Newborn Conspiracy (7 page)

Their eyes met.

And held for what seemed an eternity.

The pulse on her throat jumped again. She moistened her lips. And she blinked. Before she finally moved to the side.

“Thank you." he mumbled, though he couldn’t be totally sincere. His voice no doubt reflected his frustration. It was going to be a long battle for him to have any rights as a father.

Still, the battle would be worth it.

Logan stared down at his son. He was so little. Yet that tiny face and body stirred the deepest emotions that Logan had ever felt.

“I didn’t have immediate plans for fatherhood." he admitted.

She folded her arms over her chest."You don’t have to plan on it now."

He tossed her a glance to let her know that wasn’t an option."My love for him is already there.

It’s unconditional. Total. Complete. I’m not just going to turn away and pretend he doesn’t exist."

Mia didn’t say a thing.

“He looks like me," Logan added, daring her to challenge that.

The silence lingered awhile longer."Yes"

Logan couldn’t help it. He smiled. He didn’t want to know how difficult it was for her to admit that, even though she had choked on the word.

“He has your hair." she whispered. No choking sound that time. Just a lot of concern and even some fear."Your eyes."

“Your mouth." He looked at her to confirm that. But it wasn’t just a look.

They shared…something.

Something that only parents could share. Their merged DNA had made this precious child.

That was normally preceded by an intimate sexual act.

But Mia and he were strangers.

Strange.

Even though they’d never really touched, because of Tanner they were forever bonded in the most intimate way. And that intimacy brought with it a whole host of concerns.

Mia, for one.

He felt… things for her, feelings and desires that stirred deep within him. It was some kind of transference. Because she was the mother of his son.

And that was the only explanation Logan intended to accept.

But then he shook his head. It was a sad day in a man’s life when he started lying to himself.

What he felt for her wasn’t transference.

It was lust.

She was beautiful and he was attracted to her.

However, lusting after Mia was only part of his list of concerns. He had to keep her alive. He had to prevent another attack. He had to deal with her animosity. Her fears.

And then, there were his more immediate concerns for his son.

“Tanner’s okay, right?" Logan asked. "I mean, the pediatrician didn’t notice anything wrong?"

With everything else that’d gone on, Logan hadn’t even remembered to discuss the six weeks’ checkup.

“He’s very healthy"

“Good. After the way he started his life…" Logan didn’t finish that. Because even if Genevieve had any part of this, she still hadn’t contributed to Tanner’s DNA.

Mia stepped closer, so that she was right next to him."I just thought of something. Something a little sick. If Genevieve has done what you think she has, then she’s ultimately responsible for Tanner’s conception."

“Yeah" Fate really had a sense of humor." But she doesn’t get a gold star for that. If I’m right about her, then her motives weren’t merely to create a child but to create one she could use to manipulate me."

Mia actually cringed. It was nauseating to think of how Genevieve would have treated Tanner once she had what she wanted. The manipulation and lies would have continued and Logan seriously doubted that she would have been much as a mother.

“I didn’t go back to my house after I delivered Tanner on your brother’s porch." Mia said.

“Because you thought I’d follow you there." Logan knew where she was going with this, “But it might have saved you from Genevieve or whoever was following you."

She nodded. "I went into hiding again. I’d set up an emergency cash fund and I used that. No credit cards. No paper trail. Or so I thought. I probably should have left the state, or the country."

Logan was thankful she hadn’t, because he might have never found his son. But if she had left, then Tanner and she would have been safe.

His phone rang and when Logan glanced at his cell screen, he saw that the call was from Jason Cartwright, one of the P.I.s who worked for him. "Tell me you have some good news." Logan greeted the man. He stepped out of the guest room so that the conversation wouldn’t wake Tanner.

Mia followed him into the nearby kitchen.

“No good news." Jason explained. "All I have is information that may or may not be helpful. I just came from Mia Crandall’s house. The crime-scene folks didn’t find anything, and none of her neighbors could give even a sketchy description of the person inside the gunman’s vehicle."

Logan cursed under his breath. He hadn’t really expected an eyewitness account that would lead to an arrest, but lie had hoped that someone at least thought they saw Genevieve in that car. Without that, the police wouldn’t have enough to get a search warrant to go through her house and vehicles.

“Did the police bring Genevieve in for questioning?" Logan wanted to know,

“They did, just about a half hour ago. She had her lawyer with her."

“Royce Foreman?" Logan asked.

“That’s the one. You know him?"

Logan tried not to groan too loudly."I’ve met him. Foreman is a former lover and very devoted to her. He couldn’t stand the sight of me, and I’m about certain that he’s not only in love with Genevieve, he’d do anything for her."

Jason thought about that."You believe he could have been the gunman in that car?"’

“It’s possible. I hope the cops will swab his and Genevieve’s hands for gunshot residue "

“I’ll make sure they do."

But both the P.l. and Logan knew that if the shooter had worn gloves, then there would not be any evidence of the residue.

“If Royce Foreman was the shooter, then this might be important," Jason continued."Before the shooting, you asked us to check out the surveillance videos of the Wilson Pediatric Clinic.

I had a team do that and we saw the person who put the bug in Mia Crandall’s car. It happened right before you got there."

Well, the good news was that he hadn’t led this person to Mia, but that didn’t give Logan much comfort. The person had likely followed an obvious paper trail of pediatric appointments.

And that meant anyone could have done it.

“You have a photo of the person who planted the bug?" Logan hoped.

“No. The person was wearing bulky clothes and kept turned away from the surveillance camera.

It was obvious that he knew about the security and didn’t want to be recognized."

So, it could have been Genevieve. Or not. With her money and resources, she could have hired someone to do the job.

“What about the vehicle the person used?" Logan asked."Did you get anything from that?"

“No. But there might be something else. I went back through several hours on the surveillance tapes, and I saw someone in the parking lot about three hours before Ms. Crandall’s appointment with the pediatrician. The person seemed to be checking out the place, then he parked one building over."

Oh, he did not like the sound of this, “He?" Logan questioned.

“It was definitely a man. And no ski mask. But I don’t think it’s the same person who put the bug in Ms. Crandall’s car"

Logan didn’t like the sound of that, either. Was it possible they had more than one person after them?

“Was this other man driving the gray car?" Logan asked,

“No. A white SUV. There’s no clean image of the license plates so I can’t run them. The man stayed there in the adjacent parking lot until after you arrived, and then it appears he followed you and Ms. Crandall when you left the scene."

Logan cursed again. He’d been so damn preoccupied with the gray car that he hadn’t even noticed the white SUV.

“I took a still shot from the surveillance video," Jason continued.

“I’m sending a photo over your cell. See if you recognize him"

Logan looked at the screen and loaded the picture. It took a moment for the grainy shot to appear in full, but it wasn’t so grainy that he could see the man who was lurking around the parking lot. And the guy was definitely lurking—everything about his body language suggested that.

Mia moved closer and had a look as well."I’ve seen that man before."

“Yes. So have I. Well, I’ve seen another picture of him, anyway. That’s Donnie Bishop. He’s obviously back in the country."

What the heck did Bishop want, and was he the person who’d tried to kill them?

Logan put the phone back to his ear."Find Donnie Bishop." he instructed Jason."Take him to the police, but I want to talk to him, too. Listen in on his conversations before and after he’s at the police station, I want to know what he’s up to."

“Will do, boss"

“That’s Donnie Bishop?" Mia asked almost frantically when he ended the call.

Logan looked at her and saw the renewed panic in her eyes."It is. Where have you seen him?"

Mia swallowed hard, “He was at the hospital when I was nursing Tanner."

Because of her reaction, he slipped the phone into his pocket and caught on to her shoulders."Did he threaten you or something?"

“No" Her eyes widened."But he asked about Collena Drake, He wanted to know where she’d be taken after surgery. And the nurse told him"

Hell.

Logan grabbed his phone to call the hospital. He already had one of his team in the corridor outside the recovery area, but that might not be enough.

He only hoped he wasn’t too late.

Mia lay in the bed of Logan’s guest room and listened to his phone conversation. Something she’d been doing for the past half hour.

Even though he was in the kitchen, she could hear snatches of what he said. Mainly, though, she could tell from the calm tone of his voice that everything was okay with Collena.

His tone was in direct contrast to the calls he’d made the night before when they’d realized that Donnie Bishop had been at the hospital. Then, Logan had made a flurry of calls to the police and his team so that security could be provided for Collena.

Thankfully, the security hadn’t been necessary, Donnie Bishop hadn’t shown his face again anywhere near the hospital and especially not near Collena’s room. Mia figured the man had seen one of Logan’s team members and had decided not to make a second attempt.

But that left her with questions.

Did that mean Donnie Bishop was after Collena and not her? Or maybe Bishop had no part in the shooting. Maybe he was there at the hospital for other reasons.

But what would those be?

Mia didn’t know, but she figured all of this was connected to the Brighton Birthing Center.

Tanner stirred, finishing his breakfast. That was Mia’s cue to burp him. Despite the fatigue headache and her not-so-rosy outlook for the immediate future, just holding Tanner close made her feel better. She kissed his cheek, then changed his diaper.

It was the last one in her bag, which meant she’d need a fresh supply within the next two hours.

Looking down at the bulky navy-blue pj’s, she realized the same was true for her. She didn’t even have a change of underwear.

She’d have to ask Logan to get some things for her.

Mia was already dreading that. She hated relying on him, even though she knew she had no choice. Tanner had to come first and, whether she liked it or not, Logan would definitely protect Tanner.

With the baby nestled into her arms, she walked to the door. Mia resisted stopping by the dresser mirror to check her appearance. For reasons she didn’t want to explore, it was best that she looked her worst when she was around her “host."

Mia found Logan in the kitchen. He had the phone sandwiched between his ear and shoulder and he was making breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. The toast popped up the moment he turned in her direction.

Mia took a deep breath.

She’d braced herself for his possible reaction to her less-than-stellar appearance, but she hadn’t braced herself for his appearance. No black suit this morning. He was barefooted and wore faded jeans and a plain white cotton tee that seemed to accentuate every muscle in his body.

He wasn’t bulky like a bodybuilder, but it was obvious he spent time working out.

It was also obvious that her body responded to that mouthwatering physique in a basic, female kind of way. Fortunately, her common sense calmed that reaction.

However, a different kind of feeling returned when she spotted the laptop on the counter.

Logan had apparently been surfing the net for baby information. The page on the screen was titled Your Baby’s First Six Months.

That riled her. How could she stop Logan from wanting to be part of Tanner’s life? But Mia already knew the answer to that.

She couldn’t.

Logan said goodbye to the caller, slipped his phone into his pocket and tipped his head to Tanner. "Is he awake?"

Mia glanced down to confirm what she already knew."Not quite. He’s still in that newborn stage, which you probably know means he sleeps a lot."

“Yeah" He glanced at the computer screen and then back at her as if trying go gauge her reaction. "I read that. Lots of sleep. Nursing every three to four hours."

“That means lots of diaper changes, too. And he’s out of them. I could use a change of clothes, as well."

“They’re on the way. One of my team collected some things from your house and is bringing them over."

“Oh. Good." Though it made her uncomfortable to know that someone had gone through her house.

“Is that okay with you?" He proceeded to dish up two plates of food.

Mia shrugged. "I’m a private person."

“So I gathered," He deposited the plates on the table, along with some silverware and glasses of orange juice. "Is that because of what happened to your parents?"

She sat at the table when he did, “I suppose," She changed the subject. "How’s Collena doing this morning?" Mia preferred that subject to anything personal about Tanner or her.

“Better." He glanced at Tanner when the baby made a small sound."I still have guards at the hospital and they’ll stay there until I’m sure she’s safe."