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“Tabs?” She took a moment to consider that. “That’s an interesting word. What does it mean exactly?”
More jaw muscles moved. “It means they were keeping track of you in case Holden decided to divulge anything incriminating they could use in their case against him.”
So it was true. Her fears weren’t all in her head. The authorities thought Holden might be a danger as well.
Or maybe they didn’t.
Maybe they were just hoping Holden would do something stupid so they could use that to arrest him.
“I was bait?” she asked.
“No.” But then he lifted his shoulder. “At least I don’t think so.”
Jenna prayed that was true. The thought wasn’t something she could handle right now.
“The baby is Paul Tolivar’s?” Cal asked.
She nodded. And waited for his reaction. She didn’t get one. He put on his operative’s face again. “Just how much trouble will this cause for you?” she wanted to know.
“The ISA has a morality clause.” His fingers tightened around a dried apricot, squishing it. “Plus, the regs forbid personal contact during a protective custody situation.”
That was not what she wanted to hear. “You could be punished.”
Again, it took him a moment to answer. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” Jenna took a deep breath, and because she couldn’t stay still, she got up to pace. There was a solution to this. Not necessarily an appetizing solution, but it did exist. “Will my statement that I lied be enough to clear you, or will you need a paternity test?”
“My director wants a test.” He stood as well, and caught her arm when she started to go past him. His fingers were warm. Surprisingly warm. She could feel his touch all the way through her thick sweater. “But I think that’s the least of your worries right now.”
“Because of Anthony Salazar.” Jenna nodded. “Yes. He’s definitely a worry. His being here means I’ll need to leave Willow Ridge and go into hiding.”
“You’re already in hiding,” Cal pointed out. “And he found you. He’ll find you again. He’s very good at what he does. You need more protection than a bookstore security system or a hired bodyguard can give you. I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.”
Pride almost caused her to decline his offer. But she knew that it wouldn’t protect her baby. And that was the most important thing right now. She had to stay safe because if anything happened to her, it would happen to her precious daughter as well.
“Thank you,” Jenna whispered. She repeated it to make sure he heard her. “I really am sorry about dragging you into my personal life.”
“We’ll get it straightened out,” he assured her. But there was a lot of skepticism in his voice.
And annoyance, which she deserved.
“Okay, while you make those calls, I’ll arrange to have the paternity test done,” Jenna added.
Somehow, though, she’d have to keep the results a secret from anyone but Cal and his director.
Because she didn’t want Holden to learn the truth. Jenna moved away from Cal and started to pace again, mumbling a poem she’d memorized in middle school. She couldn’t help it. A few lines came out before she could stop them.
“What you must think of me,” she said. “For what it’s worth, Paul and I only had sex once, and we used protection. But I guess something went wrong…on a lot of levels. Honestly, I don’t really even remember sleeping with him.” Jenna mumbled that last part.
“You don’t remember?” he challenged.
She shook her head. “One minute we were having dinner, and the next thing I remember was waking up in bed with him. I obviously had too much to drink. Or else he drugged me. Either way, it was my stupid mistake for being there. Then I made things so much worse by telling Holden that you’re my daughter’s father. And here we didn’t even have sex. Heck, we never even kissed on the floor of that cantina.”
A clear image formed in her mind. Of that floor. Of Cal on top of her to protect her from the explosion. It wasn’t exactly pleasurable. Okay, it was. But it wasn’t supposed to be.
Not then.
Not now.
She’d already done enough damage to Cal’s career without her adding unwanted sexual attraction that could never go beyond the fantasy stage.
He opened his mouth to say something, but didn’t get past the first syllable. There was a knock at the door, the sudden sound shattering the silence.
Cal reacted fast. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a handgun from a shoulder holster. He motioned for her to move out of the path of the door.
Jenna raced across the room and took a knife from the cutlery drawer. It probably wouldn’t give them much protection, but she didn’t intend to let Cal fight alone. Especially since the battle was hers.
With his hands gripped around his weapon, he eased toward the door. Every inch of his posture and demeanor was vigilant. Ready. Lethal.
Cal didn’t use the peephole to look outside, but instead peered out the corner of the window.
He cursed softly.
“It’s Holden Carr.”
Chapter Four (#ulink_6a71784c-1256-5404-94a2-5f74fd6f55f5)
This was not how Cal had planned his visit.
It was supposed to be in and out quickly. He was only on a fact-finding mission so he could get out of hot water with the director. Instead, he’d walked right into a vipers’ nest. And one viper was way too close.
Holden Carr was literally pounding on Jenna’s door.
Cal glanced back at her. With a butcher knife in a white-knuckled death grip, Jenna was standing guard in front of the nursery. She was pale, trembling and nibbling on her bottom lip. Bam! There were his protective instincts.
There was no way he could let her face Holden Carr alone. From everything Cal had read about the man, Holden was as dangerous as Paul, his former business partner. And Paul had been ready to commit murder to get his hands on Jenna’s estate.
“Go to your daughter,” Cal instructed while Holden continued to pound.
She shook her head. “You might need backup.”
He lifted his eyebrow. She wasn’t exactly backup material. Jenna Laniere might have been temporarily living in a starter apartment in a quaint Texas cowboy town, but her blue blood and pampered upbringing couldn’t have prepared her for the likes of Holden Carr.
“I’ll handle this,” Cal let her know, and he left no room for argument.
She mumbled something, but stepped back into the nursery.
With his SIG Sauer drawn, Cal stood to the side of the door. It was standard procedure—bad guys often like to shoot through doors. But Holden probably didn’t have that in mind. It was broad daylight and with the door-pounding, he was probably drawing all kinds of attention to himself, but Cal didn’t want to take an unnecessary risk.
Once he was in place, he reached over. Unlocked the door. And eased it open.
Cal jammed his gun right in Holden’s face.
Holden’s dust-gray eyes sliced in the direction of the SIG Sauer. There was just a flash of shock and concern before he buried those reactions in the cool composure of his Nordic pale skin and his Viking-size body. He was decked out in a pricy camel-colored suit that probably cost more than Cal made in a month.
“I’m Holden Carr and I need to see Jenna,” he announced.
Cal didn’t lower his gun. In fact, he jabbed it against Holden’s right cheek. “Oh, yeah? About what?”
“A private matter.”
“It’s not so private. From what I’ve heard you’re threatening her. It takes a special kind of man to threaten a woman half his size. Of course, you’re no stranger to violence, are you? Did you murder Paul Tolivar?”
Holden couldn’t quite bury his anger fast enough. It rippled through his jaw muscles and his eyes. “Who the hell are you?”
“Cal Rico. I’m Jenna’s…friend.” But he let his tone indicate that he was the man who wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger if Holden tried to barge his way in. “Anything you have to say to Jenna, you can say to me. I’ll make sure she gets the message.”
“The message is she can’t hide from me forever.” Holden enunciated each word. “I know she had a baby. A little girl named Sophie Elizabeth. Born three months ago. That means the child is Paul’s.”
It didn’t surprise Cal that Holden knew all of this, but what else did he know? “Paul, the man you murdered,” Cal challenged.
There was another flash of anger. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t murder him. His housekeeper did. She was secretly working for a rebel faction who had issues with some of Paul’s businesses.”
“Right. The housekeeper.” Cal made sure he sounded skeptical. He’d already heard the theory of the runaway housekeeper known only as Mary. “I don’t suppose she confessed.”
Holden had to get his teeth apart before he could respond. “She fled the estate after she killed him. No one’s been able to find her.”
“Convenient. Now, mind telling me how you came by this information about Jenna’s child?”
“Yes. I mind.”
Cal hadn’t expected him to volunteer that, since it almost certainly involved illegal activity. “Hmmm. I smell a wire tap. That kind of illegal activity can get you arrested. Your dual citizenship won’t do a thing to protect you, either. If you hightail it back to Monte de Leon, you can be extradited.”
Though that wasn’t likely. Still, Cal made a note to discover the source of that possible tap.
Holden looked past him, and because they were so close, Cal saw the man’s eyes light up. Cal didn’t have to guess why. Holden was aiming his attention in the direction of the nursery door and had probably spotted Jenna. He tried to come inside, but Cal blocked the door with his foot.
“She’ll have to talk to me sooner or later,” Holden insisted. “Call off your guard dog,” he yelled at Jenna.
“What do you want?” Jenna asked. Cal silently groaned when he heard her walking closer. She really didn’t take orders very well.
“I want you to carry out Paul’s wishes. In his will, he named me guardian of his children. He didn’t have any children at the time he wrote that, but he does now.”
“You only want my daughter so you can control me,” Jenna tossed out.
Holden didn’t deny it. “I’ve petitioned the court for custody,” he said.
Jenna stopped right next to Cal, and she reached across his body to open the door wider. “No judge would give you custody.”
“Maybe not in this country, but in Monte de Leon, the law will be on Paul’s side. Even in death he’s still a powerful man with powerful friends.”
“Sophie’s an American,” Jenna pointed out. “Born right here in Texas.”
“And you think that’ll stop Paul’s wishes from being carried out? It won’t. If the Monte de Leon court deems you unfit—and that can easily happen with the right judge—then the court will petition for the child to be brought to her father’s estate.”
“Sophie is not Paul’s child.” She looked Holden right in the eye when she told that lie.
But Holden only smiled. “I’ve seen pictures of her. She looks just like him. Dark brown hair. Blue eyes.”
Pictures meant he had surveillance along with taps. This was not looking good.
Cal could hear Jenna’s breath speed up. Fear had a smell, and she was throwing off that scent, along with motherly protection vibes. But that wouldn’t do anything to convince this SOB that he didn’t have a right to claim her child.
From the corner of his eye, Cal spotted a movement. There was a tall redheaded woman with a camera. She was about forty yards away across the street and was clicking pictures of this encounter. Gwen Mitchell no doubt. And she wasn’t the only woman there. He also spotted a slender blonde making her way up the steps to Jenna’s apartment.
“That’s Helena Carr,” Jenna provided.
Holden’s sister and business partner. Great. Now there was an added snake to deal with, and it was all playing out in front of a photographer with questionable motives. Cal could already hear himself having to explain why he was in small-town America with his standard-issue SIG Sauer smashed against a civilian’s face.
“This meeting is over,” Cal insisted. He lowered his gun, but he kept it aimed at Holden’s right kneecap.
“It’ll be over when Jenna admits that her daughter is Paul’s,” Holden countered.
“We just want the truth.” That from Helena, who was a feminine version of her brother without the Vikingwide shoulders. Her stare was different, too. Nonthreatening. Almost serene. “After all, we know she slept with Paul, and the timing is perfect to have produced Sophie.”
Cal hoped he didn’t regret this later, but there was one simple way to diffuse this. “I have dark brown hair, blue eyes. Just like Sophie’s.” He hoped, since he hadn’t actually seen the little girl.
Helena blinked and gave him an accusing stare. Holden cursed. “Are you saying you’re the father?” he asked.
“No,” Jenna started to say. But Cal made sure his voice drowned her out.
“Yes,” Cal snarled. “I’m Sophie’s father.”
“Impossible,” Holden snarled back.
Cal gave him a cocky snort. “There is nothing impossible about it. I’m a man. Jenna’s a woman. Sometimes men and women have sex, and that results in a pregnancy.”
And just in case Jenna was going to say something to contradict him, Cal gave her a quick glance. She was staring at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“You won’t mind taking a DNA test,” Holden insisted.
“Tell you what. You send the request for a DNA sample through your foreign judge and let it trickle its way through our American judicial system. Then I’ll get back to you with an answer.”
Of course, the answer would be no.
Still, that wouldn’t stop Holden from trying. If he controlled Jenna’s child, then he would ultimately have access to a vast money-laundering enterprise. Then he could fully operate his own family business and the one he’d inherited from Paul.
“This isn’t over.” Holden aimed the threat at Jenna as he stalked away.
