THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY (7 page)

“Then we’ll find her.” Daniel knelt at the edge of the bed. He took the small bottle from her and held it to her nose. “Breathe in. Close your eyes. Do you remember anything else?”

Raven let her lashes drop against her cheeks. She took slow, deep breaths, searching her brain for something, anything that would give her an answer.

Only a fog clouded her mind.

“Nothing.” She frowned, the sharp words laced with frustration.

He entwined his fingers through hers and squeezed. “Not so fast. Close them again.”

She let her eyelids fall. Blackness overtook her vision. Gray shapes swirled. “I see something.” A pink blanket. She gripped his hand until her fingers had gone numb. “The blanket again.”

“And unicorns,” she whispered. “Rainbows and unicorns. It looks like a nursery.”

“Okay, that’s good. That’s very good,” Daniel said. “Where?”

The image faded away. She opened her eyes. “I don’t know. It was there, but now it’s gone.”

“Was the light bright? Were you in the west? Here in Texas? Was it cloudy? Maybe Washington or Oregon?” he prompted.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose, then her eyes. Her head pounded with the futile effort.

Raven clutched the small bottle of shampoo and lifted her gaze to Daniel’s. “I’m scared for her. I’m safe. I have you to protect me, but the baby’s in danger. I can feel it.”

A loud pounding at the door jerked Raven from the captivity of Daniel’s gaze.

He slipped his Glock from beneath his jacket. “Get out of sight,” he hissed. “Now!”

Raven rolled to the side and ducked behind the bed. She peered around the end. Trouble stood beside Daniel, his ears back, a low growl emitting from his throat as he stared intently at the doorknob.

Daniel stood to the side, gun at the ready. He flung open the door. “Don’t move, or I’ll shoot.”

Chapter Five

Pamela gripped the steering wheel of the BMW and stared at the small ranch house situated on an isolated dirt road in the middle of nowhere. She studied the sheet of paper on the seat beside her, the map and phone number in her husband’s writing. She’d never thought she’d have to sully her hands again with his less-than-honest
colleagues,
but she needed foolproof documents for her family to disappear out of the system.

She had no choice, not if she wanted to protect them. Her knuckles whitened with tension. A whimper sounded from the backseat. The baby clutched the blanket, her eyes tear-filled.

“You’ll be mine soon, little one,” she whispered softly. “Forever.” She kept the air conditioner running, rolled down the windows and stared at the sweet little girl in the car seat. “You’ll be fine in the shade of the tree. I won’t be gone long.”

She exited the car, clutching her handbag to her side. She set her jaw tight with determination, straightened her shoulders and strode across the dirt.

The door opened before she even reached the porch.

“Mrs. Winter?”

“Hector?”

The small gray-haired man with the wire-rimmed glasses nodded once. He had to be four inches shorter than her own five-ten. Her confidence rose.

He waved her into the foyer, closing the door behind her. “I was sorry to hear about your husband. He was a
generous
patron.”

Pamela reached into her back pocket and pulled out a thick white envelope. “I can be just as generous. You have the papers?”

“Of course.” He held a large flat brown envelope. “The money first.”

She laid the payment on the entryway table. Hector picked up the envelope and thumbed through the bills.

“You follow directions better than your husband,” he said, handing her the documents.

Pamela’s chest tightened as her fingertips closed over the envelope. She struggled to keep her hands from shaking and opened the top, sliding the papers out.

Certificate of Adoption.

She glanced at the signatures. “Perfect,” she said, then briefly glancing at the other official-looking paperwork. “And the original birth certificates?”

“Inaccessible through a bit of misdirection.” Hector shrugged. “Easier than providing citizenship paperwork for your husband, but more expensive.” He walked to the door and opened it. “Just know, Mrs. Winter, that we now have a pact. I expect you to honor it. I look forward to working with you again in the future.”

Pamela slipped the documents into her handbag and grasped the butt of her husband’s revolver. “I won’t be needing your help again, Hector.”

She yanked out the gun and pulled the trigger.

A bright red stain bloomed on Hector’s shirt. His mouth dropped open. He fell to his knees.

He keeled over, lying perfectly still. Pamela knelt down to make certain he was dead, then rose and stepped over the body.

Wait. She couldn’t leave. The money.

She rolled him over and grabbed the envelope of cash.

“Thanks, Hector.”

Without a glance back she locked the door and walked to the car. The baby blinked, her lower lip poking out. Pamela could see the tantrum coming.

“You be good, little girl, because you belong to me now. I’m your new mother. Well, I will be as soon as the procedure is completed.”

Pamela tossed her purse into the seat, slid into the vehicle and shifted into Drive. Her lips tilted up in satisfaction, humming a lullaby.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

* * *

D
ANIEL
STOOD
IN
the doorway, his gun pointed at Hondo’s sister. Lucy let out a high-pitched squeal, and her eyes rolled back into her head. Before Daniel could catch her, Hondo’s sister had dropped a set of blankets and a pillow on the ground, and keeled over at Daniel’s feet.

He let out a curse, lowered his weapon and knelt beside the unconscious woman.

An echoing curse roared from the motel’s office three doors down. Hondo raced out and stared at Lucy.

“What the hell did you do to my sister?” He glared at Daniel.

“I guess I scared her.” Daniel slid his weapon into the back of his jeans. “I didn’t expect anyone.”

Hondo scooped the slight woman into his arms. “Well, you want any extra blankets, you’re coming to me. I sure as hell ain’t knocking on this door again.” He narrowed his gaze at Daniel. “That’s one strike, Adams. You don’t get three chances in my establishment. One more, you’re out.”

With Lucy in his arms, he turned his back to them.

“It’s my fault,” Raven said softly. “Daniel’s worried about someone trying to hurt me.”

Hondo looked over his shoulder, taking in Raven’s pale face. His expression softened. “I’ll take that into account, but y’all need to know something about my sister. Her husband damaged her bad. She used to be the sharpest kid in her class at school. Scholarship outta here and all. After what the bastard did to her, her mind is like a little girl’s. She just don’t understand this world no more. I won’t be having her hurt again. By anyone.”

He walked away, and Daniel closed the door, locking and chaining it. Guilt had him sucking in a long, deep breath. That and being inside. He didn’t like the way the walls pressed in close around him. He flicked the window lock and shoved the glass up.

A slight breeze filtered from outside, and he slowed his breathing down, one count at a time. Yes, calmer. Much better. But he could use a minute.

He faced Raven. “You said you wanted a shower. Now might be the best time.”

“Oh, if I could get clean right now, I’d love you forever—” Her eyes widened. “I mean...I’d really like that.”

A blush crept up her cheeks, and a sudden tension rose between them. “Well,” he said in an attempt to lighten the mood. “If that’s what you offer when I say you can take a shower, I can’t wait to see what happens when I ask you about dinner.”

Her cheeks went crimson, and she looked away from him.

Her transparent emotion seduced him as much as her words. After years of wondering whether each person he spoke to was playing a game, he’d erected walls that she obviously hadn’t. Honesty could be sexier than he imagined—and far more worrisome to his equilibrium.

He drew her to her feet, then tilted her chin up with his finger. “Don’t be embarrassed. We’re in a strange situation. Best find the humor in it when we can. How about we both agree that what happens in Trouble stays in Trouble? When you get your memory back, neither one of us leaves with any regrets.”

She laid her hand against his scarred cheek. “You’re a kind man, Daniel Adams,” she whispered.

“You don’t even know me, honey, if you’re saying that.”

“I know enough.”

How could he respond? She didn’t understand. What would happen if the PTSD hit while he was sleeping tonight? What if his phantoms reappeared, and he lost himself? What if he couldn’t tell where he was, and he hit Raven like he’d hit that poor orderly during his recovery? Daniel had nearly killed the man who’d come up behind him and awakened him without warning. He’d been dreaming of Bellevaux, and the guy had almost paid the ultimate price.

She stood, a bit unsteadily. Shoving the fears aside, he guided her to the bathroom with a hand at her back. He paused at the door. “Do you need help?”

“Thanks, but...I can manage.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Sure. That’s good.” He scuffed his boot on the rug, anything to take away the awareness that Raven was going to be in that room, totally naked, water sluicing down that amazing body. He’d have to take a shower after her. A cold one. “Go easy on your wound.”

She touched the injury. “The doc told me what to do.”

Raven passed him and started to shut the door.

“Don’t lock it,” he said.

“I won’t.”

“Call me if you need me.”

“I won’t,” she said. “Need you, I mean.”

Daniel shook his head. “Go get wet.”

The door closed a little harder than necessary, and he laughed. Then Daniel grabbed a chair and sat down at the window, staring outside into the now-darkened sky.

The stars weren’t as bright as they’d been when he had bedded down in the middle of nowhere, but Trouble, Texas, didn’t have many lights to drown out the flickering flames in the sky. He let out a slow, deep breath and closed his eyes, counting backward from one hundred.

Images swirled in his mind. Memories. His heart raced.

With a slight prayer, he opened his eyes.

The past dissolved. The ceiling remained the old popcorn texture. No centuries-old stone blocks in front of his eyes.

“So far so good, mutt,” he grumbled at Trouble. He’d just keep looking out that window.

The sound of the shower’s spray filtered through the bathroom door.

Oh, crap. Naked. She was naked in there by now.

The dog hopped off the bed and settled next to the thin walnut-colored barrier, as if guarding her in case Daniel succumbed to his lascivious thoughts. “You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you, boy? So could I, if I’m not careful.”

The phone in his pocket vibrated. He glanced at the screen. A familiar name flashed—
Noah Bradford.
He hadn’t seen that name since he’d taken off from Langley.

“I thought you were out saving the world.”

Noah Bradford, the operative whose moniker, The Falcon, sent fear and frustration through most terrorist organizations in the Middle East, chuckled. “I should be, but it looks like I’ve gotta save your sorry ass instead. Our friends in Carder put out the word that you were in jail, possibly facing some impressive charges. Figured I’d come laugh at you before I bailed you out.”

“As you can tell, I’m already out.”

“Yeah, heard that, too. Would have been nice if I had heard it from you. Don’t you ever answer your damn phone?”

“I’ve been...busy.”

“I bet you have, but you’ve been incommunicado for months. You okay?”

Noah had been in on Daniel’s rescue. Noah, more than most people, knew exactly the damage that had been done to Daniel’s body and mind.

“I was ready to track you down, Daniel, and you know once I get on a trail, I don’t give up until I get my man.”

Daniel had been dangerous as an operative, but Noah was downright deadly. “I’m doing better,” Daniel said, staring through the glass. And he was doing better.

“Must be, if you’re at that fleabag motel and not in jail. You inside or outside?” Noah asked, before Daniel could call him on how Noah knew his exact location.

Then again, the man collected high-tech classified gadgets like most men collected baseball cards or porn magazines.

“I’m inside.”

“Yeah?” The surprise in Noah’s voice was telling.

“Got the window open, and I’m half hanging out of it, but I’m inside four walls and not freaking,” Daniel admitted.

“Good job. There’s hope for you yet.”

“So what’s with all this concern for me all of a sudden?”

“First off,” Noah said, sounding a lot more serious, “I didn’t think you’d fare all that well in jail. Second, Sheriff Blake Redmond filled in CTC about your problem.”

“Blake is one damn talkative guy lately. Not sure I’m liking that.”

“Tough. Friends watch out for friends, especially the ones too stubborn to ask for help themselves when they’re up to their ass in alligators.”

Daniel exhaled a frustrated breath. “So what did my good ex-buddy Blake tell you?”

“That you’ve got yourself a woman who was buried alive and no leads. That, while your butt was in jail, someone tried to take her out again. Ransom takes his job as CTC head honcho seriously. He’s pissed you never called him, seeing as this is what CTC handles. He told me to pull out all the stops to help you. He wants you on the team bad, my friend. Help is on the way.”

“Where are you now?” Daniel asked.

“Approaching a certain copper mine outside of town,” Noah said. “Blake wanted to make the trip, but Deputy Smithson just returned to duty after being in a coma. I’m here to make sure the new CTC forensics guy, Elijah, doesn’t piss off the Midland crime-scene team with his off-the-chart brain and irritating tenacity. He’s good, and he knows it, and he’s not shy about expressing his opinion. He’s probably forgotten more about the science of dead bodies than these yahoos ever learned.”

“Have you seen the location where she was left?” Daniel asked.

Noah let out a low curse. “Just pictures some deputy took. I gotta hand it to you for going in there. That place is a claustrophobic death trap. I went stir-crazy viewing the stills, and I hadn’t been held...” His voice trailed off.

Held captive in a dungeon for months.

Daniel heard the words in his mind as if Noah had uttered them.

“I had to go in the mine. The dog wouldn’t let up, and when I heard someone alive in there, I didn’t have much choice,” Daniel said.

“I’m impressed, but going in there had to have been tough.”

“Knowing someone is out there now, trying to kill Raven, is worse.”

“I see...”

Noah’s tone of voice definitely changed, and Daniel cursed, hating that he’d revealed even that much about his feelings for Raven. “There’s nothing to see.”

“Right. Well, just know that we’re doing our best. Some local engineers are bringing equipment and supplies to stabilize the mine, so we can get a camera into the pocket where you found her. With luck, we can shore up everything long enough to retrieve the evidence,” Noah said. “I’ll let you know when we get in.”

“Thanks, Noah.” Daniel paused. “I... It means a lot—”

“Don’t you go all touchy-feely on me. I got a reputation to uphold.”

Daniel let out a chuckle. “Sorry. It’s all that psychobabble the shrinks fed me at Langley.”

“I’m glad it’s helping,” Noah stated. “And I’m really glad you’re doing better.”

Noah ended the call, and Daniel stilled.
Am I doing better? Am I ready to face the past...and the future?

He stared at his phone and clicked on the voice mail button. A long list of messages came up. One message from Noah. A couple from his loquacious buddy, Sheriff Blake Redmond. A half dozen from Ransom, the head of CTC. And fifteen from his mom that seemed to jump up and slap him upside the head with his rotten-son status. She must be furious with him by this time.