Lucas

by Delores Fossen

  She wasn’t certain about the ER physician, Dr. Parton, but Lucas had assured her that Parton wasn’t the one who’d planted that bug in her hospital room, that the doctor was trustworthy. So, that’s what Hailey was going to do—trust him. Besides, she needed to make sure she was okay. Not just for her sake but to soothe some of the concern on Lucas’s face.

  Of course, she had plenty of her own concerns, too.

  There were so many things for her to worry about, and that’s what she’d done through the night and now the morning. The constant threat of an attack. Her missing sister. The obvious tension between Lucas and her. Between her and his family, too.

  But it was hard for Hailey to focus solely on all of that when she was looking at her son’s face while Lucas was holding him.

  For the entire time she’d carried him, she had considered how he might look. Considered as well the love she would feel for him, but she’d way underestimated that love. She couldn’t believe how deep it was for this child, and even though it crushed her heart, she knew that same feeling of love was the very reason that Lucas would do everything to hang on to his child.

  Everything, including attempts to exclude her.

  Those attempts wouldn’t work, of course. Or maybe they wouldn’t. If they couldn’t stop the threat of another attack, then she might have no choice but to disappear. She’d do that if it meant keeping Camden safe.

  She’d started that process by using Lucas’s laptop and putting in her password for the storage cloud for the files she’d gathered on Eric DeSalvo. It’d be a few more hours before she could open them, but once Lucas had a chance to go over them, maybe he could find something he could use to arrest Eric. It might not put an end to the attacks, but at least it would get him off the streets for a while.

  “Follow the light with your eyes,” Dr. Parton instructed her.

  Hailey did, though it meant taking her attention off her son. And Lucas. Lucas was feeding the baby his bottle while he had his phone sandwiched between his shoulder and his ear. She wasn’t sure who was on the other end of the phone line this time, but Lucas had obviously adapted to juggling his work with fatherhood.

  “From what I can tell, you’re fine,” the doctor said, stepping back from her. “You’ll need a thorough exam, though, and some tests that I can do only at the hospital. Any idea when it’ll be okay for that?”

  It was the million-dollar question, and Hailey didn’t have a clue what the answer was. She shook her head. “We’re waiting on some information.” Information that would ideally lead to an arrest.

  The doctor didn’t seem especially pleased with an indefinite delay to those tests, and Hailey knew why. There could be brain damage. And damage to her legs. The muscles felt a little stronger, but she was nowhere near a hundred percent and might need physical therapy to regain all her strength. No way could she risk going to PT or taking those tests now, though, and she didn’t want to speculate how long it would be before that happened.

  The doctor gathered his things and headed to the door, where Mason was waiting to escort him back to town. They left, leaving Hailey to sit there and watch as Camden finished his bottle. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Lucas put the bottle aside and moved the baby to his shoulder to burp him.

  A year ago, if someone had told her that the tough cowboy cop would be the doting father, she wouldn’t have believed it. Lucas likely wouldn’t have, either.

  Tillie came out of the kitchen and made eye contact with Lucas. “You want me to take him?” Tillie mouthed.

  “No, thanks. I’m finished with my call.” He put away his phone and looked at Hailey. “That was Grayson. Still no word on your sister, but Eric DeSalvo should be arriving at the sheriff’s office any minute now.”

  Good. Hailey figured the best place to start with getting those answers would be with Eric. And Colleen. It sickened her to think that her sister might be involved in this.

  “What about the other gunmen who were around the ranch last night?” she asked. “Any signs of them?”

  “No. And the dead guy, Darrin, was using a burner cell phone and didn’t have any contacts stored there. In fact, the phone hadn’t been used, so there’s nothing to trace.”

  Another dead end. Literally. Since Darrin had lived only long enough to accuse her of hiring him.

  “Grayson had the medics take Darrin’s picture,” Lucas went on. When he reached to take his phone from his jeans pocket, it caused the baby to move, and Camden stirred, lifting his head just a little.

  Hailey figured Camden was too young to see her from across the room, so she went closer. Lucas didn’t scowl, exactly, but it was close. He took out his phone and handed it to her.

  “Take a look at the picture Grayson sent, and see if you recognize Darrin. Is he the same man who went after you the night you were trying to get away?”

  She took the phone, her fingers brushing against his. Lucas noticed. Noticed, too, that she was volleying glances between the baby and him. He pulled in a long, weary breath.

  “Sit down,” he growled. “You can hold Camden while you tell me about the picture.”

  Hailey moved as fast as she could, making her way back to the chair. Lucas went to her, easing the baby into her arms.

  There it was again. That punch of emotion.

  Though it was hard to focus with Camden staring up at her, Hailey studied the photo. It wasn’t the best shot since the man’s face was twisted with pain, but Hailey picked through the features.

  And remembered.

  She sucked in her breath so fast that she nearly got choked. “He definitely looks like the man who ran me off the road.”

  Other memories came flooding back. The car following her. Her frantic attempt to get away. Then the crash.

  “He rammed into the back of my car, forcing me into a ditch,” she explained. “That’s when I hit my head.”

  Thank goodness she’d been wearing a seat belt. That had prevented her from being thrown from the car, but it hadn’t stopped the tree limb from coming through the windshield and hitting her.

  Lucas stared at her, clearly waiting for more details. Hailey had more, but she had to fight the panicky feeling rising in her again. It wasn’t that night, but it suddenly felt as if it was.

  “After I crashed, Darrin came to the side of the car,” Hailey continued. “He looked at me.” But then she stopped, her attention going back to Lucas. “Why didn’t he just kill me then? I was helpless, barely conscious.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want you dead,” Lucas said. “He probably wanted those computer files and would have been willing to torture you to get them.”

  Yes. That had to be it. “But he didn’t get a chance to kidnap me, because that’s about the time you drove up. Did you see Darrin leave?”

  “I saw his SUV speeding away. I couldn’t go in pursuit.”

  That’s because she had needed medical attention ASAP. Lucas had saved her life. Camden’s, too, by staying with them. Lucas didn’t seem any more comfortable thinking about that night than she did, and he looked relieved when Tillie came back into the living room.

  “Is Camden ready for his bath?” the nanny asked, her voice tentative, probably because she knew that Hailey wanted to continue holding him.

  Lucas nodded. “Best if he sticks to his routine,” he told Hailey. “Plus, we need to do reports for the attack.”

  Yes, paperwork. Necessary, but she still hated having to hand her son over to the nanny. She’d gotten so few minutes holding him. Of course, a lifetime would be too few.

  “You can watch,” Tillie added, glancing at Hailey. “That way, you’ll know how to do it.” She also glanced at Lucas, and Tillie seemed to ignore the slight scowl that was on his face.

  Maybe a scowl because it would mean a delay in doing those reports, but also
because Tillie was including her.

  Hailey didn’t give Lucas a chance to veto Tillie’s offer. She stood, following the woman as best she could to the bathroom just across the hall from the nursery. Lucas followed, too. Good thing, because just before Hailey reached the door, she stumbled and would have fallen flat on her face if Lucas hadn’t caught her.

  And just like that, she was in his arms.

  The memories came. No way to stop them. Not with Lucas and her being body to body. Hailey got some flashes of even more body contact. Of when they were naked in bed.

  Mercy, that caused the heat to flood through her again. Worse, Lucas noticed, and he looked as if he wanted to curse again. He didn’t. He moved her away from him. Well, he moved so that her breasts were no longer pressed against his chest, but he looped his arm around her waist to steady her.

  “You should be resting,” he grumbled.

  “Would you rest if you were in my shoes?” she countered.

  That only deepened his scowl. Both knew the answer to that—no, he wouldn’t.

  Lucas kept his arm around her when they went to the doorway, but it was obvious that he was trying to touch as little of her as possible. Hailey soon didn’t notice it because her attention was on the baby. Or at least, it was until Lucas’s phone buzzed. She was close enough to see Grayson’s name on the screen.

  She felt the muscles in Lucas’s arm tense. Probably because this could be bad news. He stepped back into the hall, answered the call and put it on speaker.

  “Is Hailey there?” Grayson said without even issuing a greeting. Yes, this was bad news. Hailey could tell from his tone.

  “I’m here,” she answered.

  “San Antonio PD found your sister,” Grayson continued.

  “Where is she?” Hailey immediately asked.

  “The hospital. She’s hurt, and she’s asking to see you. Colleen says she knows who’s trying to kill you.”

  Chapter Six

  A car accident.

  That’s what had put Colleen in the hospital. And not just any ordinary accident, but one that’d happened on the same stretch of road where Hailey had nearly been killed. Lucas figured that was either an eerie coincidence or someone was trying to send them a message.

  If it was a message, Lucas hadn’t needed it. He knew just how much danger they were in. That’s why it was almost certainly a mistake to take Hailey off the ranch and to the hospital, with the threat of an attack still hanging over their heads. But he also knew this meeting with Colleen could give them critical information to put an end to the danger.

  Maybe an immediate end.

  If Colleen confessed to helping Darrin when he tried to run Hailey off the road.

  Lucas doubted that would actually happen, but he wouldn’t rule it out. Heck, he wasn’t ruling out anything right now. After all, he’d sworn that Hailey would never be under his roof again, and she’d not only spent the night there but also was back in his arms. Sort of. As he’d done earlier, he had to help her out of the cruiser, and that involved touching her.

  He didn’t have to remind her to hurry, and she did. As much as a hobbling woman could hurry. Lucas only hoped all this moving around wasn’t doing anything to harm her leg muscles. The sooner he put some physical distance between them, the better, and that started with her getting back to a hundred percent.

  Lucas believed her story about someone trying to kill her. And he felt a little sorry for her. But he wasn’t ready to welcome her back into his and Camden’s lives.

  There was a deputy at the door to the hospital. Another inside. Since his cousins Dade and Gage had escorted Lucas and Hailey to the hospital, that meant Grayson had three other lawmen plus himself tied up with this.

  “Thank you for not saying it was a stupid idea for me to come here,” Hailey whispered as they made their way down the hall.

  Lucas glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Just because I didn’t say it doesn’t mean I agree with this. You could have demanded that Colleen tell you everything over the phone.”

  She glanced at him, too. “I did demand,” she reminded him.

  Yeah, but Hailey hadn’t stood her ground when Colleen had insisted that she speak to her sister in person. This felt like a trap, and while the baby wasn’t in danger at the moment, Hailey clearly was.

  When they reached the patient ward of the hospital, Lucas spotted yet another lawman cousin. Josh. But he wasn’t alone. There was a lanky, dark-haired guy in a black suit standing next to him. Judging from their scowls, neither Josh nor the suit were happy.

  Hailey had an equally unhappy reaction to the man. She sucked in her breath. “That’s Brian Minton. He was one of the FBI agents who worked on the DeSalvo investigation.”

  Even though they were only a few yards from Minton, Lucas stopped. “You don’t trust him?”

  The question was valid, considering Lucas could feel Hailey’s suddenly tight muscles. She hadn’t exactly been relaxed on the trip over, but the tension was even worse now.

  “I don’t trust anyone involved in that,” Hailey answered without taking her attention off Minton. “Remember, Preston DeSalvo had a dirty agent on his payroll. I’m positive of that.”

  No way could Lucas forget it, especially now that he’d read the file about it. The problem was, there’d been at least a dozen agents involved in that case and countless others who might have distanced themselves from it just so there’d be no obvious connection to the DeSalvo family.

  “Any proof that Minton’s dirty?” Lucas pressed.

  “No,” Hailey readily admitted, and she got moving again. “What are you doing here?” she asked the agent.

  “I’ve asked him the same thing,” Josh provided. “I’ve also told him he’s not getting into Colleen’s room until I get the okay from the sheriff. I haven’t gotten that okay,” he added, directing his glare at Minton.

  Minton tapped his badge. “I’m here to interview two witnesses—Colleen and Laura—or, rather, Hailey, as she’s going by these days. This investigation belongs to the FBI.”

  “How do you figure that?” Lucas said, but he didn’t wait for an explanation. “Hailey is in WITSEC, and the marshals are in charge of that. As for Colleen, she was in a car accident in the jurisdiction of the Silver Creek Sheriff’s Office.”

  Minton gave him a blank stare and huffed. “You and I both know this is connected to the DeSalvo family.”

  Lucas almost hoped this guy was dirty just so he could arrest him. “I know no such thing. I’m just bringing Hailey here to visit her sister.”

  “A sister who could have information I need,” Minton countered.

  Welcome to the club, but Lucas was first in line to question Colleen.

  “Who ran Colleen off the road?” Minton asked, volleying his gaze between Hailey and Lucas.

  Lucas shrugged. “Don’t have a clue. Yet. How about you? Do you know who did this?”

  “Probably the same thug who caused Hailey’s accident.”

  “That thug is dead,” Lucas said. “He died last night. From what I understand, Colleen’s accident happened hours later.”

  Judging from the startled look in Minton’s eyes, he hadn’t known that. Or else he was pretending not to have known. “Eric could be behind this,” Minton added after a long pause.

  Yes, he could be. Or Colleen. Or even Minton himself. Lucas kept his speculations to himself to see if Minton would continue. He did.

  “Whoever did this had a chance to kill you that night,” Minton reminded Hailey. “He might have had the same chance to kill Colleen. But he didn’t take it.” He paused. “Why?”

  Hailey shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  No more startled look in Minton’s eyes, but the comment seemed to rile him. “There are rumors that you have some files. File
s that could incriminate Eric. If you have something like that, it’s illegal to withhold them.”

  Hailey didn’t back down from the agent’s suddenly lethal stare. “It’s illegal only if I know about the files. I don’t. Truth is, I have huge gaps in my memory.”

  Normally, Lucas hated lying and liars, but in this case, the lie was warranted. His gut told him to hold off on giving Minton anything until they’d sorted all of this out. The sorting began with Colleen.

  “Once you get approval from the sheriff, I’ll let you in to see her,” Lucas said to Minton.

  Minton protested, of course, but Josh blocked his way while Lucas ushered Hailey inside. Josh wouldn’t let the agent in without a fight, but just in case that happened, Lucas stayed near the door. That meant letting go of Hailey while she stepped around him and turned toward her sister.

  “Thank God you came,” Colleen said.

  Lucas had never met the woman, but he recognized her from the hospital surveillance tapes. Colleen was a blonde, and despite the fact that there were cuts and bruises on her face, she looked as if she’d recently combed her hair and put on some lipstick. That sent an uneasy feeling up his spine. People who’d just had a brush with death didn’t usually think about their appearance.

  Of course, maybe Colleen had faked the accident to make herself appear innocent.

  “Laura, it’s been so long,” Colleen added.

  “Hailey,” she automatically corrected her. “I don’t use Laura anymore.” Hailey limped closer until she was finally able to catch onto the end of the bed for support. “Has anyone been in here who could have planted a bug in the room?”

  Colleen’s eyes widened, and then she shook her head. “Only the doctor and some nurses have come in to check on me. I would have noticed if they’d planted something.”

  Maybe, but just in case, Lucas took a look around. When he didn’t find anything, he went back to his guarding duties.

  “Did Minton leave?” Colleen asked, and it took Lucas a moment to realize she was talking to him. Since she hadn’t asked for introductions, she likely knew who he was.