RENEGADE GUARDIAN

by Delores Fossen

“You’ll need to go to a safe house.” Slade checked the time. “My brother’s working on that. The sheriff will continue to press Gambill and hope he spills something. I don’t think Gambill’s an innocent as he’s claiming, but he’s not smart enough to put together something like this.”

  “What about Randall Martin, the owner of the green SUV?” she asked.

  “I talked to him on the phone, and he’s coming in for an interview, but he claims someone stole his SUV and that he reported it stolen before the attack.”

  “You believe him?”

  Slade lifted his shoulder. “He knew about the kidnappings. Said he heard about them on the news.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Maybe he did. But he doesn’t have an alibi for the time of the kidnapping attempt. He claims he’s been home alone.”

  So he could be the person responsible and could have reported his vehicle stolen to cover his tracks. “What about the missing nanny, Andrea Culberson? Are the cops still looking for her?”

  He nodded. “Looking but with no luck finding her. She’s left no money or paper trail.”

  Maya couldn’t dismiss the nanny as a suspect, but there was something about her situation that didn’t make sense. “If Andrea took her employers’ baby, then why would she take another child and then attempt to kidnap Evan?”

  “She had some mental problems,” Slade reminded her. “Maybe this is just overkill.” He paused. “Or she could be dead. The kidnapper could have murdered her when he took the baby.”

  Despite the bone-weary fatigue, that sent a spike of panic through her. Maya wanted to get out of there, fast, so that her baby wouldn’t be in danger.

  As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, Slade cupped his hand around her wrist. Not a rough grip. A barely there touch, something she wouldn’t have thought him capable of, not with that strongman’s body.

  “Breathe,” he insisted.

  Only then did Maya realize that she’d sucked in her breath and held it. She released it and shook off his grip. But it didn’t matter. Just that brief anchor had been enough to help her settle the panic.

  “Andrea’s employers, Nadine and Chase Collier, have hired a P.I. to look for her,” Slade added. “And their baby, of course.”

  She looked down at her son and couldn’t imagine losing him. A parent’s worst nightmare. One that Slade had been through himself. No doubt that was the reason for the pain she now saw in his eyes when he stared at Evan.

  The sound shot through the room, and because Maya’s nerves were right there at the surface, she gasped. It took her a moment to realize someone had knocked on the door. Slade jumped to his feet, moving in front of her, but she saw his shoulders relax when the door opened.

  But Maya didn’t relax.

  The man in the doorway looked just as intense as Slade.

  “My brother,” Slade said to her. “Marshal Declan O’Malley.”

  The lanky dark-haired man slipped off his Stetson, caught her gaze and nodded a greeting. Maya noticed not only the lack of resemblance but the different surnames.

  “Your brother?” she questioned.

  “Foster brother,” Marshal O’Malley explained. Like Slade, he had an easy Texas drawl, but there was a hint of some other accent. His gray-green eyes went from her to Slade and then to Evan.

  “The safe house is ready.” Declan handed the papers he was holding to Slade. “The background checks you wanted.”

  Slade took them, and Maya went closer to him so she could see what had captured his complete attention. Randall Martin’s name was on the first line. Before she could even scan through the personal info about his address, age, etc., Slade mumbled some profanity.

  “Yeah,” his brother concurred. “You need to question him.”

  Maya saw it then. In the paragraph of comments. Randall’s girlfriend, Gina Blackwell, had left him several months earlier, and apparently it hadn’t been a peaceful split, because she’d filed a restraining order against him.

  The restraining order didn’t prove that Randall could be involved in the kidnappings, but it was a clue that he could be violent. However, there was nothing to indicate that Randall had believed a baby would help bring his ex back to him. But maybe that was exactly what’d happened.

  “Might be best if I take Randall into Maverick Springs for questioning,” Declan explained. “This is already federal anyway, since the FBI was called in.”

  She shook her head. “Does that mean the marshals would handle the case?”

  “We already are.” Slade’s tone wasn’t as bossy as usual, but he certainly wasn’t asking for permission.

  “Before you take Maya to the safe house, you can question Randall at the marshals’ office,” Declan went on. “And talk to Ranger Morris.” He paused, met his brother’s gaze. “There’s been a...development.”

  Both men glanced at her, and she didn’t think it was her imagination they were considering if they should take this conversation out of the room. But then Slade looked at the baby.

  “What development?” he asked Declan.

  Even though Slade had obviously just given him the green light to continue, Declan hesitated. Mumbled some profanity. “The Rangers claim they found an eyewitness who puts you near Webb’s office at the time of the murder.”

  Of all the things she’d thought he might say, that wasn’t one of them. “You’re a suspect in a murder investigation?”

  Slade’s mouth tightened. “I’m a suspect in a witch hunt,” he huffed, putting his hands on his hips. “I was raised at the Rocky Creek Children’s Facility.”

  Oh. Now, that was a place she recognized because it’d been in the news for months. The facility was closed now, but it had a less than stellar reputation. As had the headmaster, Jonah Webb, and about six months ago Webb’s body had been found in a shallow grave near Rocky Creek.

  But she recalled other facts. Ones that had her shaking her head. “Webb’s wife confessed to the murder.”

  Declan nodded. “But before she went into a coma, she said she had an accomplice.”

  She turned toward Slade so quickly that she accidentally bumped into Evan’s carrier. Startled, her son’s hands flew up, and he started to cry. Maya picked him up to try and soothe him, but she needed some reassurance of her own.

  “The Rangers believe you helped murder Webb.” And it wasn’t exactly a question.

  Maya hadn’t thought it possible, but Slade’s jaw tightened even more. “For the record, Webb deserved to spend an eternity in hell, and whoever sent him there should be given a medal. Not jail time.”

  It wasn’t the declaration of innocence she’d been hoping for, but Maya decided to withhold judgment. About that anyway. From what she’d read about Webb, he had been physically abusing the children at the facility he ran. A man who preyed on someone weaker than himself.

  Something Maya had some experience with.

  And that was the reason she was willing to cut Slade some slack.

  She hoped that was the only reason.

  Maya was so deep in her own thoughts that she nearly missed the look that Slade and Declan gave each other. Something passed between them, maybe an entire conversation, and at the end of it, Slade and Declan moved away from her and closer to the door. With their backs to her, Declan whispered something.

  “Is this personal?” she thought she heard Declan say. But what she didn’t hear was Slade’s response. Declan handed Slade something, and when he turned back around to face her, she saw the small plastic bag in his hand.

  “It’s a DNA test kit.” Slade’s attention went straight to Evan. So did he. Slade walked back toward her, reached out and touched Evan’s cheek.

  Evan stopped whimpering and turned his head toward Slade. Her baby studied the dark and brooding man who’d deemed himself their guardian-protector.
<
br />   “DNA?” Maya shook her head. “You didn’t answer my question earlier when I asked about it. You don’t think I had something to do with the kidnappings?”

  “It’s for the baby. For Evan.” He paused, kept touching Evan. “You’ll need to swab the inside of his mouth so we can see if there’s some kind of genetic connection to any of our suspects. Or someone else in the criminal database. It could give us answers as to who the kidnapper is.”

  Oh.

  She took a moment to let that settle in, and it didn’t settle in well. A chill went through her, and Maya turned her body so that Slade’s fingers were no longer on Evan’s cheek.

  “We already have the DNA from one of the missing babies—the second one taken. The lab got it from the baby’s pacifier. Now we’re working on getting samples for the first baby, his parents and from Evan’s birth mother and father.”

  Again Maya had to shake her head. “The birth mother didn’t want her identity known. And my adoption attorney said the mother couldn’t name the father. She apparently had multiple partners and wasn’t even sure who the father was.”

  “The DNA might tell us that,” Declan volunteered. “And if the birth father has a criminal history. It’s possible that he heard about the baby and is now trying to find his son.”

  That chill in her body turned to ice, and because she was afraid her legs might give way, Maya hugged Evan closer to her and sank back down into the chair. As bad as that scenario was, maybe it meant the other babies were safe, that the kidnapper would release them as soon as he learned they weren’t his child.

  But what would he do with the child that was his?

  Maya hugged Evan even tighter.

  Declan looked down at some notes he was holding. “I went through hospital records, and Evan’s birth mother is Crystal Hanson. We’re searching for her so she can give us a sample, but she has a do-not-contact order regarding anything about the baby. We’re also hoping that someone who knew her will be able to tell us the identity of the father.” He looked up from the notes and at her. “You never met Ms. Hanson?”

  “Never. Evan was actually supposed to go to another family, but they had to back out at the last minute. I was the next one on the list at the adoption agency, so two days after he was born, I got the call.”

  The best call of her life. Of course, now the danger and fear of the unknown were overshadowing her happiness. Maya resented it, too. Yes, it seemed a small complaint in the grand scheme of things, but she wanted to be able to enjoy every precious moment with her son, and this kidnapper was taking that away from her and from Evan.

  Slade opened the test kit and handed her the swab. Part of her wanted to refuse the test and bury her head in the sand, but that wouldn’t make the danger go away. And besides, this might just be the first step into stopping the danger so they could get on with their lives.

  “Just rub it on the sides of his mouth,” Slade instructed.

  Maya did it as quickly as she could and handed it back to Slade, who put it back into the plastic bag before he gave it to Declan. “I want preliminary results back ASAP.”

  Declan nodded and opened his mouth to say something. However, the knock at the door stopped him. Again Slade stepped protectively in front of her, and she had to peer around him to see who was in the doorway when Declan opened it.

  Sheriff Monroe.

  The sheriff looked at Slade. “You know that missing nanny—Andrea Culberson?”

  Slade nodded. “Yeah. The one who might be the kidnapper. What about her?”

  Sheriff Monroe hitched his thumb in the direction of the dispatch-reception area. “Well, she just walked in.”

  “She’s here?” Maya couldn’t believe it. According to Slade, every law enforcement agency in the state was looking for her and even thought that she might be dead.

  “She’s here,” the sheriff verified, then turned to Maya. “And she’s asking to see the marshal and you.”

  Chapter Six

  Slade groaned.

  Yeah, he wanted this meeting with Andrea Culberson, especially if she could tell him what the heck was going on with these kidnappings. But he hadn’t wanted this to happen until he’d had Maya and the baby tucked away someplace safe. Meeting face-to-face with a suspect didn’t qualify in any way as safe.

  “I’ll take Ms. Culberson in the interview room,” the sheriff said as he left.

  Declan paused a moment, no doubt silently asking Slade if he should hang around. “Get those results to the lab,” Slade insisted. “And as soon as you can, I need all you can find out about our visitor, her employers and their missing baby.”

  His brother didn’t question any of that. Declan hurried out. Maya might have hurried out, too, probably so she could confront Andrea, but Slade stepped in front of her and shut the door.

  She stopped but not before brushing against him. Not exactly body-to-body contact, but it was enough for him to feel the heat knife right through him. Heat he darn sure shouldn’t be feeling, at least not until he’d settled some things with her.

  Like the paternity of the child in her arms.

  If that was his son, he would challenge her for custody. And he’d win because he had the law on his side. Best not to allow something stupid like attraction to get in the way of that. Besides, once Maya learned that he was hiding the possible paternity from her, any and all heat between them would vanish in a heartbeat.

  “I want to talk to Andrea,” Maya said, but then she stepped back, swallowed hard.

  “Do you really want Evan in the same room with a possible kidnapper? Because I don’t,” Slade added before she could answer.

  Maya looked ready to start a big-time argument about that, but he saw the fight leave her eyes. “I just want this to be over.” Her words were mostly breath, and the weary sigh turned to a slight tremble of her bottom lip. Heck, her eyes even watered.

  She’d been strong so far. A real fighter. But this had to be getting to her.

  Slade did the exact opposite of what he’d told himself to do. He didn’t stay away from her. He slipped his arm around Maya’s waist. “Let me question her, and I promise I’ll tell you everything she says.”

  She looked up at him, maybe to see if there was something he wasn’t telling her. Or maybe she was just looking, but either way, Slade was glad she had Evan in her arms or he might have been tempted to ease her closer.

  Correction.

  He would have been tempted to kiss her, and he wasn’t a man who was easily tempted. Still, Maya seemed to have his number when it came to reactions he’d rather not have.

  Slade moved her back across the room and eased her into the chair. “Wait here, and I’ll make sure a deputy or someone is guarding the door. As soon as I’m done, I’ll get you to the safe house so you can get some rest.”

  Again, she didn’t argue, though that might come later, when she’d gotten a second wind. Maybe the safe house wouldn’t even be necessary if he got a confession from Andrea and located the missing babies. Of course, that would only be the start of it for Slade.

  The results of that DNA test would be critical.

  Slade had no proof that Evan was actually his even if he had felt that connection to him. He only knew that he had a son out there somewhere, a baby who had likely been stolen from his ex. If Evan wasn’t his, then maybe one of the others would be, but he had to wonder how Maya would deal with the tests results if they confirmed that he was indeed Evan’s father.

  That was the thought he had on his mind when he leaned down and brushed a kiss on Evan’s head. Bad idea. Real bad. Because something flashed through Maya’s eyes, and it wasn’t tears.

  It was suspicion.

  “Stay put,” he warned her. And because of that suspicion, the moment Slade walked out and shut the door, he didn’t head to the interview
room but rather to the dispatch desk, where he found Sheriff Monroe.

  “I need someone to watch Maya and the baby,” Slade explained. He didn’t want to get into a lengthy explanation about suspicious eyes, so Slade went with something faster. “She’s on the verge of panicking and might think she’d be better off on her own. She won’t be. If Andrea isn’t the kidnapper, then Maya could be taking the baby right into the path of danger.”

  No suspicion in the sheriff’s eyes. Just concern. He nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

  With that box ticked, Slade went back down the hall. Andrea was already in the interview room, clearly waiting for him. And pacing. He instantly recognized the tall, thin blonde because he’d studied her photo. Even dressed in jeans and a simple gray jacket, she looked more like the person who’d hire a nanny than someone who’d be one. Probably because she came from rich roots and had only taken the nanny job after being disinherited by her wealthy folks.

  “Marshal Becker?” she asked, her eyes wide. She was also nibbling on her bottom lip.

  He nodded. “You asked to see me.”

  “And the woman whose baby was nearly kidnapped.” Andrea’s words came out so fast that they practically ran together. “I need you to understand I’m not guilty, that I didn’t take Will.”

  Will, short for William Chase Collier, the adopted baby boy who’d been in her care when both the baby and she had disappeared two days ago.

  “Where’s Will?” Slade asked, and he didn’t bother to sound friendly. In his experience, a badass attitude made things move a lot faster.

  “I don’t know.” Her voice broke, and she caught onto the side of the table as if to steady herself. The tears came. Man, did they. They started streaking down her cheeks, and while they looked genuine, Slade knew that sort of thing could be faked.

  “Start from the beginning. Give me your version of what happened, because your employers, Nadine and Chase Collier, insist you kidnapped their child. And for the record, that makes you a suspect in a subsequent kidnapping and another attempt that happened just a short while ago.”