Finally, she left him in the interrogation room alone.
“As you can tell, he’s not talking,” she said, entering the viewing room and looking disgusted. “Not about the money or about your girlfriend and baby. We’ve sent a team to search his home and where he works. Those are both good starting places.”
“The Boulder’s Best Brew offices? You’re wasting your time. He said he’d convinced Lucy he was taking her to a safe house. He wouldn’t have gone there.”
She shrugged. “We’ll check there, anyway. And I’ve got people checking to see if he owns any other properties or has rented or leased a house or an apartment anywhere in the Denver metro area or the foothills.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Winking at him, she smiled. “No base left uncovered and all that.”
Staring at her, he shook his head. “You sound so blasé.”
“Sorry. I mean no harm. But they’ll turn up eventually, completely unharmed. I doubt he put them anywhere they won’t be found.”
“How do you know this?” He wasn’t sure he bought the cop intuition thing.
Agent Butler eyed him, as though she knew what he was thinking. “Because he doesn’t fit the profile. We aren’t dealing with some sociopathic serial killer here. He didn’t want to hurt her or the baby. He just wanted to keep them away from you.”
“I don’t know,” he argued. “He not only arranged the theft of ten million dollars but set me up to look like the guy who stole it. He knew the cartel was torturing me, but made no move to stop it. Instead, he let everyone—including Lucy—believe that I was dead. That sounds pretty psychopathic to me.”
“Hey, I didn’t say he was a good person.” Cuffing him on the arm, she grimaced. “No doubt about that. But believe me, he’s not the type to have buried her in a shallow grave or anything. She’ll turn up soon. It’s just a matter of us finding her.”
He got up, heading toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
Surprised, he stopped and turned. “To look for her.”
“In a minute, hotshot. We’ve got to ask you a couple of questions first. For the record.”
“Can’t that wait until later?”
“Not unless you want to blow the entire case.” She sounded grim. “I promise you, my people are working with local law enforcement. We are doing everything we can to find Lucy and Eli. I just need ten minutes of your time.”
“Fine.” For now, he conceded the point. “What about the cartel guys? Do you extradite them to Mexico?”
“Nope. For this kind of situation, the U.S. has an agreement with the Mexican government. They’ll face charges here.” She gave him a long look. “You know you’ll have to testify.”
“I will.” Dragging his hand through his hair, Tucker fought back exhaustion. “Send your men in to question me. The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can go find Lucy and Eli.”
“Take it easy.” She crossed to a wall phone, picked it up and spoke into it. “They’re on the way. Remember, we’ve got people searching.”
Both of them knew that was not enough.
Two men entered the room. They nodded at Agent Burton, who took a seat against the wall, away from the table. One man placed a notebook on the table in front of him. “Take a seat,” he told Tucker.
True to what Agent Burton had told him, the deposition took nine minutes. Less than ten, as she’d promised. When they’d finished, the two men left and Agent Burton stood.
“You’re free to go now,” she said.
“Thank you.” He pushed back his chair. “I’ll find her,” he swore. As he began to walk away, Agent Burton’s cell phone rang. Tucker turned and waited, hoping against hope that Lucy had been found.
Agent Burton answered and listened, motioning to Tucker to wait. Heartbeat kicking into overdrive, he did. Impatiently.
When she finally closed the phone, and gave him a broad smile, he knew. “Lucy and Eli?”
“Yes. They’ve been found,” she said. “My agents were able to locate them both at Sean’s house. He had them locked in an upstairs bedroom.”
Dizzy with relief, he closed his eyes for a millisecond. “Thank God. Are they all right?”
“Yes. The paramedics checked them out and both are okay. Lucy has requested to be taken home.” Her smile widened and she winked. “So if you want to see her, that’s where she’ll be. We took the liberty of having your car brought around. It’s waiting outside. One of my agents will meet you with the keys.”
Tucker already had his hand on the doorknob before she’d even finished speaking. He took the stairs to the parking garage two at a time.
The beat-up, old, red Honda parked at the curb looked out of place in this upscale area of Denver. Still, just seeing the car made him smile, because it reminded him of how he and Lucy had taken refuge in it. Another DEA agent got out of the car and handed him the keys. To his relief, the engine started right up, with a hacking growl rather than a purr.
Pulling from the parking spot, he merged with traffic and soon he was on the freeway, heading northwest.
Traffic on I25 going out of Denver at rush hour moved at a crawl. Lost in his own thoughts, he missed the exit for the toll road and got stuck in the middle lane. It took over fifteen minutes to travel one mile.
By the time he exited on 36, he seethed with frustration and a kind of cautious impatience. Until he saw Lucy and Eli, touched them, he couldn’t entirely believe they were all right.
Picturing their reunion, he couldn’t help but wonder. Now what? Since learning Sean had grabbed her, he hadn’t thought much beyond rescue, and before that he hadn’t allowed himself to make much in the way of plans.
Though he knew Lucy would welcome him, how would she define their relationship now? Suspecting he knew, he couldn’t help but think how odd it was that their roles were now reversed.
He’d been a fool. No two ways around it. Although he’d always loved her, he’d taken her love for granted. Not wanting to be tied to anything or anyone, he’d brushed off her desire for commitment with vague promises and assurances that they’d talk later. Even as he purchased her an engagement ring in Mexico, he’d never once thought about the possibility that there might not always be a later.
Now he knew better and could see clearly what he wanted. Unfortunately, he’d hurt her badly. Though neither could imagine a future without the other in it, he knew she was afraid to risk her heart again.
With the wisdom he’d gained in his trials by fire, he knew there was no such thing as love without risk. She’d have to accept that, if she wanted to try for a future as a family.
He could clearly see what he wanted from her. Knew it without a shadow of a doubt. He wanted…everything. He could only hope he hadn’t realized this truth too late.
The FBI agents who’d broken down the door had told her Sean was in custody. Though she’d asked repeatedly about Tucker, no one had been able to tell her anything. Over her objections, they’d had paramedics examine both Eli and her. Once they’d been checked out and pronounced fine, she’d insisted that they take her home.
Though the agent who drove her tried to make small talk and seemed very nice, she had no interest in chatting. Since the ride from Sean’s place to hers only took a few minutes, she didn’t have to.
When they’d pulled up in her driveway and she’d climbed out of the car, she’d brushed aside his attempt to help her remove the car seat, doing it herself. She didn’t want to tell him she had to keep busy to keep from weeping.
The agent insisted on coming inside with her and performed a cursory inspection of her home. Once he’d pronounced it clear, he took his leave, pressing his business card into her hand and telling her to call if she needed anything. She’d smiled and nodded and lied, promising she would.
After he’d left, she’d carefully locked her front door. Then, still wanting to keep busy, she’d walked her entire house, feeling an irrational need to check every nook and cranny herself. Onc
e she’d determined her home was safe—though from what, she didn’t know exactly—she put Eli in his playpen in the middle of the living room floor and sat down on the couch.
She didn’t understand why she felt like the slightest thing would cause her to break, shattering into a thousand pieces. She didn’t get why she wanted to cry when she should be rejoicing.
According to the DEA, everything could return to normal. Members of the Mexican drug cartel had been arrested, as had Sean. Whether or not the money had been recovered, she didn’t know or really care. As long as Tucker was safe. That was all that mattered.
And normal. What, exactly, was normal? She didn’t much know anymore.
Unable to sit still for long, she got up and began to pace. Where was he? She longed to call him, just so she could hear his voice, but she still didn’t have her cell phone and she didn’t have his cell number memorized.
Pacing, she was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly missed the familiar, battered, red car pulling up in the driveway. Her heartbeat went into overdrive and she tried not to hyperventilate.
But every pore, every cell screamed his name.
Tucker.
Tucker.
Willing herself to calm—and failing miserably—she watched from her front window as he got out of the car and headed up the sidewalk.
She debated letting him ring the doorbell, trying to picture herself calmly walking to the front door and slowly opening it. As if.
Unable to stand still another moment, she said the hell with it and raced to get there before he pressed the bell.
“Hey,” she said, yanking the door open. Her voice only trembled a little.
“Hey.” He froze, staring at her with a potent mixture of longing and wariness in his blue gaze.
She didn’t hesitate—she held out her arms. “Welcome home,” she said. And then she kissed him, letting him know that at long last, he had come back where he belonged.
When he finally lifted his head and looked at her, her heart turned over at the tenderness in his eyes. She flushed as she realized they’d been locked in a passionate embrace practically on her front doorstep.
Her blush deepening, she led him by the hand into the house, closing and locking the door behind them.
“Not taking any chances,” she said at his questioning look. “Sorry.”
“Ah, Lucy, don’t be.” He smoothed back the hair from her face. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, reaching up and tracing the worry lines, wanting to erase them from his face. “Sean might have been a bit misguided in his intentions, but you know he would never have hurt me or Eli.”
Instead of answering right away, he leaned over the playpen and kissed the downy fluff on Eli’s head. Her heart turned over in her chest. Would she ever get used to this sight? The other half of her soul and their son, the two males she loved most in this world?
“There’s something I have to tell you,” they both began at the same time.
“You first.” One corner of his mouth kicking up in the beginning of a smile, he gestured for her to precede him.
Leading him to the couch, she sat, pulling him down next to her. “After you came back from the dead, I thought I’d need time alone, both to sort out things in my head and to prove to myself that I could make it on my own.” Her voice broke as her throat clogged and tears prickled at the back of her eyes.
“And now,” he prodded gently, when she didn’t continue.
She took a deep breath, struggling to keep her composure. “Now, having lost you once and then, after you miraculously returned, damn near losing you a second time, I don’t want to waste another moment denying what my heart knows is an absolute truth. I love you and want to be with you. Every single moment we can.”
“And if I want more?”
Though she’d told herself it didn’t matter, still his question had the power to hurt. “You’ve never lied to me, Tucker. I’m grateful for that.” Searching his face, she couldn’t read his eyes. “Whether you want more or not is no longer the issue. I just want you.”
“You misunderstand.” He caressed her hand with his thumb. “I meant if I want more, are you going to run away as fast as you can?”
“I…” she began, slightly confused and a lot overwhelmed. She caught her breath and her heart skipped a beat as his incredibly blue gaze captured hers. His eyes were full of love.
The question she saw in them made her chest hurt.
When he dropped to one knee in front of her, still holding her hand, at first she was afraid to let herself understand. Then, when he pulled his old class ring from his pocket, the very same ring she’d worn on a chain around her neck for so long, she thought her chest would burst from joy.
“Will you marry me, Lucy Knowlton? I’d love for you to be my wife.” He kissed her hand, a lingering tender kiss. “Not only can I not live without you, but you’re already the mother of our son.” His expression turned mischievous. “Though we’re already the perfect family, I’d love to have a couple more children with you someday, if you want.”
Staring at him, she couldn’t find her voice. Amazing how the world could change in an instant. She remembered with stark clarity, the day she’d learned of his supposed death. She’d fallen to the ground, feeling as though the words had somehow reached inside her, to her core, and ripped out her gut.
Then, to have a second chance. She’d never doubted his love for her, just whether that love would be enough if he didn’t want the same kind of life as she did.
And now, for him to offer this, everything she’d ever wanted…
She couldn’t help it. Though she tried to hold back her tears, she began to cry.
Expression agonized, he pulled her to him. “Ah, sweetheart, don’t cry. I know you didn’t like me gallivanting to the four corners of the earth whenever I had the whim.”
Wiping at her eyes, she shook her head. “I don’t want you to have to give that up for me.”
“Give it up?” Hand under her chin, he raised her head and made her look at him. “Who said anything about giving it up? I still want to travel, but I want you and Eli to go with me. Though I think we’ll stay out of Mexico for a while.”
And just like that, he turned her tears to laughter.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0597-0
THE CEO’S SECRET BABY
Copyright © 2011 by Karen Whiddon
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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*The Pack
**The Cordasic Legacy
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