by Debra Webb
Jill’s eyes widened. “It’ll take just a minute to locate the file.”
“Take your time.”
Nick openly studied Laura then. What was he thinking? she wondered anxiously. Was he doing the mental calculations to determine Robby’s date of conception? Laura swallowed hard and forced her attention to Jill’s search at the file cabinets. Now Nick would know that Robby was real. That Laura had a child. That James Ed was lying. That the hospital report from Louisiana was a fake.
Frowning, Jill glanced back in their direction. “You’re sure of the name?”
Nick looked to Laura for confirmation. She nodded stiffly. Ice filled her veins. No. The records had to be here.
Jill shook her head and stepped back to the window. “I’m sorry, but we have no record of a Forester, Robert or Rhonda. Are you certain that’s the right name?”
“That can’t be,” Laura argued, a mixture of anger and fear gripping her heart. “Dr. Nader was the doctor on call. The records have to be here.”
“I’m sorry. I looked twice. There is no Forester.”
Laura leveled her gaze on the other woman’s. “Where can I find Dr. Nader then?” she demanded.
Jill looked to Nick then back to Laura. “I’ve only worked here for six months. Dr. Nader left before I came. I think he moved somewhere out west.”
Laura shook her head in denial. “That can’t be. The records have to be here,” she repeated.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry. I can’t give you something I don’t have,” the receptionist offered apologetically. “All births are registered at the state office. You could check there.”
“But—”
“Let’s go, Laura.” Nick was next to her now, ushering her away from the window. “Thank you,” he said glancing back at the receptionist.
“No, Nick.” Laura pulled out of his grasp. “She has to be wrong.” Confusion added to the emotions already knotting inside her.
Nick leveled his steady gaze on hers. “Let’s go.”
Trembling with reaction to the multitude of emotions clutching at her, Laura surrendered to Nick’s orders. What choice did she have? She sagged with defeat. How would she ever prove her case now?
“Wait!”
Nick turned back to the receptionist, pulling Laura around with him. “Yes.”
How could he be so damned calm? Laura wanted to scream. She wanted to run hard and fast—somewhere, anywhere.
“I almost forgot,” Jill explained. “Right after I came to work here there was a break-in. Some files were stolen.”
“Some?” Nick pressed.
“I can’t say for sure what files.” Jill frowned. “It was the strangest thing. The files were stolen and our computer’s database was wiped clean. But nothing else.”
“No drugs were taken?”
Jill shook her head. “Not a one.”
NICK SWORE silently as he watched Laura storm across the parking lot. He followed more slowly, taking the time to study her. He wasn’t at all sure how much more she could take. The cool wind shifted all that long blond hair around her shoulders as she slumped against the locked car door. His instincts told him that whatever happened at this clinic it definitely wasn’t a coincidence. The robbery was a blatant cover-up. If Laura had a child why would anyone want to conceal that fact? If James Ed was somehow involved in all this as Laura thought, what difference would the kid make? But something was all wrong.
He hoped like hell that Ian would call soon. Nick needed a break in this case. He needed something—anything—to go on. There was no way he could cover Laura and do the kind of research required to solve this enigma. But Ian Michaels was as good as they came at ferreting out the truth.
And right now, Nick needed the truth desperately. He couldn’t help Laura until he knew what was fact and what was fiction. One thing was certain, someone was trying to push Laura over the edge. Nick had no intention of allowing that to happen. He paused in front of her. “We should be getting back,” he suggested quietly.
“He did this. I don’t know how, but he did.” Laura lifted her chin defiantly, but her eyes gave her away.
Nick couldn’t bear to see that much hurt in her eyes. He tried to take a breath, but his chest was too heavy. How could he watch this happen and do nothing? But what could he do? He had no proof.
“Laura, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” he told her with as much assurance as he could impart.
She shook her head and blinked back her tears. “He’s won,” she admitted on a sob. “Look.” She swallowed convulsively and swiped at her damp cheeks. “I’ve made a decision, I want you to take me back to Jackson…to my brother. Maybe if he gets what he wants he won’t hurt Robby.” She searched Nick’s eyes for a time before she continued. “I just need you to promise me one thing.” She trembled with the effort of maintaining her flimsy hold on composure.
Nick waited silently for her to finish, but his entire being screamed in agony. The need to touch her, to hold her was overwhelming.
“No matter how the chips fall, no matter what anyone tells you, find my son and take care of him for me, would you?”
His resolve crumbled. Nick took her in his arms and pulled her close. There were no words he could say because he didn’t have any answers, the only thing he could do was hold her. Laura’s arms went around his neck. Nick closed his eyes and savored the feel of her, the scent of her. He would gladly give his life right now to make her happy again.
“Nick.”
Nick opened his eyes and drew back to find her looking up at him. That sweet face so filled with sadness.
“Promise me,” she whispered. “Promise me you’ll find him.”
His gaze riveted to those full, pink lips. So soft, so sad, and so very close. Nick shook his head slowly, in answer to her question or in denial of what he wanted more than anything to do, he couldn’t be sure. “I’m not taking you back until I know it’s safe.” His voice was rough with emotion. Emotions he could no longer hold at bay.
Challenge rose in her eyes. “You’re going to let them put me in that hospital, aren’t you?”
He had to touch her. He lifted one hand to her cheek and allowed his fingers to trace the hot, salty path of her tears. He swallowed hard. “No one is going to touch you until I have some answers.”
She searched his gaze, something besides the sorrow flickered in her own. “You’re touching me,” she murmured.
His fingers stilled at the base of her throat. “Do you want me to stop?” It was his turn to do the searching this time. He wanted to see the same desire that was wreaking havoc with his senses mirrored in her eyes.
She moistened her lips and gifted him with a shaky smile. “No, I don’t want you to stop.”
Nick lowered his head when he saw that answering spark of desire in her blue eyes. Slowly, as if an eternity yawned between them, his lips descended to hers. How could he have survived the past two years without her? She tasted of that same sweet heat that had burned in his memory every waking moment of every day for those two long years. His body hardened at the rush of bittersweet need that saturated his being. Nick threaded his fingers into her silky hair, loosening it from its constraints, and deepened the kiss. Her lips opened slightly and Nick delved inside. The traffic on the nearby street, the cold November wind all ceased to exist.
Laura tiptoed to press her soft body more firmly against him. Nick groaned his approval. His left arm tightened around her waist, pulling her into his arousal. Laura whimpered her own response. The need to make love to her was staggering in its intensity.
He had to stop. To get back in control. Nick pulled back. His breath ragged, his loins screaming for release. Laura’s lids fluttered open. Her swollen lips beckoned his.
He clenched his jaw and stepped away from her. “We should get back.”
Laura nodded, the sadness rushing back into those big blue eyes.
Nick reached to insert the key into the lock but she stayed his hand. “Wait,” she said breath
lessly.
His gaze collided with hers. “What?”
“There’s one more possibility,” she said quickly, hope filling her gaze once more. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of her already.”
“Laura, you’re not making sense.” Reality had just crashed in on Nick. He had allowed himself to fall into that same old trap. Dammit. How had he let that happen again? Yes, he had reason to believe her now. But he wasn’t supposed to allow himself to cross the line this time. Hadn’t he learned his lesson two years ago? Obviously not or he wouldn’t have kissed her.
Laura snagged the keys and hurriedly unlocked her door. She pitched them back to him then. “Come on!”
He was a Class-A fool. Nick cursed himself repeatedly as he rounded the hood and unlocked his own door. He slid behind the wheel and shot his passenger, the bane of his pathetic existence, a heated glower. “Where are we going?”
She smiled, a wide, genuine smile and pointed to his left. “That direction. I’ll explain on the way.”
Chapter Eight
Laura stared in disbelief at the vacant house. The For Sale sign creaked as the wind shifted it, the sound heralding yet another failure. Jane Mallory had been Laura’s last hope. Defeat weighed heavy on her shoulders. Laura closed her eyes and fought the sting of tears. It was as if destiny had determined her fate already. Now there was no one she could turn to. She and Robby had moved so often and stayed so much to themselves that few people would be able to verify Laura’s story. And Jane Mallory had been the last one on the list.
“Do you mind telling me why we’re standing on the front walk of an empty house?” Nick inquired in that nonchalant tone Laura hated.
She turned on him, a bolt of anger sending a burst of adrenaline through her. Even the memory of his kiss couldn’t assuage her anger. Laura admitted to herself then and there that she was falling in love with the man all over again, but did he have to be so damned logical? Because he’s an honorable man, you idiot, she scolded herself. Nick was only trying to be objective. To do what’s right. Laura took a deep breath and summoned her patience.
“This is where Jane Mallory lived. She was the attending nurse at my son’s delivery.” Laura shot him an irritated look. “Robby and I stayed with her for a couple of weeks while I recovered.”
Nick looked from Laura to the empty house. He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Looks like another dead end.”
“You know, Foster, your perceptiveness amazes me.”
Irritation flickered in his green eyes. “What do you want from me, Laura?” He raked the fingers of one hand through his hair. “I’m following up on every lead you toss my way. I’ve got one of the Agency’s finest investigating your brother, your sister-in-law, and anybody else that has anything to gain by offing you. What else do you expect me to do?”
Laura leveled her gaze on his. “I want you to tell me that you believe me.” Laura stepped closer to him. “Tell me that all these dead ends don’t mean that all is lost.” Laura stabbed his chest with her index finger as anger banished all else. “Tell me that my son is safe and that I’m going to find him—if not today, for sure tomorrow.” A sob twisted in her throat, challenging her newfound bravado. “That’s what I want from you, Nick.”
The cold wind whipped around them, adding another layer of agony to her suffocating misery. How would she live without her son? She couldn’t.
“Answer me, dammit,” she demanded. Laura wilted when she saw the truth in his eyes. He couldn’t make those kind of promises.
“I can’t give you what you want, Laura. Not today, maybe not even tomorrow. But I will keep trying to find the answers you need until I’ve exhausted every possibility.”
Laura looked up at the darkening sky. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this? She hugged herself to fight the chill coming more from the inside than the outside. What could she do now? She needed a gun. Nick’s gun, she decided grimly. She would make James Ed tell her where her son was. Laura blinked at the irrational thought. With sudden clarity, she realized that she was now beyond simply desperate, and extreme measures might be the only way.
Next door an elderly woman shuffled onto her porch and retrieved the evening paper. She pulled her sweater more tightly around her as she surveyed the deserted street. She smiled when her gaze lit on Laura. Her movements slow with age, she turned and started back across the porch.
Nick was saying something but Laura ignored him. This was a small town. Neighbors kept up with neighbors in a place like this. Hope rushed through Laura, urging her to act. She put one foot in front of the other even before her brain made the decision to move. This woman would know where Mrs. Mallory had moved.
“Ma’am,” Laura shouted before the old woman could disappear inside her house. “Ma’am!” She took the porch steps two at a time.
A welcoming smile greeted Laura. “Hello. Is there something I can help you with?” The woman shook her gray head. “I don’t know a thing about what the real estate agent is asking for the house, but I can tell you it’s a fine old place.”
Laura returned her smile. “Hi, my name is Laura Proctor. Mrs. Mallory is a friend of mine. I was wondering where she had moved to.”
The woman frowned. “Oh my.” She clutched her newspaper to her chest. “I thought everyone knew.”
A chunk of ice formed in Laura’s stomach. “Knew what?” she asked faintly. Laura felt Nick’s gaze heavy on her from his position on the steps.
“I’m sorry, dear, Jane passed away a few months back.”
Laura’s knees buckled but Nick was at her side now, supporting her. “But I was here, with her, in August of last year. She was fine,” Laura insisted.
The old woman nodded. “It was very sudden. A heart attack.” She pointed to the neighboring yard. “She was always in that yard since she retired this spring, weeding and planting. Just got herself too hot, I reckon. It was a real shame. We had been neighbors for more than forty years.”
Laura clamped her hand over her mouth for a moment to hold back the sob that wanted to break loose. When she had composed herself, she struggled with her next words, “Thank you for telling me.” Laura closed her eyes and shook her head, exhaustion and anxiety sucking her toward panic. “I didn’t know.”
The old woman smiled kindly. “If you’re not from around here, how could you have known? Jane never did marry and she didn’t have any folks except one estranged brother.” The woman shook her head. “A real shame that was. He didn’t even come to her funeral. Course I’m not sure he even knew.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, he probably didn’t. At least his son hadn’t known. Did you know Jane had a brother?”
Laura moistened her painfully dry lips. “No, I’m sorry I didn’t know any of her family.”
“Far as I knew that’s all there was, but about four months ago, not long after Jane died, a fella showed up asking about her. A long-lost nephew it seems. Odd sort if you ask me.”
A chill raced up Laura’s spine. “Odd? What do you mean?”
The old woman rocked back on her heels. “Well I hate to speak poorly of Jane’s folks, but he didn’t look a thing like her or her brother. I’d never seen the brother, mind you, but I had seen his picture. Jane was a big woman, brawny even. So was that brother of hers. But this nephew, he was kinda short and stubby like. I suppose he took after his mama’s side of the family. Strange fella,” she added thoughtfully. “Wore long sleeves even in the July heat.”
“What color were his eyes?” The question came out of nowhere, but the image of those eerie pink-colored eyes flickered in Laura’s mind.
“Can’t rightly say. He wore them dark glasses. And gloves.” She chuckled a rusty sound. “I thought that was mighty strange myself.” She tapped her chin with one finger. “Maybe it was because he had such pale skin. Like a corpse.” She frowned as if working hard to conjure the stranger’s image. “And the whitest hair I’ve ever seen on a young man.”
Nick’s grip tighten
ed on Laura’s waist. Only then did she realize that she was leaning fully against him. Her legs had gone boneless. White hair, pink eyes, pale skin. Albino.
Laura turned in Nick’s arms. “It’s him,” she murmured. “He’s the one who broke into my room at James Ed’s.” Oh God. Laura closed her eyes and tried to slow the spinning inside her head. The files were stolen and our computer’s database was wiped clean. Jane passed away a few months back.
The next thing Laura knew she was on the porch swing. She could hear Nick’s deep voice as he questioned the woman about the strange nephew, but the words didn’t quite register. Time to die, princess. Laura jerked at the memory. Why was this man trying to kill her? Why was he erasing all traces of Robby’s existence? She swallowed. Laura didn’t want to consider the reasons.
A wave of nausea washed over her. What did her sweet, innocent child have to do with any of this? Nothing. Laura trembled with the rage rising swiftly inside her.
Her child had nothing to do with any of this. And if James Ed harmed one hair on her son’s head, he was a dead man. Laura’s breath raged in and out of her lungs. For the first time in her life the thought of someone’s death brought a sense of comfort to her. Death would not be a harsh enough punishment for him if her child was hurt. Not nearly bad enough.
Laura’s gaze moved to Nick. She had to get away from him. He would only hold her back. He would never allow her to do what she wanted to do. Nick was too honorable and straightforward to resort to what Laura had in mind. James Ed held all the answers.
And Laura intended to get them out of him one way or another.
“HE USED THE NAME Dirk Mallory.” Nick paused while Ian made a note of the alias the albino guy had used. “He may or may not be connected to James Ed or the man who shot me, but it’s worth checking into.” Nick knew Laura was convinced that this was the man. He had no more to go on now in the way of hard evidence than he’d had three days ago, but his instincts told him to trust Laura on this one. Too many strange little coincidences and events added up to just one thing—a cover-up. “What do you have for me?”