“Thanks for that,” Holden answered, and Nicky silently added her own thanks. It wasn’t exactly a truce, but she would take it.
“You need an escort to wherever you’re going?” Drury asked.
Holden nodded. “Can you follow us and make sure we’re not ambushed along the way?”
“Of course.” Drury turned back toward the door, but he’d hardly made it a step when the sound of Holden’s phone stopped them.
Nicky glanced at the screen and saw Grayson’s name there.
“Any sign of Amanda or Minton?” Holden asked the moment he answered.
“No. I’m at the Dumpster where Amanda said she was. She’s not here, but we found something.” Grayson cursed. “Blood.”
Chapter Fourteen
Holden looked down at his niece as he held her. At that precious little face. And he felt the same emotions that he’d felt when he held Carter. He loved her, would do whatever it took to protect her, but he also knew she was in danger.
Nicky, too.
Holden’s phone dinged, and he saw the text message from Drury on the screen. His brother had made it back to San Antonio and was at Conceptions Clinic—where Holden hoped like the devil there was still something to find that would help put an end to the danger.
“Everything okay?” Nicky asked.
He nodded. Everything was okay with Drury anyway. They hadn’t managed to catch the kidnappers, and that meant the threat was still there, and it left Holden with no choice but to send the baby to the safe house as well. Especially now that they might not have Amanda to give them answers.
Because Amanda might be dead.
There hadn’t been a large amount of blood found by the Dumpster, but it was enough to cause concern. He was also concerned that it had been hours since the latest attack, and no one had heard from her. Ditto for Minton. With no other new information in the investigation, Holden was worried they were stalled.
Well, no other new info than the baby.
The newborn girl was definitely news. Amanda hadn’t said anything about delivering twins, but Holden remembered her mentioning something at the hospital about being put to sleep during the C-section. If that was true, then it was possible she hadn’t even known.
“Wouldn’t a woman have realized she was carrying twins?” Holden looked up at Nicky with that question. She was in the process of warming up another bottle of formula—something they’d both mastered, what with the practice they’d gotten with Carter and now his sister.
She shrugged. “You’d think so, but maybe the person responsible didn’t allow Amanda to see the ultrasounds. Besides, even if Amanda did suspect it, she might have been too afraid to say anything.”
Yeah, because if Amanda had started asking a lot of questions, it would have put her in danger. If she’d realized something was wrong with the whole surrogate plan, then she might have decided just to stay quiet.
But Holden shook his head. “She’s still a suspect, though.”
“I agree,” Nicky said without hesitation. “She could have put the blood there to throw suspicion off her. And of our three suspects, she was still in the best position at Conceptions to have orchestrated all of this.”
True. Except for the part about Amanda being fired, but then she could have arranged for that as well, just so it would look as if she was no longer connected to Conceptions.
“What about Minton?” she asked. “You think either Sharon or he have anything to do with what’s going on?”
It was something Holden had already considered. And dismissed. “The last thing Sharon probably wants is for Beatrice and Minton to have a child.”
“I agree, and there are some problems with Beatrice’s theory of Sharon and Minton running off. If that’d happened and Minton had indeed changed his mind, he could have just shown up at a police station with a story about being kidnapped. I doubt he would have involved himself in the mess at Conceptions.”
No, but it made Holden go back to one of the questions he couldn’t answer. How had Minton gotten his hands on Emmett and Annie’s baby? If he got a chance to talk to the man again, that was something Holden definitely wanted to know.
Nicky returned with the bottle and handed it to him. Unlike Carter, the little girl latched on and kept drinking. Not for just a couple of sips, either.
“Bittersweet, isn’t it?” Nicky asked when she saw him staring at the little girl.
Yeah, it was. “Annie and Emmett wanted a baby so much, and now they have two. Twins. And they aren’t even here to see them.” That caused a pain so deep within Holden that it felt as if the pain had seeped into his bones.
Now, the pain would be even deeper because after just meeting her, Holden was going to have to say goodbye. And soon. Josh and another deputy were already on their way to pick up the baby and drive her to the safe house with Carter, Landon and the others. It was the right thing to do, their only option really, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“What will happen to them?” Nicky asked. She touched her fingertips to the baby’s toes, which were peeking out from the bottom of her pink gown.
Holden knew she wasn’t just talking about the immediate future. “I think we’ve neutralized Oscar for now what with him being on the surveillance footage at the ransom drop.”
“Yes.” Nicky paused, repeated that. “But I’m sure he was furious at being placed in a holding cell.”
Holden was certain of it, but Nicky and he hadn’t waited around to find out. As soon as Grayson and the other deputies had returned to the sheriff’s office, Holden and Kara had brought Nicky and the baby back to Kayla’s house.
“My father will keep trying to get custody,” Nicky continued after Holden had finished feeding the baby and had put her against his shoulder to attempt a burp. “That’s why I think we should make our own petition to get at least temporary guardianship of them. A joint petition,” she added. “We could share custody.”
Their gazes connected. “Under the same roof?” he asked.
But it wasn’t just a simple question of logistics. The memory of their kiss in the ER was still fresh. Heck, it’d be fresh months from now because he’d probably still be feeling it.
Nicky felt it, too.
The corner of her mouth lifted. “Would it matter if we were under separate roofs?”
Not in the least. The heat would still be there, but this was the exact opposite of out of sight, out of mind. Being next to each other would lead to things Holden wasn’t sure he, or his family, could accept.
He didn’t answer. Didn’t have time because he heard Kara open the front door. It didn’t take long for Holden to hear voices, too. Josh and Mason. Several moments later, his cousins came into the kitchen.
“How’s she doing?” Josh asked, going straight to the baby.
“Good. Thanks again for finding her,” Holden answered, and he refused to think of what would have happened to her if Josh hadn’t been in the right place at the right time.
“A girl,” Mason remarked, moving closer as well. Since this was Mason, he didn’t seem to have an opinion if that was a good thing, but as Nicky had done earlier, he touched the baby’s toes.
“Don’t get all sentimental on us,” Josh joked.
“Not sentimental,” Mason growled. Of course, every time he spoke, it sounded like a growl. “Girls are just easier to diaper than boys. Does she have a name yet?”
That started some surprised looks, and Mason huffed. “You should come up with something soon before she gets a nickname like Scarlett or Strawberry.”
Yeah, Holden definitely didn’t want the kid getting stuck with that.
“We could call her Kate,” Nicky suggested. “It was Annie’s middle name, after our grandmother.”
That caused Josh and Mason to nod in approval. Ho
lden approved, too, and it worked since Carter was Emmett’s middle name. But for some reason, with the baby having a name, it made all of this even harder. Because it was yet another reminder that this baby—Kate Ryland—was part of the family. Part of him, too.
Holden hadn’t needed to think of how high the stakes were, but that did it.
Josh took the baby, holding her so that Holden and Nicky could get a goodbye kiss. “We’ll call you as soon as we’ve made it to the safe house,” Josh assured them.
Nicky and Holden thanked him, and after Mason scooped up the diaper bag with the baby supplies, they all went to the door. Mainly because Mason didn’t waste any time getting out of the house, there was no long goodbye. Which was probably a good thing. However, Nicky and Holden stood in the door and watched until they drove away.
With Kate.
It felt as if someone had put a fist around his heart and was squeezing pretty damn hard.
“I need a drink,” Holden grumbled. Heck, he needed six of them, but would settle for just one so he could keep a clear head.
He reset the security system, and Kara headed back to the office, where she’d been monitoring the cameras and sensors positioned around the property. Holden would relieve her soon, but for now he went in search of that much-needed drink. He found one in the bar in the family room, and he made a mental note to thank Kayla for stocking the good stuff.
Holden poured himself a glass of whiskey and lifted the bottle to offer Nicky one as well, but she shook her head. That’s when he saw that she was blinking back tears.
Hell.
He should have known this was going to send her crashing. It wasn’t just the baby, either, but Nicky had to be dealing with the aftermath of being shot. The aftermath, too, of knowing this nightmare was far from being over.
Holden downed the drink and went to her, ready to pull her into his arms. It would be a mistake, of course. They were under the same roof. Semi-alone. And no one was currently shooting at them.
A perfect storm.
But he could try to keep it at just a comforting hug.
Nicky didn’t play by the rules, though, and it was obvious she’d need much more than just a hug from him. The moment he reached for her, she reached for him. And she was the one who started the kiss.
* * *
NICKY HADN’T KNOWN exactly what she was going to do when Holden had started toward her, but she heard him say something under his breath.
A perfect storm.
Yes, that’s exactly what this was.
But it was a storm that she had no intention of stopping. She didn’t care about the consequences. Not at the moment anyway. She would later, but there were plenty of other things she would have to deal with later.
“Your arm,” Holden said like a warning.
That wouldn’t stop her, either. The only thing that would put an end to this was Holden telling her that it wasn’t going to happen. But he wasn’t saying anything like that. In fact, he’d stopped talking and was kissing her.
Exactly what Nicky wanted him to do.
He tasted of whiskey, but there was also Holden’s own familiar taste beneath that. She hadn’t needed that taste to start the fire simmering inside her. The fire was always there whenever she was around Holden. But it only added to the moment, and this was a moment she intended to savor.
Because she might not have Holden like this again.
Yes, later she’d have to deal with a lot of things, including the fact that they might never be able to get past their old wounds and do something more than just have sex with each other. For now, though, this was enough.
Holden made the most of that enough. He deepened the kiss, and he slipped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. He was gentle. Too gentle. A reminder that he was thinking about the stitches on her arm. Part of Nicky appreciated that, but she needed more from him now.
She dropped her hand to his chest, opening the buttons, and slid her fingers over his chest. She got just the reaction she wanted. He made a sound of pleasure, and the kiss kicked up a notch. So did her heartbeat.
So did the heat.
He turned her, putting her back against the bar, anchoring her in place. Nicky immediately felt the pressure of his body on hers, and it settled her for a moment. Just long enough to allow her to savor the feeling, but it wasn’t long before it only made her want more.
Holden gave her more.
He pushed up her top, lowered his head and kissed the tops of her breasts. Then, he pushed down the cups of her bra and took her into his mouth.
Now, it was Nicky’s turn to make a sound of pleasure, and her legs would have buckled if Holden hadn’t kept her in place against the bar. She made even more of those sounds when he added some touching to those kisses. She wanted to think he knew just the right spot to make her burn because they’d been together before, but the truth was, he’d known all the right spots their first time.
And he repeated that now and upped the ante by going lower and kissing her stomach.
Nicky was wearing loose jeans that she’d borrowed from Kayla’s closet, and Holden unzipped them. He didn’t stop kissing, either, and it became very clear what he had in mind. Some foreplay that she was sure would set the fire inside her blazing. But there was a problem.
“Kara could come in,” she said breathlessly.
Holden still didn’t stop, but he did curse. And he shoved down her jeans just enough to deliver one melting kiss to the exact place she wanted his lips to touch.
If Kara came in now, she’d certainly get an eyeful, and Holden must have accepted that because he scooped her up in his arms. She didn’t know where he was taking her, didn’t care because he continued to kiss her with every step.
They didn’t go far. To one of the guest rooms just a few rooms away. Holden shut the door and locked it before he carried her to the bed. He didn’t join her, though, and Nicky reached for him, to pull him down to her. But she stopped.
Because he stripped off his shirt.
And she lost her breath in the process.
He was perfect, just as she remembered him. His body was chiseled—not from working out in a gym but from working on the ranch. Toned and tanned. Yes, perfect.
It got even better.
He unzipped his jeans, and the rest of his clothes came off.
Nicky was well aware she was staring. Couldn’t stop herself. Mercy, how could she feel this way just by looking at him? She didn’t have time to figure that out, though, because he finally got on the bed with her.
“Let’s do something about getting you naked, too,” he drawled.
She would have gladly helped him with that if he hadn’t made her senseless with another of those scalding kisses. But thankfully Holden had no trouble peeling off her top and bra. Had no trouble kissing her breasts again and driving her crazy.
He started the trail of kisses again, retracing his steps to her stomach. Her zipper was already undone so he shimmied the jeans off her, removing her panties with them.
And now she got that kiss she’d been wanting.
Nicky could have sworn the earth tipped on its axis. Maybe it did. Holden was certainly working some magic, and Nicky knew this would end much too soon if it continued.
She latched onto him, dragging him back up toward her, but he seemed to have his own notion about that as well. He dug through his jeans and located a condom in his wallet.
Something that made her groan.
Here she’d gotten so caught up that she hadn’t remembered that they needed to use protection. At least one of them was thinking straight.
When Holden returned to the bed, he maneuvered them to the headboard and adjusted their positions until they were in a sitting position with her on his lap.
“Your arm,” he sai
d.
Nicky still hadn’t managed the thinking-straight part so it took her a moment to realize this way there wouldn’t be any pressure on her stitches. Yes, Holden was definitely thinking a lot straighter than she was.
So she did something about that.
She reached between their bodies, helped him with the condom and then took him inside her. Deep and quick. While she kissed him. After a few strokes, she thought maybe she’d managed to cloud his mind as well.
There was a problem with that, though. This was still all going to end too soon, and there was nothing she could do to stop that. The need was too great. The fire, too hot.
Holden must have realized that because he caught her hips and began controlling the rhythm, bringing her toward the only thing Nicky wanted now.
For him to take her over the edge. For him to ease the fire and the storm that was raging out of control.
And that’s what he did.
Holden pushed into her and sent her flying. The climax slammed through her. Nicky couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. But she could feel. And what she felt was Holden falling over the edge with her.
* * *
HOLDEN GAVE HIMSELF a couple of seconds to catch his breath. Then another couple of seconds to come to his senses, and he checked to make sure Nicky wasn’t in pain, or that her stitches weren’t torn.
She was clearly okay.
Nicky’s face was right against his, and she was so relaxed that the muscles in her body had gone slack. There was no indication whatsoever that she was hurting. Not from her injury anyway. But when she lifted her head, and her gaze met his, Holden did see something he wasn’t sure he liked.
“Don’t regret this,” she whispered.
Too late. He already did.
Not because it wasn’t mind-blowing sex. It had been. But because he was in bed with someone in his protective custody, and he’d just completely lost focus. Definitely not something that would help them. Plus, there was another complication. One that he didn’t especially want to consider, but it came to the forefront of his mind anyway.
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