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Difficult? Laura could only stare at him, vaguely aware that he was now leading her back to the car. Did he truly think her situation was merely difficult? Could he not see that someone had cut her heart right out of her chest? Her child was missing! And she had to find him. Somehow…no matter what it cost her.
Another thought suddenly occurred to Laura—Doc’s fishing cabin. Maybe he had gone to the cabin to hide Robby. Hope bloomed in Laura’s chest. It wasn’t totally outside the realm of possibility, she assured herself. She paused before getting into the car and closed her eyes for a moment to allow that hope to warm her. Please, God, she prayed once more, let me find my baby.
Now, all she had to do was convince Nick to take her there. She opened her eyes and her gaze immediately collided with his intense green one. Despite everything, desire sparked inside her. How she wanted to tell Nick the truth—to make him believe in her again. But she couldn’t. And when they arrived at the cabin, if her son was not there, Laura would do whatever she had to in order to escape. She would go to James Ed all right. But she would go alone and on her own terms. Somehow Laura would devise a fail-safe plan to get her son back.
Whatever it took, she would do it.
NICK KEPT a firm hold on Laura as they emerged from the car outside Dr. Holland’s rustic fishing cabin. The place was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods on three sides and the unpredictable Mississippi River on the fourth. The cabin sat so close to the water’s edge, Nick felt sure it flooded regularly. But from the looks of things, there appeared to be no amenities like electricity. It served only as modest shelter for the hard-core fisherman or hunter. So what did a little water hurt now and then? he mused. Most likely nothing.
Now that he had gotten a good look at the place, Nick was surprised there had been a road accessible by car at all. Once again, quiet surrounded them. Only the occasional lapping of the water against a primitive old dock broke the utter silence. The sun had peaked and was now making its trek westward. Nick would give Laura five minutes to look around and then they were heading to Jackson. They had already wasted entirely too much time.
She hadn’t spoken other than to give him directions since they left the clinic. Nick glanced at her solemn face now and wondered what was going on in that head of hers. His gut told him he didn’t want to know. And his gut was seldom wrong.
At the steps to the dilapidated porch, Laura pulled free of his loosening grip and raced to the door. Nick followed more slowly, allowing her some space to discover what he already knew: there was no one here. Considering nothing about the cabin’s environment appeared disturbed in any way, and the lack of tracks, human or otherwise, there hadn’t been anyone here in quite a while. Nick swore softly at the pain that knifed through his knee when he took the final step up onto the porch.
Damn his knee injury, and damn this place. He plowed his fingers through his hair and shifted his weight to his left side.
The wind rustled through the treetops, momentarily interrupting the rhythmic sound of the lapping water. Nick scanned the dense woods and then the murky river, a definite sense of unease pricked at him. Maybe it was because the remote location reminded him of the place he and Laura had shared two years ago, or maybe it was just restlessness—the need to get on with this. Whatever the case, Nick’s tension escalated to a higher state of alert. If he still smoked, he’d sure as hell light up now. But he’d quit long ago. He had even stopped carrying matches.
“Doc’s not here. No one’s here.”
Nick met Laura’s fearful gaze. Drawing in a halting breath, she rubbed at the renewed tears with the back of her hand. She looked so vulnerable, so fragile. He wanted to hold her and assure her that everything would be all right as soon as she was back home. But what if he was wrong? What if someone still intended to harm her?
And what if he were the biggest fool that ever put one foot in front of the other? Don’t swallow the bait, Foster. You’ve seen this song and dance before. “Let’s get on the road then,” he suggested, self-disgust making his tone more curt than he had intended.
She blinked those long, thick lashes and backed away a step. “I can’t go with you, Nick.” Laura shook her head slowly from side to side. “I have to find Robby. I…I can’t leave without him. If you won’t help me, I’ll just have to do it alone.”
Keeping his gaze leveled on hers, Nick cautiously closed the distance between them. “Don’t do anything stupid, Laura,” he warned. “If you say you have a kid, I’m sure it’s true. And if you do, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to take him, can you? What about the boy’s father?”
The cornered-animal look that stole across her face gave her away about two seconds before she darted back inside the cabin. She had almost made it across the solitary room and to the back door when Nick caught, then trapped her between his body and a makeshift kitchen cabinet. Anger and pain battled for immediate attention, but at the moment jealousy of a man he had never even met had him by the throat. He leaned in close, pressing her against the rough wood counter, forcing her to acknowledge his superior physical strength.
“Does Rafe know about his son? Or is there some other unlucky fellow still wondering whatever happened to his sweet little Laura?” Nick snarled like the wounded animal he was.
In a self-protective gesture, Laura braced her hands against his chest, unknowingly wreaking havoc with his senses. How could she still affect him this way? Her scent tantalized him, made him want to touch her, taste her, in all the ways he had that one night. Every muscle in his body hardened at the imagined sensation of touching Laura again. When she turned that sweet face up to his, her eyes wide with worry and pleading for his understanding, his resolve cracked….
“He doesn’t know about Robby.” She licked those full pink lips and a single tear slid slowly down one porcelain cheek. “I’m afraid I won’t find him, Nick. Please help me.”
…his resolve crumbled. Nick allowed himself to touch her. His fingertips glided over smooth, perfect skin, tracing the path of that lone tear. The sensation of touching Laura like he had dreamed of doing for so very long short-circuited all rational thought.
Slowly, regret nipping at his heels already, Nick lowered his head. He saw her lips tremble just before he took them with his own. Her soft, yielding sigh sent a ripple of sensual pleasure through him. She tasted just like he remembered, sweet and innocent and so very delicate. Like a cherished rose trustingly opening to the sun’s warmth, Laura opened for him. And when he thrust his tongue inside her sweet, inviting mouth the past slipped away. Only the moment remained…touching Laura, tasting her and holding her close, then closer still.
Nick threaded his fingers into her long blond hair, reveling in the silky texture as he cradled the back of her head. “Laura,” he murmured against her mouth, and she responded, knotting her fists in his shirt and pulling him closer. His body melded with hers, her softness molding to his every hard contour as he deepened the already mind-blowing kiss.
Lust pounded through him with every beat of his heart. Nick traced the outline of Laura’s soft body, his palms lingering over the rise of her breasts, then moved lower to cup her bottom and pull her more firmly into him. She slid one tentative hand down his chest, then between their grinding bodies. Laura caressed him intimately. Nick groaned loudly into her mouth as she rubbed his erection again and again through his jeans.
Her tongue dueled with his, taking control of the kiss, just as her body now controlled his. Her firm breasts pressed into his chest, her nipples pebbled peaks beneath the thin cotton of her T-shirt. The urge to make love to Laura—here, now—overwhelmed all else as she propelled him ever closer toward climax with nothing more than her hand, and in spite of the layers of clothing still separating them.
The unexpected blow to the side of his head sent Nick’s equilibrium reeling. He staggered back a couple of steps and Laura took off like a shot. He stared at the thick ceramic mug shattered on the primitive wooden floor. He hadn’t even noticed it on the counter. Nick shook his head to clear it and took several halting steps in the general direction of the door. When he got his hands on Laura he intended to wring her neck. At the moment he had to focus on reversing the flow of blood from below his belt to above his neck.
She was already at the car when he stumbled across the porch, his body still reeling from her touch. He rubbed the throbbing place just behind his temple then checked his fingertips for any sign of blood. No blood, just a hell of a lump rising. A half dozen or so four-letter words tumbled from his mouth as he lurched toward the car, his knee throbbing with each unsteady step. Pure, unadulterated rage flashed through him like a wild fire. She would regret this, he promised himself.
Nick knew by Laura’s horrified expression that she had just discovered that the keys weren’t in the ignition. Did she think he was stupid as well as gullible? In a last-ditch effort to save herself, she locked the doors.
Grinning like the idiot he now recognized himself to be, Nick reached into his pocket and retrieved the keys, then proceeded to dangle them at her. “Going somewhere?” He inserted the key into the door’s lock and glared at her. “I don’t think so.” He jerked the door open and leaned inside.
Laura tried to climb over the seat and into the back but Nick caught her by the waist.
“Let me go!” she screamed, slapping, scratching and kicking with all her might. “I have to find my son!”
Once Nick had restrained her against the passenger-side door, he glowered at Laura for three long beats before he spoke. “You have two choices,” he growled. “You can sit here quietly while I drive to Jackson, or I can tie you up and put you in the trunk. It’s your call, Laura, what’s it going to be?”
Chapter Three
Laura sat absolutely still as Nick parked the car at the rear of James Ed’s private estate per security’s instructions. She forced away the thoughts and emotions that tugged at her senses. Nick’s touch, his kiss, the feel of his arms around her once more. She still wanted him, no matter that her whole world was spinning out of control. Commanding her attention back to the newest level of her nightmare, Laura lifted her gaze to the stately residence before her. The place was every bit as ostentatious as she had expected. Nothing but the best for James Ed, she thought with disgust.
In a few hours every available space out front would be filled with Mercedes, Cadillacs and limousines as the official victory party got under way. According to Nick’s telephone conversation with James Ed, of which Laura had only overheard Nick’s end, a celebration was planned for the Governor’s cohorts who had won big in today’s election. Laura was to be taken in through the back. That way there would be no chance that a guest arriving early or some of the hired help might see her. James Ed was still protecting his good name.
But Laura didn’t care. A kind of numbness had settled over her at this point. The knowledge that she might never see Robby again, and that she was going to die had drained her of all energy. She felt spent, useless.
She surveyed again the well-lit mansion and considered what appeared to make her brother happy. Money and power. Those were the things that mattered to him. He could keep Laura’s trust fund. She didn’t care. She only wanted her son back. But James Ed wouldn’t care what Laura wanted. He had never cared about her. Otherwise he would have left her alone after she disappeared rather than hunting her down like an animal. She had barely escaped his hired gunmen on two other occasions. And now Laura would answer doubly to James Ed for all the trouble she had caused him.
But he couldn’t hurt her anymore, that was a fact. He had already taken away the only thing in this world that mattered to Laura.
Laura looked up to find Nick reaching back inside the car to unbuckle her seat belt. His lips were moving, so she knew he was speaking to her, but his words didn’t register. On autopilot, Laura scooted across the seat and pushed out into the cold night air to stand next to Nick. She looked up at him, the light from a nearby lamppost casting his handsome face in shadows and angles. She knew Nick was a good man, but he had been blinded by her brother’s charisma just like everyone else. None of this was Nick’s fault, not really. He was only doing what he thought was right. His job.
Would Robby look like him when he grew up? she suddenly wondered. Even at fifteen months, he already had those devilish green eyes and that thick black hair.
Yes, Laura decided, her son would grow up to be every bit as handsome as his father. She frowned and her mouth went unbearably dry. The father he would never know…and the mother he wouldn’t remember. She blinked—too late. Hot tears leaked past her lashes.
“They’re waiting for us inside,” Nick said, drawing her back to the present.
Laura swallowed but it didn’t help. She brushed the moisture from her cheeks with the back of her hands and took a deep, fortifying breath. She might as well get this over with. No point in dragging it out.
“I’m ready,” she managed.
“Good.”
Nick smiled then and Laura’s heart fluttered beneath her breast. It was the first time today she had seen him smile, and just like she remembered, it was breathtaking. Robby would have a heart-stopping smile like that, too.
“This way, Mr. Foster.”
Startled, Laura turned toward the unfamiliar male voice. The order came from a man in a black suit. A member of her brother’s security staff, Laura realized upon closer inspection. She noted the wire that extended from his starched white collar to the small earpiece he wore. The lack of inflection in his tone as well as his deadpan gaze confirmed Laura’s assumption.
Nick took Laura by the arm and ushered her forward as he followed the security guy. No one spoke as they moved across the verandah and toward the French doors at the back of the house. Laura instinctively absorbed every detail of the house’s exterior. Her brother had spared no expense on exterior lighting. Of course that could be a hindrance if she somehow managed to escape. The darkness proved an ally at times. Not that her chance of escaping was likely. Laura eyed the man in black’s tall frame with diminishing hope. Still, she needed to pay attention to the details. As long as she was still breathing, there was hope. Focus, Laura, she commanded her foggy brain.
A wide balcony spanned the rear of the house, supported by massive, ornate white columns. Three sets of French doors lined the first as well as the second floor. At least there were several avenues of escape, Laura noted, allowing that small measure of hope to seed inside her hollow heart. Maybe, just maybe, she would live long enough to at least attempt a getaway.
They crossed a very deserted, very elegant dining room and entered an enormous kitchen. Gleaming cabinetry and stainless steel monopolized the decorating scheme. The delicious scents of exquisite entrées and baked goods hung in the warm, moist air. Laura remembered then that she hadn’t eaten today, but her stomach felt queasy rather than empty. Besides, she had no desire to share her last meal with her brother, or to eat it in his house. She would starve first.
Several pots with lids steamed on the stovetop. Security had apparently temporarily vacated the staff upon hearing of her arrival. As soon as the all clear signal was given the kitchen would quickly refill with the staff required to pull off this late night gala.
James Ed always rode the side of caution. And he never passed up an occasion to celebrate, to show off his many assets.
Laura’s stomach knotted with the knowledge that her own brother hated her this much—or maybe it had nothing to do with her. Maybe it was simply the money.
Maybe…
Maybe Robby was here. A new kind of expectation shot through Laura. James Ed could have brought Robby here to use him as leverage to get what he wanted.
Nick firmed his grip on her right arm as if somehow sensing that her emotions had shifted. She had to get away from him. He read her entirely too well. Escape scenarios flashed through her mind as they mounted the service stairs. Laura’s heart pounded harder with each step she took. She felt hot and cold at the same time. She rubbed the clammy palm of her free hand against her hip, then squeezed her eyes shut for just a second against the dizziness that threatened. She could do this. Laura would do whatever it took to find her son and escape. James Ed would not win.
“Governor Proctor asked that you wait in here.”
Nick thanked the man, then led Laura into what appeared to be James Ed’s private study. Flames crackled in the fire-place, the warmth suffusing with the rich, dark paneling of the room. A wide mahogany desk with accompanying leather-tufted chair occupied one side of the room. Behind the desk, shelves filled with law books lined the wall from floor to ceiling. Leather wing chairs were stationed strategically before the massive desk. An ornate sideboard displayed fine crystal and exquisite decanters of expensive liquors. No one could accuse James Ed of lacking good taste, it was loyalty that escaped him.
Anxiety tightened Laura’s chest, making it difficult to breathe. She had to concentrate. If she somehow freed herself from Nick’s grasp and found Robby, could she make it off the grounds without being caught? Nick narrowed his gaze at her as if he had again read her thoughts. The man was entirely too perceptive.
“Take it easy, Laura, your brother will take good care of you,” he said almost gently.
Laura shook her head, a pitiful outward display of her inner turmoil. “You just don’t get it.” She moistened her painfully dry lips and manufactured Nick a weak smile, hoping her words would penetrate that thick skull of his. “It would have been simpler if you’d just killed me yourself.”
Laura knew she would not soon forget the expression that stole across Nick’s features at that moment. The combination of emotions that danced across his face were as clear as writing on the wall. He cared for her, but he was confused. He trusted James Ed, just like everyone else, and he didn’t quite trust Laura. Because she had hurt him badly. Left him to die—he thought. But she hadn’t. And now he would never know what really happened, and, what was worse, he would never know his son.
“Laura, I’m sure—”
“Laura?”
A bone-deep chill settled over Laura at the sound of James Ed’s distinctive voice. Nick turned immediately to greet the Governor. James Ed, tall, still thin and handsome, hadn’t changed much, except for the sprinkling of gray at his sandy temples, and that was likely store-bought to give him a more distinguished appearance. Laura couldn’t read the strange mixture of emotions on his face as he approached her. Fear sent her stumbling back several steps when he came too close, but his huge desk halted her.
“Laura, sweet Jesus, I didn’t think I would ever see you again. I thought…I thought—dear God, you really are alive.”
Feeling as trapped as a deer in the headlights of oncoming traffic, Laura froze when her brother threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. He murmured over and over how glad he was to see her. Resisting the urge to retch, Laura closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle. At this point, deep in her heart, she knew it would take nothing short of a miracle to escape and find her child.
James Ed’s uncharacteristic actions dumbfounded Laura, adding confusion to the anxiety already tearing at her heart. He had never been the touchy-feely type. Then realization hit her. It was a show for Nick’s benefit. James Ed wanted Nick to believe that he truly was thankful to have his baby sister home. When her brother drew back, tears clung to his salon-tanned face, further evidence of his feigned sincerity. The man was a master at misrepresentation and deceit. A true politician, heart and soul.
Laura slumped against the desk when he finally released her. She felt boneless with an exhaustion that went too deep. Nick had no way of knowing that he had just delivered her like the sacrificial lamb for slaughter. It was his job, she reminded herself. Nick worked for James Ed. She had known he would do this if he ever found her, just as she had known he would take her son away if he discovered his existence. And suddenly Laura understood what she had wanted to deny all day. It was over, and she had lost.
Robby was lost.
Laura’s eyes closed against the pain that accompanied that thought, and the memory of her baby’s smile haunted her soul.
“Nick, thank you so much for bringing her back to us. I don’t know how to repay you.”
Nick accepted the hand James Ed offered. “I was only doing what I was assigned to do two years ago.” Nick wondered why it suddenly felt all wrong.
“You’re a man of your word.” James Ed gave Nick’s hand another hearty shake. “I like that. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Nick studied the Governor’s sincere expression. He considered himself a good judge of character, and Laura’s fears just didn’t ring true when Nick looked her brother square in the eye. He read no deceit or hatred in the man’s gaze. But his gut reaction told him that Laura truly believed in the threat.
“There is one thing,” Nick began, hesitant to offend the man, but certain he couldn’t leave without clearing the air.
“Laura!” Sandra, James Ed’s wife, flew across the room and pulled Laura into her arms. “Honey, I am so glad to have you back home. You don’t know how your brother and I have prayed that somehow you really were alive and would come back to us.”
Nick couldn’t reconcile what Laura had described with the reunion happening right in front of him, and still something didn’t feel right about the whole situation. Something elemental that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“You were saying, Nick,” James Ed prompted, the relieved smile on his face further evidence that Laura had to be wrong.
Nick studied the Governor for another long moment before he began once more. He knew that what he was about to say would definitely put a damper on this seemingly happy event. A few feet away he could hear Sandra fussing over a near catatonic Laura. What the hell, Nick had always been a straightforward kind of guy. Why stop now?
“Laura is convinced that you’re the one behind the threat to her life, two years ago and now,” Nick stated flatly.
You could have heard the proverbial pin drop for the next ten seconds. The look of profound disbelief on James Ed’s face morphed into horror right before Nick’s eyes. Nick would have staked his life on the man’s innocence right then and there. James Ed couldn’t possibly be guilty of what Laura had accused him. Slowly, James Ed turned to face his sister, whose defeated, lifeless expression had not changed.
“Laura, you can’t really believe that. My God, I’m your brother.”
“Honey, James Ed has been beside himself since the day you disappeared. How could you think that he had anything to do with trying to harm you?” Sandra stroked Laura’s long, blond hair as a mother would a beloved daughter. But Laura made no response. In spite of everything she had done, Nick ached to give Laura that kind of comfort himself—to see if she would respond to him as she had that one night.
Suddenly, Laura straightened, dodging Sandra’s touch and pushing away from the desk that had likely kept her vertical. She took several shaky steps until she was face-to-face with her brother. She stared up at him. Nick tensed, remembering the hefty mug she had used to bash him upside the head. Luckily for James Ed there was nothing in her reach at the moment.
“If you really mean what you say, big brother, then do me one favor,” Laura challenged, her voice strangely emotionless, but much stronger than Nick would have believed her capable at the moment.
Nick readied himself to tackle her if she started swinging at James Ed. The lump on the side of his head undeniable proof that Laura could be a wildcat when the urge struck her.
“Laura.” She flinched when James Ed took her by the shoulders, but she didn’t back off. “I will do anything within my power for you. Anything,” he repeated passionately. “Just name it, honey.”
“Give me back my son,” she demanded, her voice cracking with the emotion she could no longer conceal. Laura’s whole body trembled then, her upright position in serious jeopardy.
Nick moved to her side, pulled her from a stunned James Ed’s grasp and into his own arms. “Shh, Laura, it’s okay,” he murmured against her soft hair as he held her tight. Her sobs would be contained no longer, she shook with the force of them.
“Nick, I don’t know what she’s talking about.” James Ed threw up his hands, his exasperation clear.
“What on earth can she mean?” Sandra reiterated as she hurried to her husband’s side. She looked every bit as confused and genuinely concerned as James Ed.
“Please make him tell you, Nick, please,” Laura begged, her fists clenched in the lapels of his jacket. “I don’t care what he does to me, but don’t let him hurt my baby.” The look of pure fear and absolute pain on her sweet face wrenched his gut.
Confusion reigned. For the first time in his entire life, Nick didn’t know what to do. As much as he knew he shouldn’t, he wanted desperately to believe Laura. To take her away from here and keep her safe from any and all harm.
“Tell me, please,” James Ed urged. “What is this about a child?”
In abbreviated form, Nick recited the events that had taken place in Bay Break, all the while holding Laura close, giving her the only comfort he could. “Laura insists that she has a son,” he concluded. “I didn’t find any evidence to corroborate her story, but—” he shrugged “—she stands by it.”
Laura pounded her fists against his chest, demanding Nick’s full attention. “I do have a son! His name is Robby and he’s—”
“Laura,” James Ed broke in, his tone calm and soothing despite the unnerving story Nick had just related to him.
Laura whirled in Nick’s arms, but he held her back when she would have flung herself at James Ed. “You stole my son! Don’t try to tell me you didn’t!”
“Laura, please!” Sandra scolded gently. “You aren’t making sense. What child?”
