RENEGADE GUARDIAN (8 page)

She leaned down for a closer look. “You were shot?”

“Yep. By a meth-head federal fugitive I was trying to arrest. She said she was aiming for my...family jewels,” Slade settled for saying.

“She nearly succeeded.” Maya reached out as if to touch the scar but jerked back her hand. No doubt because she realized it was indeed just inches away from a still-very-aroused part of him.

“My injury was paltry compared to yours,” he went on, “and it didn’t come at the hands of someone I thought I could trust. I just wanted you to see that scars are just that. Scars. They don’t lessen the rest of you.”

She swallowed hard, and the moment turned to something else. Probably because he was standing there with his jeans and boxers hiked down to R-rated level, and the air and his body were still sizzling.

“Slade?” The voice whipped through the room and sent Maya and him flying even farther apart.

He fixed his jeans and pressed the button on the intercom mounted near the light switch so it would allow Declan to hear him.

“I’m here,” Slade told his brother. “What’s wrong?” And he figured something had to be wrong for Declan to contact him at this hour.

“A vehicle just triggered the motion detector at the end of the road. No one should be out there.”

That was
not
what Slade wanted to hear. He grabbed his gun and hurried to the window. The sun was up, barely, but he couldn’t see the end of the road because of the wide curve and some trees.

“I need to get Evan,” Maya said on a rise of breath, and she rushed out and back into the other bedroom.

“Stay down and away from the windows,” Slade reminded her, but he figured it was unnecessary.

“Backup’s been alerted,” Declan added. But Slade heard what his brother didn’t add. That backup wouldn’t be nearly fast enough. “My advice? You’ve got a couple of minutes before that vehicle reaches you, so you should get the heck out of there.”

Slade had already decided the same thing. “We’re leaving,” he shouted to Maya, and he hurried out of the room, nearly running right into her.

She had Evan in her arms, his bottle, too, and she reached down to grab the diaper bag.

But Slade stopped her.

Even though his mind was racing with the need to escape, he had to consider all angles. The location of the safe house was secret, only known to his brothers, and they wouldn’t have told anyone.

“Leave the bag. The plastic one with the formula, too,” Slade insisted when she shook her head.

Thankfully, she didn’t ask why. Maya just ran with him, first to get the keys and his backup weapon from the coffee table and then to the back door. Slade got them into the truck as fast as possible and drove away.

Even in the dim light he could see that Maya’s hands were shaking as she strapped Evan into the car seat. “How did he find us?”

Slade didn’t know, and he didn’t have time to answer. He saw the blur of movement in his side mirror. And the glint of sunlight on metal.

“Get down!” he shouted.

Just as the sound of the shot cracked through the air.

Chapter Nine

Maya threw herself over Evan, and praying, she tried to brace herself for the worst, for the bullet to rip through the truck and into one of them. Thank God that didn’t happen. The gunman must have missed.

But he immediately fired off another shot.

Slade cursed but didn’t return fire. He kept his gun ready in his right hand, but he slammed his foot on the accelerator.

The road was little more than a dirt path, uneven and littered with potholes. The truck bobbled over the surface, slinging them back and forth. Except for Evan. Somehow, she’d managed to get him buckled in. Maya didn’t want to think how bad this could be if she hadn’t done that.

Another shot came.

Then another.

She put her hands over Evan’s ears to shut out the noise. “Who’s trying to kill us?” she asked, not really expecting an answer from Slade.

“He’s not shooting at us. He’s trying to shoot out the tires.”

Mercy, that couldn’t happen. Because if the gunman managed to disable the vehicle, he could kidnap Evan. Or at least try. Slade and she would do whatever it took to make sure that didn’t happen, but they couldn’t risk getting into a gunfight with this man.

Or
men.

It hit her then. There was no way the driver of the vehicle on the other road could have made it back here ahead of them. So there were two attackers.

Maybe more.

And that sent another jolt of terror through her.

The gunman got off two more shots, but the truck didn’t jerk or move as if the tires had been hit. Maya said another prayer of thanks for that and yet another prayer when Slade turned off the trail and onto a road.

“Keep low but try to keep watch,” Slade told her. “There could be someone out here waiting for us.”

Oh, God. He was right. Whoever was behind these kidnappings was determined to get his or her hands on Evan, but Maya was equally determined to keep her baby safe.

Slade kept watch, too, his gaze slashing back and forth from the side and rearview mirrors. Maya did the same, but she didn’t see anyone, only the empty country road. She hoped it stayed that way.

“Any chance someone could have broken into your car and planted a tracking device on Evan’s car seat?” Slade asked.

That sent yet another slam of fear through her, and Maya’s first reaction was to say no, that there wasn’t a chance of something like that happening in Spring Hill. But the first kidnapping attempt had happened there, so she couldn’t be sure.

“Where would someone put a device like that?” Maya frantically ran her hands around the seat, lifted it a fraction and felt there, too.

Nothing.

Evan was awake, his eyes trained on Slade again, but she lifted the baby as much as the straps would allow and felt around the padding beneath him.

“Some are as small as a box of matches.” Slade glanced over at her search just as Maya looked at him to say she hadn’t found anything.

She saw the worry that was no doubt mirrored in her own eyes. But she saw something else. For just a second or two, Slade’s expression changed when his gaze landed on Evan. Of course, Maya had already known that he looked at her son with affection, but this was different.

He was looking at Evan as if the baby were
his.

That didn’t help with the adrenaline that was spiking through her. Didn’t help with the memories of that kiss that she was trying to forget. That look only made things much, much worse. Because she might be saving Evan only to lose him to the very man who could keep him safe.

“What’s wrong?” Slade asked. “Did you find something?”

Maya realized she was staring at him, and she shook her head to answer his question. No, she hadn’t found a tracking device, but that look had drilled home something she was terrified to accept.

Slade huffed. Maybe because he was frustrated from the attack. Or from everything else about their situation.

“Don’t borrow more trouble,” he mumbled.

He didn’t add more, because he took the turn off the rural road and onto the one that led to the interstate. At the same time, his phone rang, and he pulled it out and put it on speaker.

“Are you out of the house?” Declan asked the moment Slade answered.

“Yeah. Any idea who just fired shots at us?”

“Not yet, but someone should be out there in the next twenty minutes. If there’s anything left to find, we’ll find it.”

Good. Maya held on to the hope that something would link this to the person behind the attacks and kidnappings.

“What’s your situation now?” Declan asked. “Anyone in pursuit?”

Slade checked the mirrors again. “Not that I can tell. But there might be a tracker on one of the items we brought with us. Unless you have some other idea as to how this SOB found us.”

“None, but we’ll search for the tracker. Where are you now?”

Slade pushed some buttons on the GPS and turned on the ramp to the interstate. Instant traffic. Maya wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Obviously, the shooter knew which vehicle they were in, so even if he wasn’t personally in pursuit, that didn’t mean he hadn’t phoned for help.

“We’re about twenty minutes from Maverick Springs,” Slade told his brother. “I’m heading to the marshals’ office, but I’ll need to have someone pick up some supplies for the baby.”

Maya blinked. “Aren’t the suspects there?”

“They are,” Declan confirmed. “Well, Andrea, Nadine and Chase are anyway. Still no sign of Morgan Gambill, the guy who escaped during the bomb scare.”

Too bad he was still missing, because Maya figured he had important info. Judging from Slade’s scowl, he believed it, too.

“But I do have some news on Randall Martin’s missing green SUV,” Declan added. “The San Antonio police found it in the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse.”

Maya held her breath, hoping this would be the break in the case they needed. But obviously Slade wasn’t so hopeful. He looked on the verge of mumbling some profanity. “What’s wrong?” he asked his brother.

“Pretty much everything. The person behind the wheel was a thug, Clifford Atwood.”

Not Randall, the owner. Maybe he’d been telling the truth about his vehicle being stolen.

“Atwood has a long history of drug-related crimes,” Declan added.

Slade repeated the man’s name. So did Maya, but it wasn’t a name she recognized. “Why would a druggie want to kidnap my son?”

“I think Atwood was just a lackey,” Declan explained. “Now he’s a dead one. Someone shot him at point-blank range on the left side of his head.”

Maya couldn’t stop the images from coming. Not images of a man she didn’t know but those from her own attack.

It wasn’t logical, but violence always brought back memories. Of course, in this case Atwood deserved to die because he’d tried to kidnap Evan. Or worse. The way he’d bashed into her car with the SUV, he could have killed Slade, Evan and her.

Slade’s jaw muscles tightened and stirred. “Please tell me there’s some evidence in the SUV that points to the missing babies or whoever hired Atwood.”

“Nothing,” Declan answered right away. “SAPD will keep looking, though. We might get lucky.”

Might. But it sounded like a dead end—literally.

“You want me to get started on another safe house?” Declan asked.

Maya groaned softly. They definitely needed a safe place to go, but the thought of being discovered again made her feel sick. She brushed a kiss on Evan’s forehead. Then his cheek. And wished she could do more to keep her baby out of this dangerous mess.

“Hold off on the safe house,” Slade answered. “I’m thinking about taking them to the ranch.”

Even though she couldn’t see Declan’s face, Maya could feel his surprise. He paused a long time. “Let me know what you decide. I’ll see you in a few.” And Declan ended the call.

“The ranch?” she challenged. “As in the one you and your brothers run?”

Slade nodded. “Yeah, and I know what you’re thinking. The kidnapper will know to look for us there, but it won’t be his first choice of places to launch another attack.”

Maybe. After all, from what she’d gathered in her internet search, all five of his brothers were marshals and lived at the ranch. It no doubt had some kind of security along with ranch hands who could keep watch for a kidnapper. But there was another side to going there. A bad one.

“Your family could be hurt in an attack.”

Slade didn’t jump to deny that. “We’ll have to take precautions.”

He didn’t have time to say what those might be, because his phone rang again, and Evan started to fuss. It wasn’t time for his bottle, but it was possible he needed a diaper change. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any way of doing that. She didn’t even have a pacifier, but Maya tried to gently rock the car seat. It didn’t help. Evan’s whimpers turned to cries.

“We’re almost there,” Slade let her know. And he took the turn off the highway and toward Maverick Springs.

Probably because her nerves were already at the breaking point, Evan’s cries only made it worse. Maya wanted nothing more than to pull him into her arms and try to comfort him, but she couldn’t risk taking him from the seat.

It seemed to take an eternity for Slade to turn into the parking lot of the Marshals Service, and the moment they came to a stop, she picked up her baby. He just kept crying.

“I know how you feel, little man,” Slade mumbled, and he hooked his arm around both of them to help them from the truck.

And just like that, Evan hushed.

It seemed like such a petty thing, for her to be upset that Evan was responding better to Slade than to her. But it was worse than pettiness. Was Slade’s ability to soothe the baby some kind of proof of a genetic connection?

She silently groaned.

You’re losing it.

Slade got them inside the building and up the stairs, past the reception-security and to the sprawling office that was jammed with desks and cubicles.

And people.

All those people were chatting, and the room was a beehive of activity. But then everything stopped when Slade and she stepped inside.

“Are you okay?” a woman immediately asked. The jeans-wearing blonde rushed toward them, and even though she didn’t pull Slade into her arms for a hug, she looked as if that’s what she wanted to do.

“We’re fine.” Slade’s tone was slightly warmer than usual, and the woman seemed surprised when Slade brushed his hand over her arm.

The blonde’s attention went to Maya, then Evan. “I’m Caitlyn Barnes.”

“Maya Ellison.”

Caitlyn hitched her thumb in the direction of a wide-shouldered man at one of the desks. “That’s Slade’s brother Marshal Harlan McKinney, my fiancé.”

Maya recalled the name from her internet search and Slade’s earlier conversation. Harlan clicked a button on his phone and came closer. His dark eyebrow lifted when his attention landed on Slade’s unbuttoned shirt. Only then did Maya realize just how disheveled she probably looked. And maybe he thought that dishevelment wasn’t all from the quick escape they’d made from the safe house.

“I’ve arranged to have formula and diapers delivered,” another man said.

“My brother Clayton,” Slade clarified. “You remember Declan and that’s Wyatt.”

Marshal Wyatt McCabe.

If she were putting labels on them, Harlan looked like a pro-football linebacker. Declan, a rodeo rider. Clayton, a jeans-wearing lawyer. Slade, a vampire and not one with friendly intentions, either. But Wyatt, well, his looks seemed more like the kind a lead singer in a rock band would have. Except his clothes were pure cowboy. He even wore his gun in an old-fashioned hip holster.

Wyatt’s mouth bent as if he might smile, but when he looked at Evan, the smile went south. He mumbled something about it being nice to meet her and strolled out.

“Does he have a problem with me?” Maya whispered to Slade.

He glanced at Wyatt, who was disappearing down the hall. “No. It’s the baby. Wyatt’s always wanted to be a father, and he hired a surrogate but something went wrong with the deal, I think. Nothing that he’s ready to talk about, though.”

She gathered that wasn’t usual. Probably because they were family and discussed their lives with each other, but judging from Wyatt’s sullen reaction, something more than just
wrong
had happened.

“It doesn’t help that the ranch is going through a mini baby boom,” Clayton said, taking up the explanation. “My son is due any day now. And our other brother, Dallas, and his wife, Joelle, are expecting.”

Maya glanced at their faces and then around the room. “They all believe Evan’s your son?”

Slade did some glancing, too. “Probably.”

There it was. That unruffled response she was starting to know so well. But his answer didn’t need the heavy emotion for it to hit her hard. If Evan was indeed his child, Slade would have plenty of moral support. He had a family already in place to help him win a custody battle.

Something she didn’t.

Slade hesitated a moment. Looked down at Evan. “Come on.”

He led her down the hall where Wyatt had disappeared minutes earlier. They passed several rooms, all with the doors closed, and she figured their suspects were in those rooms. Nadine and Chase Collier. Andrea, too. The two people who weren’t there were Randall Martin and Morgan Gambill, but Maya hoped that with Slade’s entire family seemingly working on this, it wouldn’t be long before they could bring them in.

And get answers.

Of course, those answers were just the beginning. Stopping the danger was a must. Finding the missing babies, too. Then she’d have to deal with the results of the DNA test Slade had ordered.

Slade took her into what appeared to be a break room and had her sit in one of the chairs. “It won’t be long before the diapers and formula arrive.” His stare stayed fixed on Evan for several long moments.

Maya also looked at her son, to try to see what Slade was seeing. “Does he look like Deidre?” But she didn’t want to hear any answer other than
no.

“Truth is, I don’t know. I never saw a picture of Deidre as a baby. Nor one of me, either. And I have no idea who my birth parents were. My mother was supposedly an addict and a prostitute who sneaked out of the hospital right after I was born.”