by Rita Herron
He took her hard and fast, pulling her hips up to meet his thrusts as he drove inside her, drew out, then drove even deeper. Lindsey moaned and clawed at his arms, struggling to hold back, to prolong the sweet pleasure but the waves of euphoria rippled over her in a hundred different colors as their bodies danced together. She saw the moment his own release began; his face contorted with both pain and pleasure, and his gaze never once left hers as he moaned and rode the crest with her.
THEY MADE LOVE all through the night. But sometime during the early hours of the morning, Lindsey felt him slipping away from her. Maybe it was the intensity of his lovemaking, maybe it was the way he rolled away and faced the wall the last time. She tried to sleep but his on-again, off-again attitude had done a number on her already frayed nerves.
“Gavin?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s going to happen now?”
He sighed, then rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. She nuzzled up to his side, but he stiffened and anger suddenly churned within her. Lindsey jerked the sheet around her bare chest and leaned against the headboard.
“I can’t stand this waiting, this not knowing. One minute you’re comforting me, the next you’re throwing up these walls—”
Gavin swung around. “Look, I’m trying to help, but I don’t want to give you any false hopes.”
“False hopes?” She picked up the pillow and crushed it between her hands. “As in a happily-ever-after ending for us? Well, don’t worry, I didn’t expect you to offer me forever.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Linds.”
“I know you only came because I begged you to help find our baby.”
Gavin slid off the bed and stalked across the room. Lindsey tried to ignore the fact that he was completely naked. Hard and naked. “I never pretended to be husband or father material. I told you that up front. For God’s sake, I grew up in a cop family. I know what it’s like to be the son of a policeman.” He grabbed his jeans and yanked them on, then paced back and forth, the words coming fast and furious. “I know what it’s like to be carted off to safe houses, to be afraid some maniac my dad put in jail would come after me. I saw the terror on my mother’s face more than once. She finally got sick of it and skipped out. I swore I’d never have a family and put them through that.”
“You’re afraid of putting your loved ones in danger—that’s the reason you don’t want a family?”
“It’s a good reason, don’t you think?” He swung his hands in the air. “Jesus, you’re living that nightmare right now. Someone tried to kill you. They kidnapped our son. How can you not hate me for putting you through this? Our baby might have been kidnapped to get revenge on me.”
“I don’t hate you, Mac.” Lindsey’s voice sounded strong. “And I don’t blame you for something some crazy person has don”
“Well, maybe you should. If you hadn’t gotten involved with me, none of this would have happened. You’d probably have met some nice man by now and be married with his baby.”
“Is that what you want, Mac?”
“Hell, no.” He paused to stare at her, slicing his hands through the air angrily. “It doesn’t matter what I want.”
“Of course it matters what you want. How can you even say that?”
“Because I have that kind of job. I’m a cop.”
“And your job is more important—”
“No. Family is. But my job, it’s what I do. It’s a part of me.”
Just as her teaching was a part of her. She could never ask him to give up his work. People needed him. But she needed him, too, and so did their baby.
“So you don’t ever want a family or a wife or a home?” she asked quietly.
His hands fisted by his side. “The only thing that matters is that you and our son are safe.”
“We would be safe with you.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” He resumed pacing. “Believe me, I tried playing father before and failed.”
Lindsey struggled to reach for her robe, spotted Gavin’s shirt first and put it on, her hands trembling. Hurt welled inside her. “You have another child?”
“No.” He leaned against the doorjamb and scrubbed his face with his hands. “I took a kid under my wing once, joined this Big Brother program. This boy named Rodney.”
“What happened?”
He turned his back to her, staring out the window, his shoulders rigid. “He’d been getting in trouble, possession of drugs, fights, minor stuff, but I thought I could help him.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“He died, Lindsey.” He faced her then, the strain and horror of the boy’s loss written in every craggy feature of his face. “He thought tagging along with me on a case would be fun so he followed me one day. Walked right into a bust. Got shot three times.” His voice broke. “He was only fourteen.”
Lindsey resisted the urge to react. Instead she reached out to comfort him, but he pulled away. Guilt darkened his eyes, tore at her own heart. “I’m sorry, Mac. But the boy’s death wasn’t your fault.”
“Tell that to his parents,” he murmured. “He was their only child.”
As Cory was theirs. The magnitude of Gavin’s guilt struck Lindsey full force.
“So you see, I don’t deserve to have a family—”
Lindsey opened her mouth to argue, to tell him she refused to buy into his misguided theory, that everyone deserved love, but the phone trilled, cutting her off.
She red to the den and picked up the handset, her hands trembling.
“Hello?”
“Miss Payne?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“It doesn’t matter. But if you want your baby back, you’d better listen.”
Chapter Eighteen
“We want Jim Faulkner released from prison.”
“What? Who are you?”
“Just shut up and listen, Miss Payne. Faulkner’s parole hearing is coming up. You and your cop buddy move it up to today. Then you go public and recant your testimony. When Faulkner walks out of the pen, you’ll receive instructions on how to get your baby back.”
Lindsey’s heart was pounding so loudly the blood roared in her ears. She didn’t recognize the man’s voice.
“But how do I know you really have my baby?”
A low chuckle rumbled over the line. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
Not good enough, Gavin mouthed.
“Tell me something, anything…”
“He has your brown eyes, Miss Payne, and a little square chin and a pug nose. And this crooked toe. Dr. Cross handed him to us right there at the clinic in Maple Hollow.”
Lindsey bit her lip not to cry out. She saw a muscle tick in Gavin’s jaw but he whispered for her to stall for time. Jim’s parole hearing might have been coming up, but Gavin had assured her he’d never be released the first go-round.
“All right, but I don’t know if we can do it today…it’ll take time—”
“Today, Miss Payne. And we want Faulkner’s record wiped clean.”
“I—”
“We warned you to call off the feds too. This time you’d better listen.” The phone clicked and the line went dead.
Gavin muttered a curse.
“So Jim orchestrated this whole thing?” Lindsey whispered in shock.
“It sounds like it,” Gavin agreed. “But I don’t understand why he’d wait so damn long to contact us. If he arranged to kidnap our baby to free himself, why not make the demands right off?”
“Maybe he wanted to wait until nearer his parole date.”
“Parole dates can be changed.”
Lindsey’s throat ached. “Maybe he wanted to torment me.”
“Maybe, but every day he waited was another day he spent in jail.” Gavin shook his head in thought. “Something doesn’t fit.” He could see Faulkner or his parents paying someone to kidnap the baby, but why would Lindsey’s ex go to so much trouble for a child he didn’t want? And kidnapping would defini
tely eliminate any possibility of parole. What about the Faulkners—why would they risk a felony when they could have simply paid a judge to give their son an early parole or fight for visitation rights?
Lindsey swung her gaze to him in concern. “You mean you don’t think the caller has our baby?”
Gavin hesitated a fraction of a second too long. “I don’t know. After our visit to Faulkner and his folks, it’s possible…”
Oh, God. “It’s possible they saw how distraught I was and decided to use our son’s disappearance against me to get Jim freed from prison.”
He nodded curtly.
Lindsey’s hopes disintegrated. “But if we arrange his release and they don’t have our baby, can you have him arrested again?”
“Sure, unless his family whisks him off to some foreign country.”
Which they could easily do with their money and connections. “Then what do we do now?”
“We’ll have to play along, see what they do when we free Faulkner.”
“Can you really arrange for his release today?”
Gavin picked up the phone to call Simon. “I’ll have to have help. Let me talk to Simon, see if we can pull some strings.”
“No FBI, he said—”
“We’d be crazy not to accept their help. They know what they’re doing.” He reached for her, seemed to remember the night before and backed away. Lindsey fought off the hurt, knowing she didn’t have time to dwell on the problems between her and Gavin. “There are no guarantees that whoever has the baby will give him back to us if we meet their demands. If they do have our baby and try to run with him, we’ll need back-up. Timing will be crucial.”
“What if they see the FBI and something goes wrong?”
Gavin fisted his hands by his side. “I’ll wear a mike, make sure they’re a safe distance away. Trust me, Linds, it’s the only way.”
Lindsey frowned. “I’ll go shower and get dressed.”
Gavin was punching in his partner’s number as she left the room. Lindsey cradled her stomach and decided to call her mother and let her know the latest. She’d rather explain her plan than have her mom hear her apology to her ex on the radio or TV. Then she’d sit down and plan her speech to set her ex-husband free.
THE PLANS had changed. First, the boss had agreed the Payne woman should die and so should that detective because he wanted the baby. Now, he no longer wanted the child; he wanted him to hold off with the murders, too, until he got Faulkner out of jail. Once again, the boss had ordered him to do the dirty work so he’d called and bargained for Faulkner’s release.
All because they’d learned who the baby’s father was. Damn.
The little detail was insignificant to him. For all intents and purposes he’d fathered the little boy himself, had planted the seed that had given him life. She had gone through labor and delivery.
But to him it meant a way to get to McCord and the Payne woman.
He lit a cigarette and closed his eyes, letting the sweet melody and sound of her voice wash over him as she rocked and sang to their baby boy.
“Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top…down will come baby, cradle and all.”
Unfortunately the cradle was about to fall.
He took a drag of the cigarette and inhaled, grateful for the nicotine’s calming effect. He’d be glad when this whole ordeal was over, when they could leave and escape to some unknown place and be rid of the problems.
“I love you, sweetheart,” he heard her say. “You’ll always be my precious angel.”
He crushed the cigarette beneath his boot, grinding the last of the embers into the dry dirt. She would die without the baby just as the fire died without oxygen.
He’d follow along with his boss, lure Payne and that detective to the cabin, then kill them and take the baby. His boss wouldn’t care what happened to the little boy now, not as long as he got Faulkner back. And he didn’t care what happened to Faulkner as long as he ended up with the child.
Chapter Nineteen
Three hours later Lindsey and Gavin entered the judge’s chamber. With Special Agent Barnes’s connections, a private hearing had been arranged—a formality that would exonerate Jim Faulkner, the man who’d tried to murder Lindsey.
Gavin and Agent Barnes both made brief statements, explaining the situation to the judge.
“You realize I’m releasing him into your custody, Mr. McCord?” the judge said with a stern warning about rights and responsibilities.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
The gavel came down hard. Gavin, Lindsey and Barnes rose and exited the chambers to meet the press for part two of the ordeal.
Perspiration beaded Lindsey’s forehead as she stared through the blinding camera lights to address the reporters.
Gavin spoke first. “We’re here today to announce Jim Faulkner’s release from prison. A little over a year ago, Mr. Faulkner was accused of money laundering as well as attempted murder. Today we have new evidence which we presented to Judge Townsend in chambers. Mr. Faulkner has been cleared of all charges. He will be released today, his record wiped clean.”
He turned slightly and Lindsey gripped the microphone.
“Miss Payne, who was married to Mr. Faulkner for a brief time and served as the key witness in the case, has an official statement to make.”
Reporters’ hands jutted into the air, several yelling out questions. “Is it true you lied under oath, Miss Payne?”
“Were you out for revenge?”
Gavin cut in, “Hold the questions. Please let Miss Payne give her statement.”
Lindsey wet her lips and began. “First of all, I’d like to tell Jim’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner, how sorry I am for putting them through this difficult time. And I’d like to apologize to my ex-husband, Jim.” She paused, the microphone amplifying the tension in her voice. “And yes, I admitted that I lied under oath.”
A collective gasp reverberated through the room. Several more hands flew up but Lindsey tightened her grip around the edge of the podium to steady herself.
“I was distraught in our marriage, having some…some emotional problems of my own. I…I regret to say I fabricated the story about him trying to kill me.” She lowered her head, every vile word like a knife twisting in her throat as she remembered his hands tightening around her neck.
More questions surged through the audience. “Are you in therapy?”
“Have you seen your ex-husband?”
“Are you facing charges for perjury?”
“Are you two planning a reunion?”
“We haven’t discussed a reconciliation at this time. I only pray God will forgive me.”
Cameras flashed and two reporters on the front row dashed forward, but Gavin and Barnes whisked Lindsey from the room before the stampede could hound her further.
THIRTY MINUTES later, Lindsey and Gavin met the warden at the Central Prison in Raleigh and prepared for her ex-husband’s release. Gavin tried to control the rage building within him as he saw Faulkner’s handcuffs removed. Faulkner should have served twenty years for his crimes. At best, at his first hearing, he might have been moved to a minimum security prison. He’d barely served a year though, and here he was walking free.
Gavin had asked Lindsey to trust him, yet she’d trusted him to make sure Faulkner stayed behind bars and he’d let her down. He’d let the feds wire him, but he still wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing. What if this caller wasn’t the kidnapper? Or what if something went wrong? What if the kidnapper didn’t return their son?
The moment Lindsey saw Faulkner, a mask slid over her face, concealing her emotions. Thank God. She would have to be strong.
“Well, darling, you looked mighty fine on TV.” Faulkner sauntered toward Lindsey and bent to kiss her cheek but Lindsey pulled back.
Gavin twisted Faulkner’s arm behind him. “Listen here, you prick. We’re only going along in exchange for Lindsey’s baby, so keep your slimy hands off Miss Payne, you got that?”
“How could you lie to me, Jim? How could you have stolen my baby and kept him from me all this time? Was this some sort of sick plan for revenge?”
Anger flashed into Faulkner’s coI told you I didn’t know anything about the baby’s disappearance.” He gestured around the warden’s office. “I didn’t set this up.”
Gavin twisted Faulkner’s arm harder. “Don’t lie now, Faulkner. Just tell us where we can find the baby.”
Faulkner shrugged. “I told you I didn’t arrange this,” he said, enunciating each word louder. “Not that I’m arguing with your change of heart, Lindsey darlin’, but I had no idea I was being released until a few minutes ago.”
Gavin frowned. Normally he’d have thought Faulkner was lying. He watched for that telltale sign, that little nostril flare. But Faulkner’s expression remained controlled, steady. If Faulkner hadn’t set up his own release, who the hell had?
“IT WAS YOUR father, wasn’t it?” Lindsey asked a few minutes later as they left the prison walls behind them.
Faulkner stepped into the fresh air and inhaled, a smile beaming on his face as he stroked the lapel of his new suit. “Daddy dearest would be my best guess.”
“I should have known,” Lindsey said. “Your parents always disliked me. But I never thought they’d do something so cruel as to kidnap a child.”
“Our son is their grandchild so I’d hardly call it kidnapping,” Faulkner said harshly.
Lindsey glanced at Gavin, desperate to set the record straight. Jim had never wanted kids. Even now he was so cold she couldn’t believe she’d felt guilty for letting him think the baby was his. If anything, prison had hardened his heart even more than before.