Bodyguard's Baby Surprise

by Lisa Childs

  “Seems like everybody else has done it whether they live here or not.”

  “I went over the fence,” she said. “And the back door was unlocked.”

  She sounded almost disappointed. Then he noticed the tools that had fallen from her pocket when he’d knocked her down. He handed her the set. “Might not be a good idea to let a lawman see these.”

  “You’re not a lawman anymore,” she said. “You’re a bodyguard.”

  When he said nothing, she narrowed her brown eyes and studied his face. “You haven’t given your notice yet?”

  He groaned. “I’ve been having my detectives keep me apprised of what’s going on at the station while I take some time off.”

  “Have you changed your mind?”

  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be a bodyguard. But he didn’t want to be Annalise’s bodyguard. Being around her only seemed to put her in more danger. “Not about the job. I still intend to talk to the chief.” Just like he’d told Megan. He needed to give his notice.

  “Have you changed your mind about the assignment?”

  He nodded.

  “I think you’re wrong about someone using Annalise to get back at you.”

  His heart swelled. He hoped he wasn’t the reason she was in danger. “What did you figure out?”

  She stood up and gestured around them. “Somebody was looking for something.”

  “Or just trashing the place.”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s a search. Drawers. Closets. Cupboards.”

  “There were holes in the drywall at other places.” He turned toward the living room. “Cushions ripped open.”

  “You thought it was vandalism.”

  “A message. Like the gunshots,” he said. “That’s not someone looking for something. You were there in the parking garage—”

  “I caught them around your SUV,” she said. “They could have been trying to steal it—like they’d stolen Annalise’s car. That had been searched, too.”

  He nodded. “But the gunfire outside the hospital the other night...” Nobody had been looking for anything that night but blood.

  She shrugged. “You’re probably pissing them off.”

  “You know the feeling,” he teased.

  A smile tugged up her lips, seemingly against her will. “Yeah, you piss me off all the time.”

  He held out her gun to her, but when she reached for it, he pulled it back. “Sure you’re not going to shoot me with it?”

  “I would have done that a long time ago if I wanted you dead.”

  And what she’d said finally clicked with him. “If someone wanted Annalise dead before now, she would already be dead.” She had been on her own for the past six months.

  Nikki nodded. “This isn’t about killing her or you. It’s about getting something from you.”

  “So the gunfire could have been warning shots.”

  She shrugged. “Or a distraction.”

  He glanced around his place. “What are they looking for?”

  “You tell me,” Nikki said.

  He sighed. “I have no idea.”

  Nikki’s dark eyes had narrowed with suspicion, the warmth and amusement all gone. “Really? No idea?”

  “No.”

  “Somebody thinks you have something.”

  She did, too.

  But he wasn’t like the people he’d arrested for corruption. He had never confiscated a drug dealer’s money or assets for himself instead of putting them into evidence. And he was offended that Nikki thought he could have. Hell, he was offended that anyone thought he could have.

  “I don’t have anything,” he murmured.

  “That’s too bad,” Nikki said.

  “Why?”

  “Because if you had something and gave it back, this could all be over,” she explained. “You and Annalise would no longer be in danger.”

  Since he had nothing to return to whoever thought they were the rightful owner, he had no idea how to make sure that Annalise would be safe again.

  * * *

  Annalise didn’t feel safe.

  She knew that Cooper was a good bodyguard—good enough to head up his own franchise of the security business. But she didn’t understand why he’d driven right past the Payne Protection Agency.

  “You told me someone is following us,” she said with a nervous glance in the side mirror. “Shouldn’t we stop for help?” She would have felt safer in the security offices with the other bodyguards.

  She would have felt safer with Nick. Why had he left the condo? He hadn’t said. The others had assumed he was working the list of enemies he’d given them. And Milek had followed him, which had reassured her. He wouldn’t be able to lose Milek.

  Was Cooper as good?

  He snorted. “You think I need help losing a tail?”

  She was not reassured—until he reached up to the device on his collar. He touched a button and spoke into it. “Hey, guys, I picked up a shadow.”

  “I see him.” Another voice emanated from the small radio on Cooper’s collar.

  Annalise looked in the side mirror again, but she noticed nothing out of the ordinary. “Someone else is behind us?” It was a Payne. All of their voices sounded so alike.

  “Of course,” Cooper replied. “When family is in danger, we work as a family.” So he hadn’t been protecting her alone.

  She released a slight breath. She was safer than she’d realized. But still...

  Remembering the barrage of bullets the other night, she pressed her palms over her belly. She wasn’t worried about just her safety. She was worried about her baby.

  “And because we aren’t alone, maybe we should try trapping him,” Cooper suggested.

  “No!” The shout crackled through the radio. Since it was closer to his ear, Cooper flinched.

  But Annalise heard it clearly, too. And she recognized the voice. Nick.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Annalise said. She wanted this to be over. She wanted her life back. “You need to catch him. You need to find out what he wants with me.”

  Because she didn’t believe it was vengeance over something Nick had done. Sure, she didn’t think she’d made any enemies, but maybe she had. Maybe someone resented something she’d done. Maybe it wasn’t Nick who had put her in danger but she who had put Nick in danger.

  Because if the person knew her, he would know how she felt about Nick—how she had always felt about Nick. She loved him.

  * * *

  He was probably making a huge mistake. And if the plan failed, Nick would kill him. But Cooper understood Annalise’s frustration over not knowing who was after her or why.

  And the only way to make certain she stayed safe was to find out. The risk wasn’t as great as Nick probably thought it was.

  The entire Payne Protection Agency force—all the newly divided franchises reunited—was working this assignment. For Nick.

  They wouldn’t let anything happen to Annalise and the baby she carried. They wouldn’t let the tail get close to her. They’d only let him think that he could.

  So Cooper slowed down as he headed toward the part of the city that had yet to recover from the economic downturn. He headed toward the area that was all abandoned warehouses and factories. If whoever was following him intended to a make a move on the vehicle—on Annalise—he would do it here.

  “Is everyone in place?” he asked, and he heard the telltale nervous break in his own voice. The plan was risky. But with everyone working together, there was no way someone could get hurt.

  “No,” Nick protested again. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “We’ve got this.” It was Logan who spoke—Logan who was the boss on this assignment. But they all knew who was really the boss: Nick.
And he hadn’t approved this plan.

  “The vehicle is coming up too fast,” Nick said. “It’s going to ram you.”

  Cooper glanced in the rearview mirror and realized that Nick was right. The truck that had been following them had shot forward—past Parker’s SUV. The former vice cop was a good driver, but he wasn’t as good as he needed to be now.

  Cooper pressed on the accelerator, trying to get farther ahead of the truck. If it rammed them at the speed it was coming...

  Annalise would be hurt. So would the baby.

  He cursed. An intersection was coming up, the light changing to red. This area wasn’t as populated, so he could take the chance of blowing through it without being hit. So he did.

  The vehicle behind him wasn’t as lucky. As the truck hit the intersection, an SUV hit it, coming at it full force. Metal crunched. Tires squealed. And both vehicles spun around.

  Annalise reached over the console and grasped Cooper’s arm. “Who was that? Who hit the truck?”

  She must have recognized the black SUV like he had. It was a Payne Protection company vehicle. He cranked the wheel to turn around, to head back toward the crash.

  From the curious silence on the radio, he knew who’d been driving that SUV. And from the way Annalise’s hand clutched his arm harder, it was obvious that she knew, too.

  “Nick,” he murmured.

  Nick had been driving the SUV that took out their tail. But through the spider-webbed glass of the front window, Cooper could see that his half brother wasn’t alone. The person slumped in the passenger seat had brown curls. Nikki was with him.

  He braked and glanced over at his own passenger. Annalise’s face was pale with fear, but not for herself. She was afraid for the others like he was.

  Cooper saw no movement inside either crumpled vehicle. He saw nothing but smoke curling out from beneath the hoods. Then sparks ignited.

  “Go!” Annalise shouted at him.

  He flung open the driver’s door and ran toward the crash. He had to get to Nick and Nikki before their vehicle blew.

  Chapter 17

  Gasoline fumes burned his nose, the scent heavy in the front seat of the SUV. Nick blinked and tried to focus. With the air bags pushed against the cracked windshield, it was hard to see. But the sparks were an unmistakable warning. He glanced toward the passenger seat. Nikki was slumped against the side window, blood trickling from her head onto the glass. Since they’d hit the other vehicle head-on, the side air bag hadn’t deployed.

  “Damn it!”

  What if she was seriously hurt? Her head? Her neck? Dared he move her?

  The sparks ignited with a hiss, and flames shot up from the engine. Heat instantly filled the front seat. He had no choice. He kicked open his crumpled door. Then he reached for Nikki. He couldn’t wait. He had to get her out now. So he dragged her limp body over the console and out the driver’s side. Despite her slight weight, his wounded shoulder ached in protest. But Nick ignored the pain. He clutched Nikki close as he ran from the SUV.

  He’d only made it a few yards when the flames hissed again. A whoosh knocked him to the ground and the vehicles exploded. As he fell, he rolled so that he didn’t crush Nikki. But he lost his grasp on her. She fell to the ground next to him.

  Her face was so pale but for the blood trickling from the wound on her forehead. His gut twisted with guilt. He shouldn’t have put her in danger. “Nikki?”

  “Nikki!” another voice echoed his. “Nick!”

  There were more voices shouting over the noise of the burning vehicles. Glass shattered. Flames hissed.

  Suddenly, strong hands reached for him, helping him to his feet. They didn’t touch Nikki, though. Her brothers stood over her, staring down in horror at her.

  “Is she...” Logan asked, his face growing pale as his voice cracked with fear.

  It had to seem like his worst nightmare come to fruition. He had tried so hard to keep her safe.

  “Dead?” Nikki was the one who finished the question for him. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared up at them. “I sure as hell hope not. There’s a lot I want to do with my life before that happens.”

  What? Nick wanted to ask her. But there was a more important question. “Are you all right?”

  She sighed and reached out her hand. “I will be once you help me up.”

  Before he could close his hand around hers, someone shoved him back. “What the hell were you thinking?” Logan shouted at him. “You could have killed her. You could have killed both of you!”

  “I had to stop that truck.”

  He’d been thinking about Annalise and the baby. And with the speed with which that truck had been bearing down on them, they would have been hurt. Or worse.

  He turned to Cooper. “Are they all right?”

  He nodded. And he looked as guilty as Nick felt. They’d both taken chances they shouldn’t have taken.

  “You compromised the whole operation,” Logan said. “And nearly got Nikki killed.”

  Nick had never seen the oldest Payne so angry. He stepped toward Nick, yelling in his face until small hands wedged between them, pushing Logan back.

  “Shut up,” Nikki yelled at Logan. Then she turned toward Nick and threw her arms around him, hugging him. “Thank you!”

  “Saving you from the crash he caused is the least he could do,” Logan said.

  “No,” she said with a glare at her oldest brother. He’d beat Parker from the womb by just a few minutes, but he’d never let anyone forget. “That’s the least any of you could do. Nick did the most. He treated me as an equal. Now and that day in the parking garage. He trusts that I can take care of myself, unlike the rest of you.”

  Logan opened his mouth, probably to argue. And there was plenty to argue about in that statement since Nick had wound up saving her both times. But for once, the oldest Payne didn’t have to have the last word. He closed his lips and just nodded.

  Nikki was okay—that was all that mattered now. But Nick turned with frustration toward the burning vehicles. The other driver hadn’t made it out of the crash. And as badly as his body was burning, they might never learn who he was.

  * * *

  Annalise had never been so afraid as she’d watched the vehicles explode. She would have pushed open the passenger door—would have run toward the wreckage as everyone else had. But the SUV must have been equipped with some special security system, and Cooper had locked her inside. She hadn’t been able to open her door. And she hadn’t been able to see anything but the flames rising from the blackened metal.

  She’d thought for certain that Nick was dead...until, long moments later, she’d seen him and his family walk around the burning vehicles. He and Nikki had survived. The driver of the truck hadn’t been as lucky.

  She grimaced as she remembered what she’d seen, what she’d wished she had never witnessed.

  * * *

  “Are you having more of those contractions?” Nick asked with concern.

  Everyone else had left an hour ago. But he sat up—as he had the past few nights—on the couch.

  She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”

  “It’s late,” Nick said. “You should get some sleep.”

  She was afraid that if she closed her eyes, she would see that crash again. But instead of the other man burning, she would see Nick.

  “What about you?” she asked. “You must be exhausted.” He had spent night after night on the couch—watching the door.

  Exhaustion darkened the skin beneath his bright blue eyes, and that muscle twitched again in his cheek, above his tightly clenched jaw. He hadn’t changed. He still wore his jeans and a black shirt. Blood stained the shirt. She wasn’t certain if it was his—seeping through from his shoulder wound—or if it was Nikki’s.

 
He shrugged off her concern. “I’m fine.”

  He wasn’t. He had been shot. And he’d been in a car accident.

  “You should have gone to the hospital with Nikki,” she said.

  “I didn’t need to.”

  “She said the same thing.”

  “She’d lost consciousness for a little while,” Nick said. And that muscle twitched in his cheek as tension filled him. He must have been reliving the accident, too. “She needed to be checked for a concussion. And she probably needed stitches.”

  She heard the guilt in his voice, the regret. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have left the condo earlier.”

  “Why did you?” he asked.

  “I—I had all this work I needed to do,” she said. “I needed a fax machine and a way to telecommute—”

  “And Logan offered his office,” he surmised.

  She nodded. “But I shouldn’t have risked it.” She ran her palms over the baby. She shouldn’t have risked his life for her career.

  He sighed. “I’m the one who shouldn’t have left.”

  “Where did you go?” she asked.

  “To see Penny.”

  She suspected it hadn’t been to discuss wedding plans. Probably to end them.

  “That’s fine,” she said. She hadn’t agreed to marry him, anyway, even though it was what she’d wanted as long as she could remember. “I had plenty of protection.”

  “But you were still in danger,” Nick said.

  Tears stung her eyes. “Will I always be?” she wondered aloud. “Will I ever be safe again?”

  “Of course,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ll figure out who’s after me.”

  “That vehicle was tailing me,” she reminded him.

  “Because of me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  He sighed. “No. But Nikki and I have come up with another theory.”

  So had she. “I think it could have more to do with me than I realized. Maybe another real estate agent wants to eliminate me as competition.” It was possible. The Chicago real estate business could be quite cutthroat. “Or maybe I do have a stalker.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “I thought you didn’t have any crazy exes.”