“Well, the plan was for you to be dead,” Randall said, his attention nailed to Slade, “and for Gambill to use the kid there to force Maya to have Evan’s DNA tested. Best-laid plans went south again just like at the barn. Gambill set off those damn rifles before I could tell Maya what I needed her to do. After Andrea was shot—an accident, I promise— I had to regroup.”
Maya hated to hear the details. Each one made the flashbacks worse. Of course, the knife at her throat didn’t help, either, but the worst was having Slade and the baby there in danger.
“Why do you want Evan’s DNA?” Slade asked.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? If he’s my son, then I need to take him. Gina will listen to reason if I have the kid. Even though she gave him up for adoption, she won’t want me to raise him without her being around to, well, supervise.”
So this was a crazy form of blackmail to get Gina back. One that might work if Gina knew just how dangerous Randall truly was.
“What if she didn’t give him up?” Maya had to do or say whatever it took to give Slade’s brothers a chance to stop this. Besides, she might be able to talk Randall out of whatever he was planning. “What if she let you believe she gave him up and then disappeared with the child?”
“Then I’ll find her.” His voice was no longer calm, and it was laced with emotions she was all too familiar with. Obsession and violence.
A dangerous combination.
“You obviously don’t care a thing about your son,” Maya tossed at him. “Because if Evan’s your son, you could have hurt him when you had your hired gun ram the SUV into my car.”
“That wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a quick smash-and-grab, but when I found out what the idiot had done, he paid for it.”
With his life. So Randall had killed him. That was one mystery solved, but Maya hadn’t needed to hear it to know he was capable of murder.
“You said this was my son,” Slade reminded him, but he also shifted his position and eased the carrier onto the ground. Maybe freeing up his hands for a fight that Maya was certain he wouldn’t want to have with the baby so close and the knife at her throat.
“He might be. He sure isn’t mine,” Randall insisted. “I just got back the DNA results.”
“So you lied.” Slade shifted again. Inching closer.
“It’s only a lie if it turns out to be one. In fact, I wouldn’t have even known you were in this DNA lottery if I hadn’t been checking for labs running DNA tests on the babies. After a few bribes, I learned the kids’ DNA was being compared to yours. Wasn’t hard to figure out that you were looking for your kid.”
Without warning, Randall jabbed the end of the knife against her neck, cutting into the skin. “Keep moving, Marshal, and the next cut will be a lot deeper.”
Slade stopped, and his gaze met hers. He didn’t say anything, not with his mouth anyway, but she could almost hear him say he was sorry. This wasn’t his fault. He was as much of a victim as the babies, the Rands, Andrea and she were. But he would put this on his shoulders and bear the weight of it.
“We need to end this now,” Randall insisted.
“Why the hurry?” Slade tossed back. “You had ample opportunity to kidnap Maya while we were at the safe house after you had someone plant the tracking device in the grocery sack. Yet you waited for hours.”
Randall cursed, and she felt the muscles tense in his hand. “I had to regroup then, too. The woman I hired to watch the kids ran out on me, and I had to find someone else.”
Maya cringed at the thought of those babies being at the mercy of this monster, but at least Caleb was safe now.
“Good,” Randall said into the communicator. He looked at Slade again. “My gunman has your brothers in his sight. Tell them to stay put. Do it now!” he yelled when Slade didn’t say anything.
“Randall says his gunman has you in his sight,” Slade finally shouted. What Declan and Wyatt would do with that info she didn’t know, but Maya prayed they could still help.
“And now we have to get moving,” Randall continued. “This is how it’ll work. My second assistant will collect the money bags. I need it to pay for this whole kidnapping operation, and then Maya and I will go back to the house. If she makes one wrong move, I’ll cut her. It might not kill her, but she’ll wish it had. And once we’re at the house, I’ll get the DNA sample from the kid.”
“Then what?” Maya was surprised Slade could speak with his jaw clenched that way.
“Maya and Evan will have to stay with me for a few days. Just until I have the DNA results. If Evan’s mine, then I take him. If he’s not, then I’ll give him back.”
She knew it wouldn’t be that easy. No. Randall would have to kill her because she was a witness. Slade, too. And that also meant he’d likely given his henchmen orders to kill Slade’s brothers and the Colliers.
Maya was afraid to move, but she was more terrified of losing Slade and her son. She wasn’t sure what she should do until she heard the scream bubble up in her throat. Her yell blasted through the night.
Randall cursed and moved. No doubt to jab the knife into her, but Maya twisted around, trying to break free.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the movement. A whirl of motion. Slade came right at them, and he shoved her aside as if she weighed nothing. Maya landed on the ground, and Slade rammed right into Randall.
The men went flying.
Oh, God. The knife.
The moonlight hit the blade just right, and she saw Randall swing it at Slade. He was trying to kill him.
Maya didn’t have a gun. Randall had knocked hers somewhere on the ground, and it might do more harm than good if she jumped into the middle of the fight.
It was a horrible thing to watch. The life-and-death battle going on right in front of her. She felt around on the ground, feeling for anything she could use, and she found some rocks. It wasn’t much, but when Randall rolled on top of Slade, Maya threw the rocks, pelting him in the back.
Randall cursed. It was vicious. As was the look on his face when he whirled around, ready to launch himself at her.
But Slade didn’t let that happen.
He grabbed Randall by the back of the neck, turned and body-slammed him face first into the ground. Even though it must have broken a bone or two, Randall came up fighting. Like a crazed killer.
Slade punched him with his left fist, and Randall’s head flopped back. He tried to get up again, but this time Slade put his gun right in the center of Randall’s forehead.
“Move, please,” Slade growled. “Because I’m looking for an excuse to send you straight to hell.”
Randall stopped fighting.
But Maya held her breath. Waiting. Praying this was over. However, she wasn’t sure it truly was until she heard the footsteps. She raced to the baby, using her body to shield him just in case this was Randall’s henchman.
But it was Declan and Wyatt.
Declan hurried to Slade and hauled Randall to his feet. He took some plastic cuffs from his pocket and restrained the man.
“Are you okay?” Slade asked her, his words rushing out with his breath. “Did he hurt you?”
Maya put her fingers over the trickle of blood running down her neck. It hurt, but she doubted it was serious. Still, Slade cursed and then cursed Randall. Since she was afraid Slade would beat the man to death, she pulled him away.
“I’m fine.” That was a lie. Her nerves were a wreck, and she didn’t think she’d stop shaking anytime soon.
“Is he okay?” Wyatt asked, looking over her at the baby.
Maya had to see for herself. She didn’t know how the baby managed it, but he was still sound asleep. The relief flooded through her.
Well, some relief.
Maya scooped up the carrier and hurried to Slade. Even tho
ugh they had an audience, she rushed toward him. However, before she could put her arm around him, Slade’s attention went to Wyatt.
“How many of Randall’s men did you find?” he asked Wyatt.
“Just one. He was holding the Colliers at gunpoint.”
Randall laughed, and the sound nearly froze her blood.
Slade cursed and pulled out his phone. “Cutter,” he said the second his ranch hand answered. “There’s another gunman out there, and he’s probably heading to the ranch. Stop him before he can take Evan.”
Chapter Twenty
Slade couldn’t move fast enough, but thankfully everyone was cooperating.
Maya grabbed the baby and the carrier, and they hurried back to the horses. They had to get back to the ranch because he couldn’t risk someone kidnapping Evan.
From the corner of his eye he saw Nadine and Chase. They were arguing, and Chase drew back his hand and slapped her hard. Under normal circumstances, Slade would have intervened, but this was far from normal.
“Arrest them both first chance you get,” Slade said to Wyatt and Declan, who were leading Randall back in the direction of the ranch. They couldn’t risk putting him on horseback in case he did something to make the horse throw them and escaped. So it wouldn’t be a fast journey.
“Call Dallas,” Slade said, handing Maya his phone. There wasn’t much room in the saddle with both of them and the baby, but she managed to take hold, and she found Dallas’s number in his contacts.
“Randall could have a gunman coming to the house,” she relayed.
And Slade held his breath, praying the gunman wasn’t already there.
“It’s under control,” Slade heard Dallas say. Maya had put the call on speaker. “We’ve got the gunman, and the house is secure. The ranch hands are out now looking for anyone else that Randall might have managed to get on the grounds, but there haven’t been any other security sensors triggered.”
Slade didn’t know whose sound of relief was louder, his or Maya’s. She dropped her head on the back of his shoulder and mumbled a prayer of thanks. Slade added one of his own.
But they weren’t out of the woods yet.
Now that he could slow down, he looked back at her and tried to see how bad her injury was. In the moonlight the streak of blood looked black, but he knew what it was. And it made him want to kill Randall. The acid churned in his stomach at the thought of that bastard putting his hands on Maya.
“Maya needs to go to the hospital,” Slade told Dallas. “Randall...cut her.” He nearly choked on the words. “And we should have the baby checked out, too.
“Dr. Landry’s still here. I didn’t want her outside the house with the gunmen at large.”
Good. The sooner Maya and the baby were attended to, the better. Slade ended the call and rode toward the ranch.
“The baby is Will Collier,” Maya said, easing off his cap so she could look at his hair.
So that meant both missing babies were accounted for. That alone was a miracle. Usually these kinds of cases didn’t have happy endings, and here they’d gotten two of them.
And maybe a third.
Because either this baby or Evan could be his son.
Slade took his phone from Maya and called Dallas back. “Randall said he did DNA tests on the babies. Can you track them down and compare the DNA to mine?”
Dallas didn’t hesitate. “I’ll get right on it.”
The ride seemed to take an eternity, but Slade finally saw the lights of the back porch. Even though the threat was over, he couldn’t wait to get inside. The moment he reined in, he helped Maya out of the saddle, took the carrier and rushed her into the kitchen.
His attention went right to her neck.
He didn’t curse, because there was a roomful of people in the den just off the kitchen. His brothers, sister-in-law, Caitlyn, Stella, who was holding a sleeping Evan, Dr. Landry and the Rands, who were thanking everyone and preparing to leave. They looked eager to get the heck out of there, and Slade didn’t blame them. Their lives had been a living hell for the past two days, and they probably wanted to get back to something normal.
Both Dallas and Harlan were on their phones, huddled in the corners of the room. Slade knew that Dallas was working on the DNA tests, and Harlan was no doubt doing mop-up on the dead gunmen and the investigation.
“Evan.” Maya made a beeline for him and pulled him into her arms.
“Before he started making some calls, Dallas said you had an injury.” Dr. Landry went closer to Maya and started the examination.
“Is she okay?” Slade asked the doc.
“I’m fine,” Maya repeated. “But make sure the baby’s all right.”
Dr. Landry nodded and glanced at the baby. Slade glanced at him, too, and the baby’s eyes were wide open now. He was looking around the room as if trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
“He looks pretty healthy to me,” the doctor concluded, and she took some supplies from her bag. “Let me just get this wound cleaned first. Don’t think stitches are necessary, but I don’t want it getting infected.” She dabbed away the blood, smeared on some cream she took from her bag and put a bandage over it.
“The baby’s yours?” Wyatt asked, looking in the carrier seat at Will.
“Maybe.” Slade glanced at Maya. “What if he is?”
The moment the doctor was finished with the bandage, Maya brushed a kiss on Slade’s cheek. “Then I’m sure you’ll have no trouble stopping the Colliers’ adoption and taking custody of him.”
Yes on both counts. The Colliers didn’t deserve to have a baby.
“How’s Lenora doing?” Maya asked, but she had her attention on Will as the doctor took the baby from the carrier and sat on the sofa to examine him.
“It shouldn’t be much longer,” Stella answered. “Clayton said he’d call as soon as the baby came.” She strolled closer, watching Will.
So did the others.
Especially Slade.
He kept volleying his attention from Maya to Evan to Will.
“Got good news,” Harlan said when he finished a phone call. “We found Gina, Randall’s ex. She’s been in hiding because she was scared of him.”
Not a surprise. “So is Will her baby?” Slade asked.
Harlan shook his head. “Gina didn’t give up her child. She faked the adoption to throw Randall off her trail. I’m guessing she had no idea what kind of hell it’d create.”
Hell was a good word for it. But there was a flip side to all of this. If it hadn’t been for the hell, he wouldn’t have met Maya. Maybe not Evan, either. And even though he didn’t want to go back through that, he would go through worse if it meant keeping Maya.
Slade froze.
Mentally repeated that.
And suddenly everything became crystal clear. He knew exactly what he had to do.
With everyone’s attention still on Will and his examination, Slade slipped his arm around Maya’s waist. “I want you to marry me.” He shook his head, mumbled some profanity. That sounded like an order. “Will you marry me?”
Maya blinked. Twice. “Uh, shouldn’t you wait until you know if Evan is your son?”
“No. Because it doesn’t matter if he is or not.” Heck, that didn’t sound right, either. “I mean, he already feels like my son, so it won’t matter if we have the same DNA. He’s my son, and I want you to be my wife. Marry me,” he repeated.
She stared at him. Licked her lips. Then pushed her h
air from her face. “I’ll only marry you for love.”
Oh. That. Well, heck. He was really putting the cart before the horse. “Easy fix. I love you.”
Of course, that didn’t mean she felt the same, and Slade held his breath, waiting, hoping and praying that he’d hear the answer he wanted.
Her smile said it all.
And the way she slid her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer for a kiss. “I love you, too,” she said against his mouth.
Instant relief. Instant heat, too, and Slade deepened the kiss until he remembered where they were. And who was watching. His brothers. His sister-in-law, Harlan’s fiancée, the doctor and Stella. All seemed amused.
Even Will was watching them.
The baby was still on the doctor’s lap, but he looked up at them. His expression was so intense that it made Slade smile. He picked him up and brushed a kiss on his cheek. Slade was about to press Maya for an answer, but both the doctor’s and Stella’s phones buzzed.
Slade held his breath, praying this wasn’t another dose of bad news, but then he saw both the doctor and Stella smiling.
“Lenora just delivered a baby boy,” Stella announced. “Jacob Kirby Caldwell. From the sound of it, he’s got a good pair of lungs on him.”
“Seven pounds, six ounces,” the doctor supplied. “Just got a text from one of the nurses. Both the mom and baby are doing great.”
That created a flurry of excitement. His brother had a son. The next generation for Kirby’s boys.
Except it wasn’t the first, Slade realized, because his son was already six weeks old.
“I’m leaving now,” the doctor said. “And I expect an invitation to the wedding. If there is one.” She looked at Joelle. “And maybe you’ll have a girl. To balance out all this testosterone.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Joelle said, smiling.
The doctor headed out, and only then did Slade remember that Maya hadn’t answered his proposal. She’d said the “I love you” part. He had, too, but he needed the yes.
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