Cradling Troy in one arm, he used the other to crawl across the floor to where Josie sat. “The car is out in the drive. Do you think you can reach it?”
“Whoever’s shooting…The gunfire came from the front of the house.”
“I know. But if I distract him, draw his fire, do you think you can make it to the car? Get the baby out of here?”
“And what will happen to you?”
He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You think it’s the guy from San Francisco? The one who hurt Missy?”
“I don’t know. But whether it’s him or someone else, it doesn’t matter.” He could kick himself for turning John Wise and Samantha Corely away. The man out there must have been waiting until they left, waiting until he and Josie and the baby were alone.
“Maybe it does matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“If it is the same guy, we know he’s after the baby, right? So our decoy should be the baby.”
She was right. Not the baby, of course, but something that looked like the baby. “Where’s the blue blanket?”
Josie pointed to the baby’s bucket seat, sitting on the kitchen counter.
Reed handed Troy to her. First he had to find someplace for them to hide. Someplace they would be safe in case the shooter didn’t fall for the bait.
He scanned the area within easy reach of the front door and the car beyond. While some houses had foyers and staircases and charming nooks and crannies, this house had none. The front door opened to a boxlike room. No concealed spots. No cover to protect Josie and the baby from gunfire. “Damn.”
“What is it?”
“If I try to lead him away from the front door, and he doesn’t fall for it, you’re sitting ducks.”
She shook her head. “I don’t like you making yourself a target anyway. The police will be here soon. They’re on their way.”
“This isn’t the city, Josie. It can take a while. Springton doesn’t even have its own police department. They rely on the county sheriff.”
Her face looked pale. Blood trickled from a cut in her scalp. Flying glass, no doubt.
No. As much as he’d like to believe the sheriff’s office could have deputies here in time, he couldn’t risk it. He had to do something.
A creak came from somewhere in the kitchen.
Reed glanced at Josie. Flattening his hand, palm down, he motioned for her to lie flat on the floor.
She hunkered down, sheltering the baby with her body.
Reed’s pulse pounded in his ear. His breathing rasped in his throat. So much for deciding the best course of action. They were out of time. There was no good course of action left, if there ever had been one. All he could do now was stop that gunman.
And he had to do it any way he could.
His gaze fixed on the fireplace and the gnarled branches of mesquite he’d brought in with the idea of building a fire the first night they’d arrived in Dallas. Crawling to the hearth, he grasped one of the logs. It was green, all right. Heavy. Not much use for firewood, but for a club, it would do.
He stood and moved along the living-room wall toward the kitchen. He walked as lightly as he could, trying to keep his footfalls quiet, but his pulse thumped so loudly in his ears, he was unsure if he succeeded.
Reaching the corner, he flattened his back to the wall. From here he could see Josie’s shadow under the couch, even though she was on the opposite side. No doubt, when the gunman came through the door, he’d see it, too. He’d know she was there. He’d know where to take aim and…
Another creak sounded from the kitchen, a step on a loose floorboard.
He gripped the branch and lifted it. He had to time this perfectly. If he swung too early, the guy could shoot him. If he swung too late, the guy would spot Josie’s shadow. He’d have time to fire.
A shuffle came from just around the corner. The slightest of creaks vibrated across the board under Reed’s foot. Dark hair, nearly black, crossed the threshold. Military short. Broad shoulders filled the space. He raised the barrel of his rifle.
Reed brought the branch down on the back of his head. The force of his blow shuddered through his arm. A grunt escaped the man’s lips. A rifle shot exploded in Reed’s ears and ripped open the frame of the couch.
Chapter Fifteen
“No. No. No.” The bellow filled Reed’s ears, the sound coming from his own throat. He brought the branch down again and again until the man crumpled under it. Until the rifle fell useless to the floor.
He dropped the branch, now sticky with blood. The odor of blood filled his nostrils and clogged his throat. Blood and gunpowder.
The rifle.
Reed kicked the thing away from the man’s still hands. It slid across the floor and hit the shattered couch. He stumbled across the floor after it, his feet unable to move fast enough. He stepped over the rifle and circled the pulverized fabric, wood and springs.
Josie curled and remained frozen on the floor, her body cupped around the baby, shielding him, protecting him, giving everything she had for him.
“God, Josie.” He fell to his knees beside her. He swept ripped fabric off her and brushed slivers of wood from her hair. “You have to be okay. You have to…”
Underneath her, the baby squirmed. A scream tore from his throat.
She opened an eye and peered up at him through mussed strands of hair. “Where is he? Where is the gunman?”
“Are you okay?” He couldn’t think about the crumpled shooter. Not now. All he could focus on was Josie and the baby. He couldn’t breathe until he knew they were all right. “Answer me. Were you hit?”
“No. No. I’m okay.” She shifted her shoulder back, revealing the squirming baby beneath her. “I think he’s okay, too. I think he’s just scared.”
Reed braced Josie’s shoulder, helping her up with shaking hands. She cuddled the baby to her chest. “What happened?”
“He’s…” What he’d done to the gunman filtered into his mind. “I think I beat him to death.”
Before he could make his body move, the door flew open and uniformed deputies burst into the room.
BY THE TIME THE DEPUTIES, EMS guys, crime-scene technician and Reed didn’t know who else finally left the ranch, the day had stretched well into night. Hours had passed since their run-in with a man he learned was named Bobby Crabb, and yet he felt as if his insides were still vibrating from that shotgun blast and how close he had come to losing Josie and Troy.
He found Josie in the baby’s room, watching him sleep in his football-themed playpen. At first he didn’t say anything to let her know he was there. He just watched her. Taking in the tilt of her head and the gentle smile on her face. When she finally turned to look at him, he noticed tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Right. There are a lot of ways you could have answered, but nothing is not one of them.”
“Okay, I just…” She shook her head and looked back down at the baby.
He could guess how she was going to end her sentence. “Were thinking about how horrible it would be if something happened to him?”
She looked back up at Reed and bit her bottom lip. “What kind of a man tries to kill a baby?” Her voice shook.
With rage? With tears? He didn’t know. But he could relate. “A hit man. That’s what the sheriff’s detective told me. His name is Bobby Crabb, and he’s suspected of being a killer for hire.”
“So who is he working for?”
“Once he recovers, I imagine the detective will ask him. And offer him a chance to escape the needle if he tells all.” Reed had to admit he was relieved to find out he hadn’t killed Crabb. The thought that he was capable of taking a human life had been sobering. Horrifying, really. Although he knew now he would truly do anything to protect Josie and that beautiful little boy. But also, if Crabb was alive and could be convinced to talk, the sheriff’s office could arres
t whoever hired him. And that might lead them to Honey. “As far as I’m concerned, they can’t find out who hired him fast enough.”
Josie nodded, but judging from her expression, her thoughts were far away.
“There’s more news, too.”
“Honey?”
He wished. Although not for the same reasons he had when he first learned she was missing. “Unfortunately, no. But remember Neil Kinney?”
“The guy whose car you bashed. How could I forget?”
He had to admit that move hasn’t been very smart. No doubt a product of that extra testosterone in the water, as Josie had pointed out. But it was satisfying. “He was arrested.”
“For what?”
“The detective wouldn’t tell me. He just said he’d be in jail for a while, and if he had a guess, the bail was going to be set pretty high.”
“Good. Do you think he’s the one who hired this Crabb guy?”
“No. I don’t think so. I just can’t see Kinney hiring someone to take care of Honey. He’d want to do it himself.” Even thinking about the creep made him angry. It was a relief not to have to think about him again. “Things are narrowing down. And if the detective can get Crabb to talk, it could be over soon.”
He tore his eyes from the baby and glanced at Josie just in time to see a matched pair of tears slide down her cheeks. He reached out and wiped the glistening moisture away with his fingertips. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on. After all we’ve been through, you should be able to talk to me. I sure talked to you.” About his failures. About his guilt. About feelings he’d kept under wraps his entire life. “I expected you to feel relieved by all this good news, not upset.”
“I’m not upset. Not really.”
“Right. Sure.”
She pressed her lips together and swiped at her cheeks with the back of one hand. “It’s just…It’s personal.”
“Do you want me to guess?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with you. Really. It’s just something I want.”
“A baby.”
“Is that so bad?”
“Of course not. It does explain a few things, though.”
“Like what?”
“Like why you were so angry with me when we first met. Not that you weren’t right.”
“I wasn’t angry.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
“Frustrated. I was frustrated.”
He remembered her telling him some people would kill for the chance to have a baby like Troy. He must be slow. It had taken him until now to realize she was talking about herself. “So what’s the hurry? You’re young. You have plenty of time to have babies of your own.”
“No, actually I don’t.”
He said nothing. He didn’t know what to say. Or what the comment meant. But somehow he sensed if he just let her have a little time, she’d tell him.
“I can’t have children of my own.” Her voice was low, almost a whisper. “I had a growth when I was young. Just a kid, really. And anyway, a hysterectomy was the result.”
He swallowed into a tight throat. He’d never really thought about having kids, not until little Troy showed up on his boat. He’d just assumed it was an option for him. Someday. Or not. Whatever he wanted. The thought that Josie, a woman who loved babies so much and was so good with them…the idea that she didn’t have that choice…it wasn’t right. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m trying to adopt. I’m on a waiting list. A single mother isn’t the ideal candidate, but I’m working on changing my life so that I’m a better prospect.”
“That’s why you quit the police force?”
She nodded. “Being self-employed is a little risky financially. But if I can get my business off the ground, the flexibility of my schedule will work in my favor.”
He pulled in a breath, a little easier this time. “Sounds like you have it all figured out.”
“I thought I did.”
“You don’t anymore?”
“I didn’t count on falling in love.”
His breath hitched in his chest.
She nodded down at the baby splayed on the blanket covering the playpen’s vinyl football field. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
Reed’s breathing evened out, but this time his chest ached, empty. “Troy is amazing. He sure is.” And even though he meant every word of it, he couldn’t help wishing she’d said she’d fallen in love with him.
“I know I’m going to lose him. When this case is finished. Maybe very soon. But I keep telling myself he’ll have a good life without me. He’ll have parents who love him. Won’t he?” She returned her gaze to his, and for a moment the look in her eyes took his breath away.
Reed slipped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his arms. She felt so soft, so real, so alive. He wanted that life. He wanted to soak it in and let it infuse his muscles, his bones. He wanted it to fuel his heart. “Esme says he looks like I did. And if he and his sister are mine, you can bet they’ll have all the love they need. They’ll have you.”
Her warm breath and the brush of her lips sent chills over his back and down his side. “Really?” She raised her head from his shoulder.
He kissed her, and she kissed him back, her lips accepting his, her tongue drawing him in. She tasted sweet and warm and addicting. She slipped her hands under the tail of his shirt. Her fingers fanned over his sides and back.
His skin came alive with shivers, alive with heat. He wanted her to touch all of him. He wanted to touch all of her. To meld with her. Become one.
He slid his hands up her sides, sweeping her shirt over her head. Then came bra, the jeans, the panties and she was naked. In a matter of seconds he was naked, too. He took her back into his arms and claimed her lips again, pressing the length of her body against his. Her skin felt so soft, so right—he couldn’t get enough.
He ached to be inside her, but first he wanted to give her all she’d given him. He wanted her to feel as special as she deserved.
He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
A laugh sounded deep in her chest, sexy as hell. “This is awfully old-fashioned of you.”
He had to agree. Old-fashioned verging on cliché. He gave her a smile. “I only wish I had candles or bubble bath or a bottle of really good wine. I want you to have all the trappings. Anything wrong with that?”
Her lips smoothed into a smile. “Nothing at all. Trappings are nice, but all I really need is you.”
He laid her on the bed and stretched his body over hers. “You don’t need anyone.”
“You’re wrong. I need you. I trust you. And I want you. Right now.”
That was all he needed to hear. He skimmed his lips down her throat, over her collarbone and sucked her breasts. He kissed his way down the flat of her belly to her hips and burrowed between her legs. The first series of spasms that rocked her were sweet, the second even sweeter.
She threaded her fingers through his hair and guided him back up her body. “I need you right now. Inside me.”
He kissed her and sank into her heat. Looping her legs around him, she urged him deeper. And at that moment he wanted to give her everything he could. Everything he was.
This was where he should be. This was where he belonged. It wasn’t just the sex, but everything. How he felt. Who he wished to be. What the future before him held. And although he couldn’t know who the twins’ father was, for the first time he really wanted it to be him. More than anything, he wanted to make Josie’s dream of a family come true.
And he was beginning to wonder if her dream had become his own.
THE PHONE RANG BEFORE dawn. Josie groaned. She didn’t want to get out of bed. She wanted to stay there forever. Feeling. Letting go. Belonging to Reed and he to her. After their first encounter, she’d sworn she would never let him inside her, physically or emotionally. But last night she’d opened the door to both, and she never wanted to
close that door again.
“Who’s calling?” Reed lifted his head off the pillow, squinting at the darkness beyond the window blinds as if it were bright as blazing sun. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know. The sun’s just starting to come up, though.”
“Who the hell would call before it’s even dawn?”
Josie could think of only one explanation. “The sheriff’s office?”
Reed groaned. “Like they weren’t here late enough.” He tossed the sheets back.
The scent of warm skin and lovemaking wafted over Josie. The leather and musk scent of Reed. The lighter scent of her own body. She took a deep breath.
She had an idea who might be on the phone, but as soon as she said it, last night’s spell would be over. She and Reed would be plunged back into reality again. And she didn’t want to give up the closeness they’d shared.
She knew he’d been honest with her about his feelings. She knew his feelings wouldn’t shift like wind over the flat Texas landscape. She trusted him. Yet deep down she felt a niggle of doubt. The sense that once they left this bed, nothing would be the same. And she wanted to soak up every bit of this while she still could.
She put her hand on his shoulder before he could lever himself off the mattress. “Wait.” She sat up, letting the sheets fall to her waist.
His gaze moved over her bare breasts, his eyes as hungry as they’d been last night. Forgetting the phone, he fondled a nipple with rough fingertips. “I’d say this is worth waiting for.” He brought his lips to hers, the kiss deep and sweet and stirring.
This was what she wanted. What she couldn’t get enough of. She skimmed her fingers down his chest and over his belly.
He was already erect. His length flexed in her fist.
Warmth pooled between her legs. Hot need. She moved her hand down to the base, up the underside of his shaft, then tickled the tip.
“Yes.” Reed’s hand toyed with one breast, then the other. He kissed her deeper, plunging into her mouth.
She was just about to lick her way down his body when the phone rang again.
Reed groaned under her lips.
Josie sat upright. The worry was back, and she couldn’t put it off any longer. “It could be the detective. They might have found something. Or someone.”
Covert Cootchie-Cootchie-Coo Page 14