The Mommy Mystery (6 page)

Houston cursed. “This cell can be traced.”

“No. Both the ones I use are prepaid.”

That caused him to relax a little, but that was only a drop in the bucket when it came to the safety measures he wanted to take.

Lily Rose picked up a purse from the dresser. “I think I’ll go to the diner across the street and have a cup of coffee. Either of you want me to bring you back anything?”

“No,” they said, in unison.

Lily Rose frowned at Gabrielle and headed for the door. “I’ll get you a sandwich. With the way that boy’s eating, you really need to get more food in you.”

Houston welcomed the woman’s concern, and the privacy she was about to give them. It was obvious Gabrielle and he were going to have to have a serious discussion. A discussion she wouldn’t like.

He followed the nanny to the door and locked it after she left.

Gabrielle didn’t look at him while she continued to nurse. She stared down at the baby and gently ran her fingers through his wispy hair. It was such a simple gesture, but it was intimate, too.

Houston wanted to be part of that.

“Did the gunmen who took you hostage touch Lucas or you?” Houston asked.

“No. They didn’t have to. I cooperated. I just kept thinking that I would do whatever it took to get Lucas out of there safely.”

Her fingers were still caressing the baby’s hair, and she seemed almost serene sitting there; but Houston figured she was reliving the nightmare of that incident. He wished he’d been there to help.

But he hadn’t even known his son existed at that time.

Gabrielle shifted a little, fixed her nursing bra and eased down her top. She placed the baby against her chest and shoulder so she could burp him.

Houston moved closer to get a better look…and soon realized he was smiling. It all became clear then. He understood why his friends got all sappy when they talked about their children.

He eased down on the bed across from them, reached out and touched Lucas’s hair as Gabrielle had done. The baby stirred and turned his head, so that he was facing Houston.

“He’s perfect,” Houston heard himself say.

“Yes,” Gabrielle agreed. “I’ve wanted a child for as long as I can remember.”

So had he. But unlike him, Gabrielle had done something to make that happen. “You said something earlier about being infertile. What happened?” he asked.

She took a deep breath. “I had leukemia when I was thirteen, and the chemo left me unable to produce eggs of my own. I always knew I’d have children, and last year the time was right for a baby.”

He was prying, but he wanted to know what had brought them to this point. “Why then?”

Another deep breath, but she didn’t seem annoyed. She had her attention fastened to Lucas. “I was about to turn thirty-three—but I wasn’t in a relationship. I hadn’t been in one for a long time. Plus, I figured it might take years for me to get pregnant.” She kissed the top of Lucas’s head. “It didn’t. It worked on the first try.”

If it hadn’t—if Gabrielle had used another
embryo—then they wouldn’t be here together in this room. Lucas wouldn’t exist.

Hell.

It was hard for Houston to stay furious with his father when he was looking at his son’s face. But he couldn’t let Mack get away scot-free, either. This was past mere interference in Houston’s life. His father should have told them what was going on long before Lucas was born.

Lucas let out a loud burp, causing both Gabrielle and Houston to chuckle. Again, the moment seemed intimate. And right.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Lucas, and the baby was staring at him now. He’d been right about the eye color. They were blue.

“I’d like to hold him now,” Houston said, gently.

Her chin didn’t stay defiant and steely. She got a panicked look in her eyes.

“I just want to hold him,” he assured her.

Of course, coming from him, that was no assurance at all. Still, Houston went closer and held out his hands. The moments passed slowly, before she finally surrendered and placed the baby in his arms.

The punch was instant. The overwhelming feeling of love. The need to protect. All of that was rolled into one gigantic wallop that made it hard for him to breathe.
Man.

He was a goner.

Too bad he didn’t get to feel that miracle for very long.

His phone rang, and Houston shifted the baby in his arms so he could glance at the caller ID.

“It’s Dale,” he told Gabrielle, “I need to answer it.”

She immediately took the baby from him, and Houston mentally cursed. This call could be important, critical to their safety, but at the moment, nothing seemed more critical than holding his child.

“The black car finally stopped,” Dale said, the moment Houston answered.

Finally, some good news. Well, maybe. “Where?”

“At an apartment on the south side of town. Two men got out of the vehicle and knocked on one of the doors. When they didn’t get an answer, they got back into the vehicle and continued driving around.”

“You know who the men are?” Houston asked.

“Not yet. But one of the ranch hands used his phone to get a picture, and he sent it to your security specialist friend, Jordan Taylor. Jordan’s running the photo through all the databases now.”

Good.

That meant Houston would soon know the names of the morons, and he would go after them. This wouldn’t be a case of showing mercy, either. They would pay and pay hard.

“Your friend also ran the address of the apartment where the two men knocked,” Dale continued. “He was able to identify the occupant through utility records.”

“And?” Houston prompted when Dale didn’t continue. “Who lives there?”

Dale hesitated again. “Gabrielle’s brother, Jay Markham.”

“My father’s already left,” Houston told Gabrielle, as he led her through the estate house at the Blue Springs ranch.

“Are you sure? He could be lying about that.” Gabrielle wanted to be sure, because Mack had given her a huge reason to distrust him.

“I’m sure. He’s taking a little vacation to our place on Padre Island.”

A little vacation.

Gabrielle was too tired to smile, but it was humorous in a sick, twisted way. She’d heard the phone conversation Houston had had with his father, and Houston had demanded that Mack leave immediately and not return until all of this was settled. It hadn’t been a request, and Houston had made it clear that he was beyond furious with the man’s actions. Hardly a little vacation.

Maybe, just maybe, Mack would do as he was told.

Gabrielle was actually thankful for the bone-weary fatigue, because that and Lucas were probably the reasons she hadn’t come completely unglued.

Too much was coming at her at once, and she couldn’t think straight. However, Gabrielle didn’t need to think to
realize that what she was doing could be another massive mistake. But what was one more? She’d started out the day with a mistake by taking that unloaded gun out to the ranch so she could get so-called answers from Houston. Well, she’d gotten those answers.

And here she was again. Right back in the very place where she was under Houston’s control. But she was also under his protection.

She kept Lucas snuggled in her arms while they went upstairs to the second floor. He’d slept during the entire drive from the hotel to the ranch—perhaps because the adult occupants of the car had been silent, except for Houston’s quietly spoken phone conversations. Houston and she had argued briefly at the hotel, after he’d told her about the men in the black car getting out at her brother’s apartment.

It was a mistake, she’d tried to tell herself.

Her brother wouldn’t endanger her.

But she had enough niggling doubt in the back of her mind that, when Houston insisted they all go to the ranch where he could keep Lucas safe, Gabrielle had only mildly resisted.

Truth was, Houston might be the only person who could protect Lucas. Gabrielle certainly wasn’t going to rely on the police. The way Mack Sadler bought people off, he could buy off the cops, as well. They could take Lucas from her, claiming she was part of the coverup at the Cryogen Clinic, and it would be a long legal battle to get him back. Houston could prevent his father’s further interference.

Probably.

But she wasn’t stupid. Gabrielle had seen the love in
Houston’s eyes when he looked at Lucas, and that love might blind him to fact that this was the child she’d planned and carried. This was
her
baby.

“Lily Rose, you can stay here,” Houston said, opening one of the doors that lined the massive corridor. He set the nanny’s suitcase just inside the guest room. “Gabrielle, you’re next door.”

He opened that room, as well, and it was even larger than she’d expected. A fourposter bed, a desk and even a sitting area. Decorated in varying shades of pales—blue, white and gray, it was tasteful and serene.

It included a crib and a changing table, which had been positioned against the right interior wall.

“I had the maid bring in some things,” Houston explained. He placed her suitcase and the diaper bag on the floor next to the adjoining bathroom. “And there are some extra diapers and baby clothes.”

Gabrielle had heard him make the request on the phone after the conversation with his father. After that, he had called Sheriff Whitley to tell him that he’d spoken with her, and that she had done nothing wrong at the Cryogen Clinic. However, Houston had added that he personally wanted to speak to the clinic head, because there had possibly been a coverup of some kind. However, Houston hadn’t mentioned his father when he spoke of that coverup.

His next call had been to his security specialist friend, and Houston had asked him to check on Jay and on SAPD’s investigation into the hostage situation. He was trying to determine if those hostage-taking gunmen did have an accomplice. An accomplice who might have
been in that ominous black car that had stopped at Jay’s apartment.

Houston had gotten several updates on that situation, as well, on the drive over. The two men had indeed knocked on Jay’s door, but her brother hadn’t answered. And according to the last update, the men were still driving around on the south side of San Antonio.

Gabrielle looked around the room and spotted the diapers and clothes that Houston had mentioned. They were stacked on the changing table. “The maid didn’t have much time to set all of this up,” she commented. Houston had made that request less than an hour earlier.

He shrugged. “We keep cribs and baby items for guests. We have extra clothes and toiletries for Lily Rose and you, too, if you need them.”

“We brought our own things,” Gabrielle told him, and she frowned at the iciness in her voice. She really wanted to blame Houston for all of this, but it seemed less and less likely that he’d had any part in it.

“I’m going to freshen up,” Lily Rose said. “If you need me, just give a yell.”

The woman glanced at Gabrielle, probably to see if she had any objections to being left alone with Houston. She did. But Lily Rose didn’t need to babysit her.

“It’s okay,” Gabrielle assured her, and Lily Rose went off to her room.

“You’re exhausted,” Houston commented.

And as if it was the most normal and routine thing in the world, he took Lucas from her arms and carried him to the crib. He didn’t lay the baby down right away, but instead kissed his cheek and smiled at him.

Gabrielle could see it then—the strong resemblance.
It was uncanny and unnerving just how much Lucas looked like his father. He was indeed a Sadler.

That didn’t do much to steady her nerves.

Houston glanced back at her and his smile faded. Heaven knows how horrible and terrified she must have looked, because it prompted him to lay the baby down on his side in the crib. Houston tucked the blanket around Lucas and came back across the room toward her.

“You look like you’re ready to pass out. Or something. It’s almost dinnertime,” he said, checking his watch. “I can have trays brought up for Lily Rose and you.”

“Thank you.” And she meant it. She was too numb to be hungry, but she had to eat for Lucas’s sake.

Houston stared at her. “About Jay…” However, he ended that with a heavy, frustrated breath.

“I’ll talk to him,” Gabrielle insisted, “but I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why those men went to his apartment. It’s probably just some kind of mix-up. Jay hasn’t lived there very long, so maybe the guys were looking for the previous owner.”

Though that did seem like a strange coincidence.

“You’re defending him again.” Houston didn’t say that with anger, or even as an accusation. Merely as a statement of fact.

It was true. She was indeed defending Jay, something she’d done most of her life. “He’s my kid brother,” Gabrielle settled for saying.

“And you practically raised him after your mother was killed when you were nineteen,” Houston added.

She blinked, surprised that he knew that about her.

Houston just shrugged. “I had a background check run on you when Jay brought the lawsuit against me.”

Of course he had; and he probably knew that Jay had been in and out of trouble since he was fourteen. Their mother’s death had sent him into a bad spiral that had led to a lot of bad choices—and a juvenile arrest record for drug possession. Since their father had left years earlier, when Jay was just a baby, Gabrielle had taken care of him out of necessity.

“I didn’t do a good job of raising him,” Gabrielle mumbled.

“You were nineteen,” Houston countered. He took her by the arm and led her to the love seat in the sitting area. “Sit down,” he insisted.

She did, because she wasn’t sure she could stand much longer anyway. Houston sat next to her.

“You’re having an adrenaline crash,” he explained. “If you want to take a nap, I can sit here and watch the baby while you sleep.”

It was so tempting, but the reprieve wouldn’t be without consequences. She should be trying to push Houston away and not draw him closer into their lives.

Like now, for instance.

Unlike the rest of the room and the house, the love seat wasn’t that large, and Houston and she were practically hip to hip. Much too close.

“Right,” he mumbled, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. And feeling.

Houston slowly got to his feet and began to make his way to the door. He didn’t get even halfway when his phone rang. The noise shot through the room, and Lucas immediately began to cry.

She hurried to the crib. So did Houston. But he stopped when he saw the number on his caller ID screen.
He gave her a glance to let her know it was important, and Gabrielle picked up the baby while Houston took the call.

“Sheriff Whitley, what can I do for you?” Houston walked to the doorway and just into the hall, probably because Lucas launched into a full-fledged cry.

Gabrielle put the baby against her chest and gently rocked him. Lucas crammed his fist into his mouth and began to suck. That, and the rocking, soothed him almost immediately.

Houston’s call was one-sided, because he didn’t say a word for several long moments. And as each one passed, Gabrielle began to imagine the worst. Had the men in that car gotten away from the ranch hands? Were they on their way to the ranch for a fresh attack?

“Could you send that picture to my cell phone?” Houston asked. “Salvador Franks, that’s right,” he added, a moment later.

That got her attention. Salvador Franks was the head of the Cryogen Clinic, and if Mack had told the truth, he was the one who was responsible for the mix-up with the embryo.

“Well, I want to talk to him, too.” Houston looked back at her. “No, I’d rather not go into town right now. I’m tied up here at the ranch.” He paused. “That’ll be fine. I’m anxious to talk to him.”

Houston ended the call and made his way back to her. He gave Lucas a rub on the cheek before his gaze came to hers. “The sheriff’s on the way out here, and he has Salvador Franks with him.”

Gabrielle stopped the rocking, but Lucas’s whimpers
had her starting right back up again. “Already? You only called him about Cryogen an hour ago.”

“Sheriff Whitley works fast, and he wants to help. Don’t worry, though, I won’t let Salvador near you or Lucas.”

She shook her head. “But I want to hear what he has to say about what happened at the clinic and about his conversation with your father.”

“That might not be a good idea. There are things going on, and I don’t know just how involved this Salvador Franks is.”

Before she could ask what he meant by that, Houston held up his phone, and she saw the photo of the man. He was in his late thirties or early forties and had dark hair.

“Who is he?” she wanted to know.

“Harlan Cordell. He’s a shady businessman and occasional loan shark. SAPD believes he might be the accomplice to the gunmen who held the maternity hospital hostage.”

Gabrielle’s heart dropped. So it was true. There really
was
an accomplice.
Oh, mercy.

Was this the man who’d made her life hell for the past six weeks? Or was Mack to blame for that?

She shifted Lucas so she could get a better look at the small photo. She studied Harlan Cordell’s face but finally had to shake her head. “I don’t recognize him. Why does SAPD think he’s involved?”

“An undercover officer learned that the two dead gunmen owed Cordell a lot of money. Word on the street is that Cordell went to the hospital the day of the hostage situation to assist the gunmen who were getting paid to
destroy some lab files. Cordell probably wanted to make sure their pay went to him.”

Gabrielle had followed the investigation in the papers, and it was true. One of the dying gunmen had confessed that they owed money and were little more than hired guns for someone who had offered them lots of money to destroy evidence in the hospital lab. But the man who’d hired the gunmen had also been arrested and was awaiting trial.

“Look at the picture again,” Houston said, pressing her.

She did, but after a few seconds, she knew her answer would be the same. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him.”

“Word on the street says otherwise.”

Her breath stalled in her chest. “What do you mean?”

“According to the undercover officer, Cordell thinks you saw him with the gunmen that day in the hospital when you were taken hostage.”

Gabrielle shook her head so hard that Lucas stirred and started to fuss again. “Is that why he’s been following me?” she asked. “Is that why he tried to run us off the road today?”

Houston eased both Lucas and her into his arms. “I’m not sure. Neither is SAPD. But it could be that Cordell is trying to intimidate you so there’s no chance you’ll testify against him.”

When her lungs began to ache, she had no choice but to release the breath she’d been holding. “I was right. Lucas and I are in danger.”

“You were. But you’re safe now. I intend to get to the bottom of this.”

Gabrielle wanted to believe him, but if the police hadn’t been able to arrest Harlan Cordell, then it might not be easy for Houston to stop him, either. Of course, Houston and she had Lucas to protect, and that was a more powerful motive than others’ needs of eliminating her as a potential witness.

Because Lucas had fallen back asleep and because her arms suddenly felt like pudding, Gabrielle placed him back in the crib. Houston joined her, stood right by her side, and together they stared down at the baby.

“Thank you,” she heard him say.

Gabrielle risked looking at him and saw the fatigue mirrored in his eyes. She also saw the emotion. “For what?”

He didn’t answer right away, and it seemed as if he changed his mind several times about what he was about to say. “For giving birth to Lucas.”

She pulled back her shoulders and was ready to tell him she didn’t want his thanks. But before Gabrielle could get out a syllable, Houston slid his arm around her and pulled her to him. She automatically started to push him away, but something stopped her. Maybe it was the adrenaline crash. Or the fatigue. Or the uncertainty of what she was going to do about their safety. Whichever it was, Gabrielle found herself leaning into him and drawing comfort from the very man she should be avoiding.