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Guard My Baby

Page 14

by Rebecca Savage


  "Please, honey, tell me you're not being brainwashed somehow. Who is that man? I thought you said you hired a bodyguard. You didn't say Eli's father lived here. You didn't even tell me you'd found Eli's father. Why didn't you tell me? And how dare you throw away the chance of marrying a man who wants you, just to shack up with your baby's daddy - a man who left you last summer without a backward glance or the least bit of guilt?"

  Well, that did it. It was good thing Lainie's mom now held Eli because Lainie began to laugh, hysterically, uncontrollably. Tears welled up in her eyes and clouded her vision. Her mother stared at her. Wide-eyed, Trish watched Lainie, probably not exactly sure what to expect next, until Lainie spoke. Then Trish had to hide her smile behind her hand. "Mom, let me clear up a few things for you. Then maybe you can go back home with no worries."

  Hopefully, tomorrow morning.

  Lainie crossed her fingers. "Drayton is not my fiance. He isn't even my boyfriend, and he never will be. After this, he might not even be my friend. Cade's the father of my baby, and he's here protecting me. I hired him, and I told you about that, but not that he's Eli's daddy, because it's none of your damned business, and I didn't want you interfering and trying to play matchmaker. He'll stay here until I'm ready for him to go, however long that might be, and in whatever capacity I decide. We're not sleeping together, yet, but who knows? We might, later, and if we do, we do.

  "Why not? We've been there, done that, but that's all beside the point. The point is, I'm an adult, and I'll determine what's best for me and my daughter. He'll go when I'm ready for him to go. Do you understand? When I'm ready for him to go."

  Sharon sat still as a stone, her face pasty white. Trish blinked, and then rose and peeked down the hall, listening. "The boys are in the living room. Watching sports. Talking men talk. That ought to keep them for awhile."

  Lainie smiled. Her dad was her savior. She might as well tell all. "Do you know why I moved here, Mom? Oh, I know, you think it was because I won the lottery, and I wanted to get away from the hounds at my door. Well, that was only part of it. I also wanted to be as far away from where I'd met Cade as possible. I wanted to get away from the memories, but I'm falling in love with him again. I can't stop myself from tumbling head over heels, even if all it'll get me in the end is a broken heart and a beautiful baby to raise on my own."

  Lainie sipped her tea, and the women stared, waiting. Lainie plowed ahead, "Oh, don't worry, Mom. I won't marry him. I won't marry anyone who doesn't love me, and Cade believes he's incapable of love. He's told me as much. Except for his daughter, that is. He loves his daughter. It's women he doesn't trust and refuses to love. Baggage from his past, you know."

  Lainie remained cool, calm and composed, almost numb. She sipped her tea again. The women stared some more. She went on, "So you see, I'm just in hog heaven here. I've got a man who loves our child but doesn't love me - Cade - and another man who wants me and says he wants Eli, too, but doesn't act like he can stand to look at Eli and certainly not touch her - Drayton. Then there's another man who wants to murder my baby, and me, too, if I get in the way. I wish I knew his name."

  Oops. She'd forgotten. Her mother didn't know about all that. She'd only told her mother she'd hired a bodyguard to protect them both from money grubbers. "Oh. I'm sorry, Mom, I should also mention that that's why I hired Cade as my bodyguard - actually Eli's bodyguard. There's this crazy person trying to kidnap and kill Eli. He thinks she's the Devil's spawn - a result of his alleged sperm donation and my being artificially inseminated."

  Lainie giggled nervously. "Isn't that a hoot? He thinks I got pregnant with his sperm, but I can assure you, the only sperm I've come into contact with, I acquired the old fashioned way, and believe me, I know who the father of my baby is, and it isn't some sick bastard that wants to kill her." Lainie stiffened, her eyes glazing over. "But the nasty SOB won't get to her. He won't. Cade won't let anything happened to Eli. He'll keep us all safe. He will. I know it."

  She'd kill the SOB herself if she got her hands on the bastard.

  She stopped talking and looked at the women looking at her. "Can you ladies give me a minute? I need to freshen up."

  Her mom nodded, and Trish winked. Lainie winked back, and touched her mom's hand. "I'll be back in a minute."

  Lainie kissed Eli's soft head, slipped into her bedroom, and slumped into the rocking chair. Oh, how she'd ranted. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she smiled, too. She'd meant every word. She was in love with Cade Sheridan.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Drayton could see the baby from where he sat. So close, yet so far away. Surely, he could get to the child and kill the female spawn of Satan. Surely, he could get away, undetected and unharmed. He had God's backing, after all, and if he didn't take care of this matter soon, God might punish him. He might even strike him dead and give someone else the mission of ridding the Earth of the Beast. Then he'd not be left unscathed anyway. He'd burn in the depths of Hell.

  He decided, at that moment, that if he couldn't get Lainie to give up the child within the next few days, he'd have to risk his own life to serve God's purpose. Drayton shut his eyes, doubled his fists, and tried to focus. He'd give her a few days to see reason. After that, things would become dangerous for Lainie, the baby, and anyone else who tried to stop him.

  "Right, Drayton?" Thomas Blanchet spoke to Drayton, who's mind had faded dead away, daydreaming.

  Drayton looked at Thomas, but he only saw a thick fog. His muddy eyes tried to zero in on the man sitting next to him. He tried to focus on the TV program in progress. He'd let his rage overwhelm him. Someday Wayne might do that: overwhelm him, take control of his whole mind, and rule his actions. Drayton blushed. "I'm sorry, sir. I must've zoned out."

  "No problem. I just commented on the game." Thomas stared at Drayton questioningly.

  Drayton didn't care about the game. His head ached dully, pounding a rhythm inside his pained skull. Something wanted out. So much pressure. So much pain. The blood flowed through his veins and rushed through his heart's chambers. Something echoed inside his head - a sound, a voice, sometimes coherent, sometimes a sinister hiss. He didn't know why his head hurt so much. It hadn't felt bad all day, until now, but it seemed almost like a presence, an evil presence, surrounded and possessed him.

  He pinched his nose, and then rubbed his eyes. He massaged his temples. How long had he been sitting here? Had he blacked out again, or something? Or had it really been only moments since he'd sat next to Thomas Blanchet. Drayton squinted and tried to think. Why did Lainie have a different last name from her parents? She looked like both her mother and father. So why didn't their names match? Surely his soon-to-be-wife hadn't been married before. Her file had said she was single, and everything he'd seen indicated that the file hadn't been wrong. What the hell was going on?

  Drayton's vision went gray, and his arms went numb. It was so odd, the feelings he got sometimes, especially when he allowed himself to use Wayne's personality and powerful force, as he had all too frequently as of late. The numerous blacking-out spells were the reason he no longer worked at a regular job. He couldn't focus on daily tasks, so he'd taken to doing computer-based operations and finding employers online. As a computer programmer, he needed to focus, and he could, as long as he did it on his own time. He served his online clients well, and they paid him outrageous fees for his services and expertise.

  Drayton pressed his temples with the palms of his hands. He'd seen a doctor, finally. Dr. Edgar had told Drayton the lost time he couldn't account for was probably the result of mini-seizures. If they got worse, they could turn into full-blown grand mal seizures, and then Drayton would lose his driver's license. He couldn't afford that. He needed to be able to come and see Lainie. He'd decided he'd been right in the first place. He never should've gone to see a doctor who'd try to tell him what to do and mess with his life. He hadn't made a follow-up appointment. He wouldn't be asking for some quack's advice and diagnosis.

  He'd s
topped visiting his psychiatrist, Dr. Lakaner, years ago. His shrink hadn't done a damned thing for him. Drayton still hated his mother and was glad he'd killed her. Not that his shrink knew that. The lame excuse for a doctor had thought Drayton had only been seeking help for the loss of his parents, and that they'd been murdered by someone Drayton didn't know - someone named Wayne Hickson, who'd scrawled his name on the wall in his mom's blood. Well, what his shrink hadn't known hadn't hurt him or Drayton. What his physical doctor didn't know wouldn't hurt him either. He wouldn't go back to those overpaid quacks.

  Drayton knew what was happening anyway. The Devil tried to hurt him and stop him from doing God's work. Well, the Devil could punish him all he wanted, but Drayton wouldn't yield to wickedness. He wouldn't give up his mission and fail God. He'd kill that evil spawn and serve God, if it was the last thing he ever did.

  It just might be, but he'd come this far. He couldn't turn back now. He'd moved all the way to Dallas, TX. He'd moved for that reason, and that reason alone, chasing his less-than-malevolent seed. Well, that, and to get away from his hometown, where he'd lived with nosy people harping at him, questioning him about how he fared, and looking at him with pity in their all-too-knowing eyes.

  Things had gotten strange for him in St. Louis, so he'd decided it was time to move on. He was so glad he'd come here, following God's voice. He'd found Lainie. The sperm clinic had indicated that Lainie Blanford had moved here after her pregnancy was verified. He'd tracked her down, after finding her name and new address in the St. Louis database. He'd locked up his parents' house and headed west. Lainie and the Devil's spawn wouldn't escape him.

  Drayton lowered his hands from his temples and pressed the knuckles of one hand in between the joints of the other, an old trick he'd learned from a chiropractor to relieve the pressure in his head. Everything would be fine, ultimately. None of the losses of time recently were as bad as the first time. It had been the worst experience he'd ever had - the first time he'd blacked out for hours. He'd awaken to find his mother and father murdered and bloody. He'd called the cops. Blood had covered him from head to toe. The police had asked endless questions, and he'd told them he couldn't remember a thing.

  It had been the truth, but he also knew exactly what had happened. He'd called to Wayne, his childhood friend he'd created, and Wayne had taken care of the business he, Drayton, couldn't have done on his own.

  Police and psychiatrists had determined, incorrectly, that he'd witnessed the murder and then blocked it all out. He'd been eighteen. Who could blame him? He'd walked around in a daze, from the moment he'd seen his mama's and papa's mangled, butchered bodies to the minute he'd been dragged away. It'd taken him days to come to his senses. Then, he'd been numb.

  The cops had questioned him tirelessly, and they'd even suspected him, for a time, but they'd finally decided the sick bastard who'd murdered his family had left his signature, literally, so they had their suspect. If not for that, Drayton might have been charged with their murders. Ironically, the name the cruel man scrawled was the name Drayton had chosen to be his invisible friends as small boy, and then had used as his alter ego, to rid himself of some of the guilt of having to kill, repeatedly, in God's name, and according to God's will.

  Drayton had had a motive, after all, according to the police, for killing his beloved parents. They'd left him millions in insurance money and assets. They'd been well off. His mother had been an heiress. He hadn't known how well off, until after they'd died, but it hadn't mattered. He worked. He cared for himself. He didn't need his filthy whore mama's money. He knew how she'd earned extra money, and it wasn't an inheritance. He'd seen her having sex with countless men when he'd been young and forced to hide in her closet. His dad been away, traveling businessman that he was. Her gross practices were the very reason he'd remained unsexed and single, until now. God didn't want him to turn out like his mother, even if she'd borne him... even if he'd loved her, in a way. He didn't want to be like her, and he vowed he wouldn't. He'd met Lainie, and he'd changed. Marrying her wouldn't be so bad. Surely God would approve of the match.

  Unseeing, Drayton stared at the TV. He let the vision of his bloody mother seep into his mind's eye. He hadn't cried, not when she'd died, not when he'd buried her. Why should he? His father, the useless man, had left Drayton alone with his abusive mother to fend for himself. The servants hadn't been any help. They'd hidden behind closed doors, while Drayton's mother beat him unconscious. He'd held in his pain and hadn't made a sound as she'd tortured him senseless.

  Drayton's mother had told him it'd do him no good to cry. She'd been brutal to Drayton, her only son, the male of the household. She'd taken out her inferiority as a female of the species on him, and he hadn't been strong enough of fight back. Still, Drayton had listened to his mama. He'd had to, whether he liked it or not, and he hadn't cried. Ever. Nor would he now. Unless Lainie continued to refuse him. He surely wished that Lainie would give him a chance and wed him, and he wished, Heaven help him, that baby would just do him a favor and die.

  SIDS. Would that work? Could the baby die in her sleep? A pillow, maybe. It wouldn't leave a trace of evidence, and no one would suspect him. Drayton smiled. He had a plan now, and it would be so easy. He'd convince Lainie that he should come for a visit, to apologize. He'd get her to leave the room, and leave him alone with the baby. He'd ask for tea. His smile widened. The baby would die, he'd drink his tea, and he'd marry Lainie.

  There couldn't have been a better plan since the beginning of time.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cade didn't come home last night. It was the first thought racing through Lainie's mind the next morning when she walked passed his empty room. His door stood open, revealing his things, neatly placed all around the room. She stopped and stared at his empty bed. Something odd hit her right in the gut and made her wince. Disappointment? Yes. That and more.

  The second thought flipped around in her feeble mind as a question. When did I start thinking of my home as Cade's home?

  Her third thought made her sick to her stomach. I'm going to miss him when he's gone for good.

  She stopped staring at his room and went into Eli's room to check on her. She stood over her child for a moment, watching her sleep sweetly in her crib, wanting to pick her up and hold her. She sighed, knowing that she should be relieved that Cade was gone. At least, he wouldn't be there to tiptoe around, make her feel tense, and tempt her, especially with her parents there. Especially with her ever-watchful mother there.

  At least this way, her mom couldn't torture him with a constant barrage of questions and suggestions. Even if Lainie herself couldn't escape her mother's demanding inquisitions, at least Cade could hide out. It certainly wasn't as if her mother would suddenly give up on her matchmaking attempts, just because Lainie had asked her to. If anything, now that her mom knew about Drayton and Cade, her mom would be on her like white on rice, nagging her to marry one of the gentlemen - most likely Drayton.

  Lainie wandered into the kitchen, smelling the coffee brewing, knowing her dad was already up. It had to be her dad. Her mother wouldn't be out of bed for another few hours. She smiled at the sight of her father, bent over the newspaper, wearing his reading glasses. He glanced intermittently at the coffee pot, almost wistfully. He couldn't live without his coffee and the morning news.

  Like father, like daughter.

  Lainie's giddiness sobered in an instant. What traits Eli would pick up from her father, Cade? Eli had already acquired Cade's looks, his dark eyes and pointy little nose - one especially prominent and evident.

  Lainie poured herself a cup of coffee. Her dad looked up from his paper and grinned at her. She saw her reflection in him and reveled in the fact she looked and acted more like him than she did her mother. Thankful for that God-granted gift of dominant genetics, she kissed her daddy on top of his slightly-graying head and laid her hand lovingly on his broad shoulders - not as broad as Cade's, but wide, nonetheless.

  She hesitat
ed. Had she compared Cade with her own father, the one man she'd ever truly loved and adored her whole life, the one constant in her past?

  Yes.

  Good Lord.

  Her dad patted her hand comfortingly. "Good morning, honey. How did you sleep? Eli still keeping you awake at night?"

  She smiled maternally, dreamily. "Yes, but it's not a burden. I love her so much, daddy." She sipped at her coffee. "I couldn't imagine loving anyone so much. Not that I don't love you." She leaned over and smacked him on the top of the head with her lips again. "But Eli. She's so precious."

  She sat down, and her dad looked her in the eye. "I think the daddy feels the same way about her."

  Lainie froze. "What?"

  "Cade. I think he loves that baby. Last night, he looked to me as if he'd take on a whole forest full of bears for that infant. He surely didn't want to leave her here with the wolves last night, even if his brother did convince him to go." He looked deeper into her eyes. "But it might've been a good plan for him to go, since Drayton was here and all."

  She smiled, trying to keep it light. "You're fishing, Dad. Mom comes right out, makes herself known, and tells me what she thinks and exactly what I should think and feel." Lainie sipped at her brew. "But not you, Daddy. You're more subtle. You want to know, but you don't want to push. I love that about you."

  He placed his hand on hers. "I love you, too, sweetheart, and I'm worried about you. This whole situation can't be good." He sat back and propped his foot up on his leg. "Drayton's a little odd, don't you think?"

  Lainie giggled, some of the stress slipping away as a result of just being able to talk to her dad about this. "Yeah, but he's harmless. I think." She remembered the look in his eyes when he'd stared at Eli. "Drayton says he wants to marry me, but I can't do it. I have to want to get married, and I'll never marry for anything other than love."

 

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