Protecting Their Baby
Protecting Their Baby
Sheri WhiteFeather
“I take long showers,” Rex said.
“In the morning or evening?” Lisa asked.
“Morning.”
“Then we shouldn’t have a problem sharing. I bathe at night.”
“With bubble bath and scented candles, I’ll bet.” Rex suspected that she had fancy bottles everywhere.
“Soaking in the tub relaxes me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually kind of sexy.”
“Oh.” Lisa angled her head, making her perfectly coiffed bob tilt to one side. “Then thank you, I guess.”
“Sure.”
Neither of them said anything after that, and the room seemed to shrink even more. He could actually feel them breathing the same air. She was almost close enough to kiss.
Dear Reader,
I would like to thank all of you who take the time to send fan letters to your favorite authors.
Over the years, I’ve received some very special fan letters. In fact, I received an amazing e-mail today. A reader from England wrote to tell me about a British-based book club that read the 2008 Mills and Boon release of Always Look Twice (my 2005 Silhouette Bombshell). According to the letter, they all believe that “Agent West is the greatest hero in the history of fiction,” and some of the book club members may be working on an Agent West fan site.
I’m honored and awed that one of my heroes stirred this kind of reaction! It’s great timing, too, because Agent West plays a minor role in Protecting Their Baby. He tends to crop up now and then, reappearing as the FBI guy that he is.
And speaking of heroes, Rex Sixkiller, the male protagonist in Protecting Their Baby, was inspired by a reader of Cherokee descent who offered to let me borrow the Sixkiller name. I kept the name in the back of my mind, waiting for the right character to embody it.
That said, I love hearing from my readers. You are the reason I write.
Best,
Sheri WhiteFeather
Protecting Their Baby
Sheri Whitefeather
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
SHERI WHITEFEATHER
is a bestselling author who has won numerous awards, including readers’ and reviewer’s choice honors. She writes a variety of romance novels for Silhouette. She has become known for incorporating Native American elements into her stories. She has two grown children who are tribally enrolled members of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Sheri is of Italian-American descent. Her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy through Ellis Island, originating from Castel di Sangro and Sicily. She lives in California and enjoys ethnic dining, shopping in vintage stores and going to art galleries and museums. Sheri loves to hear from her readers. Visit her Web site at www.SheriWhiteFeather.com.
To Lisa, my sister’s dance teacher in Oregon—
here’s to hot guys and red high heels!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 1
I’m screwed, Rex Sixkiller thought.
He should have known that Lisa Gordon was going to spell trouble. He’d pegged her as a good girl from the start. Then again, she had gotten dirty that night.
Yeah, with the help of extra-dirty martinis.
He stared at Lisa. She was seated across from him in his L.A. office, and he’d never been so scared in all in his thirty-six years. Yes, him. A decorated Desert Storm veteran, a licensed private investigator and a Warrior Society activist.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She responded with a jerky nod. She looked like the good girl she was, with a blond bob and innocent blue eyes. Her long, lean, sinful body was another matter. Of course she was a dance instructor who owned her own studio, so her knockout figure was well earned. She looked the same as the night he’d met her at the bar.
She twisted her hands on her lap. “I did one of those home tests, and then I saw a doctor to confirm the results.” Another twist. Another nervous reaction.
He wished they were back at the bar. He could use a stiff belt about now. “So much for the protection, huh?”
She went clinical. “The doctor said that if a condom is used correctly, the chance of becoming pregnant is less than three percent. If used incorrectly, a twelve percent chance occurs.” Her breath hitched. “Maybe we did something wrong.”
He shook his head. He never got sloppy with a rubber, not even after a couple of drinks. Besides, Lisa had been tipsy that night, not him. “The condom probably had a defect we weren’t aware of.”
A baby-making leak, he thought. How else could his little swimmers have gotten through?
In the silence, an uncomfortable connection passed between them, a reminder of their one-night stand, of sizzling sex and an awkward morning after. In the light of day, it had become apparent they had absolutely nothing in common. He remembered how they’d politely exchanged phone numbers, with no intention of ever calling each other.
And now here she was, six weeks later, pregnant with his child.
“Are you planning to keep it?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Why else would she approach the father? A practical stranger? An abortion would be simpler without him.
“Yes, I’m going to have this baby.” To emphasize her point, she placed a protective hand over her still-flat stomach. Then she said, “But I did consider adoption.”
He leaned forward in his chair. He was seated behind his desk, and she was on the other side of the wooden barrier. “You did?”
She nodded. “I’m adopted, and I have an amazing family. But I’m ready to be a mom. I think I’ll be good at it.”
Rex didn’t have an amazing family. He’d watched his parents bitch and bicker. Sometimes they used to direct their frustration at him—the product of an unplanned pregnancy and forced marriage. They should have gotten divorced, but they were still together, miserable as ever. Rex had decided long ago that he would never get married, and it was a vow he intended to keep.
Not that Lisa expected him to marry her, but he still feared that he was on the verge of losing his freedom. Rex worked hard, but he played hard, too. He had no idea how a child was supposed to fit into his lifestyle.
“I understand if you want a paternity test after the baby is born,” she said. “But just so you know, I haven’t been with anyone in almost a year, except for you.”
“I believe you.” He didn’t doubt that the baby was his. He’d been a P.I. long enough to rely on his instincts, and Lisa was as honest as Abe Lincoln’s reputation. He would have preferred to pin it on another guy, but he couldn’t.
“I appreciate that you trust me.”
He shrugged, waited a beat, and then said, “I don’t think I’m going to be a very good father. But I’ll do the best I can,” he added quickly.
What else could he say? He couldn’t very well tell her to buzz off and leave him alone. He was a bit more honorable than that.
A bit…
Lisa seemed to be analyzing his bad-dad remark and debating if she should comment on it. Luckily, she skipped it, saying instead, “I think it’s important for a child to have two committed parents, but I would have raised this baby alone if I had to. If you’d…”
Refused to accept responsibility, he thought. If only he could, if only he had it in him to walk away. “If we’re going to share a kid, then we’ll have to work on getting to know each other.”
“Yes, we will.”
She started wringing her hands, much in the way she’d done earlier. Apparently she was nervous about getting to know him. Clearly, he wasn’t her usual type. Clearly, she’d misbehaved that night.
Dirty martinis and dirty sex.
And on her thirtieth birthday, no less. Rex considered the tiny life in her womb and winced accordingly. Was this the Creator’s idea of a joke? A gift for her big three-oh?
Once again, silence stumbled between them. They were off to a hell of start with this getting-to-know-each-other thing. She wasn’t his usual type, either.
Still, on that fateful night, they’d flirted shamelessly. They’d even fed each other shelled peanuts and kissed on the dance floor.
By the time the bar closed, they’d been desperate for more. He’d invited her back to his condo, and she’d readily accepted. Of course she hadn’t been totally irresponsible. She’d gotten his name and address from his ID and given it to her girlfriends, just in case he was an ax murderer and she was never heard from again.
He’d promised her friends that he would be good to her. Now he wondered if those same friends knew about the baby and if they blamed themselves for letting the birthday girl go home with a stranger.
Not that they could have stopped her. She was an adult, capable of making up her own mind.
Her own intoxicated mind.
Damn, he thought. Did that even count?
“I should go.” Lisa cut into the quiet, preparing to leave. “I have some errands to run.”
Rex glanced up from his desk. “I’ll walk you out.” Somehow it seemed like the right thing to do, even if allowing her to make a hasty retreat would’ve been easier.
“I parked down the street and around the corner.”
“No problem.” Parking spots in this area were difficult to come by. She was lucky she’d found one relatively close.
He opened the office door for her, and they walked side by side. She smoothed her blouse, a pretty white garment tucked into a slim black skirt. She looked sleek and professional. He wondered how long it would take for her to develop a bump and if people were going to refer to him as the “baby daddy.” Wasn’t that the phrase of the day? The thing to say?
The spring weather was warm and bright, and the city was active and noisy. As he and Lisa rounded the corner and headed down a small side street, she pointed out her car.
She drove a vintage Mustang, but he wasn’t surprised by her vehicle of choice. While they’d chatted at the bar, she’d told him that her grandfather restored old cars.
“I’ll probably get something newer when the baby comes,” she said. “Maybe an SUV.”
A kid car, Rex thought. Already she was turning into a soccer mom.
“But there’s still time.” She managed a smile. “I’ve got a ways to go.”
Would he be even more scared by then? Or would it get easier? “A friend of mine is going to be a dad soon. His kid is due sometime this month. He’s married, though.” A point that made their situations nothing alike. “He teaches close-quarter combat, and his wife is a homicide detective.”
“Wow.” Lisa stood beside her car. “That’s going to be one tough little baby.”
“Tough and sweet. They’re having a girl.”
“A girl would be nice. Or a boy,” she added, referring to the baby she’d made with Rex. “I don’t have a preference.”
Neither did he, other than wishing the condom hadn’t failed. Uncomfortable, he shifted his feet. She fell silent, too, and they went back into awkward mode.
How long would it take for them to have a relaxed conversation? To feel normal around each other?
“I’ll call you after my next doctor appointment,” she said. “Just to let you know how things are going.”
“Sure. Okay.” He supposed it was a place to start, even if he wasn’t prepared for any of it.
She unlocked her car and opened the door. But as she turned to climb behind the wheel, she froze in her tracks.
And let out a blood-curdling scream.
On the front seat of her car was a doll that resembled a newborn, only its rounded little body was mangled, with broken limbs and unblinking eyes staring into nothingness. In the center of its tiny chest, where its heart would be, was a knife.
Equally horrified, Rex reached for Lisa, pulling her away from the gruesome sight and into his arms.
While he held her, while she burst into fear-drenched tears, he called the police, reporting what appeared to be the mock murder of their unborn child.
Lisa couldn’t seem to let go of Rex. Nor could she stop crying. Who would do something so sick? So cruel?
Finally, she got the strength to step back and wipe her tears. But she couldn’t stop from staring at Rex, and in between her shivers, she fixated on his eyes.
The doll had brown eyes, too, and a tuft of dark hair. Was that how their baby was going to look?
“I don’t understand.” Her voice echoed in her head, the sound thick and hoarse. “Why is this happening?”
“I don’t know,” came the concerned reply. “But I won’t let anyone hurt you or the baby.”
Would he be able to protect her? He couldn’t be with her every moment of the day. They barely knew each other. Still, she wanted to believe him, to take his promise at face value.
“You’re awfully pale,” he said, as they waited for the police.
“Sometimes I faint.” She clenched her middle. “But it’s normal early on.”
Rex seemed ready to catch her if she fell. He was certainly more stable than she was.
“Do you need to sit down?” he asked.
“I should be okay.” She removed a small bottle of water from her purse and took a sip. “This may help.”
“You’re not going to pass out?”
She shook her head. A moment later, she feared that she’d spoken too soon. She got dizzy. “I think maybe…”
Rex moved in to grab her. She didn’t lose consciousness, but she clung to him for support, her senses on alert. He smelled fresh and clean, like a walk in the woods. It was his cologne. She remembered it from before. Thank goodness she still found his fragrance appealing. Since the pregnancy, some previously pleasant scents roiled her stomach.
Everything about him was appealing: the width of his shoulders, his height, his stunning cheekbones, the short, sleek thickness of his straight dark hair.
Before she got too attached, she took a deep breath and severed their contact, standing on her own again.
On the night of her birthday, she’d taken an uncharacteristic risk by going home with him, and now she was carrying his child.
A child someone had threatened to kill.
Anxious for the police to arrive, she glanced toward her Mustang. She didn’t wonder how the door had been unlocked and then relocked. A wire hanger or a slim jim or whatever those devices were called would’ve done the trick. Vintage cars were easy to access.
Lisa took another sip of water. Rex was watching her, and his concerned scrutiny made her self-conscious. He reached out to smooth a strand of hair away from her cheek, where it stuck to the slight dampness of her skin. She suspected that she had mascara streaks running down her face, too.
The police finally showed up. One of them, a stout detective named Bell, eyed Rex.
“Don’t I know you?” the detective asked.
Rex nodded. “You worked on a case that involved some friends of mine. Daniel Deer Runner and Allie Whirlwind.”
“Oh, that’s right. You and Deer Runner are part of the same Warrior Society.” Bell gathered information while his partner processed the crime scene. “So, what’s going on here? What’s the significance of the doll?”
Rex responded, “Lisa is pregnant.”
The detective opened his notepad. “Are you the father?”
“Yes. She just told me about it today.” The P.I. explained his whereabouts, being in his office with Lisa, then walking her to her car.
Bell tapped his pen. “Do all of you Society guys have women who are being threatened?”
“She isn’t my woman,” came the candid response. “It was just one night.”
“I see.”
Bell glanced at Lisa, but didn’t say anything to her. While he interviewed Rex, she wondered what the Warrior Society reference meant. Did Rex belong to a club or organization? And what was the deal about their women being threatened? She didn’t like the sound of that.
She stole a glance at the doll. The other detective was taking pictures of it.
Soon Bell left Rex to his own devices and interviewed Lisa. He spoke gently, as if trying to put her at ease. Did he think she might break? That she was as fragile as her appearance? Now she wished that she hadn’t cried.
When he asked her who she thought could have done this, she was at a loss. She didn’t have any enemies, at least not that she knew of. The questions continued, but she wasn’t much help.
“Maybe somebody saw something,” Lisa said, even though the side street was mostly back lots and alleyways.
“We’ll be looking for witnesses,” Bell assured her.
She glanced at Rex. By now, he was jotting down license plate numbers of other parked cars.
Bell followed the line of her sight. “Your friend is going to conduct his own investigation. But he’ll be sharing information with us, too.”
It seemed odd to hear the father of her child being referred to as a friend. But it was as good a description as any. “He offered to protect me.”
“Then maybe you should let him.”
A short time later, she and Rex were dismissed, and they returned to his office, leaving her vehicle for the police to finish examining.
Once they were inside the Sixkiller Investigations building, Rex said, “I want you to come home with me.”
Déjà vu, she thought. She’d heard those words from him once before. But this time she assumed it was because he wanted to talk about the case.
“If you’re not up for the drive, you can ride with me,” he said. “After your car is released, I can arrange to have it brought to my place.”
“I can drive.” She needed to prove that she had inner strength, no matter how frightened or exhausted she was. “But first, there’s something I need to know.” She looked into his eyes, trying not to be become fixated on them again. “What’s a Warrior Society?”
He held her gaze. “In my case, it’s an intertribal group of former military men who defend American Indian rights.”
“So, it’s an activist organization?”
“Yes.”
She should have known that Rex wasn’t a passive man, that his Native roots defined him. Instinctively, she touched her tummy. Her baby was going to be part…
Part what? She didn’t even know what tribe Rex was from. Up until now, she hadn’t considered the cultural differences between them.
She questioned him again. “Why did Detective Bell make that comment about women being threatened?”
“Because he worked on a Warrior Society–related case that involved a stalking. But it’s unlikely this situation is related to my activism. I only found out about the baby today. It’s doubtful that someone associated with me would have known that you were pregnant.”
“Maybe they saw us in the bar. Maybe they’ve been following me ever since.”
“Hoping we would reconnect? I haven’t seen you since that night. We haven’t even talked on the phone. Tailing you to get to me wouldn’t have made much sense.”
“So you think that whoever did this is associated with me?”
“Yes, but I’m going to investigate every angle. I won’t rule out a Society connection, not until I know for sure.”
Lisa didn’t know what to think, if the baby was being threatened because of her or because of its father.
Either way, she agreed to go with him. Because going home alone didn’t seem like a very good option.
Chapter 2
After the police released Lisa’s car, she followed Rex to his house, and the entire time she was in traffic, the knifed doll loomed in her mind. She’d never been so grateful when his complex came into view.
He offered her a seat on his leather sofa. The condo was decorated in dark woods and masculine fabrics. Laminate floors, textured walls and floor-to-ceiling windows provided contemporary ambience. The balcony in his bedroom overlooked the pool. She remembered the view.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“A little.” She knew that she needed to eat.
“Is Chinese okay? I can have it delivered.”
“That’s fine.”
He rummaged through a kitchen drawer and retrieved a take-out menu. She chose an entrée and handed it back to him.
While he ordered the food, she noticed the magazines on his coffee table, which ranged from sports publications to men’s entertainment—the kind with centerfolds.
But what did she expect from a free-wheeling bachelor?
“Do you have a theory about all of this?” she asked.
He sat beside her. “All of this?” He made a grim expression. “You mean, the threat? I think the perpetrator is angry at you for getting pregnant.”
“Do you think he or she is trying to scare me into having an abortion?”
“Probably.”
There was no way she was going to terminate her pregnancy. “And if I don’t? Then what? Will this person—this perpetrator—try to make me miscarry? Or attempt to kill the baby after it’s born?”
He put his hand on her knee. “I won’t let it go that far.”
Lisa hoped he was able to live up to his claim. She wanted to feel safe, but at the moment, she was still scared. At least Detective Bell seemed to think that Rex was capable of the job. That gave her a measure of comfort.
He frowned. “You still look pale. Do you need to lie down before the food comes?”
On the sofa? Or in a guest room? Surely not in his room. Last time when she’d awakened beside him, naked as the day she was born, she’d turned shy. She remembered tugging at the sheet and struggling for something to say.
“Lisa?” he pressed, reminding her that she hadn’t answered his question. He even squeezed her knee.
“I don’t need to lie down.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” Disturbed by her memories, her muscles tensed.
He was astute enough to quit touching her. He removed his hand from her leg. He paused before he said, “I’d like to interview you. But it can wait until after we eat.”
“That’s fine.” She suspected that he would be repeating Detective Bell’s questions, along with a vast number of his own. She had no idea how personal the interview would get, but she prepared herself for the worst.
Not that she had anything to hide. She lived in a cozy old house, enjoyed the chaos that came with running a dance studio and spent Sundays with her family.
Not exactly the kind of life that lent itself to deranged threats.
Their meals were delivered, and he shoved the magazines aside, toppling a few of them. He put napkins, plastic forks, wooden chopsticks and soy sauce packets on the coffee table, along with the take-out containers.
“Do you want a soda?” he asked. “Or some milk?”
“I’ll take a soda.”
“Wouldn’t milk be better for you?”
“Probably, but it sounds icky with Chinese food.”
“How about herbal tea instead? That works with chow mein.”
She couldn’t help but smile. He was being an attentive host. “You don’t seem like the herbal tea type.”
He smiled, too. “I have my moments.”
He certainly did. He got up to brew the tea, and her heart went haywire, kind of like when she’d seen him across the room at the bar.
When he returned with two cups of orange pekoe and a plastic squeeze-bottle of honey, she’d already picked at a portion of her food. He sat on the floor and ate his with chopsticks, which made him seem like a trendy L.A. guy. She wondered if he’d grown up in the city. With Rex, it was difficult to tell.
They finished their lunch in silence. Grateful for the tea, she asked for a second cup. He still had water leftover on the stove, so he poured it for her. She sipped the mild brew, letting it warm her insides. The interview was about to begin.
“How many people know about the baby?” he asked.
“A lot,” she admitted. “I told my family and closest friends. The other instructors at my studio know, too, as well as some of the parents and older students. We teach kids and adults.” She placed her cup on a napkin. Rex hadn’t provided a coaster. “I fainted a few times at work, and that got the gossip mill going. I figured there was no point in denying it.” She made a gesture with her hands, creating a pregnant belly. “Eventually I’m going to show.”
“How many of them know that a man named Sixkiller is the father?”
“By now? Probably all of them. Why?” She thought about the brown-haired, brown-eyed doll. It certainly looked more like Rex than herself. “Do you think this is racially motivated?”
“It’s something to consider, especially since the threat was made while you were in my company, and the doll seemed to favor my genetics.”
So he’d noticed, too. Well, of course, he did, she thought. He noticed everything.
He continued. “But I’m not ruling out other scenarios.” He handed her a pen and paper. “I’m going to need a list of your family, friends, students, employees, everyone who knows about the baby.”
She got offended. “My friends or family would never do this. It has to be a stranger.”
“They can’t be too much of a stranger if they know that you’re pregnant and I’m the father.”
Troubled by his logic, she wrote down the names he’d requested, which was a major feat, considering how long the list was. Still, she refused to believe that someone she cared about was out to hurt her. There had to be another explanation.
“Do you have a big family?” he asked.
“Aside from my parents, I have one set of grandparents, some aunts, uncles and cousins.”
“Be sure to include them.”
“I am.” But none of them would ever knife a doll. “We have dinner together every Sunday.”
“You’ll have to invite me to the next gathering. I assume they’re curious about me.”
“You assume right.” But inviting him to dinner so he could analyze everyone didn’t sit well.
He took the completed list. “How does your family feel about the baby?”
“My parents are thrilled about becoming grandparents. Everyone else has been supportive, too.”
“They’re not concerned or ashamed about you being an unwed mother?”
“Concerned, yes. Ashamed, no. My family isn’t judgmental. Well, maybe my great-aunt Annabelle is, but she’s almost ninety years old.”
“I’m still going to check her out.”
“Go ahead.” Annabelle could barely get out of her wheelchair, let alone terrorize her pregnant niece.
Rex continued the interview. “Is there anyone who tried to talk you out of having the baby?”
“No.”
“What about your girlfriends who were at the bar?”
“They offered to have a baby shower for me when the time comes.”
He changed tactics. “Tell me about your old lovers. Former boyfriends, short-lived affairs and other one-night stands.”
She took a deep breath. “I’ve had two serious boyfriends, and no quickie affairs. As for one-nighters, you’re it.”
“So, you’ve only been with three men, including me?”
“Yes.” Did he consider that unusual for a single woman her age? She wondered how many women he’d been with, but this didn’t seem like the time to ask. He was already forming another question for her to answer.
“Did your old boyfriends ever get aggressive with you? Or were they overly possessive during or after your relationship?”
“No. I was with Jamie during high school, but it fizzled out during our college years. The last I heard, he’s married with children of his own now.”
“And the other boyfriend?”
“Kirk? We dated for two years, but when we moved in together, we realized that we’d made a mistake. It never got bitter, though. We decided that we were better off as friends.”
“How friendly are you?”
“Lunch now and then.”
“Does he know about the baby?”
She nodded. “But I can’t imagine him—”
Rex cut her off. “Write his full name down. Jamie, too. I’m not leaving any stones unturned.”
“Are you going to do the same thing with everyone you know? Are you going to investigate your family and friends? Your old lovers?”
“I already told you that I was going to investigate every angle.”
But would he be as thorough blaming his side as he would be blaming hers?
“I think you should stay with me until this is over,” he said, catching her off guard. “That’s what Daniel did when Allie was being stalked.”
Although she was curious about the other couple, she didn’t want to mimic them. “I can’t stay with you.”
“Why not?”
Yes, her mind asked—why not? He was obviously trying to make good on his promise to protect her.
“Maybe you could stay with me instead.” Her home, her pregnant-lady turf, a situation she could control. Or so she hoped.
“I guess I could. I guess it doesn’t make a difference which of us goes where.”
It mattered to her, and by the time he got to her house, she suspected it would be an issue for him, too.
She couldn’t imagine him fitting into her world any more than she could envision fitting into his.
Nonetheless, they agreed to live together, but only until the perpetrator was caught.
Rex carried his bags into Lisa’s cottage-style house and got the urge to run. Clean yet cramped, the decor was decidedly feminine. Already he was drowning in floral prints, lace curtains and painted woods. He wished he’d insisted that she stay with him.
“You don’t like what I did with it,” she said.
Good call, he thought. Regardless, he tried for polite. “It’s fine. It’s nice. Just point me in the direction of my room.”
She led the way instead. He checked her out from behind, then asked himself what the hell he was doing. He’d already planted a life in her womb. He didn’t need to create more trouble.
The guest room was small, painted in pastel colors, with a single window that overlooked a thriving vegetable garden.
“Do you rent or own?” he asked.
“I’m a homeowner.” A fact of which she seemed proud.
Rex understood. He owned his place, too, and living in Southern California didn’t come cheap. They worked hard for what they had.
She gestured to the tight surroundings. “Eventually this is going to be the nursery.”
“I’ll be sleeping in the baby’s room?” He could picture it with a crib and whatnot. The pastel theme would work, too. For a while, anyway. He couldn’t imagine a boy standing it for very long.
“Yes, the baby’s room.” She said it softly.
A moment later, she informed him that her house had been built in the 1940s. He wondered how that was relevant, until she said, “It only has one bathroom.”
One head? His place had two full baths, but his condo was only a few years old. “How’s the plumbing?”
“It’s fine. Unless you flush the toilet while someone is in the shower. But we won’t be doing that.”
“I take long showers.”
“In the morning or evening?”
“Morning.”
“Then we shouldn’t have a problem sharing. I bathe at night.”
“With bubble bath and scented candles, I’ll bet.” He suspected that she had fancy bottles everywhere.
“Soaking in the tub relaxes me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually kind of sexy.”
“Oh.” Lisa angled her head, making her perfectly coiffed bob tilt to one side. “Then thank you, I guess.”
“Sure.”
Neither of them said anything after that, and the room seemed to shrink even more. He could actually feel them breathing the same air. She was almost close enough to kiss.
But he didn’t dare imagine it. His mind was already filled with images of the night he’d stripped her bare.
Apparently so was hers. “Have you been with anyone since you were with me?” she asked, her voice cracking a little.
Rex shook his head. “I don’t mess around that much.” He glanced at the single bed. He had a king-size at home. “Sometimes I do,” he amended. “Sometimes I’m a player.”
“I could tell that you were. But I wanted to do something wild that night.”
“For your birthday?”
“Yes.”
Lisa crossed her arms over her chest, but it didn’t strike Rex as a defensive pose. He thought it exhibited a cautious form of shyness.
But she couldn’t hide from him. He was right in front of her. Every blood-pumping part of him.
“When I first found out that I was pregnant, I kept debating if I should tell you,” she said. “But I figured that when the baby got older, it would ask about its father. And then there I’d be all those years later having to explain.”
This way, she’d been honest from the start. He respected that. But it also made him more aware of how emotionally ill-equipped he was to become a parent. He liked being a player.
She dropped her hands and clutched her stomach. “Now all I want is for this baby to be safe.”
He was tempted to touch her, to comfort her, but he kept his hands to himself. “I won’t let anything happen.” Not to her and not to the child she carried. “But you have to cooperate with my investigation.”
“I already am. I gave you that list, didn’t I?”
Of people she was close to, he thought, some of whom she loved. He knew that couldn’t be easy. “I’m sorry about what you’ve been through today.” Was it any wonder her skin was still unnaturally pale?
“I hope I don’t have nightmares.”
“Maybe you can take something to help you sleep.”
“Like those PM pills? I’d have to check with my doctor to see if it’s okay. But I’d rather keep drugs out of my system.”
“You were right about being a good mom. You’re going to do the kid proud.”
She loosened the clenching hold on her stomach. “So are you, Rex. Look how protective you are already. Offering to keep us safe.”
Because he didn’t know how to respond, he said, “I plan on being up late.” He gestured to his laptop case. “Running background checks.”
“Just with people’s names?”
“The system I use only requires first and last names. But it helps to have dates of birth and Social Security numbers, if they’re available. I’ve also got some license plate numbers to check on.”
“Yes, I saw you writing them down. Lucky for me my baby’s daddy is a P.I.”
There she went, complimenting him again.
None of this seemed lucky, but he went ahead and faked a smile. “Oh, sure. You hit the jackpot.”
She smiled, too. Only hers seemed genuine. “You even carry a gun.”
He nodded, and they both turned serious. A 9mm was clipped to his belt.
“Maybe I should learn to shoot.” She’d gone edgy again. A lioness protecting her cub. “You could teach me.”
Rex didn’t want her jumping the gun, no pun intended. “We’ll see, okay? For now, you just need to relax. Panicking won’t solve anything.”
“I’m not panicking.”
Wasn’t she? He doubted that she’d ever considered a firearm before. But being put in harm’s way changed a person.
“What happened with Daniel and Allie?” she asked suddenly. “Was Allie’s stalker caught?”
“Yes, she was.”
“She?”
“It was a young woman who had schizophrenic delusions about Daniel. She was taken to a psychiatric facility. She wasn’t stable enough to stand trial.”
“How is that related to the Warrior Society?”
“Daniel recovered a medicine bundle for her family. That’s how she knew him, from one of his missions.”
Lisa made a thought-provoking face. “Maybe there’s a girl out there with delusions about you.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.” He’d already explained earlier how the timing was off, how someone associated with him probably wouldn’t have known about the baby so soon. Not unless that same someone was connected to Lisa, too. “But I’ll check into it.”
She searched his gaze, as if looking for answers in his eyes. “Am I going to meet Daniel and Allie? And the close-quarter combat trainer and his pregnant wife?”
“If you want to.”
“I do, and your family, too.”
“I’m an only child, and my parents live in North Carolina.” Eventually he would have to tell them about the baby, but for now, he preferred to keep it to himself. In spite of their own rotten marriage, they would probably bug him about proposing to Lisa and offering their grandchild a legitimate name.
“Is that where you’re originally from?”
“Yes. The Qualla Boundary. The Eastern Band Cherokee Indian Reservation,” he explained when she gave him a curious look.
“So you’re Cherokee?”
“I’m half, from my dad’s side. My mom is white.” But she was just as traditional as his old man.
“You’ll have to teach me about your heritage. For the baby,” she added.
“Stuff like that is going to take time.” For now, all he could focus on was who had threatened her. “This case takes priority.”
She hiccupped, then tapped her chest, trying to still the jumping motion. “I’m never going to look at dolls in the same way again.”
“Someday you might have to. If we have a girl, she’ll want to play with them.”
“Maybe she’ll be a tomboy.”
“Are you kidding? A daughter of yours?” He tried to lighten her mood. “Little Miss Sugar and Spice. She’s going to be a girlie girl.”
Lisa hiccupped again. “I keep seeing it in my head. Its broken body, its chest.”
Apparently his teasing hadn’t helped. “Try to block the image. Try to clear your mind.”
“That’s easier said than done.” Another hiccup erupted.
“I know. I’m sorry.” Was it true that hiccups went away if you scared someone? He wasn’t about to try it and find out.
Lisa was already on the verge of nightmares.
Chapter 3
Lisa made it through the night. No nightmares. But that was because she’d barely slept. You couldn’t dream if you were awake.
She curled up in bed, dawn seeping through the sheers. As usual, she was nauseous. Mornings were no longer kind to her.
Fighting her baby-on-board queasiness, she reached for the crackers she kept on the nightstand. She ate slowly, munching on one saltine at a time.
But it didn’t help.
She prayed this side effect would go away before too long. Supposedly it would. But she’d heard about women who suffered from morning sickness well beyond their first trimester.
Perish the thought. She would rather die.
No, she thought. Don’t think about dying. Or dolls with knives protruding from their fragile little bodies.
Oh, God. She sat up, clutched the water bottle beside her bed and took a cautious sip.
Bad move. The water hit her stomach like a roiling rock. The saltines she’d just eaten weren’t going to stay down.
Lisa dashed down the hall to the bathroom. She knelt in front of the commode and lost her cookies or crackers or whatever.
Finally, she made her way to the sink, rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth. She scrubbed her face and combed her hair, too, trying to feel human again.
Upon exiting the bathroom, her breath caught. There stood Rex, wearing a lightweight T-shirt and drawstring shorts. He was also holding his shaving kit.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Great. He’d heard her vomit. She hadn’t considered her morning sickness when they’d agreed on a bathroom schedule. But she hadn’t expected them to wake up at the same exact hour, either. “It’s part of the pregnancy.”
“Does it happen every morning?”
“Pretty much. But some mornings are worse than others.”
“Is it going to happen again? Should I leave the door unlocked?”
Mortified, she blinked at him. She wasn’t going to go in there and throw up while he was in the shower. Then again, where else was she going to go? Barfing in a bucket sounded even more disgusting.
“I should be all right.” Her empty stomach seemed to be settling. Of course now she was hungry.
“Just in case, I won’t lock it.” He gestured to the door. “You can come in if you need to.”
And risk seeing him in the buff? Lisa sucked in her breath. Not that she hadn’t seen his beautifully sculpted body before.
She remembered being sprawled across his lap, watching the tight motion of his abs while he’d lifted her up and down.
“Did you sleep okay?” he asked, jarring her back to the present.
“I tossed and turned, but I made it through.” She wanted to move closer to him, but she curbed her desire to breathe him in. “I’ll probably take a nap later.”
“Is it your day off?”
“Yes. I have classes tomorrow tonight.”
“I’d like to go with you tomorrow. As a guest.”
“To my studio?” Why? So he could scout for suspects? “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You promised to cooperate, Lisa.”
She sighed. Keeping her guard up with him was difficult. He was an aggressive investigator, but he had her best interest at heart. “Okay, but you better not freak everyone out.”
“I’m not going to mention the doll. I want to meet everyone first and get a feel for who they are.”
“I’m not going to say anything, either.” She would have to tell her parents, of course. But she didn’t want anyone at the studio to know, not until it was absolutely necessary. “Did you run some background checks last night?”
“Yes, but nothing suspicious surfaced. I’ve still got plenty of work to do, though.”
Because there were lots of people on the list she’d given him. Nervous, she adjusted the bodice of her modest nightgown. “How am I supposed to introduce you?”
“Just use my name.”
A simple way of letting everyone know that he was the daddy, she thought. The Sixkiller name had already been bandied about.
She changed the subject. “I’ll go start some breakfast. Are pancakes okay?”
“You’re going to cook for me? Hell, yes. Pancakes sound great.”
“Then I’ll see you when you’re dressed and ready.” Rather than damp and naked, she thought, as she walked away, his handsome image crowding her troubled mind.
After his shower, Rex put on a My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys T-shirt and a pair of button-fly jeans, then followed the enticing aroma.
He stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched Lisa. She’d gotten dressed, as well. She looked soft and pretty in a loose cotton dress and sandals.
She turned and noticed him. She caught sight of the slogan on his shirt, too.
“Your activism is showing,” she said.
He shrugged and smiled. “I’ve got more where this came from.”
“I’ll bet you do.” She motioned to the stove top. “I’m making blueberry pancakes.”
“Looks like you’re fixing ham and eggs, too.”
“I’m famished.”
No doubt, he thought. She was eating for two. He still couldn’t believe that this was happening, that he was going to have a kid.
“Do you want to eat on the porch?” she asked.
“Sure. Why not?” Since the front door was already open, he glanced in that direction. The porch was rife with potted plants, and amid the greenery was a glass-topped table. “I can put the plates out if you want.”
“Thanks. That’d be nice.” She showed him where the dishes and flatware were kept.
He scooted past her. “Are we going to sit out there and spy on your neighbors? I can change my shirt if we are. I have one that says Love thy Neighbor, but Don’t Get Caught.”
She shook her head. “Figures you’d have a shirt like that. Especially with the type of neighbors you have.”
“You mean, young and sexy and single?” Rex loved his naughty neighborhood. “What type lives around here? Old and married and crotchety?”
“Nice and normal,” she responded, tossing a dish towel at him.
He laughed and tossed it back at her. Were they flirting? Yes, he thought. And he liked it.
Soon they were seated on the porch, a hearty, home-cooked meal in front of them.
Rex decided that he could get used to this. She’d even made cappuccino from one of those commercial-grade espresso machines, decaffeinated for her and the potent stuff for him. He toasted her with his cup. “Here’s to vintage suburbia.” He glanced around at the other houses, with their colorful flowerbeds and white fences. “Are you sure your neighbors are nice and normal?”
She furrowed her brows. “Why? Do you think you should investigate them?”
“Do they know about the baby?”
“Some of them do.”
“Then, yes, I think I should check them out.”
“That list of yours keeps getting longer.” She rubbed her arms, as if to ward off a sudden chill. “Better to be safe than sorry, right? What would I do without your help? I couldn’t handle this on my own.”
Her anxious gaze met his, drawing him in, making him even more protective of her.
“I’m going to put my other cases on hold.” He needed to devote as much time as he could to this investigation.
“I dread calling my parents.” She rubbed her arms again. “They’re going to worry something fierce.”
And with good reason. Rex was worried, too. What kind of sick bastard maimed a doll and left it in a pregnant woman’s car?
“Do you think the police will uncover any evidence?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He doubted that fingerprints or DNA had been left behind. Even the knife that had been used seemed generic. It could have come from anyone’s kitchen. As for the doll itself, he suspected that tons of stores carried them.
“Maybe I should buy that other car soon.”
“The SUV?”
She nodded. “A newer car won’t be as easy to break into. And it’s safer, with air bags and all of that.”
In the silence, she cut into her pancakes. By now, the food on their plates had begun to turn cold. But he was glad that she’d resumed eating. He returned to his meal, too.
After a few more bites, she looked up at him. “Do you think I’m being naive?”
“About what?”
“About who’s threatening me? Do you think I should have some sort of feeling about who it could be?”
No way was he going to blame her. “I think you’re sweet and trusting. But from now on, you need to be more aware of your surroundings.”
“And suspect everyone, the way you do?”
“It’s my job to be suspicious.”
“Maybe my mommy instincts will kick in, and I’ll be able to help you figure out who the bad guy is.”
He hoped that her mommy instincts boosted the case. He contemplated touching her stomach, but he feared his hand would tremble. He wasn’t ready to meet his kid.
Struggling to regain his composure, he grabbed his cappuccino, taking refuge in the creamy brew.
“Have your friends picked a name?” she asked.
“What?” Her question confused him.
“The couple whose baby is due this month. Have they chosen a name for their daughter?”
“I have no idea.”
“You never asked them?”
“No.”
“I guess it’s too soon for us to discuss names.”
For their kid? Way too soon, he thought.
“It helps for me to talk about the baby.” Lisa cradled the tummy he’d been afraid to touch. “To think about all the good stuff still to come.”
As opposed to the bad stuff that was happening now? “That’s understandable.”
“I wonder if I’ll get cravings.”
“Cravings?” he parroted.
“For specific foods.”
“Like the pickles-and-ice-cream thing?” That much he knew. That much he’d heard of.
“Yes, but I don’t think that’s a common craving.”
“Then why did it catch on?”
She made a perplexed face, but she was an expressive girl. He figured it was the dance and theater major in her.
“I don’t know why it caught on,” she said. “Maybe I’ll research it online.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Anything to keep her mind off the danger she was in, he thought, to give her a short reprieve.
And create an illusion of normalcy.
While Lisa napped, Rex worked. He brought his laptop into the living room and ran more background checks. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing. Or at least nothing criminal. Who knew what kind of evil lurked in people’s minds?
When Lisa got up, she headed to the bathroom, but she didn’t have another bout of sickness. He wasn’t deliberately listening for sounds of retching, but he was trying to keep an eye on her.
She came into the living room, and he noticed that her dress was wrinkled. She must have slept in it, making her look soft and rumbled.
“I’m going to fix a snack,” she said. “Do you want one?”
“No, thanks.” Breakfast hadn’t been that long ago.
Soon Lisa returned with a peanut butter sandwich and a tall, frosty glass of milk. He was glad to see that she was getting her calcium. He wondered if she was going to breast-feed, then cursed himself for thinking about it, especially since it made him feel kind of sexual.
Since when did nursing mothers turn him on?
She sat beside him and munched. “How’s it going?”
Terrible, he thought. It was all he could do not to look at her breasts. “I did a Google search and discovered that your first boyfriend has a MySpace profile. Mostly it’s family stuff. Pictures of his wife and kids. They live in Cincinnati. But that came up in the background check, too.”
“Really? I didn’t know that he’d moved. I guess that rules him out as a suspect. Ohio isn’t exactly around the corner.” She took another bite of her sandwich. “What did you find out about Kirk?”
Her second boyfriend, he thought. The one she’d lived with. “I didn’t come across anything of interest, other than his financial blog.” On the day the doll had been stabbed, Kirk rambled about mutual funds. “His blog gets a lot of traffic.”
“He works in the banking industry. But you probably already know that by now.”
“Yes, I do.” He spent quite a bit of time analyzing Kirk.
“He helped me get the loan on this house.”
“Before or after you split up?”
“After.”
Rex decided that Kirk required further investigation. You never knew about an old lover, especially when that lover remained active in their ex’s life.
“I think I’ll go play on the ’Net, too,” she said. “Not that you’ve been playing,” she quickly corrected. “But you know what I mean.”
Yes, he did. He poked at her ribs. It was as close to her stomach as he’d gotten. “You’re going to look up pickles and ice cream?”
She laughed. “And check my e-mails.”
“Have fun.”
“Loads.” She took the half-eaten snack with her.
Less than five minutes later, she screeched, “Rexxx!”
He jumped up and ran into her room. She sat in front of her desktop, as pale as a ghost.
His heart hit his chest. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“I got a creepy e-mail.”
He leaned over her shoulder. “What does it say?”
“It’s a picture of Alice from Alice in Wonderland.”
Had he heard her correctly? “Alice?”
“She’s swimming in her own tears. See?” She pointed to the image on the screen, a depiction that looked as if it had come from the original storybook. “I was scared of Alice when I was little. She helped me when I got lost, but I didn’t trust her.”
Rex was baffled. Lisa was talking in riddles, in things that weren’t real. “Is that a dream you used to have?”
“No. It happened. I got lost at Disneyland.”
Okay, now it was beginning to make sense. Alice was an employee at the Magic Kingdom, walking around in a costume. “Did you get separated from your parents?”
“Yes. I was five years old, and we were in Fantasyland. I was with my mom, waiting in line to order food, and my dad went to find us a table. It was the Fourth of July weekend, so it was packed.”
Rex waited for Lisa to continue. He could see the memories in her eyes. But a little girl wouldn’t forget the day she’d gotten lost.
“After we got our food, I ran ahead to find Dad. Mom called out to me, but I didn’t listen. Then suddenly, I was alone, trapped in scores of people. I was going in the wrong direction and I couldn’t find my parents. I just wandered around, crying to myself.”
“Is that when Alice found you?”
“No. Maggie and Tim found me. They were strangers at the time. But they became friends with my family after that. They approached Alice, told her that I was lost and asked her what they should do.”
“Were you crying when you were with Maggie and Tim?”
“I was crying the entire time. I wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers, so I was leery of them. But they turned out to be really nice.”
How nice? Rex wondered, his suspicious mind kicking in. “Why were you afraid of Alice?”
“I thought I would fall down the rabbit hole if I got too close to her. But she contacted security and I was taken to the Lost Children Center. Tim and Maggie followed us there. They wanted to be sure that I was reunited with my parents.”
“Is your family still friends with Maggie and Tim?”
She nodded, then frowned at him. “You’re not planning on putting them on the list, are you?”
“They’re fair game, Lisa.”
“They’re not even in town. They went on a camping trip. My mom is collecting their mail and watering their plants.”
“That could be a phony alibi.”
“They’ve been gone for over a week and won’t be coming back until sometime next month.”
“They’re still going on the list.” For now, everyone was. He took a closer look at the e-mail. It had been sent from Snow White. Another Disney reference?
“You’re not scared of Snow White, too, are you?”
“No. Can you find out who really sent this?”
“I’ve got a CCFT who can check it out. A certified computer forensics technician,” he explained. “And I’ll let Bell know that you got what appears to be another threat.” He blew out a breath. “Is there anyone besides your family and Maggie and Tim who knows about the Disneyland incident?”
“Most of my friends know. It’s sort of running joke that I’ll get lost whenever we go there. But no one has ever been mean about it.”
Well, someone was being mean now, preying on childhood fears, reminding Lisa of the tears she’d cried.
“Does Kirk know?”
“Yes, but he never said much about it.”
“What about your neighbors?” he asked, trying to narrow down the list.
“Not that I’m aware of.” Her voice hitched. “I think I better quit stalling and call my parents. They need to know what’s going on.”
Rex nodded his agreement. Keeping them in the dark wouldn’t do any good.
“They’ll probably want to come over.” She turned away from the computer to look directly at him. “I’m glad I told you about the baby.”
Strangely enough, so was he. Because he was the daddy. Because the tiny heartbeat inside her belonged to him, too.
He left her alone to make her call, and while she was on the phone, he contacted the CCFT.
Something in this case had to give. Something had to shake free.
Before Lisa really did fall down the rabbit hole.
Chapter 4
Lisa hung up the phone and went in search of Rex. She found him on the porch, only he wasn’t sitting at the table. He was perched on the steps.
She got his attention. “My parents are on their way over.”
He turned around to look at her. “The CCFT is coming by, too. But it’ll be about an hour.” He patted the spot next to him. “Join me?”
She sat beside him, and their shoulders brushed. The physical contact made the air in her lungs whoosh out. But every time she got near him, she wanted to move even closer.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Right as rain,” she responded, trying to keep the conversation light.
He smiled, and the tilt of his lips was slightly crooked and naturally flirtatious. “At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
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Sheri WhiteFeather
“I take long showers,” Rex said.
“In the morning or evening?” Lisa asked.
“Morning.”
“Then we shouldn’t have a problem sharing. I bathe at night.”
“With bubble bath and scented candles, I’ll bet.” Rex suspected that she had fancy bottles everywhere.
“Soaking in the tub relaxes me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually kind of sexy.”
“Oh.” Lisa angled her head, making her perfectly coiffed bob tilt to one side. “Then thank you, I guess.”
“Sure.”
Neither of them said anything after that, and the room seemed to shrink even more. He could actually feel them breathing the same air. She was almost close enough to kiss.
Dear Reader,
I would like to thank all of you who take the time to send fan letters to your favorite authors.
Over the years, I’ve received some very special fan letters. In fact, I received an amazing e-mail today. A reader from England wrote to tell me about a British-based book club that read the 2008 Mills and Boon release of Always Look Twice (my 2005 Silhouette Bombshell). According to the letter, they all believe that “Agent West is the greatest hero in the history of fiction,” and some of the book club members may be working on an Agent West fan site.
I’m honored and awed that one of my heroes stirred this kind of reaction! It’s great timing, too, because Agent West plays a minor role in Protecting Their Baby. He tends to crop up now and then, reappearing as the FBI guy that he is.
And speaking of heroes, Rex Sixkiller, the male protagonist in Protecting Their Baby, was inspired by a reader of Cherokee descent who offered to let me borrow the Sixkiller name. I kept the name in the back of my mind, waiting for the right character to embody it.
That said, I love hearing from my readers. You are the reason I write.
Best,
Sheri WhiteFeather
Protecting Their Baby
Sheri Whitefeather
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
SHERI WHITEFEATHER
is a bestselling author who has won numerous awards, including readers’ and reviewer’s choice honors. She writes a variety of romance novels for Silhouette. She has become known for incorporating Native American elements into her stories. She has two grown children who are tribally enrolled members of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Sheri is of Italian-American descent. Her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy through Ellis Island, originating from Castel di Sangro and Sicily. She lives in California and enjoys ethnic dining, shopping in vintage stores and going to art galleries and museums. Sheri loves to hear from her readers. Visit her Web site at www.SheriWhiteFeather.com.
To Lisa, my sister’s dance teacher in Oregon—
here’s to hot guys and red high heels!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 1
I’m screwed, Rex Sixkiller thought.
He should have known that Lisa Gordon was going to spell trouble. He’d pegged her as a good girl from the start. Then again, she had gotten dirty that night.
Yeah, with the help of extra-dirty martinis.
He stared at Lisa. She was seated across from him in his L.A. office, and he’d never been so scared in all in his thirty-six years. Yes, him. A decorated Desert Storm veteran, a licensed private investigator and a Warrior Society activist.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She responded with a jerky nod. She looked like the good girl she was, with a blond bob and innocent blue eyes. Her long, lean, sinful body was another matter. Of course she was a dance instructor who owned her own studio, so her knockout figure was well earned. She looked the same as the night he’d met her at the bar.
She twisted her hands on her lap. “I did one of those home tests, and then I saw a doctor to confirm the results.” Another twist. Another nervous reaction.
He wished they were back at the bar. He could use a stiff belt about now. “So much for the protection, huh?”
She went clinical. “The doctor said that if a condom is used correctly, the chance of becoming pregnant is less than three percent. If used incorrectly, a twelve percent chance occurs.” Her breath hitched. “Maybe we did something wrong.”
He shook his head. He never got sloppy with a rubber, not even after a couple of drinks. Besides, Lisa had been tipsy that night, not him. “The condom probably had a defect we weren’t aware of.”
A baby-making leak, he thought. How else could his little swimmers have gotten through?
In the silence, an uncomfortable connection passed between them, a reminder of their one-night stand, of sizzling sex and an awkward morning after. In the light of day, it had become apparent they had absolutely nothing in common. He remembered how they’d politely exchanged phone numbers, with no intention of ever calling each other.
And now here she was, six weeks later, pregnant with his child.
“Are you planning to keep it?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Why else would she approach the father? A practical stranger? An abortion would be simpler without him.
“Yes, I’m going to have this baby.” To emphasize her point, she placed a protective hand over her still-flat stomach. Then she said, “But I did consider adoption.”
He leaned forward in his chair. He was seated behind his desk, and she was on the other side of the wooden barrier. “You did?”
She nodded. “I’m adopted, and I have an amazing family. But I’m ready to be a mom. I think I’ll be good at it.”
Rex didn’t have an amazing family. He’d watched his parents bitch and bicker. Sometimes they used to direct their frustration at him—the product of an unplanned pregnancy and forced marriage. They should have gotten divorced, but they were still together, miserable as ever. Rex had decided long ago that he would never get married, and it was a vow he intended to keep.
Not that Lisa expected him to marry her, but he still feared that he was on the verge of losing his freedom. Rex worked hard, but he played hard, too. He had no idea how a child was supposed to fit into his lifestyle.
“I understand if you want a paternity test after the baby is born,” she said. “But just so you know, I haven’t been with anyone in almost a year, except for you.”
“I believe you.” He didn’t doubt that the baby was his. He’d been a P.I. long enough to rely on his instincts, and Lisa was as honest as Abe Lincoln’s reputation. He would have preferred to pin it on another guy, but he couldn’t.
“I appreciate that you trust me.”
He shrugged, waited a beat, and then said, “I don’t think I’m going to be a very good father. But I’ll do the best I can,” he added quickly.
What else could he say? He couldn’t very well tell her to buzz off and leave him alone. He was a bit more honorable than that.
A bit…
Lisa seemed to be analyzing his bad-dad remark and debating if she should comment on it. Luckily, she skipped it, saying instead, “I think it’s important for a child to have two committed parents, but I would have raised this baby alone if I had to. If you’d…”
Refused to accept responsibility, he thought. If only he could, if only he had it in him to walk away. “If we’re going to share a kid, then we’ll have to work on getting to know each other.”
“Yes, we will.”
She started wringing her hands, much in the way she’d done earlier. Apparently she was nervous about getting to know him. Clearly, he wasn’t her usual type. Clearly, she’d misbehaved that night.
Dirty martinis and dirty sex.
And on her thirtieth birthday, no less. Rex considered the tiny life in her womb and winced accordingly. Was this the Creator’s idea of a joke? A gift for her big three-oh?
Once again, silence stumbled between them. They were off to a hell of start with this getting-to-know-each-other thing. She wasn’t his usual type, either.
Still, on that fateful night, they’d flirted shamelessly. They’d even fed each other shelled peanuts and kissed on the dance floor.
By the time the bar closed, they’d been desperate for more. He’d invited her back to his condo, and she’d readily accepted. Of course she hadn’t been totally irresponsible. She’d gotten his name and address from his ID and given it to her girlfriends, just in case he was an ax murderer and she was never heard from again.
He’d promised her friends that he would be good to her. Now he wondered if those same friends knew about the baby and if they blamed themselves for letting the birthday girl go home with a stranger.
Not that they could have stopped her. She was an adult, capable of making up her own mind.
Her own intoxicated mind.
Damn, he thought. Did that even count?
“I should go.” Lisa cut into the quiet, preparing to leave. “I have some errands to run.”
Rex glanced up from his desk. “I’ll walk you out.” Somehow it seemed like the right thing to do, even if allowing her to make a hasty retreat would’ve been easier.
“I parked down the street and around the corner.”
“No problem.” Parking spots in this area were difficult to come by. She was lucky she’d found one relatively close.
He opened the office door for her, and they walked side by side. She smoothed her blouse, a pretty white garment tucked into a slim black skirt. She looked sleek and professional. He wondered how long it would take for her to develop a bump and if people were going to refer to him as the “baby daddy.” Wasn’t that the phrase of the day? The thing to say?
The spring weather was warm and bright, and the city was active and noisy. As he and Lisa rounded the corner and headed down a small side street, she pointed out her car.
She drove a vintage Mustang, but he wasn’t surprised by her vehicle of choice. While they’d chatted at the bar, she’d told him that her grandfather restored old cars.
“I’ll probably get something newer when the baby comes,” she said. “Maybe an SUV.”
A kid car, Rex thought. Already she was turning into a soccer mom.
“But there’s still time.” She managed a smile. “I’ve got a ways to go.”
Would he be even more scared by then? Or would it get easier? “A friend of mine is going to be a dad soon. His kid is due sometime this month. He’s married, though.” A point that made their situations nothing alike. “He teaches close-quarter combat, and his wife is a homicide detective.”
“Wow.” Lisa stood beside her car. “That’s going to be one tough little baby.”
“Tough and sweet. They’re having a girl.”
“A girl would be nice. Or a boy,” she added, referring to the baby she’d made with Rex. “I don’t have a preference.”
Neither did he, other than wishing the condom hadn’t failed. Uncomfortable, he shifted his feet. She fell silent, too, and they went back into awkward mode.
How long would it take for them to have a relaxed conversation? To feel normal around each other?
“I’ll call you after my next doctor appointment,” she said. “Just to let you know how things are going.”
“Sure. Okay.” He supposed it was a place to start, even if he wasn’t prepared for any of it.
She unlocked her car and opened the door. But as she turned to climb behind the wheel, she froze in her tracks.
And let out a blood-curdling scream.
On the front seat of her car was a doll that resembled a newborn, only its rounded little body was mangled, with broken limbs and unblinking eyes staring into nothingness. In the center of its tiny chest, where its heart would be, was a knife.
Equally horrified, Rex reached for Lisa, pulling her away from the gruesome sight and into his arms.
While he held her, while she burst into fear-drenched tears, he called the police, reporting what appeared to be the mock murder of their unborn child.
Lisa couldn’t seem to let go of Rex. Nor could she stop crying. Who would do something so sick? So cruel?
Finally, she got the strength to step back and wipe her tears. But she couldn’t stop from staring at Rex, and in between her shivers, she fixated on his eyes.
The doll had brown eyes, too, and a tuft of dark hair. Was that how their baby was going to look?
“I don’t understand.” Her voice echoed in her head, the sound thick and hoarse. “Why is this happening?”
“I don’t know,” came the concerned reply. “But I won’t let anyone hurt you or the baby.”
Would he be able to protect her? He couldn’t be with her every moment of the day. They barely knew each other. Still, she wanted to believe him, to take his promise at face value.
“You’re awfully pale,” he said, as they waited for the police.
“Sometimes I faint.” She clenched her middle. “But it’s normal early on.”
Rex seemed ready to catch her if she fell. He was certainly more stable than she was.
“Do you need to sit down?” he asked.
“I should be okay.” She removed a small bottle of water from her purse and took a sip. “This may help.”
“You’re not going to pass out?”
She shook her head. A moment later, she feared that she’d spoken too soon. She got dizzy. “I think maybe…”
Rex moved in to grab her. She didn’t lose consciousness, but she clung to him for support, her senses on alert. He smelled fresh and clean, like a walk in the woods. It was his cologne. She remembered it from before. Thank goodness she still found his fragrance appealing. Since the pregnancy, some previously pleasant scents roiled her stomach.
Everything about him was appealing: the width of his shoulders, his height, his stunning cheekbones, the short, sleek thickness of his straight dark hair.
Before she got too attached, she took a deep breath and severed their contact, standing on her own again.
On the night of her birthday, she’d taken an uncharacteristic risk by going home with him, and now she was carrying his child.
A child someone had threatened to kill.
Anxious for the police to arrive, she glanced toward her Mustang. She didn’t wonder how the door had been unlocked and then relocked. A wire hanger or a slim jim or whatever those devices were called would’ve done the trick. Vintage cars were easy to access.
Lisa took another sip of water. Rex was watching her, and his concerned scrutiny made her self-conscious. He reached out to smooth a strand of hair away from her cheek, where it stuck to the slight dampness of her skin. She suspected that she had mascara streaks running down her face, too.
The police finally showed up. One of them, a stout detective named Bell, eyed Rex.
“Don’t I know you?” the detective asked.
Rex nodded. “You worked on a case that involved some friends of mine. Daniel Deer Runner and Allie Whirlwind.”
“Oh, that’s right. You and Deer Runner are part of the same Warrior Society.” Bell gathered information while his partner processed the crime scene. “So, what’s going on here? What’s the significance of the doll?”
Rex responded, “Lisa is pregnant.”
The detective opened his notepad. “Are you the father?”
“Yes. She just told me about it today.” The P.I. explained his whereabouts, being in his office with Lisa, then walking her to her car.
Bell tapped his pen. “Do all of you Society guys have women who are being threatened?”
“She isn’t my woman,” came the candid response. “It was just one night.”
“I see.”
Bell glanced at Lisa, but didn’t say anything to her. While he interviewed Rex, she wondered what the Warrior Society reference meant. Did Rex belong to a club or organization? And what was the deal about their women being threatened? She didn’t like the sound of that.
She stole a glance at the doll. The other detective was taking pictures of it.
Soon Bell left Rex to his own devices and interviewed Lisa. He spoke gently, as if trying to put her at ease. Did he think she might break? That she was as fragile as her appearance? Now she wished that she hadn’t cried.
When he asked her who she thought could have done this, she was at a loss. She didn’t have any enemies, at least not that she knew of. The questions continued, but she wasn’t much help.
“Maybe somebody saw something,” Lisa said, even though the side street was mostly back lots and alleyways.
“We’ll be looking for witnesses,” Bell assured her.
She glanced at Rex. By now, he was jotting down license plate numbers of other parked cars.
Bell followed the line of her sight. “Your friend is going to conduct his own investigation. But he’ll be sharing information with us, too.”
It seemed odd to hear the father of her child being referred to as a friend. But it was as good a description as any. “He offered to protect me.”
“Then maybe you should let him.”
A short time later, she and Rex were dismissed, and they returned to his office, leaving her vehicle for the police to finish examining.
Once they were inside the Sixkiller Investigations building, Rex said, “I want you to come home with me.”
Déjà vu, she thought. She’d heard those words from him once before. But this time she assumed it was because he wanted to talk about the case.
“If you’re not up for the drive, you can ride with me,” he said. “After your car is released, I can arrange to have it brought to my place.”
“I can drive.” She needed to prove that she had inner strength, no matter how frightened or exhausted she was. “But first, there’s something I need to know.” She looked into his eyes, trying not to be become fixated on them again. “What’s a Warrior Society?”
He held her gaze. “In my case, it’s an intertribal group of former military men who defend American Indian rights.”
“So, it’s an activist organization?”
“Yes.”
She should have known that Rex wasn’t a passive man, that his Native roots defined him. Instinctively, she touched her tummy. Her baby was going to be part…
Part what? She didn’t even know what tribe Rex was from. Up until now, she hadn’t considered the cultural differences between them.
She questioned him again. “Why did Detective Bell make that comment about women being threatened?”
“Because he worked on a Warrior Society–related case that involved a stalking. But it’s unlikely this situation is related to my activism. I only found out about the baby today. It’s doubtful that someone associated with me would have known that you were pregnant.”
“Maybe they saw us in the bar. Maybe they’ve been following me ever since.”
“Hoping we would reconnect? I haven’t seen you since that night. We haven’t even talked on the phone. Tailing you to get to me wouldn’t have made much sense.”
“So you think that whoever did this is associated with me?”
“Yes, but I’m going to investigate every angle. I won’t rule out a Society connection, not until I know for sure.”
Lisa didn’t know what to think, if the baby was being threatened because of her or because of its father.
Either way, she agreed to go with him. Because going home alone didn’t seem like a very good option.
Chapter 2
After the police released Lisa’s car, she followed Rex to his house, and the entire time she was in traffic, the knifed doll loomed in her mind. She’d never been so grateful when his complex came into view.
He offered her a seat on his leather sofa. The condo was decorated in dark woods and masculine fabrics. Laminate floors, textured walls and floor-to-ceiling windows provided contemporary ambience. The balcony in his bedroom overlooked the pool. She remembered the view.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“A little.” She knew that she needed to eat.
“Is Chinese okay? I can have it delivered.”
“That’s fine.”
He rummaged through a kitchen drawer and retrieved a take-out menu. She chose an entrée and handed it back to him.
While he ordered the food, she noticed the magazines on his coffee table, which ranged from sports publications to men’s entertainment—the kind with centerfolds.
But what did she expect from a free-wheeling bachelor?
“Do you have a theory about all of this?” she asked.
He sat beside her. “All of this?” He made a grim expression. “You mean, the threat? I think the perpetrator is angry at you for getting pregnant.”
“Do you think he or she is trying to scare me into having an abortion?”
“Probably.”
There was no way she was going to terminate her pregnancy. “And if I don’t? Then what? Will this person—this perpetrator—try to make me miscarry? Or attempt to kill the baby after it’s born?”
He put his hand on her knee. “I won’t let it go that far.”
Lisa hoped he was able to live up to his claim. She wanted to feel safe, but at the moment, she was still scared. At least Detective Bell seemed to think that Rex was capable of the job. That gave her a measure of comfort.
He frowned. “You still look pale. Do you need to lie down before the food comes?”
On the sofa? Or in a guest room? Surely not in his room. Last time when she’d awakened beside him, naked as the day she was born, she’d turned shy. She remembered tugging at the sheet and struggling for something to say.
“Lisa?” he pressed, reminding her that she hadn’t answered his question. He even squeezed her knee.
“I don’t need to lie down.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” Disturbed by her memories, her muscles tensed.
He was astute enough to quit touching her. He removed his hand from her leg. He paused before he said, “I’d like to interview you. But it can wait until after we eat.”
“That’s fine.” She suspected that he would be repeating Detective Bell’s questions, along with a vast number of his own. She had no idea how personal the interview would get, but she prepared herself for the worst.
Not that she had anything to hide. She lived in a cozy old house, enjoyed the chaos that came with running a dance studio and spent Sundays with her family.
Not exactly the kind of life that lent itself to deranged threats.
Their meals were delivered, and he shoved the magazines aside, toppling a few of them. He put napkins, plastic forks, wooden chopsticks and soy sauce packets on the coffee table, along with the take-out containers.
“Do you want a soda?” he asked. “Or some milk?”
“I’ll take a soda.”
“Wouldn’t milk be better for you?”
“Probably, but it sounds icky with Chinese food.”
“How about herbal tea instead? That works with chow mein.”
She couldn’t help but smile. He was being an attentive host. “You don’t seem like the herbal tea type.”
He smiled, too. “I have my moments.”
He certainly did. He got up to brew the tea, and her heart went haywire, kind of like when she’d seen him across the room at the bar.
When he returned with two cups of orange pekoe and a plastic squeeze-bottle of honey, she’d already picked at a portion of her food. He sat on the floor and ate his with chopsticks, which made him seem like a trendy L.A. guy. She wondered if he’d grown up in the city. With Rex, it was difficult to tell.
They finished their lunch in silence. Grateful for the tea, she asked for a second cup. He still had water leftover on the stove, so he poured it for her. She sipped the mild brew, letting it warm her insides. The interview was about to begin.
“How many people know about the baby?” he asked.
“A lot,” she admitted. “I told my family and closest friends. The other instructors at my studio know, too, as well as some of the parents and older students. We teach kids and adults.” She placed her cup on a napkin. Rex hadn’t provided a coaster. “I fainted a few times at work, and that got the gossip mill going. I figured there was no point in denying it.” She made a gesture with her hands, creating a pregnant belly. “Eventually I’m going to show.”
“How many of them know that a man named Sixkiller is the father?”
“By now? Probably all of them. Why?” She thought about the brown-haired, brown-eyed doll. It certainly looked more like Rex than herself. “Do you think this is racially motivated?”
“It’s something to consider, especially since the threat was made while you were in my company, and the doll seemed to favor my genetics.”
So he’d noticed, too. Well, of course, he did, she thought. He noticed everything.
He continued. “But I’m not ruling out other scenarios.” He handed her a pen and paper. “I’m going to need a list of your family, friends, students, employees, everyone who knows about the baby.”
She got offended. “My friends or family would never do this. It has to be a stranger.”
“They can’t be too much of a stranger if they know that you’re pregnant and I’m the father.”
Troubled by his logic, she wrote down the names he’d requested, which was a major feat, considering how long the list was. Still, she refused to believe that someone she cared about was out to hurt her. There had to be another explanation.
“Do you have a big family?” he asked.
“Aside from my parents, I have one set of grandparents, some aunts, uncles and cousins.”
“Be sure to include them.”
“I am.” But none of them would ever knife a doll. “We have dinner together every Sunday.”
“You’ll have to invite me to the next gathering. I assume they’re curious about me.”
“You assume right.” But inviting him to dinner so he could analyze everyone didn’t sit well.
He took the completed list. “How does your family feel about the baby?”
“My parents are thrilled about becoming grandparents. Everyone else has been supportive, too.”
“They’re not concerned or ashamed about you being an unwed mother?”
“Concerned, yes. Ashamed, no. My family isn’t judgmental. Well, maybe my great-aunt Annabelle is, but she’s almost ninety years old.”
“I’m still going to check her out.”
“Go ahead.” Annabelle could barely get out of her wheelchair, let alone terrorize her pregnant niece.
Rex continued the interview. “Is there anyone who tried to talk you out of having the baby?”
“No.”
“What about your girlfriends who were at the bar?”
“They offered to have a baby shower for me when the time comes.”
He changed tactics. “Tell me about your old lovers. Former boyfriends, short-lived affairs and other one-night stands.”
She took a deep breath. “I’ve had two serious boyfriends, and no quickie affairs. As for one-nighters, you’re it.”
“So, you’ve only been with three men, including me?”
“Yes.” Did he consider that unusual for a single woman her age? She wondered how many women he’d been with, but this didn’t seem like the time to ask. He was already forming another question for her to answer.
“Did your old boyfriends ever get aggressive with you? Or were they overly possessive during or after your relationship?”
“No. I was with Jamie during high school, but it fizzled out during our college years. The last I heard, he’s married with children of his own now.”
“And the other boyfriend?”
“Kirk? We dated for two years, but when we moved in together, we realized that we’d made a mistake. It never got bitter, though. We decided that we were better off as friends.”
“How friendly are you?”
“Lunch now and then.”
“Does he know about the baby?”
She nodded. “But I can’t imagine him—”
Rex cut her off. “Write his full name down. Jamie, too. I’m not leaving any stones unturned.”
“Are you going to do the same thing with everyone you know? Are you going to investigate your family and friends? Your old lovers?”
“I already told you that I was going to investigate every angle.”
But would he be as thorough blaming his side as he would be blaming hers?
“I think you should stay with me until this is over,” he said, catching her off guard. “That’s what Daniel did when Allie was being stalked.”
Although she was curious about the other couple, she didn’t want to mimic them. “I can’t stay with you.”
“Why not?”
Yes, her mind asked—why not? He was obviously trying to make good on his promise to protect her.
“Maybe you could stay with me instead.” Her home, her pregnant-lady turf, a situation she could control. Or so she hoped.
“I guess I could. I guess it doesn’t make a difference which of us goes where.”
It mattered to her, and by the time he got to her house, she suspected it would be an issue for him, too.
She couldn’t imagine him fitting into her world any more than she could envision fitting into his.
Nonetheless, they agreed to live together, but only until the perpetrator was caught.
Rex carried his bags into Lisa’s cottage-style house and got the urge to run. Clean yet cramped, the decor was decidedly feminine. Already he was drowning in floral prints, lace curtains and painted woods. He wished he’d insisted that she stay with him.
“You don’t like what I did with it,” she said.
Good call, he thought. Regardless, he tried for polite. “It’s fine. It’s nice. Just point me in the direction of my room.”
She led the way instead. He checked her out from behind, then asked himself what the hell he was doing. He’d already planted a life in her womb. He didn’t need to create more trouble.
The guest room was small, painted in pastel colors, with a single window that overlooked a thriving vegetable garden.
“Do you rent or own?” he asked.
“I’m a homeowner.” A fact of which she seemed proud.
Rex understood. He owned his place, too, and living in Southern California didn’t come cheap. They worked hard for what they had.
She gestured to the tight surroundings. “Eventually this is going to be the nursery.”
“I’ll be sleeping in the baby’s room?” He could picture it with a crib and whatnot. The pastel theme would work, too. For a while, anyway. He couldn’t imagine a boy standing it for very long.
“Yes, the baby’s room.” She said it softly.
A moment later, she informed him that her house had been built in the 1940s. He wondered how that was relevant, until she said, “It only has one bathroom.”
One head? His place had two full baths, but his condo was only a few years old. “How’s the plumbing?”
“It’s fine. Unless you flush the toilet while someone is in the shower. But we won’t be doing that.”
“I take long showers.”
“In the morning or evening?”
“Morning.”
“Then we shouldn’t have a problem sharing. I bathe at night.”
“With bubble bath and scented candles, I’ll bet.” He suspected that she had fancy bottles everywhere.
“Soaking in the tub relaxes me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually kind of sexy.”
“Oh.” Lisa angled her head, making her perfectly coiffed bob tilt to one side. “Then thank you, I guess.”
“Sure.”
Neither of them said anything after that, and the room seemed to shrink even more. He could actually feel them breathing the same air. She was almost close enough to kiss.
But he didn’t dare imagine it. His mind was already filled with images of the night he’d stripped her bare.
Apparently so was hers. “Have you been with anyone since you were with me?” she asked, her voice cracking a little.
Rex shook his head. “I don’t mess around that much.” He glanced at the single bed. He had a king-size at home. “Sometimes I do,” he amended. “Sometimes I’m a player.”
“I could tell that you were. But I wanted to do something wild that night.”
“For your birthday?”
“Yes.”
Lisa crossed her arms over her chest, but it didn’t strike Rex as a defensive pose. He thought it exhibited a cautious form of shyness.
But she couldn’t hide from him. He was right in front of her. Every blood-pumping part of him.
“When I first found out that I was pregnant, I kept debating if I should tell you,” she said. “But I figured that when the baby got older, it would ask about its father. And then there I’d be all those years later having to explain.”
This way, she’d been honest from the start. He respected that. But it also made him more aware of how emotionally ill-equipped he was to become a parent. He liked being a player.
She dropped her hands and clutched her stomach. “Now all I want is for this baby to be safe.”
He was tempted to touch her, to comfort her, but he kept his hands to himself. “I won’t let anything happen.” Not to her and not to the child she carried. “But you have to cooperate with my investigation.”
“I already am. I gave you that list, didn’t I?”
Of people she was close to, he thought, some of whom she loved. He knew that couldn’t be easy. “I’m sorry about what you’ve been through today.” Was it any wonder her skin was still unnaturally pale?
“I hope I don’t have nightmares.”
“Maybe you can take something to help you sleep.”
“Like those PM pills? I’d have to check with my doctor to see if it’s okay. But I’d rather keep drugs out of my system.”
“You were right about being a good mom. You’re going to do the kid proud.”
She loosened the clenching hold on her stomach. “So are you, Rex. Look how protective you are already. Offering to keep us safe.”
Because he didn’t know how to respond, he said, “I plan on being up late.” He gestured to his laptop case. “Running background checks.”
“Just with people’s names?”
“The system I use only requires first and last names. But it helps to have dates of birth and Social Security numbers, if they’re available. I’ve also got some license plate numbers to check on.”
“Yes, I saw you writing them down. Lucky for me my baby’s daddy is a P.I.”
There she went, complimenting him again.
None of this seemed lucky, but he went ahead and faked a smile. “Oh, sure. You hit the jackpot.”
She smiled, too. Only hers seemed genuine. “You even carry a gun.”
He nodded, and they both turned serious. A 9mm was clipped to his belt.
“Maybe I should learn to shoot.” She’d gone edgy again. A lioness protecting her cub. “You could teach me.”
Rex didn’t want her jumping the gun, no pun intended. “We’ll see, okay? For now, you just need to relax. Panicking won’t solve anything.”
“I’m not panicking.”
Wasn’t she? He doubted that she’d ever considered a firearm before. But being put in harm’s way changed a person.
“What happened with Daniel and Allie?” she asked suddenly. “Was Allie’s stalker caught?”
“Yes, she was.”
“She?”
“It was a young woman who had schizophrenic delusions about Daniel. She was taken to a psychiatric facility. She wasn’t stable enough to stand trial.”
“How is that related to the Warrior Society?”
“Daniel recovered a medicine bundle for her family. That’s how she knew him, from one of his missions.”
Lisa made a thought-provoking face. “Maybe there’s a girl out there with delusions about you.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.” He’d already explained earlier how the timing was off, how someone associated with him probably wouldn’t have known about the baby so soon. Not unless that same someone was connected to Lisa, too. “But I’ll check into it.”
She searched his gaze, as if looking for answers in his eyes. “Am I going to meet Daniel and Allie? And the close-quarter combat trainer and his pregnant wife?”
“If you want to.”
“I do, and your family, too.”
“I’m an only child, and my parents live in North Carolina.” Eventually he would have to tell them about the baby, but for now, he preferred to keep it to himself. In spite of their own rotten marriage, they would probably bug him about proposing to Lisa and offering their grandchild a legitimate name.
“Is that where you’re originally from?”
“Yes. The Qualla Boundary. The Eastern Band Cherokee Indian Reservation,” he explained when she gave him a curious look.
“So you’re Cherokee?”
“I’m half, from my dad’s side. My mom is white.” But she was just as traditional as his old man.
“You’ll have to teach me about your heritage. For the baby,” she added.
“Stuff like that is going to take time.” For now, all he could focus on was who had threatened her. “This case takes priority.”
She hiccupped, then tapped her chest, trying to still the jumping motion. “I’m never going to look at dolls in the same way again.”
“Someday you might have to. If we have a girl, she’ll want to play with them.”
“Maybe she’ll be a tomboy.”
“Are you kidding? A daughter of yours?” He tried to lighten her mood. “Little Miss Sugar and Spice. She’s going to be a girlie girl.”
Lisa hiccupped again. “I keep seeing it in my head. Its broken body, its chest.”
Apparently his teasing hadn’t helped. “Try to block the image. Try to clear your mind.”
“That’s easier said than done.” Another hiccup erupted.
“I know. I’m sorry.” Was it true that hiccups went away if you scared someone? He wasn’t about to try it and find out.
Lisa was already on the verge of nightmares.
Chapter 3
Lisa made it through the night. No nightmares. But that was because she’d barely slept. You couldn’t dream if you were awake.
She curled up in bed, dawn seeping through the sheers. As usual, she was nauseous. Mornings were no longer kind to her.
Fighting her baby-on-board queasiness, she reached for the crackers she kept on the nightstand. She ate slowly, munching on one saltine at a time.
But it didn’t help.
She prayed this side effect would go away before too long. Supposedly it would. But she’d heard about women who suffered from morning sickness well beyond their first trimester.
Perish the thought. She would rather die.
No, she thought. Don’t think about dying. Or dolls with knives protruding from their fragile little bodies.
Oh, God. She sat up, clutched the water bottle beside her bed and took a cautious sip.
Bad move. The water hit her stomach like a roiling rock. The saltines she’d just eaten weren’t going to stay down.
Lisa dashed down the hall to the bathroom. She knelt in front of the commode and lost her cookies or crackers or whatever.
Finally, she made her way to the sink, rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth. She scrubbed her face and combed her hair, too, trying to feel human again.
Upon exiting the bathroom, her breath caught. There stood Rex, wearing a lightweight T-shirt and drawstring shorts. He was also holding his shaving kit.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Great. He’d heard her vomit. She hadn’t considered her morning sickness when they’d agreed on a bathroom schedule. But she hadn’t expected them to wake up at the same exact hour, either. “It’s part of the pregnancy.”
“Does it happen every morning?”
“Pretty much. But some mornings are worse than others.”
“Is it going to happen again? Should I leave the door unlocked?”
Mortified, she blinked at him. She wasn’t going to go in there and throw up while he was in the shower. Then again, where else was she going to go? Barfing in a bucket sounded even more disgusting.
“I should be all right.” Her empty stomach seemed to be settling. Of course now she was hungry.
“Just in case, I won’t lock it.” He gestured to the door. “You can come in if you need to.”
And risk seeing him in the buff? Lisa sucked in her breath. Not that she hadn’t seen his beautifully sculpted body before.
She remembered being sprawled across his lap, watching the tight motion of his abs while he’d lifted her up and down.
“Did you sleep okay?” he asked, jarring her back to the present.
“I tossed and turned, but I made it through.” She wanted to move closer to him, but she curbed her desire to breathe him in. “I’ll probably take a nap later.”
“Is it your day off?”
“Yes. I have classes tomorrow tonight.”
“I’d like to go with you tomorrow. As a guest.”
“To my studio?” Why? So he could scout for suspects? “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You promised to cooperate, Lisa.”
She sighed. Keeping her guard up with him was difficult. He was an aggressive investigator, but he had her best interest at heart. “Okay, but you better not freak everyone out.”
“I’m not going to mention the doll. I want to meet everyone first and get a feel for who they are.”
“I’m not going to say anything, either.” She would have to tell her parents, of course. But she didn’t want anyone at the studio to know, not until it was absolutely necessary. “Did you run some background checks last night?”
“Yes, but nothing suspicious surfaced. I’ve still got plenty of work to do, though.”
Because there were lots of people on the list she’d given him. Nervous, she adjusted the bodice of her modest nightgown. “How am I supposed to introduce you?”
“Just use my name.”
A simple way of letting everyone know that he was the daddy, she thought. The Sixkiller name had already been bandied about.
She changed the subject. “I’ll go start some breakfast. Are pancakes okay?”
“You’re going to cook for me? Hell, yes. Pancakes sound great.”
“Then I’ll see you when you’re dressed and ready.” Rather than damp and naked, she thought, as she walked away, his handsome image crowding her troubled mind.
After his shower, Rex put on a My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys T-shirt and a pair of button-fly jeans, then followed the enticing aroma.
He stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched Lisa. She’d gotten dressed, as well. She looked soft and pretty in a loose cotton dress and sandals.
She turned and noticed him. She caught sight of the slogan on his shirt, too.
“Your activism is showing,” she said.
He shrugged and smiled. “I’ve got more where this came from.”
“I’ll bet you do.” She motioned to the stove top. “I’m making blueberry pancakes.”
“Looks like you’re fixing ham and eggs, too.”
“I’m famished.”
No doubt, he thought. She was eating for two. He still couldn’t believe that this was happening, that he was going to have a kid.
“Do you want to eat on the porch?” she asked.
“Sure. Why not?” Since the front door was already open, he glanced in that direction. The porch was rife with potted plants, and amid the greenery was a glass-topped table. “I can put the plates out if you want.”
“Thanks. That’d be nice.” She showed him where the dishes and flatware were kept.
He scooted past her. “Are we going to sit out there and spy on your neighbors? I can change my shirt if we are. I have one that says Love thy Neighbor, but Don’t Get Caught.”
She shook her head. “Figures you’d have a shirt like that. Especially with the type of neighbors you have.”
“You mean, young and sexy and single?” Rex loved his naughty neighborhood. “What type lives around here? Old and married and crotchety?”
“Nice and normal,” she responded, tossing a dish towel at him.
He laughed and tossed it back at her. Were they flirting? Yes, he thought. And he liked it.
Soon they were seated on the porch, a hearty, home-cooked meal in front of them.
Rex decided that he could get used to this. She’d even made cappuccino from one of those commercial-grade espresso machines, decaffeinated for her and the potent stuff for him. He toasted her with his cup. “Here’s to vintage suburbia.” He glanced around at the other houses, with their colorful flowerbeds and white fences. “Are you sure your neighbors are nice and normal?”
She furrowed her brows. “Why? Do you think you should investigate them?”
“Do they know about the baby?”
“Some of them do.”
“Then, yes, I think I should check them out.”
“That list of yours keeps getting longer.” She rubbed her arms, as if to ward off a sudden chill. “Better to be safe than sorry, right? What would I do without your help? I couldn’t handle this on my own.”
Her anxious gaze met his, drawing him in, making him even more protective of her.
“I’m going to put my other cases on hold.” He needed to devote as much time as he could to this investigation.
“I dread calling my parents.” She rubbed her arms again. “They’re going to worry something fierce.”
And with good reason. Rex was worried, too. What kind of sick bastard maimed a doll and left it in a pregnant woman’s car?
“Do you think the police will uncover any evidence?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He doubted that fingerprints or DNA had been left behind. Even the knife that had been used seemed generic. It could have come from anyone’s kitchen. As for the doll itself, he suspected that tons of stores carried them.
“Maybe I should buy that other car soon.”
“The SUV?”
She nodded. “A newer car won’t be as easy to break into. And it’s safer, with air bags and all of that.”
In the silence, she cut into her pancakes. By now, the food on their plates had begun to turn cold. But he was glad that she’d resumed eating. He returned to his meal, too.
After a few more bites, she looked up at him. “Do you think I’m being naive?”
“About what?”
“About who’s threatening me? Do you think I should have some sort of feeling about who it could be?”
No way was he going to blame her. “I think you’re sweet and trusting. But from now on, you need to be more aware of your surroundings.”
“And suspect everyone, the way you do?”
“It’s my job to be suspicious.”
“Maybe my mommy instincts will kick in, and I’ll be able to help you figure out who the bad guy is.”
He hoped that her mommy instincts boosted the case. He contemplated touching her stomach, but he feared his hand would tremble. He wasn’t ready to meet his kid.
Struggling to regain his composure, he grabbed his cappuccino, taking refuge in the creamy brew.
“Have your friends picked a name?” she asked.
“What?” Her question confused him.
“The couple whose baby is due this month. Have they chosen a name for their daughter?”
“I have no idea.”
“You never asked them?”
“No.”
“I guess it’s too soon for us to discuss names.”
For their kid? Way too soon, he thought.
“It helps for me to talk about the baby.” Lisa cradled the tummy he’d been afraid to touch. “To think about all the good stuff still to come.”
As opposed to the bad stuff that was happening now? “That’s understandable.”
“I wonder if I’ll get cravings.”
“Cravings?” he parroted.
“For specific foods.”
“Like the pickles-and-ice-cream thing?” That much he knew. That much he’d heard of.
“Yes, but I don’t think that’s a common craving.”
“Then why did it catch on?”
She made a perplexed face, but she was an expressive girl. He figured it was the dance and theater major in her.
“I don’t know why it caught on,” she said. “Maybe I’ll research it online.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Anything to keep her mind off the danger she was in, he thought, to give her a short reprieve.
And create an illusion of normalcy.
While Lisa napped, Rex worked. He brought his laptop into the living room and ran more background checks. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing. Or at least nothing criminal. Who knew what kind of evil lurked in people’s minds?
When Lisa got up, she headed to the bathroom, but she didn’t have another bout of sickness. He wasn’t deliberately listening for sounds of retching, but he was trying to keep an eye on her.
She came into the living room, and he noticed that her dress was wrinkled. She must have slept in it, making her look soft and rumbled.
“I’m going to fix a snack,” she said. “Do you want one?”
“No, thanks.” Breakfast hadn’t been that long ago.
Soon Lisa returned with a peanut butter sandwich and a tall, frosty glass of milk. He was glad to see that she was getting her calcium. He wondered if she was going to breast-feed, then cursed himself for thinking about it, especially since it made him feel kind of sexual.
Since when did nursing mothers turn him on?
She sat beside him and munched. “How’s it going?”
Terrible, he thought. It was all he could do not to look at her breasts. “I did a Google search and discovered that your first boyfriend has a MySpace profile. Mostly it’s family stuff. Pictures of his wife and kids. They live in Cincinnati. But that came up in the background check, too.”
“Really? I didn’t know that he’d moved. I guess that rules him out as a suspect. Ohio isn’t exactly around the corner.” She took another bite of her sandwich. “What did you find out about Kirk?”
Her second boyfriend, he thought. The one she’d lived with. “I didn’t come across anything of interest, other than his financial blog.” On the day the doll had been stabbed, Kirk rambled about mutual funds. “His blog gets a lot of traffic.”
“He works in the banking industry. But you probably already know that by now.”
“Yes, I do.” He spent quite a bit of time analyzing Kirk.
“He helped me get the loan on this house.”
“Before or after you split up?”
“After.”
Rex decided that Kirk required further investigation. You never knew about an old lover, especially when that lover remained active in their ex’s life.
“I think I’ll go play on the ’Net, too,” she said. “Not that you’ve been playing,” she quickly corrected. “But you know what I mean.”
Yes, he did. He poked at her ribs. It was as close to her stomach as he’d gotten. “You’re going to look up pickles and ice cream?”
She laughed. “And check my e-mails.”
“Have fun.”
“Loads.” She took the half-eaten snack with her.
Less than five minutes later, she screeched, “Rexxx!”
He jumped up and ran into her room. She sat in front of her desktop, as pale as a ghost.
His heart hit his chest. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“I got a creepy e-mail.”
He leaned over her shoulder. “What does it say?”
“It’s a picture of Alice from Alice in Wonderland.”
Had he heard her correctly? “Alice?”
“She’s swimming in her own tears. See?” She pointed to the image on the screen, a depiction that looked as if it had come from the original storybook. “I was scared of Alice when I was little. She helped me when I got lost, but I didn’t trust her.”
Rex was baffled. Lisa was talking in riddles, in things that weren’t real. “Is that a dream you used to have?”
“No. It happened. I got lost at Disneyland.”
Okay, now it was beginning to make sense. Alice was an employee at the Magic Kingdom, walking around in a costume. “Did you get separated from your parents?”
“Yes. I was five years old, and we were in Fantasyland. I was with my mom, waiting in line to order food, and my dad went to find us a table. It was the Fourth of July weekend, so it was packed.”
Rex waited for Lisa to continue. He could see the memories in her eyes. But a little girl wouldn’t forget the day she’d gotten lost.
“After we got our food, I ran ahead to find Dad. Mom called out to me, but I didn’t listen. Then suddenly, I was alone, trapped in scores of people. I was going in the wrong direction and I couldn’t find my parents. I just wandered around, crying to myself.”
“Is that when Alice found you?”
“No. Maggie and Tim found me. They were strangers at the time. But they became friends with my family after that. They approached Alice, told her that I was lost and asked her what they should do.”
“Were you crying when you were with Maggie and Tim?”
“I was crying the entire time. I wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers, so I was leery of them. But they turned out to be really nice.”
How nice? Rex wondered, his suspicious mind kicking in. “Why were you afraid of Alice?”
“I thought I would fall down the rabbit hole if I got too close to her. But she contacted security and I was taken to the Lost Children Center. Tim and Maggie followed us there. They wanted to be sure that I was reunited with my parents.”
“Is your family still friends with Maggie and Tim?”
She nodded, then frowned at him. “You’re not planning on putting them on the list, are you?”
“They’re fair game, Lisa.”
“They’re not even in town. They went on a camping trip. My mom is collecting their mail and watering their plants.”
“That could be a phony alibi.”
“They’ve been gone for over a week and won’t be coming back until sometime next month.”
“They’re still going on the list.” For now, everyone was. He took a closer look at the e-mail. It had been sent from Snow White. Another Disney reference?
“You’re not scared of Snow White, too, are you?”
“No. Can you find out who really sent this?”
“I’ve got a CCFT who can check it out. A certified computer forensics technician,” he explained. “And I’ll let Bell know that you got what appears to be another threat.” He blew out a breath. “Is there anyone besides your family and Maggie and Tim who knows about the Disneyland incident?”
“Most of my friends know. It’s sort of running joke that I’ll get lost whenever we go there. But no one has ever been mean about it.”
Well, someone was being mean now, preying on childhood fears, reminding Lisa of the tears she’d cried.
“Does Kirk know?”
“Yes, but he never said much about it.”
“What about your neighbors?” he asked, trying to narrow down the list.
“Not that I’m aware of.” Her voice hitched. “I think I better quit stalling and call my parents. They need to know what’s going on.”
Rex nodded his agreement. Keeping them in the dark wouldn’t do any good.
“They’ll probably want to come over.” She turned away from the computer to look directly at him. “I’m glad I told you about the baby.”
Strangely enough, so was he. Because he was the daddy. Because the tiny heartbeat inside her belonged to him, too.
He left her alone to make her call, and while she was on the phone, he contacted the CCFT.
Something in this case had to give. Something had to shake free.
Before Lisa really did fall down the rabbit hole.
Chapter 4
Lisa hung up the phone and went in search of Rex. She found him on the porch, only he wasn’t sitting at the table. He was perched on the steps.
She got his attention. “My parents are on their way over.”
He turned around to look at her. “The CCFT is coming by, too. But it’ll be about an hour.” He patted the spot next to him. “Join me?”
She sat beside him, and their shoulders brushed. The physical contact made the air in her lungs whoosh out. But every time she got near him, she wanted to move even closer.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Right as rain,” she responded, trying to keep the conversation light.
He smiled, and the tilt of his lips was slightly crooked and naturally flirtatious. “At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
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Sheri WhiteFeather
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: Protecting Their Baby, электронная книга автора Sheri WhiteFeather на английском языке, в жанре современная зарубежная литература