toward the car, his knee throbbing with each unsteady step. Pure, unadulterated rage flashed through him like a wild fire. She would regret this, he promised himself.
Nick knew by Laura’s horrified expression that she had just discovered that the keys weren’t in the ignition. Did she think he was stupid as well as gullible? In a last-ditch effort to save herself, she locked the doors.
Grinning like the idiot he now recognized himself to be, Nick reached into his pocket and retrieved the keys, then proceeded to dangle them at her. “Going somewhere?” He inserted the key into the door’s lock and glared at her. “I don’t think so.” He jerked the door open and leaned inside.
Laura tried to climb over the seat and into the back but Nick caught her by the waist.
“Let me go!” she screamed, slapping, scratching and kicking with all her might. “I have to find my son!”
Once Nick had restrained her against the passenger-side door, he glowered at Laura for three long beats before he spoke. “You have two choices,” he growled. “You can sit here quietly while I drive to Jackson, or I can tie you up and put you in the trunk. It’s your call, Laura, what’s it going to be?”
Chapter Three
Laura sat absolutely still as Nick parked the car at the rear of James Ed’s private estate per security’s instructions. She forced away the thoughts and emotions that tugged at her senses. Nick’s touch, his kiss, the feel of his arms around her once more. She still wanted him, no matter that her whole world was spinning out of control. Commanding her attention back to the newest level of her nightmare, Laura lifted her gaze to the stately residence before her. The place was every bit as ostentatious as she had expected. Nothing but the best for James Ed, she thought with disgust.
In a few hours every available space out front would be filled with Mercedes, Cadillacs and limousines as the official victory party got under way. According to Nick’s telephone conversation with James Ed, of which Laura had only overheard Nick’s end, a celebration was planned for the Governor’s cohorts who had won big in today’s election. Laura was to be taken in through the back. That way there would be no chance that a guest arriving early or some of the hired help might see her. James Ed was still protecting his good name.
But Laura didn’t care. A kind of numbness had settled over her at this point. The knowledge that she might never see Robby again, and that she was going to die had drained her of all energy. She felt spent, useless.
She surveyed again the well-lit mansion and considered what appeared to make her brother happy. Money and power. Those were the things that mattered to him. He could keep Laura’s trust fund. She didn’t care. She only wanted her son back. But James Ed wouldn’t care what Laura wanted. He had never cared about her. Otherwise he would have left her alone after she disappeared rather than hunting her down like an animal. She had barely escaped his hired gunmen on two other occasions. And now Laura would answer doubly to James Ed for all the trouble she had caused him.
But he couldn’t hurt her anymore, that was a fact. He had already taken away the only thing in this world that mattered to Laura.
Laura looked up to find Nick reaching back inside the car to unbuckle her seat belt. His lips were moving, so she knew he was speaking to her, but his words didn’t register. On autopilot, Laura
scooted across the seat and pushed out into the cold night air to stand next to Nick. She looked up at him, the light from a nearby lamppost casting his handsome face in shadows and angles. She knew Nick was a good man, but he had been blinded by her brother’s charisma just like everyone else. None of this was Nick’s fault, not really. He was only doing what he thought was right. His job.
Would Robby look like him when he grew up? she suddenly wondered. Even at fifteen months, he already had those devilish green eyes and that thick black hair.
Yes, Laura decided, her son would grow up to be every bit as handsome as his father. She frowned and her mouth went unbearably dry. The father he would never know…and the mother he wouldn’t remember. She blinked—too late. Hot tears leaked past her lashes.
“They’re waiting for us inside,” Nick said, drawing her back to the present.
Laura swallowed but it didn’t help. She brushed the moisture from her cheeks with the back of her hands and took a deep, fortifying breath. She might as well get this over with. No point in dragging it out.
“I’m ready,” she managed.
“Good.”
Nick smiled then and Laura’s heart fluttered beneath her breast. It was the first time today she had seen him smile, and just like she remembered, it was breathtaking. Robby would have a heart-stopping smile like that, too.
“This way, Mr. Foster.”
Startled, Laura turned toward the unfamiliar male voice. The order came from a man in a black suit. A member of her brother’s security staff, Laura realized upon closer inspection. She noted the wire that extended from his starched white collar to the small earpiece he wore. The lack of inflection in his tone as well as his deadpan gaze confirmed Laura’s assumption.
Nick took Laura by the arm and ushered her forward as he followed the security guy. No one spoke as they moved across the verandah and toward the French doors at the back of the house. Laura instinctively absorbed every detail of the house’s exterior. Her brother had spared no expense on exterior lighting. Of course that could be a hindrance if she somehow managed to escape. The darkness proved an ally at times. Not that her chance of escaping was likely. Laura eyed the man in black’s tall frame with diminishing hope. Still, she needed to pay attention to the details. As long as she was still breathing, there was hope. Focus, Laura, she commanded her foggy brain.
