“Miles, I’m praying you find him soon.”
“Me too.”
Ryan opened his eyes and looked around. Then suddenly he remembered Eden screaming. “Eden!” He bolted out of the bed and was headed straight for the floor. Luckily, Faith jumped up when she saw Ryan catapulting from the bed and she caught him before he hit the floor.
“Ryan!”
Ryan just blinked. The nurse heard the commotion and came running in and helped Faith get Ryan back into the bed.
“Mr. DiPietro, you need to stay put. You have a very serious concussion and some bruised ribs. Now stay in that bed or I will sedate you.”
Once Ryan was back in the bed the nurse walked out, leaving him alone with Faith. Faith approached the bed.
“Eden is ok but Cruz was taken. Alex went to see Eden; she will be back in a few minutes.”
Faith walked away and sat down in the chair furthest from the bed. Ryan looked over at her sitting there like she was being punished.
“Faith.”
Faith turned her head and looked at Ryan.
“Faith.”
Faith walked over to Ryan’s bed.
“Do you need the nurse?”
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“I need you.”
“Ryan…”
“You’re awake!”
Faith looked over at Alex and then back at Ryan before she picked up her purse. “I have to go.” Faith walked out before Alex or Ryan had time to say anything.
Alex walked over to Ryan’s bed. “I just saw Eden. Miles is taking her home, well to my house.”
“How is she?”
“She’s a mess. They gave her a sedative. How are you?”
“Alive.”
“Ryan, I’m sorry that I asked Faith to hang out here while I was checking in on Eden.”
“No big deal.”
“Ryan, when are you going to wake up and realize that you’re in love with Faith and that she loves you too?”
“I think you should leave. Eden needs you more than I do.” Ryan rolled over so that he was facing away from Alex.
Alex walked up to the bed and leaned over and whispered in Ryan’s ear, “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Alex turned and left. She knew that Ryan needed to be alone as much as Eden needed her to be with her.
MIGUEL’S MEN WORKED THROUGH the night while Alex sat and literally held Eden’s hand. The few leads they had didn’t pan out. Miles began to unravel.
“Where. Is. He!” Miles turned around and punched the wall.
“Miles!” Miguel grabbed Miles’ arm before he punched the wall again and broke his hand.
“I’m going out. I’ll search every house. I have to find my son.”
“Mi…”
Dane jumped up. “Let’s go…I think I have something.”
Miles grabbed Dane’s arm. “What is it?”
“Ryan said he saw red sneakers. That tape I ran shows red sneakers getting into a car and I was able to get a partial plate. Jakey narrowed it down based on the model and make of the car. I have two addresses we can check out.”
Miguel grabbed his gun. “I think we should sneak out and not tell Eden. I don’t want to give her false hope. I’ll text Alex and let her know we are going to check out a lead.”
“Good idea.” Miles headed to the door.
Miguel prayed that this lead would help them find Cruz.
Dane parked around the corner from the house and the three of them slowly crept up the driveway. Dane spotted the car from the tape pulled up on the lawn so that it would be hidden from the street.
Miles walked up to the house and peeked in the window.
“I see a man asleep in a chair.”
Miguel looked at Dane. Dane pulled out his thermal imaging camera.
“There’s at least two people inside.”
“Miles.”
Miles looked over at Miguel. “I only see one and this guy is asleep.”
Dane pulled his gun. “Give me a minute to get around front and then you two kick in this door. I’ll be waiting in case they try to exit from the front door.” Dane began to walk away.
“Dane.”
“Yeah, Miles?”
“Thank you. Watch your back.”
“You two do the same.”
Miles and Miguel walked towards the house with their guns drawn.
Eden jumped up in a cold sweat, she had been having a nightmare and thought she heard Cruz crying. “Cruz!”
Alex must have dozed off because when Eden yelled she scared her to death. Alex reached over and grabbed Eden’s trembling hand. “You had a nightmare.”
“No, I’m living a nightmare. I’m so afraid that I’m never going to see my baby again.”
Alex grabbed Eden and hugged her tight. “They are going to find him.”
“What if it’s too late when they do?”
“No, don’t think like that. Cruz will be found alive and well.”
“Alex, will you pray with me?”
“Sure. I’ve been praying alone all night.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I know; I feel the same way.”
“Ready?”
Miguel nodded and Miles kicked in the door. Miguel went into the room with the sleeping man and handcuffed him before he even had one eye open. Then he put the gun to his head.
“Where’s the baby?”
“The guy just stared at Miguel and didn’t say a word.”
“Tell me or I will make sure that you die very slowly and painfully.”
“It was an accident…”
“Accident?”
“What happened to the baby?”
“Some guy he paid us to beat up some guy. My brother, he’s crazy…and he, he stole the kid.”
“Last time before I shoot you…where is the…”
Miguel stopped mid-sentence when he heard glass break and then a thud. He started running towards the noise.
Dane heard the commotion and he kicked in the front door and ran up the stairs with Miguel following.
Miles and the guy with the red sneakers were rolling around on the floor fighting.
“Let him go or I will put a bullet through your head!”
“Make that two!” Dane growled.
The guy put his hands up and Miles rolled away and stood up.
“Where is my baby? I know you have him. We saw you take him.”
“You had better answer or we’re each going to put a bullet in you and watch you bleed to death.” Dane walked closer.
Miguel grabbed the guy by the throat. “Your brother already told me that you are the one that took my nephew. Now if breathing is something that you enjoy, I would suggest you tell us where the baby is…NOW!”
“The kid is fine. My mother has him.”
Miles exhaled. He was so afraid that they weren’t going to find anything or even worse…they were going to find his son’s body.
“Where’s my baby?”
“Follow me.”
Miguel grabbed the guy by his hair. “You lead but remember the three of us have guns on your back and if you do anything remotely stupid…you’re going down!”
The guy walked down to the end of the hall and opened what looked like a slatted closet door and he pulled it open. Once he opened it they could see a flight of stairs. It was then that Miles raced past and up the flight of stairs. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Cruz asleep in an elderly woman’s arms.
“He’s my baby.”
The woman looked up. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Miles stuck his gun in his leg holster and walked towards the woman. The woman stood up slowly and handed Cruz to Miles who held him up against his chest and kissed his head as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Miguel walked over to the woman. “Did you know that your son kidnapped my nephew?”
&nb
sp; “He told me that it was his girlfriend’s baby. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”
Miguel believed the woman. She was shaking and in tears. “You’re still going to have to give a statement to the police.
“Of course.”
“The police are on their way. You two go bring that baby to its momma. I’ll handle everything.”
Miguel patted Dane on the back. “Thanks, Man.”
Miles couldn’t stop looking at Cruz and kissing him.
Eden and Alex were holding hands and praying when they heard the front door burst open and Miles yell, “Eden.” Before Eden had a moment to answer Miles was crossing the threshold carrying Cruz in his arms. Eden flew up from her seat and over to Miles and Cruz. Miles handed her the baby and she too pulled him close and kissed him over and over again.
“I can’t believe you found him, Miles.”
“I promised you that I’d take care of you and Cruz. I don’t know what I’d do without either one of you.” Miles hugged Eden and kissed Cruz on the top of his head.
Miguel walked in and Alex hugged him.
“We got lucky, Alex.”
“Where’s Dane? Is he alright?”
“Yeah, he stayed back to deal with the police.”
“Thank God this is all over.”
Miguel wasn’t too sure it was over. All he could think about was that the guy said they were there to beat up “the guy” and Ryan was the only guy there and he was pretty beaten up. Miguel was going to put a security detail on Ryan and then talk to him but first he was going to shower and take a powernap.
MILES WOKE UP WITH his arms around Eden. Little baby, Cruz, was in his bassinet up against the bed. Eden sat up most of the night holding him and kissing him over and over again. Miles finally convinced her that the baby needed to sleep in his own bed or she’d still be holding Cruz in her arms.
Eden rolled over and Miles could see her nipple peeking out of her nightgown. It had been so long since they had sex that he couldn’t help himself from sucking on it.
“Mmm. Is that what you want for breakfast?”
“I’d like this even more.” Miles slipped his hand inside her panties and began fingering Eden.
Eden leaned up and kissed Miles. It was a long, sloppy kiss with lots of tongue action. She felt as if it has been years since they had sex.
“Miles, get on your back. Hurry, I need you now.”
Eden saddled up on Miles and impaled herself with his big, hard cock.
“Oh God, Baby, it’s been so long. I’ve missed this…being inside you and feeling so close to you. I love you so much, Eden.”
“I love you too.”
Miles reached up and pulled Eden down and kissed her. He held her tight and thanked God for her and Cruz…they were his world.
Ryan opened his eyes and was surprised to see Alex and Miguel sitting by his bedside.
“Hey!”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m ok, Sis. You didn’t have to come and camp out here, I told you I’d be alright.”
Miguel stood up. “Actually Ryan, I insisted.”
“Insisted?”
“Ryan, Miguel has something that he needs to talk to you about.”
“Is this about Cruz? Because Eden called me last night to tell me that you found him and brought him home.”
“Cruz is home and all is well with them.”
“Ok, so what’s up then?” Ryan looked from his sister over to Miguel.
“I believe that you were the target, not Cruz.”
“Me?”
“The man who assaulted you said that he was hired to…”
“Hired!”
“Yes, someone hired them to beat you up but the one guy thought that kidnapping Cruz would get them a bonus. Funny thing is that if they did their research they could have tried to get millions from me in ransom.”
“So where are these guys now?”
“Locked up for the time being.”
“Or until the man who paid them bails them out.” Ryan gritted his teeth.
“Calm down, Ryan.” Alex held his hand. “Getting angry isn’t going to help.”
“Your sister is right. What I’d like to do is have my investigators come in and talk to you.”
“I know that I’ve pissed off some people because of my job and of course there are some husbands and boyfriends out there who may not be so fond of me but to beat me up? I’d think if someone wanted to send a message they would have at least given me a hint as to why or who?”
“Well, we are trying to find out a name from these goons who had Cruz but they claim they don’t know who hired them.”
“Maybe they don’t really know?”
“Maybe not but they have to know something that we can go on.”
“Ryan, until Miguel or the police figure this out…I want you to come stay with us.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Ryan, please?”
“Sis, I’m not going to let whoever this coward is, that has to have someone else do his dirty work, change my life.”
“But Ryan…”
“No buts!”
“Ryan, would you at least consider staying with us until you’re feeling better?”
“I really appreciate the fact that you two both care about me, I do, but I’ve always taken care of myself and I plan to continue doing just that.”
Alex looked up at Miguel in defeat. Miguel understood how Ryan felt because if the tables were turned he’d feel the same way that Ryan felt. However, he knew that if anything happened to Ryan that Alex would be devastated…so Miguel was going to make sure that Ryan was under constant protection.
“Ryan, I understand that you want to take care of yourself but I would like to ask your permission to have a tail put on you so that if…”
“A guard?”
“No, just a tail. That way if someone is following you we can apprehend them and find out who they are working for.”
“It was probably just some jealous husband. It wasn’t like I was beaten and left for dead. It’s just a few bumps and bruises. If someone wanted me dead, they would have just killed me when they had the chance.”
Alex let go of Ryan’s hand and stood up. “Why? Why do you have to be so damn stubborn and uncaring? You have more than a few bruises. I was scared to death and I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you. So please, if you won’t come home with me, I am begging you to allow Miguel to have someone protect you.”
Miguel pulled Alex up against him. “He’s going to be ok, Baby.” Miguel looked over at Ryan willing him to say something.
“Ok, Alex, if that will make you feel better then I will allow it…but only because I love you so much and don’t want you wasting your time worrying about me.”
Alex pulled away from Miguel and hugged her brother. “Thank you.”
Miguel breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t like seeing Alex so upset. Now he just had to make sure that nothing else happened to Ryan.
Dane stopped by Miles’ house before he headed back out of town. He wished that he didn’t have to leave so soon but the Agency was his first priority now that Cruz had been found.
Miles pulled the door open. “Dane, come in.”
“So how’s the baby doing?”
“He seems just fine, thank God.”
“And Eden?”
“Eden is fine and I do mean fine!” Miles laughed.
Dane smirked. “So I guess you two celebrated the return of your son?”
“You could say that.”
“Dane!”
Dane looked up and Eden was standing there with Cruz in her arms. “Hey Lady.” Dane kissed Eden on the cheek and then he rubbed the top of Cruz’s head.
“I can never thank you enough for coming back and for helping to bring Cruz back home.”
“To me, you are family. I wouldn’t have been anywhere else.”
Eden kissed Cruz. “We love you too.” Eden smiled at Dane. �
�I will let you men get to work. Make sure you say goodbye before you leave.”
“Will do.”
Ryan was in the bathroom with his nurse, Kelly, who was helping him get dressed. Although, he really didn’t think a concussion warranted help, he wasn’t going to send her away. She looked a lot like Faith and it was driving him crazy. Besides, she was a flirt and he hoped that maybe he’d get some action.
The nurse knelt down to help Ryan get his feet into his shorts. She brushed her cheek against his cock. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
The nurse looked up and smiled. “What if I wasn’t really sorry?”
“Then I think you need to apologize.” Ryan grabbed the back of her head and pushed her toward his cock.
Kelly sucked it down her throat. Ryan leaned his head back and thought about Faith and how much he wanted her.
“You on the pill, Kelly?”
Kelly nodded.
“Stand up and bend over.”
Kelly stood up. Ryan pulled her skirt up and pushed her panties down. Then he bent her over and fucked her.
Eden was sitting on the porch with Cruz when an unfamiliar car pulled up. She grabbed Cruz and held him close until the door opened and Lacey climbed out. Eden waved and Lacey waved back.
Lacey opened the back door and pulled out a huge basket and then carried it up onto the porch.
“Lacey, hi.”
“Hi there, I hope you don’t mind me stopping by unannounced and all but I wanted to drop this by to you.”
Eden looked down into the basket and it was full of baby books, toys and what looked like knitted booties, a blanket and sweaters.
“Oh my goodness, Lacey. This is beautiful. Eden picked up one of the sweaters. “Did you make this yourself?”
Lacey smiled. “I did. In fact, that is why the gift is so late. It took me forever to finish up all the knitting.”
“Everything is so beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“Have a seat and visit us. Would you like to hold Cruz?”
“I’d love to. I adore babies.” Lacey sat down and Eden placed Cruz into her arms.
Secrets & Lies (Undercover Love Series Book 2) Page 15