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“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Rachel dropped the shoes on the floor, but with incensed tugs and jerks, she did put on the jeans over her workout shorts. “In a little less than three hours, I’m leaving to testify against Clarence Esterman, and the officers outside will be the ones driving me. Not you.”
“You can’t testify,” Jared said. “Not today, anyway.”
“Judas Priest!” Rachel propped her hands on her hips and stared at him. “Are you saying there’s been another trial delay? Because if there has been—”
She stopped, and just like that, the color drained from her face. She slowly sank onto the edge of the bed. “My God, did Esterman get to you? Did he send you here to try to talk me out of testifying?”
Jared cursed. Hell. She obviously thought he was lower than slime to have suggested something like that. It meant there was nothing he could say that would make her change her mind about leaving with him.
Instead, he’d have to show her.
Jared finished putting on her shoes, tied the laces with far more force than required and then reached inside his jacket. He yanked out the envelope.
“I told you earlier on the phone that I’d sign the divorce papers,” she continued, her voice getting more indignant with each word. “There’s no reason for us to go through this—whatever the heck this is. You can have the town house. The car. Everything. I’ll need to start fresh anyway, once they give me a new identity.”
Jared ignored her, opened the envelope and extracted the photo of the newborn baby. When she refused to take it, he dropped it on the bed next to her.
Rachel glanced at it and shrugged. “So? What does that have to do with our divorce or with me testifying against my former boss?”
He had to unclench his jaw so he could speak. “I’ve been told that the baby in that photo is my son.”
Her head whipped up, her eyes narrowed and accusing. He could almost see her process that bit of startling information. She didn’t process it well. With reason. Before they’d gone their separate ways, Rachel and he had spent two long years trying to conceive a child.
They’d failed.
And so had their marriage.
Rachel swallowed hard. “You have a son?”
Jared wasn’t immune to the hurt he saw on her face. But that hurt was nothing compared to what he’d no doubt see when he told her the rest.
“It seems that way. He’s six days old.” Jared hadn’t meant his explanation to grind to a halt, but then, he hadn’t counted on his mouth turning to dust either. Hell. He hated the people who’d set all of this in motion.
Rachel shook a head, a nervous shudder. Obviously she didn’t understand. But how could she possibly understand this? He’d had hours to try to absorb it and still didn’t understand.
She reached for the picture, but instead her fingers curled into a tight fist. “My God, you didn’t waste any time. So, who’s the baby’s mother? Is she someone I know?”
Jared caught her shoulders. Their gazes locked. “You’re the mother, Rachel. According to the DNA report, he’s our son. Ours.”
THE ONLY THING that saved Rachel from losing it then and there was that Jared was obviously lying. He had to be. But what she couldn’t figure out was why he was doing something so intentionally cruel.
“Why are you telling me this?” She got up from the bed, snatched up the photograph and shoved it back into the pocket of his black leather jacket. She didn’t want even another glimpse of that image of the newborn. “You want to upset me? To get back at me for all the things that went on between us? Then, fine. You’ve upset me. Now, get out of here.”
He caught her hand when she started to pace. “It’s the truth, Rachel.”
That stopped her in her tracks. There wasn’t any hesitation in his voice. Not even a hint. And it was that sheer conviction that had Rachel studying him. What she saw in the depths of those whiskey-colored eyes sent her stomach plummeting to her knees.
“You’re not lying?” she mumbled.
But how could that be? She hadn’t been with Jared or any other man in over a year. And she darn sure hadn’t given birth. That she definitely would have remembered.
Jared released the grip he had on her and scrubbed his hands over his face. He groaned softly. “I don’t have time to sugarcoat this, so here goes. According to the letter I received late last night, someone claims they stole a frozen fertilized embryo that we’d stored when you were trying to get pregnant. This person says they took it so they could use it to impregnate a surrogate.”
It took her several tries just to gather enough breath to speak. “And?”
“And according to them, they succeeded.”
Oh God.
Success in this case could mean only one thing. What was left of her composure went south in a hurry. Rachel had no choice but to sit back down on the bed, because her legs gave way.
“There’s really a baby? Our baby?”
“According to the letter, yes. Of course, we’d stored several unfertilized eggs as well, so I’m guessing they could have gotten one of those, instead. I just don’t know at this point. I’ve got the people at the fertility clinic checking to verify what’s missing, but it doesn’t look good. Apparently, frozen embryos aren’t a high-theft item so security was pretty lax.”
The information was coming at her way too fast. Rachel pressed her hands against her head and tried to concentrate, but it was impossible to absorb something that didn’t make sense. “Do you believe it?”
Jared lifted a shoulder, but there was nothing casual about that gesture. And there wasn’t a relaxed muscle in his body. “Whoever’s behind this included a saliva swab so we could do an independent DNA test. I sent it to the lab before I drove out here, but it’ll be a couple of days before we can get the results.”
Days. She’d have to wait days to learn the truth. And even then, the test results might not be definitive. After all, someone sinister enough to come up with a plan like this wouldn’t hesitate to doctor DNA results.
Still, it wasn’t the possibility of doctored DNA results that’d put that strained look in Jared’s eyes.
“You must think the child is ours, or you wouldn’t be here,” Rachel insisted.
He hitched his thumb to his chest. “I’m here because they gave me no choice. All I know at this point is there’s a child, and Esterman’s people have him.”
“Yes.” It sickened her to know that a man like Esterman held the fate of a baby in his hands. The man was a killer. “But why would he do something like this?”
The moment the question left her mouth, Rachel knew why. God. She knew. “It’s because of my testimony, isn’t it?”
Jared nodded. “They want you to lie this afternoon when you take the stand, to exonerate Esterman. If you don’t, they say they’ll kill the baby.”
The adrenaline and the emotions slammed into her like a fist. She fought to keep her breath level. But lost that battle. Rachel tried to remind herself that it might not even be true. The photo and the DNA report could be fakes. It was possible this was all just a ploy to stop her from putting a killer away for the rest of his life.
But it didn’t feel like a ploy.
It felt as if her child was in horrible danger.
“Now that you know, it’s decision time, Rachel. I could force you to go with me, but in the end I’ll need your cooperation.”
Cooperation? She wasn’t sure she could even move. A dozen emotions assaulted her. None good. So many doubts. So much confusion.
A baby. God, a baby.
“Rachel, are you sure you’re all right?” Detective Miller called out.
“Don’t open the door,” Jared whispered.
He extracted a small tool kit from his pocket, went to the window and proceeded to disarm the security system. That explained why he was wearing a jacket on a muggy spring day. He had to conceal heaven-knows-what to help them escape.
But the real question was—did she want to escape?
“Convince her to give us some time alone,” Jared instructed. “Lots of time. We’ll need it if you’re leaving with me.”
Rachel nodded, somehow. And somehow she managed to get off the bed. She made it to the door, praying her voice wouldn’t break.
“I’m okay,” she lied. “Jared will be staying until we leave for the courthouse.”
The silence on the other side of the door didn’t do much to settle Rachel’s raw, tangled nerves. It was obvious Jared didn’t want either of the other officers involved in this, and Rachel would go along with him on that.
For now.
But there were still too many questions that needed answers before she’d leave with him.
“Maybe I should call Captain Thornton?” Miller suggested. “I mean, just so she’ll know Lieutenant Dillard is here visiting you.”
Rachel understood the implications of that. And they weren’t good implications. Miller wasn’t a fool and she no doubt suspected something was wrong.
She looked over her shoulder at Jared. He merely shook his head and continued to work on the window.
“No need to call anyone.” Rachel pulled in a long breath so she could finish. “I just want to, um, talk things out with Jared.”
Another pause. Rachel pressed her forehead against the door and waited. She really didn’t want to speculate what would happen if Detective Miller decided to make that call.
“Okay. Whatever you say, Rachel. But I’ll stay put right out here in the hall. Just yell if you need me.”
Oh, she would do that. Too bad it might become necessary. Because she didn’t know if she could even trust Jared. Their last months together hadn’t exactly fostered a trusting relationship. There’d been too many incidents where they’d frozen each other out. Along with that had come the bitter feelings and the accusations. He definitely wasn’t the same person she’d vowed to love, honor and cherish five years ago.
But then, neither was she.
During their separation, they’d grown as far apart as two people could get. Heck, they hadn’t even contacted each other the entire time she’d been at the ranch house. Yet here he was, right back in her life.
Jared put his tool kit away and eased open the window. The morning breeze stirred the curtains when he shoved out the screen. No alarms went off, which meant he’d successfully deactivated the system.
“If you’re doing this, we have to leave now,” Jared insisted.
But Rachel held her ground. “And then what?”
Obviously not pleased with her lack of cooperation, he mumbled some profanity under his breath. “I need to take you someplace safe so you won’t have to testify. The courts will almost certainly ask for another trial delay while they try to locate you. In the meantime, we find this child and get him out of danger.”
It was a simple plan. Also a vague one. And it had holes in it the size of the Alamo.
“You didn’t turn this over to the police,” Rachel pointed out. “Why?”
This was one of those times she wished she didn’t know Jared so well. His mouth tightened. A muscle stirred in his firm jaw. And a sickening feeling crawled down her spine before he even answered.
“The person who wrote that letter said the baby would die if we told the cops, and I’m pretty sure there’s a leak in the department. A big one from a person who can do lots of damage if he puts his mind to it. I’ll give you the details once we’re out of here.”
Great. Just great. Her life had just been turned upside down and inside out. Somewhere out there, a child—maybe their child—was possibly in grave danger, and they couldn’t even go to the police.
Rachel debated and wished like the devil that she had more time to figure out what to do. This could easily be construed as the point of no return. Once she went out that window, she would essentially be on the run. A fugitive. But if she stayed and told the truth to convict a killer, then a child might die.
Jared helped her decision along. “Every minute we waste here, we could be using to find the baby.”
He was right, of course—about that particular argument, anyway. She couldn’t be sure about anything else.
However, when Jared gripped her arm, Rachel didn’t argue. Didn’t take a step back. She climbed out into the yard with him. Then she prayed, hoping this wasn’t the biggest mistake of her life.
Jared didn’t give her time to dwell on her doubts. He kept low, his gaze darting all around. He led her to the side of the house, toward the detached garage.
“We’re taking one of the detective’s cars?” Rachel whispered.
“No. But I need a distraction.”
Looping his arm around her waist, he ducked behind some thick shrubs. He paused a moment and checked out the yard before he continued to the side door of the garage. From the corner of her eye, Rachel saw him try to turn the knob.
It was locked.
Other than one single harsh word of profanity, he said nothing. Instead, he rammed his shoulder into it, but when that didn’t budge it, he snatched the tiny tool kit from his pocket and got to work picking the lock.
Rachel’s gaze whipped back to the open window where they’d escaped. No sign of the officers. Yet. But they’d come. After all, it was their job to get her to the courthouse. Once they realized she wasn’t in the bedroom, the search would be on.
For months, she’d prepared herself for that testimony, and for its aftermath. A divorce. A new life. A new identity. Out with the old and in with the new. But instead of putting the undercover investigation and her past behind her, she was apparently about to leap headfirst back into it.
God.
Was she doing the right thing? Maybe there was some other way to save the child. Some way that didn’t involve them going on the run.
Rachel heard the sound at the exact moment that Jared apparently did. Footsteps. Some movement along the driveway on the side of the house. He reacted quickly. Jared shoved her behind him and pressed her against the wall of the garage.
She waited. And listened. Even over the thuds of her own heartbeat, Rachel clearly heard the footsteps on the cement. They were hardly more than whispers, but it wasn’t difficult to tell where they were headed.
Right toward them.
It was probably Detective Smith doing a routine check of the grounds, but if he saw them, there’d be nothing routine about his reaction.
Jared turned, facing her, and he went back to picking the lock. She saw the intense focus in his eyes. Felt his breath brush against her cheek. Felt the heat of his body.
But she also felt his shoulder holster, and his weapon.
That didn’t do much to steady her heart. Thank God he hadn’t drawn it, but he probably would if that was the only way they could get out of there.
The footsteps suddenly stopped. She’d seen Smith do a check of grounds dozens of times and knew he was thorough. He’d no doubt be coming around the side of the garage very soon. Too soon. She and Jared needed to get inside, or Smith would certainly see them.
The lock finally gave way, and Jared pushed her inside and quickly followed. There were two cars parked in the dark, cramped space. He opened the door on the one nearest them and retrieved the remote for the garage.
“Come on,” Jared whispered. But he didn’t use the remote. He opened the side door again and peered out.
