The Cradle Files

by Delores Fossen

  "They stopped," Lexie informed him.

  He shoved her back down in the seat and fought to stay on the path. There was just one problem.

  The path ended.

  And directly ahead of them was a cluster of trees that would cause a deadly impact. Because he had no choice, Garrett slammed on the brakes.

  "Undo your seat belt," he ordered Lexie. He took off his own belt, and at the same time opened his door. "Hit the ground running and stay ahead of me."

  It wasn't the best of plans. Heck, it barely qualified as a plan at all. But at least his body might be able to block the bullets from hitting her.

  Lexie did as he said. She jumped from the car and started to run. They didn't make it far before a bullet slammed into a tree right next to her head.

  * * *

  LEXIE'S LUNGS WERE burning, and it took a moment to realize she hadn't been shot, but she was in pain from the exertion caused by sprinting. Of course, the fear of dying didn't help calm her breathing, either. She felt on the verge of hyperventilating.

  But not surrendering.

  Garrett latched on to her arm and hauled her behind one of the sprawling oaks. He quickly pressed her back against the bark and moved in front of her. It was heroic, no doubt about it. He was willing to take a bullet, but that wasn't a smart thing to do. They had a much better chance of surviving this if they worked together.

  "If we're back to back," she whispered, fighting for breath, "we can both return fire."

  She saw the argument flash through his eyes, but she also saw the sound register. The sound of footsteps converging toward them.

  "Move," she insisted. "It's the best chance we have."

  When he didn't argue, Lexie stepped out, turned her back to his and aimed her weapon. And they waited.

  The footsteps stopped.

  Garrett lifted his head slightly, obviously listening. But either the gunmen had found some way to silence their movements or they'd left. But that was too much to hope for, so she stood there, her back against Garrett's. With every muscle in her body trembling.

  He was rock solid, as if this was a normal part of his day. He didn't just wear a badge, he was a cop through and through. And Lexie was thankful for that. She needed him. Without Garrett, they might never unravel this case. Heck, without him, they might not make it out of these woods alive.

  Who was behind this? Her former boss, Billy Avery? Or was it Dr. Darnell, the man who'd tried to kill her with that drug overdose? Of course, it might be neither. Dr. Linnay Blake had lied as easily as she'd smiled. Maybe she had something more to hide than her association with Dr. Darnell. Thank goodness the nurse had given them the man's name. Now they just had to find him and force him to tell them where their daughter was.

  "I think they're gone," Garrett whispered.

  "I think so, too." But just in case, she listened again for the footsteps that didn't come.

  "We can't keep going through this," Garrett said, his voice bitter. "We need answers, and we need them now. Come on. We're getting out of here. I'm going to have a talk with Billy Avery."

  Chapter Ten

  Garrett waited until Lexie had excused herself and gone into the master bathroom of their temporary new home—a safe house. A few moments later, he heard her switch on the shower. Only then did Garrett turn to his brother for the talk he knew Brayden had been itching to have since they arrived at the safe house ten minutes earlier.

  Brayden had been a godsend, Garrett silently admitted. After his brother had gotten the local sheriff out to the woods, the man had then driven Lexie and him to SAPD headquarters. Brayden had been waiting to take them to a safe house. Garrett welcomed the sanctuary in the sleepy San Antonio neighborhood, but he didn't welcome the flack he was about to get for what was essentially an unauthorized investigation.

  "Don't start with a lecture," Garrett warned. He rifled through the bags of clothes and supplies. He smelled like sweat and trees and was in need of a shower. "If this had happened to one of your kids, you know you would have done the same thing that I did."

  "Yes. But I would have done it with proper police backup. I might have even followed a few of the regs. I'm just funny that way."

  Garrett rolled his eyes and shook his head. "We wanted to get to the clinic and find answers. We found them."

  He located several pairs of jeans and a shirt, then waited a moment in an effort to gain control of his temper, his voice and his still-surging adrenaline. But gaining control was a battle he'd lose, he decided. He was pissed at himself and at anyone and everyone who could be behind this.

  He turned and looked Brayden straight in the eye. "Every minute that passes is a minute Billy Avery or some other piece of slime could be using to hide my daughter so that I never find her."

  "My daughter," Brayden repeated. He flexed his eyebrows. "That slipped out so easily that it sounds natural."

  It had. And no one was more surprised than Garrett. "I don't know about it being natural. It's confusing. Terrifying. Frustrating." He scrubbed his hands over his face. "Life was a hell of a lot easier when I was just responsible for myself."

  "But life isn't always about being easy."

  Oh, man. Those words sounded like the start of something he didn't have the time or energy to hear. "You're not about to launch into one of those big-brother speeches."

  "No. I'll assume it's not required. Ditto for a lecture about you going into a dangerous situation without proper backup. I trust it won't happen again. Without a damn good reason, anyway."

  With all the anger and emotion he'd been dealing with, Garrett had somehow forgotten that his big brother usually knew the exact thing to say. "Thanks."

  "Don't thank me yet." Brayden folded his arms over his chest and shifted his stance. "I can't let you interrogate Billy Avery."

  Hell. He'd obviously been too hasty in his exact-thing-to-say assessment. That wasn't the right thing to say, because seeing Avery could be vital.

  "That kind of interrogation just isn't your forte," Brayden explained. "Not with all the personal stuff you have at stake. This requires a calm, objective head. I'll send in Katelyn."

  Their sister was a sergeant in Homicide, and fellow officers called her "The Closer" because she was damn good at getting people to talk. Garrett couldn't argue with Brayden's decision to choose Katelyn over him.

  Even if he really wanted to argue.

  With his cruddy mood and fear of never finding his baby, he was more likely to physically assault Avery than he was to question him. That would go over really well with his lieutenant.

  "I've checked all lines of communication at headquarters," Brayden continued. "I've questioned people. I've dug through surveillance reports and even tips from informants. And I can't find any involvement of a cop in this. I think the man who ran Lexie off the road was probably one of the gunmen dressed as a police officer."

  Well, that was a relief, and it came at a time when Garrett needed some good news. Any good news.

  "Oh, and one more thing," his brother added. "Lexie is now officially in your protective custody."

  Of all the things that Garrett had anticipated he might say, that wasn't one of them. And Garrett wasn't entirely sure it qualified as more good news. Despite all the other stuff going on, Lexie and he still had this problem with lust.

  "How'd you manage that?" he asked.

  Brayden shrugged. "Someone shot into your house. They attempted to kill a police officer. That puts it under my umbrella of authority. And I say that during my investigation, Lexie is a critical witness. She needs police protection more than anyone I know. You seem the logical choice for that protection."

  Garrett gave him a flat look. "Logical?"

  Brayden smiled. "All right. Maybe not logical, but you're the most available."

  Yes, he was. Plus he didn't want anyone else guarding her. Which made him…stupid. "Thanks again. I think."

  "Well, you can repay me by not doing anything illegal. And by letting me help you."r />
  There it was in a really ugly nutshell. Help. Garrett had issues with help. Mainly because he saw it as sign of his not being able to get the job done. But in this case, he welcomed the help from his brother.

  "Stay here at the house," Brayden added. "I'll be in touch after Katelyn has interrogated Avery. And I'll arrange to have more clothes and a computer delivered in case you want to start doing some cyber research on Dr. Darnell and Dr. Blake." He headed for the door. "Note that I said cyber research, not the real thing. That stay here part isn't a suggestion."

  Garrett only hoped it wouldn't be necessary to ignore it.

  He double locked the door behind his brother, and because it might be years, if ever, before he felt he could keep Lexie safe, he checked out the window to make sure no one was lurking around. No one was there but his brother, who was already getting into his unmarked squad car. The street was quiet and empty. Garrett only hoped it stayed that way.

  He took his phone from his pocket and was pressing in the number for the P.I. when Lexie came back into the living room. He got the P.I.'s voice mail and left a message to call him. It was overkill. If the man had any information, he would have already provided it.

  Lexie walked closer to him, bringing with her the scents of her shower, shampoo and soap. Garrett had never considered those smells to be particularly arousing, but they seemed to be doing the job now.

  He took a step back.

  Lexie wasn't exactly offering any erotic invitations. She wore jeans and a loose, dark blue, button-up shirt. His shirt. Probably because there hadn't been one for her in the bags. The SAPD had gotten Garrett's clothes from his house, but for Lexie, who had no house or belongings, the officer who'd assembled that bag had probably used whatever he or she could find around police headquarters.

  Lexie had made use of all but one of the buttons, and there wasn't one bit of cleavage showing. Her hair was wet, most of the brown tint gone, and her face was still slightly beaded with moisture from the shower.

  Okay, so that was erotic.

  But since he was obviously a moron for lusting after her, it didn't count. She no doubt felt this steamy energy between them and planned to create a clothing chastity belt of sorts. Good for her.

  "There's a cradle in the bedroom," she informed him.

  Puzzled, Garrett went to the door that led to the master bedroom and bath. He glanced inside. Yep, there was a cradle tucked in the corner. "I doubt anyone arranged to have it here. Sometimes families have to use the safe houses, so it's probably been here awhile."

  "I see." She tipped her head toward the second bedroom. "And there's no bed in there. It appears to be a storage room."

  He hadn't known about that, either, but then this was his first time staying in a safe house. All other times, he'd merely dropped people off. But he understood her concern.

  One bed.

  Two people with no common sense or control.

  "I'll sleep on the sofa," he assured her.

  She nodded, visibly relieved. "One final thing—the shirt," she said softly, looking down at it. "It's yours, isn't it?"

  "Yeah. But not to worry. It looks better on you, anyway."

  And he was so sorry he'd said that.

  Evidentially so was Lexie, because she stepped away and cleared her throat. "Any news about the investigation?" she asked. She adjusted the sleeves of the shirt.

  "Some. A lot, actually. There doesn't seem to be any cop involvement in this. The guy who tried to kill you was probably just disguised as a cop."

  "So, we can trust the police?" she asked cautiously.

  "We can trust them." Garrett decided to give her the rest of the info checklist style—fast and without a lot of additional details. Some of it she'd like. One part of it she probably wouldn't. "Brayden's going to have a computer sent over so we can start checking on the doctors. My sister will be sent in to talk to Avery, and you're now officially in my protective custody."

  Lexie blinked. "Oh."

  She didn't have to elaborate on what had prompted that oh. Her uneasy expression said it all. Protective custody hadn't worked so well for them the last time.

  He'd gotten her pregnant.

  "It makes sense, I suppose," she said. "After all, we're stuck here together. It'll save your brother from having to assign someone else."

  So she wasn't annoyed. Not exactly. But she sure didn't look pleased, either.

  "Your brother seems like a nice guy." She adjusted the sleeve again, which didn't need adjusting, and walked past him into the kitchen. The house was small, and the living room was compact. That meant when she was passing through, they were close. Very close. And Garrett couldn't figure out why his body was noticing that.

  "Brayden's a good cop," he said, to get his mind on business. He sank down onto the end of the coffee table. "Better than me, obviously. He wouldn't have nearly gotten you killed."

  Lexie took a bottle of juice from the fridge, opened it and took a sip. She walked back into the living room and sat on the sofa directly across from him. Far enough away, but still close.

  She started with a deep breath. "You saved my life today—again. I'd say that makes you a good cop, too."

  Okay. It took a moment to find his voice. "That sounds like a compliment."

  "It is." She paused, stared into her juice bottle as if what she was about to say would be difficult. "When I came to your house to confront you, I'd hoped that you would help, and you have. I couldn't ask for more than that."

  That riled him a little. Mainly because she seemed surprised that he'd be interested enough to help her find their child. But Garrett decided to give her a break. The majority of his fellow officers probably thought he'd do pretty much anything to avoid fatherhood. And he had. Until fatherhood had hit him squarely in the face.

  But now…

  "Anyway, thank you," Lexie said, her voice hardly more than a whisper. She used the back of her hand to swipe at a tear, and she was probably hoping he hadn't seen it. "Sheez, I seem to be so weepy. Boo-hooing all over the place. I hate that. I hate everything about this."

  So did he. And he hated the fact that Lexie, who wasn't a crier by nature, had been reduced to it. The tears were no doubt a sign of the deep pain she was feeling.

  "You don't need to thank me," Garrett said. "And for the record, you deserve to have some boo-hooing time. You've been shot at twice, chased through the woods, and now what you're experiencing is a serious adrenaline crash. Even cops have trouble dealing with that."

  "Oh, that's wonderful. An adrenaline crash. Postpartum blues. Memory loss. A big, gaping hole in my heart from missing my child." She shoved her damp hair away from her face. "I'm a mess, and I'm crazy for ever having doubted you. I can't believe I left your protective custody to go on the run. If I'd stayed, we wouldn't be in this nightmare. I created this, Garrett. I'm responsible for our daughter being missing."

  Oh, hell. This wasn't just a heart-to-heart. This was a sprint down guilt lane.

  "The person who took our baby is the one who created this mess," Garrett stated. "Not you. You left me because you had a darn good reason to leave."

  But if she heard him, she certainly didn't acknowledge it.

  "We've gone through so much," she continued. "Too much."

  That was the truth, and it hurt. "We've got to go through a lot more," he murmured.

  She blinked away the rest of the tears, obviously waiting for him to add to that. He almost said "and then what?" What would happen after they'd found their daughter? But Garrett wasn't sure he was ready to deal with the future. Not yet.

  At best, he could hope that Lexie would be willing to share custody with him so he'd be a part of his daughter's life. At worst, she might take the child and run again.

  Especially if she remembered why she'd left him in the first place.

  Even though he hadn't wanted to rehash the past and the guilt right now, it was time she heard that reason. Time for him to confess all so she would know what a true jackass
he was. He'd be damn lucky if she didn't throw something at him when he was done.

  However, before he could speak, he heard her sob. Not a little one. And not a single tear sliding down her cheek. There were lots of them. Her breath caught, and the sound that escaped was one of pure torture. He would have to be a real ice man to be immune to that. So he pushed aside his confession, his concerns about the attraction. He pushed aside everything, reached out and did some pulling instead. He collected her in his arms and drew her to him.

  She came willingly.

  Maybe more than willingly.

  Lexie seemed to melt against him, her body fitting so closely to his that he wasn't quite sure where he ended and she began.

  "I couldn't do this without you," she whispered.

  "And you shouldn't have to. We're partners in this. Parents," he amended.

  "Yes." She sniffed back the tears and wiped her face. That parent reminder must have been what she needed to regain her resolve and her composure. "No more crying. I promise."

  He hoped that was true, but the road ahead was going to remain bumpy. More crying was a distinct possibility.

  "We have a plan," Lexie said, hiking up her chin. "We'll research the doctors and talk to Billy Avery. We'll find the man who took our baby. We'll win this."

  Garrett looked down at her when she didn't say anything else. Not the brightest idea he'd ever had. Mainly because their mouths were close. Way too close. And then they got even closer. It took him a moment to figure out why. They were both at fault. Both obviously stupid. Because he dipped down his head, she leaned up, and their mouths met.

  Just a touch.

  Man, did it pack a jolt.

  One taste of her, and he was on fire. He tried to hold on to what little logic his brain could produce. The logic that told him that kissing Lexie was not a good idea.