RENEGADE GUARDIAN (9 page)

Maya pulled in her breath. That sort of thing probably happened all the time, but it tugged at her heart to know that Slade’s start in life had begun at what was essentially rock bottom.

“Your adopted parents didn’t take pictures of you?” Because she’d already taken dozens of Evan and couldn’t imagine an adoptive parent who wouldn’t do the same.

“My adoption was...complicated.” He sank down in the chair beside her and rubbed his index finger over the back of Evan’s hand. Her son’s eyes were already drifting down, but he opened them and stared at Slade. “I was given to a family when I was a couple of months old, but before the adoption was final, the woman got cancer and died. I ended up with another family. Then another.”

She’d been a victims’ rights advocate long enough to know that probably meant Slade had been removed from an abusive environment.

“I don’t remember a lot of it,” he said as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “And by the time I was old enough to remember, I was strong enough to fight back.”

That created more of a tug in her heart. No child should have to fight back anyone or anything.

“And then you landed in Rocky Creek Children’s Facility,” she mumbled.

He nodded, but other than a flex of his jaw muscles, he had no reaction. She was betting inside, though, he had enough bad memories to last a lifetime or two. Thankfully, Kirby Granger had rescued him, and if Kirby had had to kill Jonah Webb to do that, then maybe it was justified.

Maya winced at that thought.

Until now, until this whole ordeal, she’d never thought of violence as justified. Still, maybe it had been in that case. And it was certainly warranted if it would keep Evan safe.

“At least Kirby gave you a home,” Maya said.

But he didn’t jump to agree with her. “He gave me the attention a father gives a son. And he made me a part of the ranch.”

No mention of family. “He gave you your brothers,” Maya reminded him.

“Yeah.” And he hesitated again. “For the record, I didn’t kill Deidre’s lover,” Slade volunteered. “The guy committed suicide before he could tell the cops what he’d done with Deidre’s baby.”

That ate away at her, too. Maya prayed the man hadn’t done anything to hurt the newborn. Of course, maybe the only reason she had Evan was because this now-dead man had taken his estranged lover’s child that she’d conceived with Slade.

“Good thing he killed himself,” Slade said under his breath. “Because after seeing what he’d done to Deidre, there’s no way I could have held myself back.”

Maya swallowed hard, and though she knew this would complicate the heck out of things, she leaned over and brushed a kiss on Slade’s cheek. It seemed far more intimate than the scalding-hot kiss they’d shared in the bedroom at the safe house. More dangerous, too.

Because she was falling for him.

And that couldn’t happen.

“Flashbacks?” he asked. Maya must have looked as confused as she felt, because he added, “You made a face after you kissed me. I figured maybe it was causing flashbacks.”

Of her attack.

She understood then. Slade probably thought any intimacy would trigger flashbacks. Probably should have, too. It had the couple of times she’d tried to go on dates. But with Slade it hadn’t been flashbacks and nightmarish memories going through her head.

That didn’t make her feel better.

Just the opposite.

“Oh,” he mumbled, and he had a split-second smile. He probably didn’t know he had a killer smile to go along with those killer good looks.

“I don’t want to want you,” she let him know.

Slade nodded. “Ditto.” His gaze met hers. “You’re the worst kind of complication. The kind that could cause me to lose focus. And I never lose focus.”

It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. Or maybe it was just a reminder. Either way, she didn’t feel herself pulling away from him. Maya leaned against him, her arm pressed to his, knowing it was a mistake but not doing anything to correct it.

And that’s how Declan found them when he appeared in the doorway.

Slade and she eased away from each other, but coupled with the fact that Slade had shown up with an unbuttoned shirt, Declan probably thought Slade and she were well on their way to becoming lovers. Or already had.

Declan came into the room and set down a bag near her chair. The diapers and formula, no doubt.

“The Colliers’ lawyer is here,” Declan told his brother. He handed Slade some papers. “That’s the background check on them.”

Slade glanced over the pages, scowled.

“Yeah,” his brother verified. Obviously, Declan had read it, too. “We’re not looking at parents of the year here.”

Maya wasn’t sure what had caused Declan to say that, but she hoped she got a chance to read the background check that had created Slade’s scowl.

“Andrea’s lawyer is here, too,” Declan added, “so we can start the interviews.”

Good. Maybe one of them would confess and this would be over soon.

Slade and Declan’s gazes stayed locked. “What’s wrong?” Slade asked.

Maya’s head whipped up, and even though she hardly knew Declan, she saw it then. The troubled look in his eyes.

“I had someone go through the safe house,” Declan explained, “and they found a GPS tracking device. That’s how the kidnapper knew where to find you.”

Maya adjusted Evan in her arms and slowly rose to her feet. “So the house wasn’t safe after all.”

Declan shook his head. “The house was fine, but the GPS device was in the plastic grocery bag you’d brought with you. Where did you get the bag?”

Maya groaned. “From Sheriff Monroe.”

Declan scrubbed his hand over his face, cursed. “I’ll get him out here so we can question him.”

Chapter Ten

Yet one more thing to add to the list—make sure Sheriff Monroe hadn’t aided and abetted the kidnapper by placing a tracking device in the bag he’d given Maya and Slade. He figured the sheriff was innocent, that someone else had planted the bug, but the whole mess would have to be cleared up.

Along with the other messes on the ever-growing list.

First and foremost was keeping Evan and Maya safe, but the missing babies were equally important. After all, one of those baby boys might be his son, and even if they weren’t, if Evan was his child, Slade still wanted the babies back safe and sound.

Declan’s phone buzzed, and he stepped back into the hall to answer it.

Evan’s whimpers pulled Slade from his thoughts, and he checked the time. The baby was probably hungry, wet or both, and while the marshals’ building wasn’t the most convenient place to tend to a baby’s needs, it was safe.

Well, hopefully.

After everything else that’d happened, he wasn’t letting Maya and Evan out of his sight. Unfortunately, that meant they were stuck there until he or one of his brothers had interviewed their suspects.

“I need one of the diapers,” she told Slade. She set the bottle she’d brought with them on the floor next to the chair. “And wipes if there are any in the bag.”

There were, which made him suspect that his very pregnant sister-in-law, Lenora, had been the one to buy the items. He seriously doubted any of his brothers would know to include such things.

Maya repositioned Evan on her lap so that his feet were against her stomach, and she pulled open the blanket. He wasn’t sure how she managed it, but she unsnapped the stretchy blue one-piece outfit and changed Evan’s diaper. Evan wasn’t happy about the maneuvering, though, because his cries got louder.

“I have to warm the formula,” Maya said, tipping her head to the microwave on the counter. She glanced around as if trying to figure out how to accomplish that.

Slade solved the problem for her. He scooped Evan into his arms. Like the night before, he got that punch of emotion and something he rarely felt.

Peace.

Yeah, he was surrounded by family. Five brothers and a foster father he’d take a bullet for. But truth was, he’d never felt as much of a part of the family as the others obviously did. Maybe because they’d figured out a way to put their pasts behind them.

Something Slade had never quite managed.

For the first time, it felt, well, possible.

What would it be like to be a father to his child? To any child? To have that unconditional love that he hadn’t experienced from anyone but Kirby? It was something he’d never allowed himself to consider.

But he considered it now.

If Evan was his, then he might have to consider joint custody. Or something. He couldn’t just rip this baby from Maya’s life.

And that made him one sick puppy.

Because he was thinking with his heart now, and he was pretty sure that wouldn’t send him down the best path. Nope. In addition to the distraction it’d cause, it might become the worst hurt of his life.

Maya cleared her throat, and when Slade looked up at her, she had her attention fastened not on Evan but on the hall. He looked past Declan, who was still on the phone, and saw the blond-haired couple making a beeline toward them.

Slade recognized them from their photos—Nadine and Chase Collier. The tall dark-haired guy in a suit behind them was no doubt their lawyer. Slade automatically stood and handed Maya the baby so he could put his hand over the butt of his gun.

“Marshal Becker?” Nadine asked. There was nothing friendly about her tone. Or her eyes. Ice-blue, the same color as the body-hugging skirt and top she was wearing. Everything about her screamed trophy wife, including the fact that she was nearly twenty years younger than her husband.

Declan ended his call and would have stepped between the Colliers and them, but Slade did the stepping first. He moved into the doorway so that he was in front of Maya and the baby.

“I’m Becker,” Slade let her know.

He hadn’t thought it possible but Nadine’s ice-blue eyes narrowed even more. She had on so much makeup that he was surprised her lashes didn’t gunk together.

“You’re the one accusing us of stealing our own child,” she snapped.

Chase didn’t acknowledge her comment, but he did extend his hand. Slade shook it, eventually.

“Marshal, we’re hoping you have a lead on our son’s kidnapper,” Chase said to Slade.

It wasn’t just his tone that made him seem different from his wife. The Colliers were definitely an odd couple. Chase looked more like an aging rocker with his cargo pants, black T-shirt and spiked blond hair. Plus, there was the nose ring. Slade wasn’t opposed to body piercings and such, but on Chase it made him look like a man who was clinging to his youth.

And failing miserably at it.

“I was hoping you had a lead,” Slade fired back.

“See?” Nadine grumbled. “He thinks we took Will.” She folded her arms over her ample chest. “Why in the name of God would you believe we’d do that?”

Slade lifted his shoulder. “People do all sorts of things for reasons that don’t make sense to me. Like gambling, for instance.” He waited because he figured that would strike a nerve.

It did.

Nadine cursed him, but Chase only huffed. “My wife has control issues,” he volunteered. “She loves flying to Vegas and dropping a bundle of my money.” Chase paused, his mud-brown eyes fixed on Slade. “But, of course, you’re referring to the questionable loans she took out to try to hide her debts from me.”

“My debts have nothing to do with this.” Nadine jabbed her perfectly manicured index finger at Slade. “And I resent the implication. If you want to accuse someone of stealing Will, then look at Chase.”

Slade did indeed look at the man, but Chase was now glaring at his wife. “Nadine gets things mixed up in her head. She seems to believe I’d steal Will to punish her. But there’s one problem with that. Nadine didn’t want a child to begin with. The only reason she agreed was because she thought it would stop me from divorcing her. It won’t.”

“And if you think I’ll just hand you a divorce, then think again,” Nadine fired back. “There was no prenup, which means I’m entitled to half of the Collier estate. Besides, you cheated on me, and I’m betting I can convince a judge to give me a lot more than half.”

Chase moved in so close to his wife that he was practically in her face. “Prove the cheating.” His mouth twisted in a sick smile. “Oh, but you can’t, can you? Maybe because you were too busy climbing between the sheets with the pool boy or that dealer in Vegas.”

Oh, man. Under the definition of toxic marriage, there was probably a picture of those two clowns. Slade had spent just minutes with them and wanted to knock some sense into both of them.

“I didn’t take Will,” Slade heard someone say a split second before he saw the speaker. It was Andrea, and she was making a beeline for them.

Great. Now the gang was all here. Their lawyers, too, since Andrea’s was trailing along right behind her.

“Why don’t we just make this easy on everyone?” Slade suggested. “One of you just confess so we can get those babies to a safe place.”

He watched their reactions.

Nadine started to howl about her innocence. Andrea began crying again. And Chase’s attention went over Slade’s shoulder and to Evan. Chase might have even gone over to Evan if Slade hadn’t stepped in front of the man.

Chase shook his head as if pulling himself out of a trance. “Sorry. He just reminds me of Will.”

There was the emotion that Slade had been looking for.

Maybe it was genuine. Maybe not.

But at least Chase appeared to be the concerned father of a missing child. Andrea was making a show of being the wrongfully accused, worried nanny. The only one of the lot who was spouting the poor-pitiful-me act was Nadine.

Slade glanced back at Maya. She was standing, feeding Evan his bottle, but he also saw the weariness in her eyes. It’d already been a hellishly long day, and he wanted to cut this little visit short so he could make plans to get them out of there.

He turned to Nadine, though it put a knot in his gut just to look at her. “Give me your best guess as to who took Will.”

Nadine blinked, maybe because she hadn’t expected the direct question. “If I knew, I’d tell you. Just because I didn’t want a child, it doesn’t mean I want Will to get hurt.”

Okay. More of what he was looking for. At this point he’d take even fake emotion.

Slade turned to Andrea, who was staring at Nadine. “I think she took Will and hid him somewhere,” Andrea said.

Nadine huffed. “If I’d done that, I damn sure wouldn’t have burned down the house.” Her gaze came back to Slade. “Any idea how long it’ll take me to replace all the things that fire destroyed?”

Slade didn’t even attempt to answer that, because it would require him to get his jaw unlocked. Instead he looked at Chase. “Give me the name of the person you suspect.”

“Nadine,” he said without hesitation.

So two votes for Nadine, and she was looking like a top suspect in his eyes, too.

“Well, I suspect you!” Nadine fired back at her husband. She whirled around toward Slade. “And he’ll claim he doesn’t have motive, but he does. If he can get me locked up for kidnapping, it’ll save him millions because he won’t have to pay up when I divorce him.”

Slade groaned. His head was starting to throb, and it only proved what he already knew. All three of them were suspects.

“Who’s interviewing them?” Slade asked Declan.

“Harlan’s taking the Colliers, and Wyatt will be with Andrea.”

Good choices. Harlan was big and intimidating. Not that intimidation would work on Nadine, but Harlan had a poker player’s patience, and he could maybe spur them into an incriminating argument. And as for Andrea, well, Wyatt was a first-class charmer, so perhaps he could work his magic on the young woman.

“This way,” Declan told the trio, and he got them moving back to their respective interview rooms.

“You okay?” Slade asked Maya, and because she looked ready to collapse, he took her by the arm.

“Please tell me when you find that baby, you won’t give him back to those people.”

It was a promise he had no trouble keeping. “The adoption isn’t final, and I’ll make sure it never is.”

Maya was no doubt thinking he’d do the same to her if he found out Evan was his. Soon they were going to have to talk about that.

Once Declan had deposited their suspects in the interview rooms, Slade motioned for his brother to come back to the break room. He had a plan, but he couldn’t do it alone.

“I need a decoy vehicle,” he explained to Declan. “Because I’m pretty sure that the kidnapper has a hired gun who’ll try to follow us.”

And now here was the hard part. Slade turned to Maya. “I want Declan and my brother’s fiancée, Caitlyn, to take the baby to the ranch.”

“No,” Maya said before he could even finish. She pulled Evan closer to her.

“It’s the safest thing for Evan.” Yeah, that was playing dirty, but it was true. “You and I’ll leave together, and you’ll pretend to be carrying Evan in your arms.”

Slade wished he had a way to keep Maya out of this, but the kidnapper’s lackey would zoom in on her, figuring that wherever she went, so would the baby.

“What if the kidnapper comes after Declan and Caitlyn?” she asked.

“They’ll leave out back at the exact moment we leave through the front. The kidnapper will want us followed.”

As Slade had expected, tears shimmered in her eyes. “But how long will I be away from Evan?”

“Not long.” He hoped. “We’ll have to drive around until we lose this guy, and then I’ll take you back to the ranch.”

“The kidnapper will guess that’s where we’re going.”

“Even if he does, he might not want to go barreling onto the ranch with my brothers. Declan, Dallas and Clayton will all be there. Plus the ranch hands.”

Maya was still shaking her head, and those tears were now spilling down her cheeks.

“I’ll get things ready,” Declan said. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Slade before he walked away:
“Distract her.”

Declan had no doubt noticed those tears and probably thought Maya was about to bolt. She wasn’t. But that didn’t mean Declan’s tactics were wrong. A distraction might help. Well, with the tears anyway.

“I hate feeling this way.” Maya’s voice was a hoarse whisper.

Slade touched his fingers to her waist, urged her closer. “You’re scared. And you hate having to rely on me.”

Her forehead bunched up. Clearly, she wasn’t pleased he knew that about her or with his attempt to distract her.

He brushed a kiss on her temple. “Don’t worry. Soon you can rely on yourself again.”

She didn’t say anything, but he wished he had a way of reading her mind. Because this time, he couldn’t figure out what was going on in her head. There was something in her expression. A different kind of fear, maybe. Or else he was just projecting his own fear.

“For the record, I’m not used to relying on anybody, either,” he let her know.

She huffed. “You’re not relying on anyone now. Certainly not me.”

“Wrong.” He shook his head and tapped his temple. “You’re here now. I don’t want you there, and I’m pretty sure you feel the same.”

“I do,” she readily admitted. But she, too, shook her head. “I can’t get involved with you like that, Slade.”

“Yeah.” He leaned in, brushed his mouth over hers and felt the kick of heat when her breath shuddered against his lips.

“
Yeah
as in you agree?” she asked.

“
Like that
as in sex?” he countered.

No answer was necessary, because they both knew they were just blowing smoke with this conversation. Both were hell-bent on stopping something that it wasn’t in their power to stop. He didn’t believe in soul mates or love at first sight, but Slade did believe in basic attraction.

Slade moved in closer, put his mouth to her ear. “Sooner or later this pull between us will make it darn near impossible to remember just how bad this’ll screw things up.”