Landon

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Tessa’s eyes widened, probably because she realized this could be a trap. Of course, that was only one of their problems. The baby was still crying, the sound echoing through the empty hall.

Landon heard the footsteps to his right. The gunman, no doubt. And he readied himself to shoot when the man rounded the corner. But the footsteps stopped just short of the hall junction.

He glanced back at Tessa to make sure she was staying down. She was, and she was volleying glances between him and the bathroom door. In those glimpses that Landon got of her face, though, he could see the stark fear in her eyes. He would have liked to assure her that they’d get out of this alive, but Landon had no idea how this would play out.

“Tessa?” the guy called out. “Time’s up.”

Landon braced himself for more shots. And they came, all right. The guy pivoted around the corner, and he started shooting right at Tessa and him. Landon had no choice but to push her deeper into the room.

“Deputy Ryland?” someone called out. It was the security guard, and judging from the sound of his voice, he was on the opposite end of the hall from the shooter. “The other deputies are in the building. They’re on the way now to help you.”

Good. Well, maybe. It could be a bluff since it’d been less than ten minutes since the shooting had started, and that would be a very fast response time for backup. Still, even if it was a bluff, it worked.

Because the shots stopped, and Landon heard the guy take off running.

His first instincts were to go after the guy, to stop him from getting away, but Landon had no way of knowing if the security guard was on the take. Hell, this could be a ruse to lure them out of the room so that Tessa could be kidnapped or killed.

Landon waited, cursing while he listened to the thug get away, but it wasn’t long before he heard another voice. One that he trusted completely.

Grayson.

“Landon?” his cousin called out. “Don’t shoot. I’m coming toward you.”

It seemed to take an eternity for Grayson to make it to them, and when he reached the door, Landon could see the concern on his face. Concern that was no doubt mirrored in Landon’s own expression.

“Come on,” Grayson said, motioning for them to follow him. “I need to get the three of you out of here right now.”

* * *

TESSA’S HEART WAS beating so hard that she thought her ribs might crack. Her entire body was shaking, especially her legs, and if Landon hadn’t hooked his arm around her for support, she would have almost certainly fallen.

She hated feeling like his. Helpless and weak. But at the moment she had no choice but to rely on Landon and Grayson to get the baby and her away from that shooter.

The sheriff led them up the hall, in the opposite direction of where the gunman had fired those last shots. Since that back hall also led to the parking lot, Tessa suspected he was getting away.

That didn’t help slow down her heartbeat.

Because if he escaped, he could return for a second attempt. But an attempt at what? He obviously had wanted her to go with him. Or maybe that was what he had wanted her to believe. If she’d surrendered, he could have just gunned her down, done the same to Landon. Heaven knew then what would have happened to the baby.

“This way,” Grayson said, and he didn’t head toward the front but rather to a side exit.

The moment they reached it, Tessa spotted the cruiser parked there, only inches from the exit and apparently waiting for him. When Grayson opened the door, she saw Dade behind the wheel.

Even though she now believed she could trust the Ryland lawmen, seeing him and Grayson still gave her a jolt. If she’d been right about Emmett’s killer being a cop, then it was possible the killer worked at the Silver Creek sheriff’s office.

Landon hurried her onto the backseat, following right behind her, and the moment he shut the door, Dade took off.

“Are you all okay?” Dade asked, making brief eye contact in the rearview mirror.

Landon nodded but then checked her face. Tessa did the same to the baby. The newborn was still making fussing sounds, but she wasn’t hurt. Thank God. That was a miracle, what with all those bullets flying.

When she finished examining the baby, Tessa realized Landon was still looking at her. Or rather he was staring at her. No doubt waiting for answers.

Answers that she didn’t have.

Someone had attacked her twice in the same day. Heck, maybe even more than that since her memories were still hazy.

“Maybe he’s one of Joel’s hired thugs?” Landon asked.

She had to shake her head again. Then Tessa had to stop because a new wave of dizziness came over her. It was so hard to think with her head spinning. “I only got a glimpse of him before you pulled me back, but he didn’t look familiar. I don’t know why he came after me like that. Do you?”

“No,” Landon snapped. “But I want you to guess why he attacked us. And the guessing should start with you telling me everything you know about Joel. The baby, too.”

His tone wasn’t as sharp as it’d been before, and his glare had softened some. Maybe he was starting to believe that this wasn’t her fault.

Well, not totally her fault, anyway.

Tessa tried to concentrate and latch on to whatever information she could remember. It was strange, but the memories from years ago were a lot clearer than the recent ones. In fact, some of the recent ones were just a tangle of images and sounds.

“Tell me about Joel,” Landon pressed, probably because she was still trying to figure out what to say.

“Joel,” she repeated. And Tessa went with what she did remember. “I started working for him two years ago as a bookkeeper. I didn’t know what he was,” she added. “I was an out-of-work accountant, and he offered me a job. Later, he wanted me to be a PI so I could run background checks for him.”

“But you soon found out what he was,” Landon finished for her.

Another nod. “But I didn’t know how deep his operation went, and he was hiding assets and activities under layers of corporate paperwork.” Tessa had to pause again, brush away the mental cobwebs. These next memories were spotty compared to the ones of her starting to work for Joel.

“Back at the hospital, you said you thought Joel had killed someone,” Landon reminded her. “Who? Emmett?”

Tessa closed her eyes a moment, trying to make the thoughts come. Finally, she remembered a piece of a memory. Or maybe it was just a dream. It was so hard to work all of this out.

“No. Not Emmett. I think the murder might have had something to do with the baby’s mother,” she said. “But...no, that’s not right.” She touched her fingers to her head. “It’s getting all mixed up again.”

“Her mother?” Landon questioned. “So you’re positive she’s not yours...ours?”

“Yes, I’m certain.”

She couldn’t tell if Landon was relieved about that or not. He didn’t seem relieved about anything. Neither was she. The child might not be theirs, but Tessa still needed to protect the newborn.

But who was after the baby? And why?

Her gaze dropped to the baby. “I think I know the reason I have her, though. Because a killer was after her mother, and she left the baby with me for safekeeping.”

“A killer,” Landon said. “You mean Joel?”

“I just don’t know.” Tessa groaned softly. “If I could just rest for a while, maybe that would help me remember?”

“You’ll get some rest later. For now, tell me what happened to the baby’s mother,” Landon demanded.

Tessa had no idea. But this wasn’t looking good. If all of this had happened four days ago, then the mother should have come back by now. If she was able to come back, that is.

Landon cursed. “Is the mother dead or hurt?”

But before she could even attempt an answer, Dade was on the phone, and she heard him ask if there was any information on the baby’s mother that would match the sketchy details she’d just given them.

“Is it possible the woman who had this baby didn’t have anything to do with Emmett?” Landon pressed.

“I just don’t know.” She paused. “But maybe Emmett was helping me find some evidence against Joel?”

As expected, that didn’t go over well with Landon. He didn’t come out and say that she should have contacted him instead of Emmett, but she knew that was what he was thinking.

“But why would Emmett have been helping me?” Tessa asked.

Neither of the men jumped to answer that, maybe because they didn’t have a clue, but it was Landon who finally responded. “Emmett was a DEA agent in Grand Valley, and Joel had a business there.”

The memories were coming but too darn slow. She huffed and rubbed the back of her neck. Or rather she tried to do that but yanked back her hand when her fingers brushed over the sensitive skin there.

“Does it hurt?” Landon asked. He leaned closer, lifted her hair and looked for himself.

“Some.” Not nearly as much as her head, though. “Why? How bad does it look?”

“It looks like a wasp sting or something. But the doctor took an X-ray. If it’s something serious, he’ll let us know.”

Now that the drugs were partially wearing off, she tried to remember what’d happened to cause this particular injury. But nothing came. Everything was still so jumbled in her head, and that couldn’t last.

There were secrets in her memories, secrets that had caused someone to try to kill her, and until she unlocked those secrets, she wouldn’t be able to figure out who had sent that gunman after the baby and her.

And figure out who’d killed Emmett and why.

“Good news, maybe,” Dade said when he finished his call. “There have been no reports of a seriously injured or dead woman who gave birth in the past week, but Josh will keep calling around and see if something turns up.”

“Josh?” she asked, hoping it was someone she could trust. Of course, at the moment Tessa wasn’t sure she could trust anyone.

“Our cousin,” Landon explained. “He’s a deputy in Silver Creek.”

Like Landon. Tessa prayed this Josh was being mindful of those calls and that he didn’t give away any information that could put the baby’s mother in further danger. Of course, it was possible the woman was dead. Just because the cops hadn’t found a body didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

Oh, God.

Another wave of dizziness hit her, and Tessa had to lean her head against the seat. She closed her eyes, hoping it would stop. Hoping, too, that the car would soon stop, as well.

“Where are we going?” she asked. And better yet—how soon would they be there? But the moment she asked the question, Tessa got yet another bad feeling. That feeling only increased when neither Landon nor Dade jumped to answer.

“Where?” she repeated.

“Someplace you’re not going to like,” Landon grumbled.

Chapter Six (#ulink_c02aff8d-99d2-51ca-bd0e-13e78b7c5649)

Landon had told Tessa that he was taking her someplace she wouldn’t like. Well, it wasn’t a place where he especially wanted her to be, either, but his options were limited.

And that was why Tessa was now sleeping under his own roof.

Or at least, the roof of the guesthouse at the Silver Creek Ranch where Landon had made his temporary home. Until he could come up with other arrangements, it would be Tessa and the baby’s temporary home, too. With more than a half-dozen lawmen living on the grounds, it was safer than any other place Landon could think to take them.

Landon poured himself a fourth cup of coffee, figuring he’d need a fifth or sixth one to rid him of the headache he had from lack of sleep, and checked on the baby again. She was still sacked out in the bassinet his cousins had provided. Maybe Tessa was asleep, as well, because he didn’t hear her stirring in the bedroom.

Since Tessa had been the one to do the baby’s 2:00 a.m. feeding, Landon had brought the infant into the living-kitchen combo area with him so that Tessa could sleep in. Of course, he’d done that with the hopes that he might get in a catnap or two on the sofa—where he’d spent the night—but no such luck. His mind was spinning with all the details of the attack. With Tessa’s situation. With Emmett’s murder. And despite all that mind spinning, Landon still didn’t have the answers he wanted.

But maybe Tessa would.

By now, those drugs she’d been given should have worn off, and that meant maybe she would be able to tell him not only who was behind the attack at the hospital but also who’d murdered Emmett.

Landon had more coffee and checked outside. Something he’d done a lot during the night and yet another of the reasons he hadn’t gotten much sleep. No signs of gunmen. Thank God. But then, the ranch hands had been told not to let anyone other than family and ranch employees onto the grounds. Maybe that would be enough to stop another attack.

However, the only way to be certain of no future attacks was to catch the person responsible. Joel, maybe. He was the obvious person of interest here, but Landon wasn’t ruling out Quincy. Too bad neither Landon nor any of his lawman cousins had been able to find any evidence to make an arrest for either man.

Landon heard the two sounds at once. The baby whimpered, and Tessa moved around in the bedroom. He didn’t wait for Tessa to come out. Since it was time for the baby’s feeding, Landon went ahead and got the bottle from the fridge and warmed it up, just as the nanny had shown him when they’d arrived yesterday. Thankfully, there were three full-time nannies at the ranch now, so he hadn’t had to resort to looking up bottle-warming instructions on the internet.

He eased the baby from the bassinet, silently cursing that his hands suddenly felt way too big and clumsy. The baby didn’t seem to mind, though, and she latched on to the bottle the moment it touched her mouth.

Without the baby’s fussing, it was easier for Landon to hear something else. Tessa’s voice. She wasn’t talking loud enough for him to pick out the words, but it seemed as if she was having a conversation with someone on the phone. The guesthouse didn’t have a landline, but there was a cell phone on the nightstand for guests—something that apparently Tessa had decided to make use of. But before Landon could find out who she was calling, Tessa quit talking, and a moment later the bedroom door opened.

And there she was.

Landon hated that slam of attraction. Yeah, he felt it even now, and it was proof that attraction was more than just skin-deep. Because despite the bruises on her face, the fatigued eyes, and the baggy loaner jeans and shirt, she still managed to light fires inside him that he didn’t want lit.