by Terri Reed
Carrying Rosie, he hurried to a secret panel in the hallway wall that led to a panic room. He’d never used the space before and was surprised by how well stocked his father kept it. A cot with blankets, bottles of water and nonperishable dry goods were stacked in one corner. But even with the door closed, the muffled shrieking of the alarm was no less unnerving.
He took some grim satisfaction from knowing whoever had triggered the alarm, either by attempting to scale the wall or the wrought-iron gate, had suffered a shock. Both the wall and gate were armed with electricity.
Within moments, the ear-piercing sound of the alarm ceased. Though Rosie continued to wail.
“Shhhh, little one,” Nick cooed as he gently bounced her. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Rosie squirmed against him, burrowing her face into him, creating a warm spot over his heart.
Then he heard the faint sound of the sirens of the Bristle Township Sheriff’s Department. Nick was grateful to know that backup was arriving for Kaitlyn. He worried that she would be out there trying to deal with the bad guys by herself. The men who’d attacked Lexi had proved they were willing to do violence. That they hadn’t succeeded in killing Lexi didn’t mean that they would hesitate to kill Kaitlyn. His stomach knotted. Dread gripped him at the thought of something happening to her.
He tightened his hold on the baby. Her cries softened to hiccups. He could feel the wetness of Rosie’s tears soaking through his sweater and T-shirt beneath. The emotions cascading through him were unfamiliar and humbling. His chest expanded as if stretching to accommodate all the love filling his heart. He’d never thought he was capable of such feelings.
A noise outside the room sent a spike of wariness zipping through him.
“Nick!”
The sound of Kaitlyn’s voice relieved him, but the anxiousness tingeing it tempered his relief. She was alive, but was she wounded? He quickly opened the secret panel.
Kaitlyn started. “What in the world? A panic room?” She gave her head a shake. “Figures. Are you two okay?”
“We’re good.” His gaze quickly traveled over Kaitlyn for any sign of injury. “You?”
“I’m fine.” Behind her he saw Collin and his wife hovering in the doorway.
“It was two men,” Collin said. “We have them on video. But their faces were hidden with ski masks. They were spooked when the alarm went off and probably a little scorched by the electric fence.”
“Thank you,” Nick said. “I believe I heard police sirens?”
“Yes. I called the sheriff. Plus, the alarm system alerted the department,” Kaitlyn stated.
“Collin, would you please let the sheriff in when he arrives?”
“Yes.” Collin and his wife moved away from the door.
“We have to figure out what these men are after,” Kaitlyn said.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Nick said. He moved to the changing table and went about the task of changing the baby’s diaper. “They want Rosie.” And they weren’t going to get her. Not as long as he had breath in his body.
Kaitlyn’s skeptical expression suggested she didn’t agree with him. “I have to dig into Lexi’s life. Find out what she was involved in that would cause her and Rosie to be targeted. You need to tell me everything you know about her.”
“We were friends a long time ago.” As he swaddled Rosie in her pink rose-covered blanket, he thought back to those days in New York three years ago. “I met her at a charity fundraising event put on by a popular magazine. She had done some work for the publication. We started talking. I know she was born in Singapore. That her father passed when she was young. We had the death of a parent in common.”
He picked up Rosie and gently rocked her. She stared up at him with dark, trusting eyes. “I don’t recall where Lexi’s mother resides. When I knew Lexi, she shared a two-bedroom apartment with two of her college roommates, whom I never met. I secured her an interview with a friend who owned an advertising firm. She was a graphic artist, so it seemed like a good match. Last I heard, she was offered the job and moved to DC.”
Kaitlyn stepped closer to softly touch Rosie’s dark smattering of hair. “You have no idea who Lexi might be involved with now?”
“No, I don’t. We didn’t keep in touch,” he said. “Do you think the baby’s father is the one behind all this?”
Kaitlyn frowned. “If those men had wanted the baby, why did they leave her in the back seat of Lexi’s car? If their intent was to kidnap Rosie, wouldn’t they have taken her and not tried to take Lexi?”
“But the man in the hospital did try to take Rosie,” Nick reminded her and shuddered at the memory. His head hurt with all the unanswered questions. Only Lexi could give them the answers they sought. “We should check with the hospital and see how Lexi’s doing.”
“I’m sure the sheriff will update us.” Kaitlyn walked over to where Rosie’s diaper bag sat on the desk. She lifted it up and looked inside. “This and the car seat are the only items we took from the crash site. But we didn’t find anything of value in the diaper bag.”
“The men also searched the bag after they caused Lexi to crash her car,” he reminded her. “The contents were strewn all over the ground.”
“True.” She set the bag down. “Do you think they want the birth certificate?” She picked up the car seat and dismantled the lining, inspecting every inch of the carrier.
“Why would they? Other than the fact the certificate is fake, I don’t see what significance it could have to anyone else.”
“Maybe they just want to get their hands on Rosie so they have leverage against Lexi.” Kaitlyn lost interest in the car seat and moved toward the door. “I should talk to Alex.”
After Kaitlyn walked out of the room, Nick gently laid Rosie in her crib. She’d fallen back to sleep. He ran the outside edge of his finger over the petal-soft skin of her cheek. “Don’t worry, little one. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
A quick search of the internet gave him the phone number for the Boston protection agency his father trusted. If Nick had known of one closer, he’d have called them, so the next best thing was to call Trent Associates. Because it was late on the East Coast, he left a detailed message with his needs. For now, he would have to be satisfied with the sheriff’s department and the house’s security system. He trusted Kaitlyn would do her best to keep them safe.
Needing something to do, Nick tidied the room. As he picked up the diaper bag, he contemplated what Kaitlyn had said. Other than Rosie, the car seat and diaper bag were the only possessions of Lexi’s they’d brought home. He ran his hand over the inside of the bag, feeling the lining for any hidden objects. Nothing. The bag had many compartments and he checked each one. Deep in one of the outside zippered pockets, his fingers snagged on a thin chain wedged into the seam.
With a little effort, he managed to hook the chain over his finger and extract a small butterfly-shaped pendant on a delicate gold chain from the pocket. It was clearly a costume trinket. Something one would see for sale on the sidewalk along Central Park in the summer. Certainly not worth all this trouble.
Maybe it was something Lexi had seen and bought to eventually give her daughter. He stepped to the crib and hung the necklace on the mobile so that Rosie would be able to see it hanging over her, a reminder that her mother loved her.
Taking the baby monitor receiver, he went downstairs to find Kaitlyn talking to Sheriff Alex Trevino and Deputy Daniel Rawlings in the entryway. Both men were in uniforms covered by heavy coats. A dusting of snow clung to Alex’s shoulders and hair, while the brim of Daniel’s beige Stetson dripped with melting snow. Apparently, the winter storm raged on outside.
Nick shook hands with the two men. “Alex, I have to thank you for sending Kaitlyn home with me and Rosie. She kept us safe. She reacted swiftly to the security alarms.”
Kaitlyn stared at him. “I w
as doing my job.”
“And you did it very well,” he said.
“Uh, thank you.” She turned her attention to Alex. “Any news on Lexi’s condition?”
“I talked to the doctor an hour ago. He said she’s still critical. The next forty-eight hours are crucial.”
A heaviness weighed on Nick’s heart. He silently prayed for Lexi’s healing.
“In light of this attempt to breach the premises,” Alex said, “I can have Daniel stay with you.”
“Having two deputies might be a bit of overkill, don’t you think? Besides, that would put the department down by two people,” Nick said. “Unless, of course, Kaitlyn would like to leave?”
She shook her head. “Now that the intruders know that there’s no way to get beyond the perimeter, I think we can consider the house safe,” Kaitlyn said. “But I will stay with Rosie and Nick, just in case these criminals come back.”
Nick let out a silent sigh of relief. Not that he didn’t think Daniel would be competent enough to protect them. It was more that Nick preferred to have Kaitlyn. And he didn’t want to look too closely at why that was.
“That’s a good plan. We can’t be too careful,” Alex said. He turned to the deputy beside him. “Daniel, you can go relieve Chase at the hospital.”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel left through the front door.
“How’s the baby?” Alex asked.
“She’s sleeping,” Nick responded. “The alarms were jarring, but she’s resilient.”
Alex smiled. “Good to hear. I think for now it’s best that Rosie stay here for the duration until we arrest these men and find out what is going on.”
“Of course I will keep her,” Nick was quick to assure him. There was no way anyone was going to tear this child from him now. Though he knew it was going to hurt when he eventually had to give her back to Lexi. He wanted to unite Rosie with her mother, and he would make sure that they were both set for life.
Kaitlyn showed Alex the letter and the fake birth certificate. “We’re not sure what this all means.”
“That’s not my signature,” Nick informed him and held his breath as he waited for Alex’s thoughts. Would he believe him? Or would the sheriff be suspicious of him, like Kaitlyn was?
“Someone went to a lot of trouble to make it appear as if you’re Rosie’s father.” Alex put both pieces of paper in an evidence bag. “I’ll see if Hannah can pull any prints off the certificate to see if anyone other than Lexi and you two handled it.”
Nick was thankful for his friend’s belief in him. If only Kaitlyn had as much faith.
After Alex left and the alarm system was reactivated, Nick and Kaitlyn went upstairs. They paused outside the room she would be sleeping in.
“Good night, Kaitlyn. Try to get some rest,” Nick said.
She hesitated. “I’d like to check in on Rosie.”
Surprised, Nick smiled to himself. For all of Kaitlyn’s assertions that she didn’t know anything about children, she’d become attached to the little girl, too. And knowing that gladdened Nick’s heart. “Of course.”
They walked to the end of the hall and quietly slipped into the nursery. In the low light of the plug-in night-light, they both stood beside the crib watching the tiny swaddled girl sleep.
“You’re really good with her,” Kaitlyn said in a low voice.
“You’re marveling at my swaddling powers,” he quipped softly.
Her small laugh was gratifying.
“Yes, that’s it.” She stepped back. “Good night, Nick.”
Nick watched her stride from the room, shoulders back and head high. It must have cost her to give him a compliment. And the warmth of knowing she’d had a good thought toward him made him sad. Because no matter what happened, he couldn’t let himself fall for Deputy Kaitlyn Lanz. Not if he hoped to keep his heart safe from the inevitable pain of not being enough.
* * *
As Kaitlyn lay in bed, every noise sent her heart hammering. A few times she heard Rosie, but she would quiet down quickly. Several times Kaitlyn arose, padded downstairs in her sweats and sweatshirt to check the ground-floor windows and doors. Though she logically knew that there was no way anyone could get onto the property without triggering the alarm again, she couldn’t find rest.
Near two in the morning, Kaitlyn heard the barest hint of noise outside her door. Quickly, she put on her shoes and cracked open her door to see Nick heading downstairs carrying the baby monitor receiver. She followed him.
She found Nick, dressed in loose-fitting pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt that hugged his chest muscles, in the dojo on the lowest level of the house. To keep from staring at the handsome man, she studied the room. She’d been here once before, when Nick had taken her on a tour of the house. The large room with mats on the floor held all sorts of martial arts training equipment, from nunchucks to combat sticks.
Without a word, Nick tossed her a set of padded gloves. For the next hour, they sparred, trading punches and jabs that stopped short of hurting. She was sure he was pulling his blows, just as she was, to avoid injury. Neither spoke, as if somehow conversation would ruin the experience.
She had to admit, letting off steam from the horrible day was cathartic. They both needed this. When they were both breathing heavily and sweating, they stopped. Nick bowed and then peeled off his gloves. She followed suit. They headed upstairs once again with no words necessary. She’d found the experience both exhilarating and disconcerting. Not to mention she was impressed with his skills.
The next morning, after dressing in jeans and a fresh sweater, Kaitlyn went in search of Nick. She found him standing beside Rosie’s crib. The baby made little cooing sounds as she sucked on her pacifier and watched the mobile hanging over her head. Sunlight flooded the small sitting room serving as the nursery. It was a bluebird day, the air cleaned by the previous night’s snowfall, leaving the sky an intense, cloudless blue.
“Did you get any sleep?” she asked as she stopped next to him. After the horrific day and their sparring match late last night, she’d found rest for a few hours.
He looked even more handsome today than last night in jeans and a sweater in a russet color. His dark hair looked freshly washed and combed back. The scent of aftershave on his clean-shaven jaw teased her nose, musky and masculine. Her heart rate ticked up a notch. She should step away but found her feet wouldn’t budge.
He smiled at her. “Some. You?”
She couldn’t help but return the smile. “Same.”
“The nurse at the hospital said we should take Rosie in to see the pediatrician,” Nick said.
“That is true.” Kaitlyn thought about it for a moment, then said, “Better to ask Dr. Olson to make a house visit. I’ll make the call and see when he can come out.”
Using her smartphone, she looked up the local pediatrician’s office number and dialed. She explained the situation and what was needed to the receptionist. The receptionist placed her on hold and returned a few moments later to say that Dr. Olson would be out to the estate within the hour.
“Last night I called Trent Associates, a security firm out of Boston that my father has used often. They will send operatives as soon as possible,” Nick told her as they waited for the doctor to arrive.
Had he decided she wasn’t capable of protecting them? “That’s good.”
She could return to her job. She hadn’t wanted to take this assignment anyway. Then why did his hiring someone else sting?
Nick broke the silence. “What would you normally be doing on a Saturday morning?”
“When not on duty, I’d be doing chores at my family’s ranch,” she replied. She’d checked in with her parents last night, letting them know where she would be staying for the foreseeable future. But apparently she hadn’t needed to pack quite as much clothing.
“Chores?” Nick’s nose wrinkled. �
�Like what?”
“Mucking out the stalls, exercising the horses,” she replied. “We board and train horses.” Though she suspected he already was aware.
“I’d like to see your family’s ranch sometime,” he said.
She glanced at him to gauge if he was just being his flirty self or if the statement arose from something else. He wasn’t looking at her, but rather out the window, as if trying to picture her ranch. Why would he want to see her family home? A flutter of something odd, something akin to delight, made her heart rate tick up. She wasn’t sure what to make of his statement or her reaction.
“What about you?” she asked to distract him from asking any more questions about her. The thought of telling him details about herself made her twitchy and uncomfortable. “What would you normally be doing if you hadn’t had a baby dropped into your arms?” Most likely off on some grand adventure.
He met her gaze with a smile. “Skiing. Days like this are perfect for taking a few runs down the backside of Eagle Peak Mountain.”
“Ah.” That sounded right. Those runs were black diamond, the hardest on the mountain. Of course, he’d be daring enough to take them on.
His eyebrows rose. “Do you ski?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I’ve had some lessons, but I prefer horseback riding to having thin rails strapped to my feet.”
Nick chuckled. “Well, we will have to hit the slopes together. The only way to really learn to ski is by doing.”
She had a feeling that was how Nick lived his life. Doing whatever struck his interest. Like the baby. But how long would little Rosie be able to keep Nick engaged?
“And the only way you’ll learn to ride a horse is by doing,” she shot back, remembering his lack of enthusiasm for horses when she and Chase had brought Ashley to the estate on horseback.