THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY (5 page)

“I’m sorry. The clinic only has a dozen beds. They’re all taken,” she said. “This will have to do until something comes available.”

Not good enough. Daniel wanted security, minimal entrances and exits. And distance. As it was, three-quarters of this room could be moved with a harsh breath to the fabric curtain. Besides, the perp knew her location. Nowhere in this clinic was safe.

“Does she have to stay in the hospital tonight? I’ve had enough concussions to know the drill. I’ll check her status every hour, and I can bring her back if there are changes, but I need to take her somewhere more secure.”

The nurse frowned. “I’ll contact her physician. After what happened earlier, I understand your concern.”

“Is there a hotel nearby?”

“There’s a
motel,
the Copper Mine, just at the edge of town. Run by a bit of a character, but Hondo keeps a clean place.”

Daniel chewed on his lip, not liking the idea of sleeping indoors, but at least in a motel room he had a chance to protect Raven. One entrance and solid walls. “Thanks for the tip.”

The nurse left, and he pulled out his cell phone, powering the thing on for the first time since leaving the mine. He still had battery life—and twenty-four messages, since he hadn’t bothered to listen to them in the past month.

He ignored the voice mails and stared once more at Raven lying on the bed. Who was she really? What was her name? Who wanted her dead?

He put in a call to Galloway’s office requesting a list of missing persons reported in Texas and New Mexico. Galloway, apparently a man of his word, sent Daniel the information quickly to his phone. After a quick review of the small number of cases and watching the room’s TV for any updates, he let out a sigh.

Nothing. The local television story on Raven hadn’t hit the national news or even the big affiliates. At this point Daniel wished it had. Since the person who had buried Raven in that mine knew she was still alive, they were playing against time. More extensive news coverage might give them her name.

His gaze swept Raven’s still body. How could no one be missing her? Then again, maybe she was a loner. Some people didn’t reach out, didn’t create spheres of friends. Some people were totally on their own. Might be nice on occasion. Daniel had tried to disappear, and no one would let him.

A glint of gold around Raven’s neck flickered under the fluorescent light. Daniel leaned forward in his chair and tugged on the chain, pulling the heart-shaped locket free of her hospital johnny.

He shifted closer in his seat and palmed the locket, the necklace she had clutched with such desperation. Maybe there were clues inside. His fingernail pressed the latch and opened the heart.

“What are you doing?” she asked groggily, her voice still raspy.

Her cinnamon-colored eyes opened, and he nearly drowned in them.

He gave her a small smile, relieved she’d regained consciousness. “Checking out your necklace.” He ran a gentle finger down the smooth skin at her temple. “Trying to find out who you are,” Daniel said softly.

She glanced at the small heart locket he’d opened. “Is that a picture inside?”

“Yes, of a raven-haired baby, and a lock of hair tied with a pink ribbon,” Daniel said. “Recognize her?”

Raven sat up, her hand trembling as she studied the picture.

“Do you think it’s me as a baby? It’s my hair. Or could my dream be real?” she whispered. “What if that pink blanket and that poor baby’s cry are memories?”

She rubbed her upper arms with her hands as if warding off a chill; then she stared at him, dread lacing her gaze. “Could the person who tried to kill me have taken my baby girl?”

* * *

N
IGHT
IN
T
ROUBLE
, Texas, hid a man and his bloody nose well. A few streetlights, a few houselights, but Christopher could disappear in this small town. He was good at disappearing and not being seen as he went about his business.

His footsteps pounded the pavement, the rhythm a little slower now. He sucked in a few breaths. He could do this. The run wasn’t nearly as tough as in boot camp. In fact, he’d feel great if it weren’t for his broken nose.

God, he wanted that woman dead. He couldn’t believe she’d done this to him. She barely weighed as much as his duffel bag from Afghanistan, but she packed a helluva punch. He hadn’t expected that, and now he was on the run, covered with blood, wearing stolen clothes and stealing down dark streets to get back to his car.

All because of that bitch.

He heard the sound of not-so-distant laughter and took off again. Alley after alley, corner after corner on foot.

He rounded another dark turn, leaned back against a cinder-block wall and tilted his head to hold his nose at the bridge, knowing it was a bad bone break, and he’d have to be careful until it healed.

If the woman had known a little bit more about what she was doing, he’d be dead. Apparently she’d taken enough self-defense training to do damage. A little harder, a slightly different angle and shards of bone would have sliced up into his brain. He’d have dropped on the spot. The fact that he was in a medical clinic at the time wouldn’t have saved him.

Two sets of sirens blasted into the night. Christopher shrank into the blackness. They wouldn’t find him.

This whole situation pissed him off. This was
not
how he’d planned his welcome home.

His mom had panicked when that news report had come on. His emotions had taken over. He knew better. He never should have let his mother influence his plans.

Yeah, he liked killing, but he hadn’t taken the time to study the layout. He’d be lucky if that fiasco at the clinic didn’t put his butt in a sling. They probably had security cameras. He’d screwed up and given too much away about himself. He rubbed his thumb along the barrel of his HK, almost wishing he’d used the gun instead of trying to strangle her.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

But they’d be watching her now, closely. He needed the element of surprise and a bit of help. Someone who understood the stakes and the joys of a good kill.

Christopher untucked his cell phone from his pocket and dialed his buddy’s number. “Pick up, you loser.”

Ring after ring. Just as he was about to give up, Tad answered.

“This better be good, or you’re in a serious world of hurt,” the voice at the other end muttered, sleep clogging the words.

“Wake up, you lazy slug. Wanna go hunting?”

Christopher could almost see his ex-platoon-mate’s face perk up in interest. “I’m listening and assuming you’re not talking about quail.”

“I have a woman who needs to disappear. For good. Get my drift?”

“Chelsea?”

“No, I haven’t even seen her yet. It’s someone you don’t know.”

“No rules?”

“Just help me make her go away.”

“What’s the lucky lady’s name?”

“That’s the best part. She hasn’t got one, and I’d kinda like to keep it that way.”

Chapter Four

Daniel didn’t know how long he had waited for Raven’s breathing to even out in deep sleep. He eased the curtain closed and walked across the room. Sheriff Galloway stood whispering with the doctor.

“You checking up on me, Sheriff?”

“Always.”

“You know I can handle this. Or are you here to kick me out of town again for some reason?”

“I have an investigation to follow up.” Galloway gave Daniel an irritated glance. “You have
your
job. How’s she doing?”

“She finally fell asleep. Raven can’t remember anything, but she thinks she might have a baby out there.”

Galloway stilled. “What the hell... We have a missing baby on top of everything else?”

“I don’t know.” Daniel described the locket. “The truth is, I have no idea if she’s remembering something or not. She doesn’t know, either. All I can tell you is that her only memories are of a pink blanket and hearing a baby cry.”

The sheriff thrust his hand through his hair. “Nothing’s hit my radar. Damn it.” Galloway looked at the doctor. “Has she had a baby? Can we tell?”

The doctor shifted uncomfortably under the sheriff’s gaze.

“Could Raven have a baby out there?” Daniel glared. “The attacker may have her.”

The man cleared his throat and shifted his feet, then finally let out a long breath. “Since Raven doesn’t have a memory, and there might be a child at risk...I can reveal that she has given birth. I can’t tell you when. Only that it wasn’t recent.”

Galloway grabbed his phone and made a call. “I want a search statewide on missing children over the past two weeks. See if anyone reported a mother
and
child missing. And check on the status of Jane Doe’s prints. I need to know who she is.” His expression turned deadly as he listened. “No, it can’t wait until morning.” He snapped the phone closed and faced the doctor. “What else can we do?”

“Not much, until she remembers.”

“How long will that be?” Daniel asked.

“I wish I could tell you. We know a lot about the human body, but the brain is one organ that I’m sorry to say is, in many ways, a mystery. She has a traumatic brain injury even though the MRI doesn’t show any swelling. Honestly there doesn’t appear to be any physical reason she shouldn’t remember.”

Daniel paced back and forth. “That’s not good enough. She needs to remember—for her own safety as well as the baby’s—so how can we speed up the process?”

“Look,
Deputy,
you can’t force a brain that’s been injured to work on a timetable. And we have no idea what happened to her out there. Her body is protecting her right now. We have to let her heal.”

Daniel lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “This is crazy. Every hour we delay is more time for her attacker to try again.”

“And the harder you push, the more she may bury the memories until they never come back.” The doctor narrowed his gaze at Daniel. “I know you’re impatient. I’m concerned about the baby, too, but I’m more concerned about the patient who I know exists. You have to go slowly.”

“You’re giving me nothing, doc.”

“Maybe if you retrace her steps, the familiar
might
bring something back.
If
this isn’t all in her imagination. Scent is also a strong trigger. Get some baby lotion or shampoo and introduce it naturally, with no expectations. She’ll remember more. Other than that, she needs rest and no stress.”

Daniel glanced back at the closed curtain. “That I can do. I can keep her safe and calm,” he said quietly. “She will remember.” Daniel pinned the sheriff with his gaze. “My gut tells me there is a child. Raven’s reaction was visceral. It was the first thing she said when she woke up. Can you use your network to find out if the baby exists?”

Galloway nodded. “I’m on it.”

“I’ll protect Raven. The perp obviously knows she’s here. She can’t stay.”

The sheriff’s phone rang. “Galloway.”

As the person on the other end spoke, the sheriff’s jawline went tense. “Keep digging. She didn’t come out of nowhere.”

He ended the call.

“No leads?” Daniel asked.

“Her prints didn’t get a hit. Nothing on the missing persons reports that matches her or a dark-haired child of any age. We’ve got squat.”

“How does a woman—and perhaps a child—vanish without anyone reporting it? Something’s not right.” Daniel thrust his hand into his pocket and worried the bullet casing.

Galloway nodded. “Her husband—”

“She’s not wearing a ring,” Daniel said harshly. He pounced on the statement. He didn’t want anyone to be in Raven’s life. No one but him.

His fingers flicked against the brass’s metal edge. That was wrong. He knew better than to let himself get involved. He could hurt her. She was simply a woman who needed help, but somehow, over the past few hours, she’d become important to him. More important than she should.

“Husband or not, every baby has a father. Most of the time child abduction is a family member, typically a parent. We have to consider the father the prime suspect.”

“Except we don’t know her identity. Or his. Or even if there
is
an abduction. Until we know who Raven is, we have no leads.”

“Catch twenty-two,” Galloway muttered.

“Doesn’t matter. She’s still in danger. I’m taking her out of here,” Daniel said. “When can she leave?” he asked the doctor.

Daniel wanted to grab her and get her away from this place. Even as he looked around the waiting room, all he saw were opportunities for an attack. Numerous entrances and easy access.

“Tomorrow.” The doctor stroked his jaw. “I can’t do anything else for her, but she has a concussion. I want her here for the remainder of the night just in case of complications. I’ll check her again first thing in the morning. If she doesn’t have further symptoms, you can take her, but you’ll need to watch her closely. If she gets nauseous or dizzy or starts seeing double again, bring her back in.”

Daniel’s body tensed in resistance. She was open and vulnerable here. This was a bad idea. He could feel it. He opened his mouth to argue—

“I’m not backing down,” the doctor said. “If she takes a turn for the worse, she’ll need immediate medical intervention.”

“In the meantime, I want all staff to deny Raven’s presence here. Got it?” Daniel told the doc.

He received a nod in return from the physician.

A loud ruckus outside the hospital interrupted the discussion. Daniel whirled around, hand on his weapon. A television news crew pushed their way into the emergency room lobby. Daniel glared at the sheriff and whirled behind the curtain hiding Raven, letting him and the doc deal with the intrusion.

After several minutes of heated argument, the sheriff got rid of the news crew. Galloway stuck his head through the curtain and nodded. “Doc’s distracting them in the parking lot.”

With a last check on the woman who hadn’t regained consciousness even in the turmoil, Daniel stalked back into the emergency room’s lobby. “We leave in the morning. Until then, I’ll take watch.” He turned to the sheriff and, after a quick look around verifying no one was eavesdropping, lowered his voice. “I hear there’s a decent motel at the edge of town. Any reason for us not to stay there?”

“I’ll call Hondo,” Galloway offered, his voice lowered, as well. “The guy’s discreet and knows his way around a weapon or two. If Raven feels safe enough, like the doc said, maybe she’ll remember.”

“A motel is better than fabric walls. But I still want to see the place before she goes anywhere near the joint.”

Galloway took out his phone. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Keep it quiet, Sheriff. I don’t like how much this guy knows.”

With a quick nod and agreement to return at dawn to watch Raven while Daniel checked out the motel, Galloway left.

Daniel stepped back through the curtain protecting Raven. Shadows marred her pale complexion. He couldn’t stop staring at the porcelain of her skin or the vulnerability of her expression. Her full lips had parted slightly, but they turned down at the corners, her troubles painted on her face. He could understand that. His hand hovered centimeters from the skin he knew would be softer than a breath of fresh air.

He closed his fist and pulled away. She deserved better than he would ever be. That bullet in his pocket was his reminder that not everyone made it back from hell.

With a sigh, he settled into the chair next to Raven’s bed. Anyone looking in would think he was relaxed. Not a chance. Her fear-filled eyes haunted his memory.

But no one would get near Raven again.

Not on his watch.

* * *

C
HRISTOPHER
GINGERLY
PRESSED
against his swollen nose. He swore and scanned the eerily quiet surroundings in the alley behind the sheriff’s office before catching sight of the phone line coming down the side of the building.

Thank God this decrepit town hadn’t updated the system in decades.

“This is stupid,” Tad hissed. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“You a coward?” Christopher egged on his friend. He knew what buttons to push with Tad. He hadn’t wanted an accomplice, but this was clearly a two-man job. Christopher had to stay out of sight until his nose healed. He needed backup.

No one better than the guy he’d grown up with. They’d gotten thrown in jail together, had joined the army together and had found a way to get kicked out of the military together.

Christopher could count on Tad. “Look, the nurse didn’t know anything ’cept Jane Doe left the hospital. If anyone knows where that woman is, it’s Sheriff Galloway, and we can’t just ask. We need intel.”

“I saw the sheriff. Former Special Forces, I bet. He’s dangerous. Just like the lieutenant,” Tad said.

“We took care of him just fine.”

“Yeah, but not quick enough. Still got booted out,” Tad grumbled. “No pension, no nothing. Can’t even get a frickin’ job now. All that time wasted.”

“I wouldn’t say it was a total waste. I learned a few things and made some pretty good connections.” Christopher pulled a small electronic device from his pocket. He clipped it on the phone line that had been tacked to the side of the building and tucked a small earpiece inside in his ear. “Now we’ll know exactly what the good sheriff is talking about no matter where we go. When he hears where that woman is, she’s dead.”

“And what about the sheriff? What if he interferes?”

“If he gets in our way, well, bullets kill Special Forces, too.”

* * *

T
HE
CLOP
OF
worn boots sounded on the linoleum floor of the hospital. The owner paused, just visible beneath the curtain. “Come on in, Sheriff,” Daniel said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Galloway pressed back the fabric. “You said dawn, so here I am. Any change?”

“The nurse woke Raven about a half hour ago. She seems better.”

“Did she remember anything?”

Daniel shook his head and rose.

“I’ll watch over her,” Galloway said, his hand on his Beretta.

“I won’t be long.” Daniel paused for a moment and sent the sheriff a sideways glance. “What are you doing in this Podunk town, Galloway? Something about you doesn’t quite fit.”

Galloway’s lips twisted. “Pot. Kettle.”

“Touché,” Daniel muttered with one last long glance at the sleeping woman in the bed. He’d teased her about being a sleeping princess, but damned if she didn’t fit the part. Just looking at her made his heart ache. “I’ll be back, Raven. Count on it.”

He shoved aside the unwanted desires. He had to remember the past, the reason he couldn’t let himself care. He strode through the small clinic and out the exit. He had a job to do, and nothing, especially not his own weakness, would stop him from protecting her.

The sight greeting him outside the clinic made him shake his head. Trouble. The fuzz face had dust and grime on his coat, but he sat there with a rag in his mouth and expectations on his face.

“What the hell did you get into, boy?” Daniel asked, stepping forward cautiously so as not to run the skittish dog away.

Trouble cocked his head, then dropped his trophy before taking a few steps back to his now customary six feet.

Daniel knelt down, noticing a triangle of material looking like torn jeans. Several red splotches decorated the worn blue fabric. Blood, maybe? “Seems like you had a battle with someone.”

His senses pinged with awareness. Raven’s attacker had worn jeans. Could he be that lucky? He raced into the hospital and returned wearing a glove on one hand and carrying a bowl of water in the other. Daniel set the liquid down. Trouble didn’t hesitate. While the mutt lapped up the drink, Daniel picked up the fabric by the corner, studied it for a moment and dumped it into a paper lunch sack. “Who’d you go after, Trouble?”

He kept his hands by his side, kneeling down, meeting Trouble’s gaze at eye level. “You hurt, boy? Will you let me check you over?”

Daniel focused on making his voice calm and smooth. Normally he would’ve let the dog be, but there was blood on the animal’s side.

“I’ll be quick.” His movements slow and steady, Daniel made more effort than he had in weeks to get close to the dog. As if he understood, Trouble sat quiet but alert. Daniel ran his hands over the mutt’s fur.

When he reached the dog’s side, Trouble yelped.

“Someone hurt you?” Daniel’s gaze hardened, and he palpated the animal’s ribs. They didn’t seem broken, and there were no cuts, but whoever the canine had attacked had fought back.

“Not too bad. You’ll live, boy.” Daniel tried to scratch behind the floppy ears, but Trouble’s patience had ended. He scooted away.

Daniel stood. “You are one strange dog. I’ll drop off your little trophy and see if you tangled with Raven’s attacker.”

He hurried in and out of the hospital. Trouble hadn’t moved. “I’m going for a ride. I don’t suppose you want to come?”

Trouble let out a bark. Out of his pocket Daniel pulled the keys to the truck the sheriff had loaned him. The casing from his dad’s gun fell to the ground. Daniel scooped it up. He couldn’t lose the reminder. That mutt, and now Raven, had somehow embedded themselves behind the protective wall Daniel had constructed around his heart. All he had to do was look at the cylinder of brass to remind him of what he’d come home to that horrible afternoon.