by Debra Webb
“You don’t understand,” she argued. “He’s here. How else could he know how to find me? He’s coming for my son.”
Sloan struggled for calm. “Listen to me, Rachel.” He willed her to look at him. She complied. “If Angel were close, he would simply strike. Sending warning messages is not his style. Someone else sent this message. Someone who’s doing Angel’s baby-sitting.”
“I don’t understand,” she said haltingly. “Who?”
He let go a mighty breath. “That I don’t know. A girlfriend maybe. As far as I know, Angel has never had a partner.” Sloan considered the events in town the afternoon Rachel tracked him down. “Maybe the woman who gave Josh the bear. Whoever it is, he or she is watching you. They’ve probably kept Angel up to speed.”
She frowned, tears threatening. “Are you saying that the note might be a hoax?”
“I wouldn’t risk it. Angel may have instructed his messenger to send it in hopes of avoiding a confrontation with me. He’d rather have you back in New Orleans where it would be just the two of you.”
Rachel blinked furiously, but a tear trickled down anyway. “We can’t let him find my son,” she whispered, her ability to stay vertical in serious jeopardy now.
Sloan pulled her close, sliding his arms protectively around her. “Don’t worry, we’re going to make sure he doesn’t find Josh.”
“How can we do that?” Her voice was muffled by his shirt.
“We’re going to take him someplace Angel will never think to look.”
She drew away from Sloan, searching his eyes once more. “Where?”
“Someplace the rest of the world has forgotten.”
Chapter Seven
Following Sloan’s instructions, Rachel quickly shoved clothes into the dark, canvas backpack. Satisfied that she had everything she and Josh would need for a couple of days, she dropped the pack to the floor and dressed in the darkest clothing she owned. She rarely wore black. The color was Angel’s calling card. He always wore black.
Rachel shivered. Her chest felt so tight she could hardly draw in a breath. But now wasn’t the time to think about Angel. His warning echoed inside her head. He was coming for his son very soon. They had to hide some place safe. Sloan would take care of Angel. The prospects of Sloan having to face the man worried her, but it was the only way. To kill a man one had to be willing to face him. And Sloan was willing.
She released a shaky breath. Never in her life had she wanted so badly for someone to die. She prayed Sloan could do the job without getting hurt…or worse. Unless Angel died, she and Josh would never be free. Somewhere beneath all her fear and hatred for the father of her child, Rachel knew it was morally wrong to wish for his death. But, God help her, she just couldn’t stop herself.
She tugged on the navy blue tank top, then the black shirt Pablo had provided in case she didn’t have anything dark enough. The shirt belonged to Sloan. It was much too large for Pablo’s small, thin frame. Rachel smoothed her hand over the soft cotton material. Need welled inside her so fast it made her knees weak. She willed the unbidden yearning back into submission. The unfamiliar feelings he evoked in her confused her as well as frightened her. She shouldn’t be experiencing these kinds of feelings. Sloan was not the sort of man a woman fell in love with unless she wanted to get her heart broken. Rachel didn’t need any more damage to her heart. The only thing she needed from him was his protection.
After tying her shoes, she gave herself a final once-over in the mirror. The big shirt hung on her like a tent, but it would do the trick. She was as ready as she would ever be. All she had to do now was get Josh ready. Her eyes sought the child sleeping soundly in the rumpled bed. Rachel released a heavy breath. Josh was all that really mattered in all this insanity.
Please, God, she prayed, protect my baby.
She grabbed the dark clothes she had selected for Josh and crossed to the bed. She sat down on the edge of the mattress and gently roused her little boy.
“Josh,” she murmured. “Wake up, sweetie, we’re going to play hide-and-seek.” That was what she always told him. Whenever they had to run, whether it was the middle of the night or straight up noon, she always made it a game. “Come on, sweetie,” she encouraged when he curled into a little ball beneath the covers. “We have to hurry. Mr. Sloan is going to play, too. He’s waiting for us.”
Her son’s eyes popped open. He rubbed one with his fist. “’Kay.” Josh scrambled from under the cover. “Can my bear play, too?” He hugged the stuffed animal to his chest.
“Of course your bear can play.” Rachel produced a smile. She refused to consider that the damned thing likely came from Angel or whomever he had watching them. She couldn’t really be sure, and Josh loved the fuzzy stuffed animal. There was no reason she could think of to make him leave it behind.
Once bathroom necessities were out of the way, she dressed her son as hastily as she had herself. Rachel pulled on the backpack, then reached for Josh. He hugged his arms around her neck and rested his little head against his mommy’s chest. She inhaled deeply of his sweet scent and sent up one final silent prayer. Rachel was halfway to the door when the anticipated knock came.
Dressed completely in black, Pablo waited in the hall. “We must hurry, señora. I will carry the boy.”
Rachel shook her head. “I’ll carry him,” she insisted. Though she trusted Pablo, she wanted Josh with her.
He nodded reluctantly before turning away. Rachel followed him through the house, then across the quiet courtyard. In the atrium, they took the door leading to the rear of the property as she and Sloan did each day for their run and target practice. Her heart pounded harder with each passing moment. She didn’t ask the questions tightening her chest. She had to trust Sloan. Where he was taking them didn’t matter. All that mattered now was keeping Josh safe. Pablo paused at the towering wall and entered the code required to open the massive gate. She wondered then where Sloan was. Had he gone ahead of them? That notion unsettled her further. Though Pablo was a good man, Rachel felt much safer with Sloan—at least as far as personal protection went.
A quarter moon provided enough illumination for Rachel to see fairly well. Pablo’s short legs ate up the ground before them. Rachel hurried to catch up for fear of losing his wiry frame in the darkness. The order to dress in her darkest clothing was crystal clear to her now. They were less likely to be seen in the dark of night by anyone watching the house.
Rachel suddenly slowed. Why hadn’t Sloan joined them? Was he waiting up ahead? She peered at the dark terrain that stretched before her. She could see nothing. She strained to listen. Nothing. Pablo moved forward soundlessly, leaving her behind. She supposed she had better catch up again. But where was Sloan?
“Keep moving.”
The quiet order came from right behind her. Rachel spun around to find Sloan only inches away.
“I didn’t know you were behind me.” She struggled to capture the breath that had escaped her. “I was afraid to go on without you.” Her arms tightened instinctively around her son, who had fallen back to sleep the moment he settled into her hold. “Where are we going?”
Even in the sparse light she could see Sloan’s vivid eyes. Such a translucent blue, and unnervingly intent. The pounding in her chest increased, but it had nothing to do with what might lay before them. It was Sloan. His presence surrounded her. Though she feared her reaction to him on many levels, anytime he was near, Rachel felt safe. She almost shook her head at the absurdity of her other feelings, but they were there just the same. She felt bewildered by her body’s response to him. There simply was no explanation. He was fiercely demanding and forever indifferent to even his own feelings. He defined dangerous. But every part of her longed to know him intimately.
He touched her arm, sending heat rushing through her traitorous body. “Pablo is waiting. I’ll carry Josh now.”
“I’m fine.” Rachel didn’t give him a chance to argue the point. The urgency she’d heard in his voice propelled h
er feet, about the only part of her that was not affected by his nearness, back into action. She hurried in the direction she had last seen Pablo. She squinted, hoping to get a glimpse of movement. Rachel tried not to think about the snakes, or the lizards she knew resided in the area. Goose bumps raised on her skin and she moved a little faster. As scared as she was of the reptiles that might be slithering around her feet, she knew without a doubt that there was nothing in this desert that posed as deadly a threat to her and her son as Angel did. And standing around lusting after Sloan wasn’t going to help.
“This way, señora.”
Startled after several long minutes of total silence, Rachel took a calming breath, then followed the soft sound of Pablo’s voice as he repeated his instructions. Sloan was somewhere behind her. Though she didn’t look back, she could feel him. She had the impression that he moved around them frequently. Sometimes way ahead, sometimes lagging behind. He was scouting for Angel or his helper, she realized after further consideration. Rachel’s skin crawled at the thought that Angel might be out there somewhere. But Sloan had assured her that whoever left the note was gone. She forced the worry away and focused on keeping up with Pablo.
“You must stay very close, señora,” Pablo warned as she all but collided with him. “The path grows treacherous now.”
They had reached the base of the mountains. The rugged peaks that looked so beautiful in the light of day, loomed ominously in the darkness, half hiding the moon. Rachel could feel the change in the terrain beneath her feet. Though still sandy, the ground was more uneven now, the clumps of scrubby grass much thicker and more prevalent.
“I won’t fall behind again,” Rachel assured Pablo. She didn’t want to take any chances that if anyone were out there, they might catch up to them.
“The higher up we go, the more narrow the path becomes,” Pablo explained. “Keep to the right, hug the cliffs.”
Rachel followed his gesture as he pointed to the vertical terrain rising before them. “Okay.” Her voice reflected the anxiety she couldn’t restrain. Among her numerous other firsts since her arrival, she had never climbed mountains before. That her first expedition was with only the moon to light her path didn’t help.
Sloan’s hand was at the small of her back then, urging her forward. She obeyed, moving cautiously. Pablo matched his pace to hers, speeding up when Rachel moved faster, then slowing down as she did. The trail climbed upward, winding around the cliffs, its width cut right out of the face of the mountain. The oak and pine trees that soared amid the mountainous terrain cast long shadows around her, completely darkening the path in places. She couldn’t slow long enough to consider the sharp contrast between the forests of the mountains and the meager desert scrub surrounding Sloan’s house not so far away.
Rachel kept her gaze steady on her path. She didn’t dare look beyond the narrow ledge for fear she would stall dead in her tracks. Her stomach knotted against the butterflies flapping their tiny wings inside her. The skin on the back of her neck prickled against the unseen threat. How much higher would they climb before they started their descent?
Rachel shifted Josh’s weight in her arms. She couldn’t be sure how long it had been since they left the house, but her arms ached and her legs felt like rubber. One way or another she had to keep going. Pablo was very far ahead of her now. Hastening her step, she stumbled but caught herself before she hit the ground. Josh whimpered and tightened his hold around her neck. Once her heart had slid back down into her chest, she soothed her baby with soft cooing sounds. Trembling with her own unmanageable fears, Rachel forced one foot in front of the other. She couldn’t stop now. They had to get as far away as possible. Angel was coming.
Pablo paused until she came up beside him, he reached for Josh then. “Let me carry the boy now, señora. You grow weary.” Josh resisted, snuggling closer to his mother.
“It’s okay,” Rachel returned. “I’ll manage.” Though Josh loved Pablo for a playmate, at naptime or bedtime he wanted his mother.
“He’s slowing you down too much,” Sloan growled next to her.
Rachel shifted to peer up at him. His posture reflected the impatience in his tone. Pablo reached for Josh again, but he would have no part of it.
“Come on, sweetie,” Rachel urged. “Pablo wants to carry you for a while. Mommy will be right behind you.”
“No!” Josh clung to her.
“I’m sorry,” she began, hoping the two men would understand the fears of a child. Though she wanted to comply with Sloan’s demands, her son’s comfort came first. “He—”
Sloan took Josh from her arms before she could finish her sentence. A wail of protest burst from her son’s mouth. Rachel reached for him, but Sloan backed away.
“Keep moving,” he ordered.
Josh stared up at him as he spoke. Suddenly, as if only then realizing who held him, he snuggled against Sloan’s chest. Stunned, but immensely relieved, Rachel resumed her trek behind Pablo. Her entire body shook with weariness now. Her arms trembled after having carried Josh for so long. But she would have carried him until she dropped from exhaustion if necessary. She glanced over her shoulder once more. Her son clung to Sloan as he had clung to her minutes before. The image warmed her.
“No slowing down, Rachel.”
She shivered at the sound of her name on Sloan’s lips. He hadn’t called her by her first name before. Rachel shook off the foreign sensations and trudged after Pablo. Why should it make her tremble so to hear him call her name? She was tired. That’s all. She had no idea what time it was, but she felt certain that physical exhaustion was her problem at the moment.
But what about the rest of the time?
His every touch, every look affected her deeply. She knew it. There was no point in denying the truth. He was her protector, her hero. That’s all, she decided. It wasn’t personal, it was chemical. As soon as Angel was out of her life and she and Josh returned home, Sloan would be nothing but a distant memory.
One last look over her shoulder was all it took to make a liar out of her. Her gaze connected with his in the moon’s silvery glow and fire surged through her veins. Rachel wondered if he felt it too?
She almost laughed out loud at that one. Men like Sloan didn’t come undone over a silly hero-worshipping female. She was most likely nothing but a nuisance to him.
“Get the lead out,” he barked, confirming her musing.
Rachel sighed and quickened her pace. Just because he had kissed her didn’t mean anything…except that she was even more pathetic than she thought.
BY THE TIME they started their descent, Sloan had grown accustomed to the little body clinging to him like a choking vine. This, he thought with self-deprecation, was the very reason he hadn’t wanted to take this case. He didn’t want to feel anything for Rachel Larson or her son. Despite his best efforts, Sloan was drawn to the boy in a way over which he had no control. The memory of him falling asleep in Sloan’s lap the other night haunted him even now. He didn’t want to be reminded of how a child’s warm little body felt in his arms. Or of the way they slept so innocently, so trustingly. But it was too late now, the deed was done. He cared for the child with the basic human compassion he thought he had buried long ago. And, God forgive him, he hated himself for it. This was not his child…this was Angel’s son.
No matter. Sloan had failed to protect his own son, but he would not fail Josh. Angel would not take Josh from his mother, nor would he harm either of them. Sloan intended to kill the bastard. Very soon. He clenched his jaw against the rage that threatened to overwhelm him. Now was not the time to allow those emotions. Right now he had to concentrate on hiding Josh away from the game that had begun. Sloan’s gaze traveled over Rachel as she picked her way downward. Convincing her to leave the boy would not be easy. But it was necessary to the child’s safety.
Rachel stumbled again. Sloan tracked her progress as she pulled herself up and continued the difficult journey. Pablo reminded her again to stay to the right. If
Rachel paused and took detailed note of the dizzying drop that lay to the left of the goat trail they now descended she would likely faint with fear.
Sloan tightened his hold on Josh and navigated a particularly treacherous, twisting drop. Rousing enough to recognize that he was no longer in his mother’s arms, Josh whimpered.
“It’s all right,” Sloan murmured against his head. He tried not to notice the scent of baby shampoo, but it was impossible. The memory of holding his own son so close when he was frightened exploded into his consciousness. Climbing the big tree in the middle of their backyard with his son zoomed into vivid 3-D focus. They had sat there for hours on end just to watch the birds go about their business. Mark had jabbered about the adventure for days.
Mark.
Sloan hesitated. His son. Pain so fierce that his breath ripped through him. He hadn’t consciously allowed that name to enter his thoughts in years. Stalling, he closed his eyes and tried to repress the images of his son’s sweet face. The thick curls that were more blond than brown. Laughing blue eyes. And a big toothy smile.
Rachel’s shriek jerked Sloan from his painful reverie. His heart slammed hard against his sternum. She had stumbled again. The momentum as she slipped to the ground, then slid forward took her the last few feet of the downward trek before Sloan could reach her.
“You okay?”
She stood and dusted herself off. “Yeah. I tripped over something,” she said, her voice shaking. “I was trying to catch up with Pablo.”
“He went on ahead to announce our arrival.”
A brittle laugh slipped from her lips. “No wonder I couldn’t catch up with him.” She paused, belatedly absorbing his words. “Announce our arrival?”
Sloan ushered her forward. The trail wound to the right and off through the trees now. In fifteen or twenty minutes they would arrive at the small village where Pablo’s people lived. The group was reclusive and distrustful of strangers. It was important that Pablo explained their arrival in advance.
