Protective Operation

by Danica Winters

  “Does one of your brothers have a baby?” she asked, hoping that perhaps the drop and run was nothing more than a bedraggled babysitter in a rush and not something more.

  Chad shook his head. “There’s only Anya, at least so far as I know.”

  Ever so carefully, she kneeled down and shuffled around the tattered gray blanket that rested over the sleeping baby, in search of some sort of note or anything that would give away the identity of the child. She found nothing.

  The baby rustled slightly, putting its little red fists over its face as it yawned. The baby’s breath smelled of milk and newness.

  Though Shaye didn’t have much experience with babies, she guessed this little one was no more than a month or two old—far too young to be left out in the cold on some stranger’s doorstep.

  “How long have you guys lived here?” she asked, looking up and over her shoulder at Chad.

  “Just a few months.” He stared down at the baby, like he was trying to figure out exactly what it was.

  Not long enough for this baby to have been his.

  Though, if the baby was his, it didn’t make her feel any less attracted to him. In fact, a dude holding a baby could be one hell of a sight to see—even swoonworthy.

  “Go look outside—did they drop off a bag with the baby or anything?” she said, pointing toward the door as she tried to keep her panic and excitement in check.

  He stepped out the front door and returned with a small blue diaper bag. He handed it to her like it might carry some communicable disease. His scrunched expression made her laugh. “Babies and dirty diapers aren’t contagious.”

  The look on his face disappeared and was quickly replaced by mock annoyance. “I believe I know how babies are made. And dirty diapers, for that matter.”

  She laughed. “At least there are a couple of things I don’t have to worry about explaining to you.”

  She could feel the warmth rise in her cheeks even though she was a damn adult. Why couldn’t she just be a bit cooler under pressure...or in this case, when flirting?

  Opening the bag, she pulled out a handful of store-brand diapers, generic formula, a little boy’s onesie and a dirty burp cloth. There was nothing in the side pockets, or anywhere else, to indicate the baby’s name, or where he had come from.

  “What do you think we should do?” she asked, looking up at Chad with a diaper in her hand.

  “First, don’t look at me like that when you have a diaper in your hands,” he teased.

  She smirked as she dropped it back in the diaper bag. “Okay, does that make you feel better?”

  He nodded, but his face had tightened, almost as if his teasing had simply been a mechanism he’d employed to give himself a moment to process her question. “I... We can’t call anyone. At least not yet. First, we need to get out of here.” He bit at the side of his cheek. “And I hate to say this, but it may be best if we simply drop him off at the hospital. They can contact the police and figure out where the kiddo came from.”

  “We’re not dropping this kid off like he’s some kind of orphan.” She ran her fingers gently over the edge of the baby’s car seat. He rustled in his sleep, letting out a sweet baby sigh. Though this baby was not really her problem, it didn’t feel right to just abandon him for what would be the second time today.

  Chad sighed. “I know he’s cute. But what will we do with him? We’re one step away from being on the run. In fact, we’re literally in the middle of running away from hitmen. Now isn’t the time to bring a baby into any of it. Not only for his safety, but for our own.”

  Everything Chad said made absolute sense. But that didn’t change the feeling that there was a reason he had been brought to their doorstep, a reason that neither of them understood.

  “Chad, you’re right.” She searched for an excuse for them not to give up the child, at least not yet. “But all hospitals have cameras, even hospitals in little tiny towns like this. If we drop him off, we’ll be on the radar.”

  “We are already on the radar, Shaye.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the couch. He didn’t need to finish his statement for her to know what he was thinking—that their being in danger was all her fault. She didn’t need to be reminded.

  “Chad, I know that you may think that I’m being crazy, but I think that for right now we should keep him.” She gave Chad a pleading look, and as she did, she could see some of his resolve melt away.

  Hopefully she wasn’t making another mistake by begging for this child’s reprieve.

  There was just something about the baby’s cherubic, chubby cheeks and plump little wrists that drew her. Perhaps it was her motherly instincts, but she had to protect this little one—at least until they found his mother, or learned why he had been left on their doorstep.

  Chapter Eight

  Chad locked the door of the ranch behind them and checked the cameras as he pulled the car seat higher up on his arm until the bar sat nestled in the crook of his elbow. Snow was sputtering down from the heavens, and as they walked toward the truck, he could see his breath. Gently, he pulled the blanket up higher around the baby, making sure that none of his delicate skin was exposed to the chill.

  He still stood by what he’d said—the baby had no place in their life right now. But somehow, and he wasn’t exactly sure how it had happened, they were now the proud caretakers of a mystery baby. He had one crazy life.

  He strapped the car seat into the back seat of the pickup, which was way harder than dismantling and putting back together a rifle. As he sat back and inspected his work, he wasn’t quite sure if he had put the belt in the right spot, and there were some random hooks that he had absolutely no idea about, but he was satisfied. He gave the car seat one more wiggle to make sure it was tight, and as he did, the baby jostled awake. His blue eyes were the color of the shallow Caribbean Sea. He had never seen a blue so pure and bright.

  As the baby stared at him, a wide toothless grin appeared on his face. The little boy cooed and gurgled and then stuffed his tiny fist into his mouth, covering it with saliva.

  Shaye stood beside him and smiled as the baby smacked and cooed. She had a soft, motherly look on her face as she peered at the baby, and he couldn’t deny that she had never looked more beautiful to him.

  He had not been the kind of man who dreamed of having a family, but standing here with Shaye at his side and a baby in the back seat, he couldn’t deny that something about it just felt right. It was like Shaye was correct in assuming that whatever force, or culmination of events, that had put this baby in their lives had been right in doing so. It felt good to have this little carefree munchkin as part of their journey.

  Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the moment.

  He took a long look at the baby and then walked around to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door for Shaye. She gave the little one a tiny wave and blew him a kiss before making her way into the pickup and letting Chad close the door behind her.

  As soon as he got in and started the pickup, Shaye turned to him. “Do you ever think about having a family?”

  His entire body seized up. Though not a moment earlier he had imagined them as a family, he wasn’t sure whether or not he dared to admit such a thought to her. Sure, there had definitely been some flirting, and, well...that kiss... But he wasn’t quite ready to have the conversation about children. If they did, it was almost like they were taking their relationship to another level. And, truth be told, he was a bit relieved that the thing in the kitchen hadn’t gone too much further.

  If she had touched him one more time, he couldn’t have resisted lifting her to the counter and showing her exactly how much he wanted her. He could almost imagine it now—her hair falling down over her shoulders as she leaned back and pressed herself against him. Her hands on the button of his pants, roaming downward un
til... And he could only dream of how good it would feel to experience all of her.

  His body stirred to life.

  Nope. He couldn’t have those kinds of thoughts.

  They were on the run. Not only that, but they were also now on the run with a baby. Everything in his life was a bad idea, and yet it seemed to be careening toward even more bad ideas around every curve. That said, just because something was a bad idea, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the hell out of it.

  “Chad?” she asked, pulling his attention back to the snow-covered road in front of them and the question she had raised.

  “Kids?” he said, his voice half-choked. “I like them.”

  Good. Vague. Noncommittal. He gave himself an imaginary pat on the back.

  “I figured that much, Chad,” Shaye said with a wave of her hand. “But what about having ones of your own?”

  He gulped.

  “What about you and Raj? Were you guys thinking about having kids?”

  Avoidance. The second-best tool in his arsenal when dodging a question.

  He was so nailing this.

  And then he glanced over at Shaye. The glowing happiness that had taken over her features since the baby arrived seemed to seep out of her, replaced by a simmering unease.

  Damn it. He shouldn’t have brought up Raj. No doubt she had taken the mention of his name as a blow.

  As he opened his mouth to offer an apology, she started to speak.

  “Actually, Raj and I had talked about it. But we were together such a short time.”

  He collected himself. Okay, she wanted to talk about Raj and he hadn’t hurt her feelings by mentioning his name. But now he wasn’t entirely sure he had done the right thing in opening up this can of worms. After their kiss in the kitchen, talking about Raj made him deeply uncomfortable.

  He would have never even met Shaye if it hadn’t been for Raj and his love of her. If his friend was looking out at them from whatever beyond, would Raj even approve?

  He shook off his thoughts. “You don’t have to be married to start having kids. Or even if you wanted to wait, you have options.” He stopped. It felt so weird talking about her getting knocked up by another man.

  He inwardly groaned.

  They definitely couldn’t take things to a more intimate level again. Nope. No way. Not now. Not ever.

  She gave a slight grimace, making him wonder if she felt just as uncomfortable with all this. “I understand that we could have decided to start having children, it’s just that it never felt quite right. You know?”

  No. He didn’t really understand. The closest he had ever come to getting married was when he was... He tried to think of a time he had been tempted to ask a woman for her hand, but none of his former girlfriends had ever made the cut. Not that they weren’t all amazing women—they were great. It was just that he had never met a woman who had fit into his crazy, erratic life.

  That was, until he had met Shaye.

  No. He reminded himself.

  But if Shaye and Raj hadn’t really felt the push to have kids, then why was she talking to him about having kids now?

  “So what about you?” she persisted.

  He rubbed the back of his neck, checking in the rearview mirror and catching a glimpse of the car seat. “I... Well, it’s never been on the docket for me.”

  “How is that?”

  “You know...never met the right woman. Never had a life that would lead to family living.” He could feel his pulse quickening, thanks to her interrogation.

  “Raj once told me that you were somewhat of a serial dater. How could you date all the time and never talk to one of your girlfriends about having kids?” she asked, giving him a pinched look, as if he had to be lying to her.

  He didn’t want to tell her that he normally didn’t date the kind of women that were interested in having anything serious. He tended to be drawn to women who, just like him, didn’t have a long-term commitment in mind—women who had just gotten out of serious relationships and were just looking for a rebound, or women who were young and unencumbered.

  His last girlfriend had been thirty-two and recently divorced. They’d seen each other off and on for a few months while he had been bouncing between countries, but as soon as he left her apartment, she never really seemed to ask him where he was going. He would text her when he was back in town—they would go to dinner and occasionally things moved to the bedroom. But beyond laughing and telling stories about their day, their relationship really hadn’t taken steps toward anything more. In fact, the only reason he had known her last name was because he did a background check before giving her his phone number.

  They never really broke up, but then they had never really dictated the limitations or boundaries of the relationship. That was the way he had liked it. Until recently, he hadn’t really considered he was the kind of guy who would be interested in anything more than a companion. And yet when he spent time with Shaye, he wanted something more than a dinner date. He wanted someone who was beyond a companion. He wanted someone who was a partner, but also a person who made him want to be a better man.

  But he couldn’t tell her any of that. Trying to explain how his former relationships worked seemed more dangerous than climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The last thing he wanted was for Shaye to think any less of him, especially after what happened with Kash back at the party. But if he didn’t open up to her, and tell her who he really was—imperfections and all—then he was making a conscious choice to wall her out. And if he wasn’t going to open up to her, there was no chance there would ever be anything more between them. And he wouldn’t be happy keeping her as a shirttail friend.

  Come hell or high water, she needed to know him for who he really was.

  “To be honest, Shaye, I don’t recall ever talking to a woman about having children. I don’t typically find myself in relationships that were anything like what you and Raj had—you really loved each other.”

  She started picking at her fingernail as she looked down into her lap. “Things weren’t perfect between us, but we did love each other. I miss him a lot.”

  He nodded. “I miss him, too. He was a good friend and a good man. You would have to search high and low to find a man worthy of you—a man as good as Raj will be hard to find.”

  He could feel her glance at him, but he kept his eyes firmly planted on the snow-covered road in front of them as he edged out onto the frontage road.

  There was a long awkward silence between them. And he wished he could have taken back all of his talk of Raj and they could somehow have a conversation without so many land mines.

  He glanced in his rearview mirror as a silver Suburban came racing down the road behind them and nearly attached itself to his rear bumper. He gritted his teeth as he tried to focus on the road and not the guy behind him.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Shaye said, having likely misinterpreted his anger.

  “No, it’s not that,” he said, jabbing his thumb toward the car behind them. “The jerk behind us is in a big hurry, and doesn’t seem to want to pass.”

  She turned around and looked out the back window toward the offending driver. “Just slow down—they’ll eventually take a hint.”

  He eased off the gas, hoping that she was right. But instead of going around him, the dude driving crept closer to the back of their truck. How he was not actually scraping his bumper was a mystery.

  Up ahead, on the left, was the road that led to the address that Zoey had stuffed in his hand. Once again, Chad checked the rearview, hoping somehow the guy had backed off, but the man was still right behind them. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled tight, hiding his face.

  He didn’t like the looks of the man. Instead of turning left, Chad didn’t even slow down and stepped on the gas, causing the truck to fishtail slightly as he put space between
them and the Suburban.

  “What are you doing?” Shaye asked, clinching her hands in her lap nervously.

  “This place is a small town,” Chad said. “There are crappy drivers anywhere you go, but this is the kind of town where everybody knows everybody. You know, the it’s kind of the place where if high-school Johnny is pulled over by the cops, his mom and dad are both gonna get phone calls long before the cop even leaves the driver-side window. And forget what will happen when he gets home.” He forced a smile.

  She gave a nervous laugh.

  “I don’t know who the guy is behind me, but if he was from around here, he wouldn’t be driving like a complete ass.” He readjusted the rearview mirror, hoping to get a glimpse of the guy’s license plate, but it was covered with snow.

  “I didn’t know you had turned all country boy,” Shaye said with a tight grin.

  “Well, ma’am, I’ve always been country,” he said, doing his best John Wayne impression. “A horse is a horse, it ain’t gonna make a difference what color it is,” he said.

  “No. You, sir, are turning more country by the minute. You’re not careful, the next thing I know is that you will be driving cattle and singing ‘Git Along, Little Dogies.’”

  “Ah, shucks, them’s some high hopes for this little ol’ cowpoke,” he teased as he glanced back in the mirror. The Suburban was speeding up again. Chad sped up until he was doing seventy-five in a forty-five, but he wasn’t putting much additional space between them and their tail. “Crap.”

  There was somebody in the back of the Suburban, and as he watched they climbed into the passenger seat. He wasn’t completely sure, but he could have sworn he saw the glint of a rifle barrel as the man had moved.

  They couldn’t get into a shoot-out, not with Shaye and the baby in the truck. He hit the gas. The speedometer shot toward ninety miles an hour—far too fast for the road conditions.

  “Chad, don’t drive so fast,” Shaye said, her voice tight.