Книга - Secret Agent Father

Secret Agent Father
Laura Scott


He has a son?Although he's never met the boy who arrives on his doorstep, undercover DEA agent Alex McCade can't deny the truth. The four-year-old is his child, and–like father, like son–little Cody has landed himself in the middle of a dangerous situation. Shelby Jacobson, Cody's aunt, tells Alex that Cody is the only one who can identify his mother's killer. So now the killer is after them both. With his newfound family in danger, Alex will do anything to keep Cody–and Cody's beautiful aunt–safely by his side.









“My sister told me that once you knew about Cody being your son, you’d help keep him safe.”


“Why have you decided to spring this news on me now?” Alex asked.

He glanced at Shelby’s upset expression, feeling an uncharacteristic flash of sympathy for her. Don’t go there, he warned himself. He’d help Cody and Shelby but becoming emotionally involved was out of the question.

“Because Cody’s in danger. Early this morning my sister called and asked me to meet her down at the marina. Trina asked me to take Cody and made me promise to keep him safe. On the way to my car, Trina spotted someone. She told me to run and she took off, heading back toward the marina. I caught a glimpse of a man with a gun. I—I grabbed Cody and ran.”

“And Trina?” Alex forced himself to ask.

“I think he killed her.” Shelby’s voice was barely above a whisper. “She risked her life to save us. She drew the gunman away, sacrificing herself to save her son. Your son.”




LAURA SCOTT


grew up reading faith-based romance books by Grace Livingston Hill, but as much as she loved the stories, she longed for a bit more mystery and suspense. She is honored to write for the Love Inspired Suspense line at Steeple Hill Books, where a reader can find a heartwarming journey of faith amid the thrilling danger.

Laura lives with her husband of twenty-five years and has two children, a daughter and a son, who are both in college. She works as a critical-care nurse during the day at a large level-one trauma center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spends her spare time writing romance.

Please visit Laura at www.laurascottbooks.com as she loves to hear from her readers.




Secret Agent Father

Laura Scott





www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?”

—Hebrews 13:6


This book is dedicated to my sister Joan,

thanks for reading my books. I love you!




CONTENTS


CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION




ONE


“I made a terrible mistake,” her sister Trina said in a low voice, her expression bleak. “I need you to take Cody.”

Shelby Jacobson shivered from the desperation in her sister’s tone as much as the sharp March wind blowing off the rocky shores of Lake Michigan. Her gaze fell upon her four-and-a-half-year-old nephew, huddled with Trina. Beneath the hood of Cody’s coat, his bright green eyes were wide and frightened within his pale face.

Instinctively she knelt down before him, holding out her arms. Cody broke away from his mother, flinging himself at Shelby, burying his face against her chest. She crushed him close, frowning at Trina over his head.

“Of course I’ll take him. But why? What’s going on? Why did you drag me out of bed and ask me to come down to the marina at four-thirty in the morning?”

Trina didn’t flinch under her glare, but Shelby saw a flash of unmistakable regret flicker across her sister’s eyes. Trina thrust a piece of paper into Shelby’s hand, along with a cell phone. “Here. When you get to the car, call Alex. Once he knows about Cody, he’ll protect him. Whatever you do, don’t go back to your place, that’s the first place he’ll look.”

Shelby glanced at the note in her hand, her frozen mind trying to untangle Trina’s request. She’d assumed, from Trina’s frantic call, that her sister and husband had had another fight. But this sounded much more ominous. “I don’t understand. Who will look for us? And who’s Alex?”

For a long moment Trina stared at her, and then motioned to Cody, still buried deep in her arms. “Alex was my contact. He’s also Cody’s real father. Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”

Stunned, Shelby gaped at her sister. What? Her contact? Cody’s real father? What about Trina’s husband, Stephan Kirkland? She cast her memory back in time. Trina had married Stephan a few months after Cody had been born. Of course, she, like everyone else had assumed Cody was Stephan’s son.

“Does Stephan know?” Shelby bit back the urge to ask about Cody’s biological father, conscious of little ears.

Trina nodded, but kept looking around the deserted marina as if expecting someone to show up. “Stephan isn’t listed as Cody’s father on his birth certificate. And he can’t help. But Alex can. Keep Cody safe, Shelby. Promise me you’ll keep him safe.”

“Safe from what? Did something happen? Why would you have a ‘contact’? Are you some sort of undercover agent?” Zillions more questions whirled in her mind.

Trina waved an impatient hand. “No, I’m not an agent. And none of this matters right now. We have to hurry. Cody’s in danger. All I need from you is to keep my son safe. Will you do that for me? Please?”

It wasn’t like her sister to beg. “Of course.” Shelby loved Cody more than anyone on this earth. He attended Shelby’s Little Lambs Day Care Center for preschool and stayed overnight at Shelby’s more often than not. The thought of Cody being in danger made her feel sick to her stomach. She couldn’t bear it. Was her sister overreacting? Trina tended toward the dramatic. “I’ll keep him safe, but I’m sure we can work this out together. We can go to the police for help.”

Trina shook her head. “No. You have to leave now. Don’t trust anyone, especially the police. Promise me you’ll call Alex. That number is a secure line and you need to use that phone. Tell him it’s been twelve nights since I’ve seen him last, that way he’ll know I sent you. Don’t call anyone but Alex. Understand?”

“No, I don’t understand. Why can’t you call Alex? Why can’t we all go together?” Stubbornly, she stayed where she was, refusing to budge even though Trina’s tension was palpable.

“I am coming with you. But if we get separated…don’t come after me. Grab Cody and run. Let’s go, we need to hurry.”

Giving in to her sister’s urgent fear, Shelby quickly shoved the phone and scrap of paper into her jacket pocket, and hoisted Cody up into her arms. Deeply thankful that Trina was coming with them, she turned to head back toward the brightly illuminated parking lot. Trina fell into step alongside Shelby, her gaze still intently sweeping the area.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” Shelby begged. “Why are you and Cody in danger?”

“It’s safer for you if I don’t explain,” Trina whispered. “I’ve made a terrible mistake, but Alex will know what to do. He knows what’s going on.”

She wanted to ask more, but decided to wait until they were safely on their way. They were over halfway to her car when Trina sucked in a sharp breath.

“What?” Shelby shifted Cody’s weight in her arms, trying to look past his bulky coat to see whatever had caused Trina’s sound of distress.

“Run, Shelby! Don’t stop for anything. Do you hear? Don’t stop no matter what happens.” Trina paused momentarily to brush a hand over her son’s head, then veered to the right and sprinted in the opposite direction from the parking lot, heading back toward the wooden walkways leading to the rest of the boats suspended in their raised slips for the winter.

“No! Wait! Don’t go. Come with us—” Too late. Shelby’s eyes widened in horror, her feet glued to the dock as she saw a figure dart into view from behind one of the outbuildings heading straight for Trina. The figure lifted his arm and a sharp retort split the air.

A gun! He was shooting at Trina!

Instinct pulled at her to help her sister, but she remembered what Trina had told her. Shelby clutched Cody tight and surged into high gear, running for the safety of her car as fast as she could with the added burden of Cody’s weight in her arms.

Cody began to cry. She whispered words of comfort between panting breaths. They were near the parking lot. She wanted to glance back to see what happened to Trina, but didn’t dare. Had the gunman followed Trina? Or was he right now coming up behind them? She strained to listen, but could only hear the whistling wind.

Braced for the pain of a bullet, she bit back a sob and shifted Cody to the side, groping for her keys. Jamming her thumb on the key fob, she unlocked the door and scooted Cody into the passenger seat. She slid behind the wheel, twisting the key in the ignition. She yanked the gearshift into Drive, while she craned her neck around, to search for her sister.

Along the shore, two figures continued to run. The smaller one stayed several yards in front of the larger one. Shelby gasped, when the larger figure pointed his weapon at Trina. Another gunshot ripped through the air.

The smaller figure went down. And didn’t move.

“No!” Sobbing, Shelby gunned the engine and swerved out of the marina parking lot, nicking the edge of a nearby light pole. Fear that the gunman would now turn his attention toward her and Cody fueled her panicked desire to get away. She fumbled in her coat pocket for the phone Trina had given her. She dialed 9–1–1, telling the operator that someone was badly hurt down at the lakeshore.

When the dispatcher pressed for more information, she sobbed, “Just go!”

Her careful wording hadn’t fooled the little boy beside her. Tears streamed down his face. “Aunt Shelby, is Mama hurt?”

She swiped the dampness from her own eyes and struggled with what to tell him. He was only four-and-a-half years old. He should be home asleep instead of running for his life from a man with a gun. Her heart hammered in her chest. She took a deep breath to steady herself. She needed every ounce of courage she possessed. His safety depended on her.

“Yes. But the police are on their way to help her.” She prayed it wasn’t already too late.

Dear Lord, protect Trina. Please keep her safe.

Solemn green eyes regarded her steadily, breaking her heart. “Did the bad man get her?”

The bad man? A chill slithered down her spine and she clenched the steering wheel to keep her hands from shaking. She wished, more than anything, that Trina had told her exactly what was going on. “Did you see the bad man, Cody?” Could this be why his life was in danger?

He nodded, silent tears streaking down his cheeks.

No! Was this Trina’s mistake? Allowing the bad man to see Cody? Her stomach clenched with fear. She pulled her nephew close within the circle of her arm. He buried his face in her side and she held him tight.

“It’s okay, Cody. I love you. Everything is going to be just fine. We’re safe. God will protect us.” She kept her foot hard on the accelerator, speeding through the early morning darkness, taking various turns and changing direction often, in case the gunman had friends who might come after her. At this hour, the streets were empty. After she was certain no one had followed and that she and Cody were safe, she headed toward the main highway.

Don’t go to your apartment, that’s the first place he’ll look. Call Alex. Don’t trust anyone, even the police. Only Alex. Understand?

Careful not to jostle Cody, she pulled the slip of paper from her pocket, and divided her attention between the road and the scribbled note. The handwriting wasn’t Trina’s, but a deep, bold stroke of a pen, with the name Alex McCade and a local phone number.

She had no idea who Alex McCade was—other than Cody’s father—but Trina seemed to think he would keep them safe. Trina had sacrificed herself to help them escape, so she had no choice but to trust Trina’s judgment. With renewed hope, she glanced at her nephew, nestled against her side.

“Don’t worry, Cody. Everything is going to be fine. We’re going to find a man who can help us.”



Alex McCade prowled the length of his room, rhythmically squeezing a palm-sized foam ball in his right hand. The throbbing pain in his arm often kept him up at night, until he thought he might scream in sheer frustration, but he wouldn’t give up his efforts to rebuild the damaged muscles. The bottle of narcotics sat unopened on his nightstand. No matter how intense the agony in his arm, he refused to take them.

After a few minutes of pacing, the wave of pain receded to a tolerable ache. With a sigh, he paused before the sliding glass doors to stare outside where dawn peeked over the horizon.

Deep in the north woods of Wisconsin, there were no city lights to distract the eye from the wonder of nature. A blanket of fresh snow from the most recent March snowstorm covered the ground and coated the trees, illuminating the area around his sister’s rustic bed-and-breakfast with a peaceful glow. A perfect, secluded area to recover in.

His sister, Kayla, had welcomed him with open arms. Things were quiet here, she didn’t do as much business during the long winter months.

The muscles in his right forearm seized up, the intense agony making him gasp. The foam ball fell from his numb fingers and he clutched above his wrist with his left hand, massaging the injured muscles into relaxing again. Every time he exercised his damaged arm, the same thing happened. The muscles would spasm painfully, forcing him to abandon his exercise regimen.

Helplessly, Alex stared down at the numerous surgical scars that crisscrossed his right arm from wrist to elbow. He didn’t want to admit the plastic surgeon who’d spent long hours reconstructing his damaged muscles and tendons might be right. That his gun hand might never return to one-hundred percent. He should be grateful that he hadn’t lost the arm completely, yet it was difficult to remain appreciative when his career, his reason for living, teetered on the brink of collapse.

The muscles in his arm loosened and he breathed a sigh of relief. Bending down, he picked up the foam ball and this time, kept it in his left hand. To strengthen the muscles, he opened and closed his fingers, squeezing tight. If he couldn’t use his right arm, he’d build up his left. Anything to get him off medical leave and back on duty.

He needed to finish the case that continued to haunt him. For personal reasons of his own, he’d dedicated his life to being a DEA agent. For this case, they’d joined forces with the coast guard, in an effort to identify the mastermind behind the drug trafficking from Canada through the Great Lakes down to Chicago. Working undercover, he knew he was close the cracking the case before he’d been jumped by two men with knives. During his attempt to get away, they’d slashed his arm to ribbons and it had been too late to replace him. His coast guard partner, Rafe DeSilva, was doing his best to pick up the thread of the investigation.

Five years of work might be lost forever if he couldn’t get back in the field soon.

He desperately needed to bring the brain behind the drug smuggling operation to justice. To do that, he needed to train the muscles in his left hand to become his dominant one. He didn’t want to sacrifice his career for nothing.

His private secure cell phone rang. Startled, he dropped his foam ball in his haste to reach for the phone. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to use his left hand as he warily answered. “Hello?”

“Is this Alex McCade?”

The female voice didn’t sound quite right, considering the number indicated the call was from Trina Kirkland, his contact within the Jacobson Marina and shipping business. “Who’s this? Who gave you this phone?”

“Trina gave it to me. I’m supposed to tell you it’s been twelve nights since she saw Alex last. She also said Alex would help us—me.” There was a brief pause and he heard the woman’s voice break as if she were struggling to hold back tears. “Please tell me you’re Alex McCade.”

“Yes, this is Alex.” Whoever this woman was, she knew the code phrase he had always used with Trina. What had happened? What had gone wrong?

“I need your help. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Life and death? His gut tightened with anticipation. Followed by a wave of guilt. He was currently on medical leave. If she was legit, he’d need this woman to talk to Rafe. He shoved the helplessness aside. “I’m going to put you in touch with Rafe, he’s with the coast guard.”

“No!” Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. “Trina told me to call you. Only you. No one else. There was a man with a gun. I need your help, please!”

Alex blew out his breath, sensing the woman was teetering on the edge and one wrong word would send her tumbling over. His gut also told him she wasn’t involved in the criminal activity surrounding the shipyard. He couldn’t deny the possibility of a setup, but too much caution could be dangerous. Trina must have given her phone and the code phrase to this woman because her life was in jeopardy. The panic in this woman’s tone was too good to be faked.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

There was a brief hesitation. “Shelby.”

“Where are you right now?”

“Near a town called Shawano.”

Shawano was almost two hours away. Perfect. He’d have plenty of time to arrange a backup plan in case this woman wasn’t who she claimed to be. “Okay, I’ll give you directions to a truck stop in another town. From there, call me again to get further instructions.”

He rattled off the directions, satisfied when she repeated them back correctly.

“So you’ll meet us—me at the truck stop?” she asked.

“Not exactly.” He knew if he mentioned his plan to have Rafe check her out first, she’d get upset again. Rafe would be discreet. She’d never know he was there. “I need to make sure you’re not followed.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Trust me, we’ll be in touch soon.” He hung up and immediately called Rafe.

“Yeah?” His partner sounded half-awake.

“I need backup. Can you be here in an hour?”

“What’s up?” Rafe sleepy voice disappeared.

“Something has happened to Trina.”

“Trina?”

Rafe’s voice had sharpened and Alex knew his partner was finally awake. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back.”

Alex picked up his foam ball and squeezed rhythmically with his left hand as he waited for Rafe to return his call. What had happened to Trina? He hoped she was all right. He couldn’t help feeling that he should have been there with her. He hated being on the outside of the case, instead of working it from center stage. It was already mid-March and the ships would hit the water the first of April. He only had two weeks to get his left arm in shape to be his dominant hand.

For now, once he’d determined the woman, Shelby, was legit, he’d have no choice but to turn her over to Rafe.



Driving on the highway toward the truck stop with a clear destination in mind helped Shelby keep her rioting emotions under control. She could do this, one step at a time.

While Cody slept, Shelby battled grief as her thoughts dwelled on Trina. She knew, with gut wrenching certainty, that her vibrant, live-life-on-the-edge sister was dead. When they were younger, opposite personalities kept them from being close. Shelby was Christian and had never embraced her sister’s freewheeling lifestyle, but in the past five years Cody had managed to bring them together.

Shelby was grateful for that time when they’d been closer, but the truth was she hadn’t really known Trina, and now she never would.

Their father would be devastated by the loss. He thought the sun rose and set in Trina. He’d always ignored her mistakes, the bad choices that had time and again landed her in trouble. Shelby sniffed loudly and blinked back tears. Trina had gotten in trouble again, but this time she’d made the right choice. Trina had sacrificed her life for her son.

How would the little boy deal with losing his mother on top of meeting a father he didn’t know? Now that she knew Stephan wasn’t his father, she understood why Cody had spent more time with her than Trina and Stephan over the past few years. It was no secret her sister and her husband were having marital problems. Stephan and Cody had never been particularly close. Now Cody’s whole life had been turned upside down.

And he was in danger. She could only hope and pray he didn’t realize how much.

Cody stirred, waking up after his short nap. Sleep had been the best thing for him after all the trauma of the morning’s escape from the marina. Pushing her steep exhaustion aside, Shelby smiled at him reassuringly. “Hey, are you hungry?”

He rubbed his eyes with his fists and nodded.

There was another small town coming up and she’d noticed a sign for a fast food place. “We’ll pick up some breakfast in the next town, all right?”

After making a quick bathroom stop inside, they placed their order in the drive-through lane. Shelby fastened Cody back into his toddler seat, and watched him munch on his breakfast sandwich through the rearview mirror. She wasn’t sure how much of Trina’s conversation about him being in danger he’d picked up on, so she tried to distract him. “Guess what? We’re heading into the north woods.”

Cody’s eyes widened, his interest piqued as she’d hoped. “Are we gonna see bears?”

“Nah, they’re hibernating for the winter. But we might see deer.” She took a sip of her coffee, hoping the caffeine would jump start her system now that the adrenaline rush had worn off.

“What about wolves? Or coyotes?”

Shelby shook her head, grinning wryly at Cody’s fascination with wild animals. “I don’t know, maybe.”

Cody loudly slurped his chocolate milk through a straw. Steady green eyes regarded her in the mirror. “Aunt Shelby?”

“Hmm?”

“Am I gonna live with you now, forever?”

Shelby sucked in a harsh breath and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Yes, she wanted to shout. Yes, you’ll stay with me forever. But the words clogged her throat. Did Cody sense the truth about his mother’s death? Did he know he was in danger? What was the best way to have this conversation?

Lord, give me some guidance here. How should I tell him? Please, Lord, help me find the best way to explain this.

“I don’t know, Cody. Maybe.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “First we’re going to visit your other dad.”

“My other dad?” Confusion wrinkled his brow.

“Yes. You’re a very special boy, Cody, because you have two dads. The dad you’ve been living with and your other dad.”

“After the visit, then I’m gonna live with you?” he persisted.

She wanted him to. Very much. Not right after the visit, as Cody had said, since they were still in danger. But once all of this was over… Still, she had no way of knowing if Alex, his biological father, would have other plans. Stephan wasn’t listed as Cody’s father and he’d married Trina after Cody’s birth, which meant Alex would have the edge, if he wanted custody. The idea made her stomach hitch. She didn’t know anything about Alex. Would he be a good father? Maybe she should find a way to disappear, keeping Cody with her forever.

As much as she wanted to do just that, her conscience wouldn’t let her. The thought of the bad man knowing Cody saw him scared her to death. Would the man know Cody was with her? Was that why Trina had told her not to go back to her apartment over the day care center? She couldn’t take a chance. No matter what the future held, Cody’s safety had to be her first concern.

And regardless of who Alex was, he had a right to know about his son.

“I don’t know, Cody. I hope so. We’ll see.”

Instantly his face crumpled. “I don’t wanna go back to the marina! I don’t like it there. I wanna stay with you.”

“Shh. Hey now.” Shelby reached her arm back around the seat to rub his leg. Trina and Stephan had lived near the marina. It didn’t make sense that he was so afraid of going back there. “Cody, don’t cry. I love you. I’ll stay with you no matter what. I promise.” She wished she could pull him into her arms, inhaling the sweet scent of his baby shampoo. But they needed to get to the truck stop as soon as possible. “I love you,” she repeated. “I’ll stay with you always. Okay?”

Cody swiped at his eyes and nodded, stifling his tears.

It was a rash promise but she didn’t care. Because even if Alex claimed custody of his son, she wasn’t leaving Cody. Alex would just have to deal with her being an important part of Cody’s life, whether he liked it or not. She was not letting this boy go without a fight.

At the truck stop, she called Alex again on Trina’s phone.

“I’m sure I wasn’t followed,” she told him. “No cars stayed behind me and I passed the exit, before doubling back.”

“I’m sure you weren’t followed, either.”

She frowned, wondering how he could be so certain, but listened intently as he gave her specific instructions on how to get to the bed-and-breakfast where he was staying.

“I’ll see you soon.” Shelby snapped Trina’s phone shut.

The sun was high in the sky when she turned onto Oakdale Road. Covered with freshly fallen snow, there were no recent signs of a snowplow. She hoped her lightweight, fuel-efficient car wouldn’t get stuck.

She pulled into the bed-and-breakfast driveway, winding through the trees until she saw the house. She gaped in surprise at a huge log home lined with numerous windows. A massive deck encircled the house giving rooms on the second floor access to the outside. The grandness of the place intimidated her. This was a bed-and-breakfast in the north woods? She’d expected something smaller. Quaint. Cozy.

With a sigh, Shelby hefted Cody into her arms since he was without snow boots. Her jeans were quickly covered in snow up to her knees as she trudged up to the house.

A tall, rugged, dark-haired man answered her knock and seemed surprised to see her standing there with a child. His piercing green eyes weren’t at all welcoming.

“Alex McCade?” She shifted Cody’s weight on her hip.

“Yes.” A deep frown furrowed his brow.

“I’m Shelby.”

He hesitated, his eyes darting to the boy before he opened the door wider. “Come in.”

A welcoming scent of pine surrounded her as she stepped into a warm great room with a huge stone fireplace lining one wall. Through an arched doorway to the right, Shelby saw several tables draped with bright red and white checkered tablecloths. For a bed-and-breakfast, the place was notably vacant.

She stomped her feet on the braided rug, trying to dislodge as much snow as possible. Cody wiggled impatiently in her arms, so she set him on his feet beside her. Now that she was face-to-face with Alex McCade, she couldn’t seem to find the right words to tell him about his son. Especially since his tall, broad presence was more than a little intimidating. She cleared her throat. “My name is Shelby,” she said again. “And this is Cody.”

Cody suddenly clutched her leg, hiding his face against her jeans as he wailed. “No! I don’t wanna visit my other dad!”

She winced and tried to untangle Cody from her leg, casting Alex an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”

For a heart-stopping moment, the man stared at Cody. Then his cold, furious gaze cut to hers. “Is this some sort of sick joke?”

Swallowing hard, she thrust her jaw defiantly. “No, this isn’t a joke. Cody is your son and I need your help to keep him safe.”




TWO


His son? Alex stared at the woman, seconds stretching into a full minute. His heart froze in his chest. His stunned gaze fell to the child clutching the woman as if his life depended on her. The woman moved gracefully as she bent toward the crying child, quietly beautiful in a wholesome way, he noted as he continued to stare in shock.

Rational thought quickly soothed his initial panic. Her claim couldn’t possibly be true. Tall and reed thin, with long curly blond hair and bright blue eyes, she looked familiar. But not to the point where he could have possibly fathered a child with her.

“You’re lying.” He glared at her, as if willing her to tell the truth. “Was this why you called? To make these ridiculous accusations? I thought you needed help?”

“We do need your help. Cody’s in danger. But I wouldn’t lie. Not about this. I’m sorry, I know this must be a terrible shock to you.” The troubled expression in her eyes bothered him, as if she really cared what he thought and how he felt. “You have to believe Cody is your son.”

He didn’t have to believe anything. Alex’s steely control over his anger slipped. “Look, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not amused.”

“No game.” The woman sighed and placed a protective arm around the boy. “Let me start at the beginning. My name is Shelby Jacobson and this is Cody. We live in Green Bay and…”

“Wait a minute.” The pieces to this jumbled puzzle were finally sliding into place. He should have realized it sooner. Shelby Jacobson was Trina’s sister. He knew Trina and Stephan had a son but he didn’t know Shelby had a child, too. Not that he’d paid much attention to Trina’s younger sister, since Shelby wasn’t involved in the marina or the shipping business. She ran some sort of Christian day care center. “You’re Trina’s sister. That’s why she gave you her phone to call me, right? Did she tell you she was in trouble?”

Shelby nodded, looking relieved. “Yes. But we’re all in trouble, now. Trina promised you’d keep us safe. And she said you’d tell me what’s going on. Trina mentioned you’re her contact. What is she involved in? What’s going on at the marina? Exactly what is the source of the danger?”

He curled the fingers of his injured hand experimentally. The pain was better now. He wasn’t completely useless but he’d probably need to call Rafe if they were in danger. “I’ll answer your questions the best I can but right now, you might know more than I do.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly interrupted. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here,” he assured her gruffly. “I’d never turn away a woman and her child, no matter who the father is.”

Her gaze narrowed with annoyance, but he pivoted and gestured toward the great room. His eyes fell once more on the boy, who stopped crying long enough to stare at him with wide green eyes, identical to his own. A sick feeling settled in his gut. Irritably, he thrust it away. “Come in and take off your coats.”

“Thank you,” Shelby murmured helping Cody remove his bulky jacket before shrugging out of hers. She tossed them over a nearby chair and then crossed over to the wide sofa facing the tall fireplace.

Alex sent Rafe, his coast guard liaison, a quick text message telling him that he’d be in touch soon. Rafe was on standby, after having checked out Shelby at the truck stop to make sure she hadn’t been followed, but Alex wouldn’t require backup yet. He needed time to figure out what happened to Trina that forced her to give her sister the code phrase and her phone.

The boy climbed up next to Shelby on the couch and pressed against her. She put a protective arm around his shoulders. The two shared the same golden shade of blond hair and the same stubborn chin.

His sister Kayla came into the great room, sending him a wary glance before greeting Shelby. “Hi, I’m Kayla. I don’t want to interrupt, but I just finished making a batch of chocolate chip cookies.” She flashed Cody a warm smile. “Are you interested in sampling a few?”

Cody eagerly looked up, then hesitated and shook his head, scooting closer to Shelby. Alex frowned. What was the boy so afraid of? He tried to wipe the scowl from his features. “Kayla’s cookies are the best. And you’d better get a couple, before Clyde finds them.”

Cody threw him a puzzled look. “Clyde?”

“Our new cocker spaniel puppy, although no matter how many times we tell him that he’s a puppy, he still thinks he’s a boy, spending his entire day trying to eat people food.” Alex wrinkled his face in mock disgust as he sat in a nearby chair.

The lure of a puppy who liked people food was too much to resist. Cody’s gaze shifted between Alex and Shelby, his tiny brow furrowed as if leaving Shelby’s side was a monumental decision.

“It’s okay, Cody. I promise I won’t leave without you. Go ahead and see the puppy.” She let him off the hook, seemingly relieved at having him out of the way. Alex understood she was scared and wanted answers. But what exactly did Shelby have to gain by claiming the boy was his son?

She’d claimed they were in danger, but he needed to know exactly what happened, what had brought them here. After all, Trina had been his inside contact, not Shelby.

“Okay,” Cody agreed readily enough but moved reluctantly away from her.

Kayla held out her hand. Cody trustingly took it. “You know, I have a daughter about your age. Her name is Brianna and she’s spending the day with her grandmother. Maybe if you’re still here later this afternoon, you’ll get to meet her.” Kayla chatted to the boy as she led him into the kitchen.

Shelby turned toward him with a look of abject horror etched on her face. “You have a daughter about the same age as Cody?”

Alex hissed a long breath between his teeth. “Kayla is my sister, not my wife. And let me make one thing perfectly clear. You and I did not create a child together.”

Her eyes widened in frank dismay. “Of course we didn’t. Cody is Trina’s son.”

For a moment he was taken aback. Then he scowled. “You mean he’s Trina and Stephan’s son.”

“Trina told me you were his biological father.” Shelby twisted her hands in her lap although he admired how she kept her voice steady. “Cody was born September tenth, roughly four years and six months ago. And Trina gave me this.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled slip of paper.

Alex took the scrap of paper from her and stared at his own handwriting in shock. This was the initial note he’d given Trina all those years ago, after their night together.

“She told me that once you knew about Cody being your son, you’d help keep him safe.”

Unable to sit still, Alex jumped up to pace the length of the room. How was this possible?

One night. They were only together for one night. He swallowed hard. “Okay, but if that’s true, why wouldn’t Trina have told me that she was pregnant? Why marry Stephan?”

“I don’t know. Trina didn’t confide in me, either.”

He jammed his fingers through his hair in frustration. Alex met Trina shortly after arriving in Green Bay. He’d been trying to dig up information on a tip about possible drug trafficking in the area. Trina seemed to know all about the boats entering and leaving the harbor so he had asked her out a few times to see if she’d let anything slip.

He hadn’t meant for things to go so far. He wasn’t proud of his actions, and had distanced himself from her after the night they’d spent together.

“I knew Trina had a child, but when Trina married Stephan a few months after the boy was born, I assumed the child was his,” he admitted in a low tone. “Frankly, I was relieved that she’d moved on to someone else after our night together.” And he’d never made the mistake of getting too close to anyone on the job ever again. “So why have you decided to spring this news on me now?”

“Because Cody’s in danger. And Trina obviously thought you needed to know he was your son, in order to protect him. Early this morning, Trina called and asked me to meet her down at the marina. She asked me to take Cody and made me promise to call you. She was going to come with us, but then…” her voice trailed off.

A chill snaked down his spine and he stopped in the center of the room, slowly turning to face her. On the phone she’d mentioned something about a man with a gun. “And then what? What happened?”

Shelby hesitated, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. He glanced at her upset expression, feeling an uncharacteristic spurt of sympathy for her, before abruptly turning away. Don’t go there, he warned himself. He’d help Cody and Shelby but becoming emotionally involved was out of the question.

“On the way to my car, Trina spotted someone. She told me to run and she took off, heading back toward the marina. I caught a glimpse of a man with a gun. I—I grabbed Cody and ran.”

“And Trina?” Alex forced himself to ask, although he could guess what happened next by the stricken look in Shelby’s gaze.

“I think he killed her.” Shelby’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I dialed 9–1–1 but…”

Alex winced, unable to bear the frank pain in her eyes, crossing over to where Shelby sat on the edge of the sofa. He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must have felt—witnessing an attack on her sister.

“She risked her life to save us,” Shelby continued, her eyes welling with tears. “She drew the gunman away, sacrificing herself to safe her son. Your son.”

Awkwardly, he sat beside her and placed his injured arm around her shoulders. For a moment she held herself stiff, but then sank against him, burying her face in his chest. Muffled sobs reached his ears and his shirt became damp with tears, but still he held her close. He murmured soothingly even as his hand delved into the softness of her hair. The sweet, spicy scent of it teased his nostrils. Holding her soothed him, too. Trina’s death was a shock. She’d put her life on the line for them, to help bring the drug smugglers to justice. Who had killed her?

“I’m sorry.” Shelby sniffled loudly and pulled away from his embrace. “It’s just that every time I think of trying to tell Cody that his mother might never come home, I get all choked up. How do you tell a four-year-old something like that?”

Stunned, the full implication of her statement hit him like a snow-laden log falling on his head. If Trina was dead, and if he was the boy’s father, then he was the child’s only living parent. Ten minutes ago he hadn’t known he had a son, much less one he might be solely responsible for. “Wait a minute, maybe there’s some mistake….”

“I don’t think so.” Shelby misunderstood his murmured comment and took a deep shuddering breath. “I saw the guy aim at her and shoot. She fell to the ground and didn’t get up.”

Alex fought back a surge of panic. A father? No. This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t father material. Look at the role model he’d had. His old man drank too much and hadn’t hesitated to lash out if he and Kayla said the wrong thing. Alex had vowed he’d never have children.

Yet, Cody had his green eyes.

Taking a deep breath he concentrated on identifying one problem at a time. It had been dark and Shelby only thought she saw her sister get shot. Even if she fell to the ground, Trina may have survived. Trina knew how to take care of herself.

He focused his attention on the problem at hand. Shelby and Cody needed protection from whomever had attacked Trina. Trina had been leaking information to the coast guard and DEA for the past two years, playing a very dangerous role. Someone on the drug smuggler’s payroll must have caught onto her. She may have gotten careless, digging too hard to find proof that Alex was targeting the wrong suspect. Whatever she’d found, he could only imagine she’d been shot to keep her mouth shut. He couldn’t help but wonder what she’d learned, and if her theory had been right. She’d vowed her father was innocent, but Alex had never been totally convinced.

Drugs were coming in on Russ Jacobson’s ships and Alex believed that Jacobson had to know what was going on right under his nose. In Alex’s opinion, Jacobson himself could be the mastermind behind the entire drug smuggling operation.

But did that mean Russ Jacobson was capable of having his own daughter killed? It was a stretch, but without proof one way or the other, he had no way of knowing for sure.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Shelby pleaded.

“It’s complicated,” he warned. “But first, are you sure the person with the gun was a man? Did you see him clearly?”

“No, I couldn’t see him much at all, but I’m pretty sure he was a man.” Shelby stared at him, her brow furrowed. “And in the car when we were driving away, Cody asked me if the bad man hurt his mom.”

“What? You mean Cody actually saw the guy?” This news changed everything. The danger was worse than he’d imagined if Cody was a witness to the potential leader behind the smuggling.

Alex eased away, trying to unobtrusively disentangle his hand from her hair. The silky strands seemingly had a will of their own as they clung to his fingers. He glanced toward the kitchen where the boy had disappeared. “I need to talk to him.”

“Oh, no you don’t.” Shelby’s tone was sharp and she tugged on his arm when he moved to get up. He hid a wince as a tender nerve zinged with a shaft of pain. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. Besides, Cody has been through an awful ordeal. He practically saw his mother being murdered. I don’t want him to relive the horror all over again so soon.”

“But if he’s seen the bad guy, maybe we can get a description or at least something to go on.” Alex understood her reluctance to expose the boy to more distress, but this was a possible murder investigation. Not to mention, a potential lead to the organizer behind the drug smuggling ring. Trina’s murder was obviously linked to his case. Or rather, to Rafe’s case.

“Maybe you can talk to him later,” she hedged. She stood up and walked closer to the fireplace, as if needing the warmth. “I brought him here so that you’d keep him safe. We need to protect him, not traumatize him.”

Alex frowned, understanding her logic to a certain extent. But decided to let the subject go for now when Kayla and Cody emerged from the kitchen trailed by the clumsy puppy.

“Shelby, look at Clyde,” Cody said happily. “Isn’t he great?”

“He sure is.” Shelby’s face softened into a warm smile and Alex couldn’t dismiss her obvious love for the boy.

In a daze, Alex did the mental math and came to the conclusion that the timing was right for him to have fathered Cody, although for all he knew Trina could have been sleeping with both him and Stephan at the same time. He’d request a DNA test at the very least, so that he would know for sure.

During the time he’d been undercover as a longshoreman, he hadn’t seen Trina’s son at all. Wisely, she’d kept him far away from the unsavory characters who had often hung out at the docks.

One look at Cody now, though, told him almost as much as a DNA test. At first he was so focused on Cody’s blond hair, he hadn’t really looked at the rest of his facial features. He could see that aside from the hair and the stubborn chin, Cody was the mirror image of himself at that age. Kayla had a box full of their baby pictures in the attic to prove it. The kid’s green eyes haunted him.

Not the kid, he admonished himself. My son. I’d better get used to the fact that Cody could really be my son.

Shelby knelt beside Cody and scratched the pup behind the ears. “So how were the cookies? Did Clyde get any?”

Cody giggled as he petted the puppy. “No. Dogs can’t eat people food. It’s bad for them, ’specially chocolate. The cookies were good, but not as good as yours,” he loyally added.

“I can show you to your rooms.” Kayla’s intensely curious gaze bounced back and forth between the three of them. “That way you’ll have some time to freshen up or to take a nap, if you prefer, before dinner.”

“Oh, well—” Shelby’s hesitant gaze swung around to collide with Alex’s.

Alex raised a brow at her dismay. Clearly Shelby hadn’t thought any further than tracking him down. Logically, he knew he should turn both of them over to Rafe. But now that they were here, he’d rather keep them close at hand. At least, until he’d gotten a chance to talk to Cody.

“Kay’s right. You’re both safe here, so there’s no point in you leaving to go somewhere else. Especially when this place has more than enough room.” He flashed a crooked smile, waving a hand at the various rooms overhead. “There’s plenty of privacy, I’m the only guest at the moment.”

Shelby drew in a long breath, reaching up to rub at her temple. “All right, then,” she agreed slowly. She stabbed him with a fierce glance. “But we still need to talk.”

Alex hesitated, glancing down at Cody who was watching them both curiously. “We will, but for now, why don’t you get settled into your rooms. I have some phone calls to make.”

“Me, too,” she said with a frown.

“That’s not a good idea. You can’t tell anyone you’re here or what you’ve seen,” he warned. “I’ll explain more later.”

He could tell she wasn’t happy with being put off, but she also clearly didn’t want to say much in front of Cody. Obviously she took her role of being the boy’s protector very seriously.

Slowly she nodded. “All right.” She turned to Cody. “Should we check out our rooms, partner?”

The boy nodded, although his attention was focused on Clyde who jumped up on him, trying to lick him in the face. Within moments the two were rolling on the floor with Cody giggling madly over the puppy’s enthusiastic affection.

Alex felt his chest tighten at the sight. He glanced up to find Shelby staring at him intently. For a long moment, they exchanged a look full of understanding. Hers reinforced that she would protect Cody at all costs. His admitted the need to take things slow, so he didn’t scare the boy.

He watched them walk up the stairs, grappling with the knowledge that he could deny the truth all he wanted, but he was likely Cody’s father.

What he was going to do about it, he had no clue.



Shelby’s earlier fear slowly began to fade as she gazed at her surroundings, while Kayla gave them the nickel tour. They mounted the staircase to the second story. The log home was even more impressive inside. A cathedral ceiling towered overhead giving an expansive view over the great room from the loft encircling the second floor. When Kayla showed them two adjoining rooms, Shelby saw that her earlier assumption was correct. Each room contained patio doors leading out onto the snow-covered deck.

“The shared bathroom is through this door here.” Kayla crossed the room to demonstrate. “And you can leave the connecting door open, if you prefer.”

“You have a beautiful home.” Shelby admired how the furnishings in the room had a rustic look, from the overstuffed chairs to the pine, sleigh-shaped bed frame. For the first time since leaving the marina in a mad rush, fully expecting the gunman to come after them, she felt safe. Secure. Because of Alex?

Kayla’s mouth formed a sad smile. “Thank you. My husband had a hand in building it himself, before he died.”

“I’m sorry.” Shelby inwardly winced at her blunder. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be for a woman to raise a child alone after her husband’s death.

“That’s all right.” Kayla straightened, shaking off the despondency. “He died nearly two years ago, but he was a wonderful man. And I’m not totally alone, his mother helps me by watching over Brianna when I’m busy working. Well, here I am jabbering in your ear, when all you want to do is relax for a bit. Dinner will be ready about six. If you’re hungry before that, just come down to the kitchen. There’s always plenty to eat.”

“Thank you.” When Kayla left, Shelby closed the door behind her and glanced over at Cody. He didn’t usually take naps, but his eyelids drooped as a result of his interrupted night. She wasn’t feeling too perky herself and the white down comforter on the bed looked soft and inviting. “So, partner, how about we lie down for a few minutes?”

“I don’t wanna lie down.” A wide yawn belied his words but he pried his eyes open, fighting fatigue the way kids tended to do. “Are we gonna live here now? I like Clyde.”

Shelby shook her head, eyeing the puppy that had followed them upstairs, claiming Cody as his newfound friend. Clearly, every child should have a pet. She made a mental vow to get Cody a dog of his own once this mess was over. Would Alex mind? No, she wasn’t going there. If she wanted Cody to have a puppy, he’d have one.

“We can’t live here, Cody. In the spring and summer, these rooms are rented out to guests. We’re just lucky there isn’t anyone here now.” Inspiration struck. “Would you like to take a nap with Clyde?”

“Yeah!” Cody ran into his room, the puppy close on his heels. Her ruse worked, forestalling further questions about his father or their possible future together. She wouldn’t be able to dodge the little boy’s questions forever.

But first and foremost, Cody needed to be safe. Once they were out of danger, she intended to ask Alex to grant her sole custody. The apprehensive expression in his eyes, when he’d looked at Cody, convinced her that he wasn’t overly thrilled to be a father. Which was fine with her. She couldn’t have loved Cody any more if he really were her son.

Cody would feel better, once he knew what to expect in the future.

Shelby left open the adjoining door between their rooms, so that she’d hear Cody when he awoke. She slid between the sheets, sighing gratefully as the down mattress cushioned her tired and aching body. Sleep should have come easily.

Instead Alex’s face swam in her mind, interrupting her search for blessed oblivion. She couldn’t believe she’d cried on his shoulder. She hadn’t leaned on a man in a long time, and Alex wasn’t exactly the best candidate. He was too intimidating by far. And besides, maybe he wasn’t married, but he’d clearly been irresponsible all those years ago.

Instantly she felt ashamed. She couldn’t pass judgment on him for having an intimate relationship with Trina, since she wouldn’t have Cody in her life if he hadn’t.

But she didn’t get the sense he held the same Christian beliefs she did. She’d found God as her savior after an awful experience in college, where she’d narrowly escaped being sexually assaulted. She’d found solace in God and her church, and the people there had helped her again after she’d suffered a brutal attack at the shipyard a few years ago. She’d overcome her fear of men slowly but surely, with help from the Lord. Creating her Little Lamb’s Day Care Center had helped her find a greater purpose in life. She hadn’t planned to have children of her own—she wasn’t sure she’d ever trust a man enough to risk her heart—but she’d love to raise Cody as her son.

Shelby knew she was getting ahead of herself, since she didn’t really know what Alex’s plans were, so she tried not to dwell on him. Or his relationship with her sister. She trusted him only as far as his ability to keep them safe.

Nothing more.

Tossing and turning in the unusually soft bed, her unanswered questions swirled through her mind. What had Trina been involved with? What was the source of the danger? Who had Cody seen?

She couldn’t help a tiny flash of guilt. Maybe she should let Alex question him, get some answers. But she knew all too well what it felt like to be a victim. She didn’t want to cause Cody to have nightmares like she’d had. The poor kid needed time to assimilate what had happened.

And really, how much detail would a four-year-old be able to give in a description, anyway?

She wondered what was going on back in Green Bay. She didn’t talk often to her father, but surely he’d find out soon about what happened to Trina. She’d have to call him. And what about Stephan? Had Stephan discovered the truth about Cody’s biological father last night? Was that the reason Cody was in danger?

No. She couldn’t believe Stephan was the bad man that Cody had mentioned. Up until now, Cody had called Stephan dad even if they were never really close.

Too many questions and she grew irritated with Alex for not giving her nearly enough answers.

She must have fallen asleep because she abruptly woke up, blinking groggily in the darkness, instantly aware of her strange surroundings, wondering what had woken her so suddenly. In a rush she remembered the bed-and-breakfast, and Alex. Outside, dusk had fallen, telling her she had slept longer than she’d planned. Quickly pulling on her clothes, she poked her head through the connecting doorway, her gaze searching for Cody.

His bed was rumpled, but empty.

She paused to listen for sounds of him playing with the puppy downstairs, but everything was quiet—though not for long.

The sharp retort of a gunshot from somewhere outside ripped through the silence of the night.

“No!” Shelby ran downstairs, barely pausing to grab her coat from the chair before she threw open the door. Her mind raced with terrifying thoughts of what she might find as she barreled out into the frigid moonlit night desperate to find her nephew.




THREE


Shelby peered through the night, forcing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The snowy ground showed a trail of footprints. She thrust her arms into her coat sleeves even as she slipped and stumbled on the icy trail of trampled snow leading back around the house. The darkness swallowed her. Concern for Cody overpowered her usual fear of the night.

“Cody!” Shelby began to shout as she dodged between trees. Her voice sounded distant through the roaring in her ears. She noted another building—a pole barn, hidden in the woods to the left of the house. A shaft of light shone through the small side door left ajar. “Cody?”

Another gunshot ripped through the air, louder this time. With a sob of horror, Shelby burst through the door. She glanced around wildly. Alex stood in the center of the room holding a gun, wearing a pair of earmuffs.

Alex pulled them off the moment he saw her.

“Shelby? What’s wrong?” In an instant, he crossed over to her, lightly grasping her arm.

Helplessly, she shook her head, choking back tears and gasping for breath. Her heart pounded frantically in her chest. “I—I woke up and Cody wasn’t in the room. And th-then I heard gunshots.”

Chagrined, he glanced over to the target he’d clearly been using. “I’m sorry. I should have realized you’d worry.”

“The last time I heard gunfire, my sister was shot.” She couldn’t help pinning him with an accusatory look. A burst of anger quickly replaced her gut-wrenching fear. She tore from his grip, curled her fingers into a fist and smacked him square in the chest. “What on earth possessed you to shoot off a gun?”

He frowned and glanced down at the weapon in his hand, as if noticing it for the first time. “I needed to work on my arm. It’s not what it should be. Considering you came here for protection, I thought I’d better practice. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about Trina.”

She stared at the long paper targets hanging over sheets of plywood propped in front of several bales of hay stacked in the back of the shed, forcing herself to think logically. Alex wasn’t the bad guy here. He was Trina’s contact which meant he must be a good guy. And he was Cody’s father. He was just trying to protect them.

Shelby drew a deep, shuddering breath. For years, she’d avoided men, but suddenly now here she was, totally dependent on Alex for safety. The idea was extremely disconcerting.

She let go of her anger, knowing her overreaction wasn’t his fault. Since his goal was to protect them, how could she argue?

She glanced at Alex, and he shook his head at the unspoken questions in her eyes. “Let’s go back to the house,” he suggested. “So you can see for yourself that Cody’s fine.”

Shelby slowly nodded, following him outside down the path she’d taken a few minutes ago.

When a low hanging branch tangled in her hair, she tried to yank free, muttering under her breath.

“Here, let me help.” Alex came up behind her and deftly unhooked the naturally curly lock of hair from the branch. His nearness made her shiver and not necessarily with fear. She stepped away. She shouldn’t be tempted to lean on Alex, not when she’d fought so hard to remain independent.

“Thanks.” Her breath shortened and she hunched her shoulders, careful to duck far below the trees. His calm presence managed to distract her from her fear of the dark.

Alex must be a cop. That would explain why Trina sent them to him for protection. Her preoccupation with her sister caused her to stumble over a fallen branch, half-hidden beneath the snow. Alex caught her by the arm.

“Watch your step.” Alex frowned when she instinctively pulled away from his touch. He glanced down at her sodden feet. “We need to get you a pair of boots. Kayla’s already loaned Cody a pair of Brianna’s.”

“We left Green Bay in a hurry.” Shelby grit her teeth together to stop them from chattering. Alex’s domineering personality put her on the defensive. She wasn’t used to anyone questioning her parenting skills. “Besides, we didn’t have as much snow there as you do here.”

“I’m sure Kayla has a pair that’ll fit.” Alex kept his hand under her elbow as they climbed up the few steps to the house.

Shelby refrained from answering. Safe inside the well-lit house, she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d conquered the darkness, at least for a few minutes. Feeling foolish for her rush of panic, she removed her coat and her sodden tennis shoes. Her jeans and socks were damp, but she ignored the discomfort, simply walking toward the sound of voices coming from the kitchen had died down in their absence.

When they entered, Cody ran up to her. She caught him close in a quick hug, which he tolerated for a half a second before squirming away. She reluctantly released him.

“Aunt Shelby, were you practicing shooting with my other dad outside? When I get older, he said he’s gonna teach me how to shoot a real BB gun.”

“Oh, really?” Calmer now, Shelby sent Alex a narrow look. Just who did he think he was making a promise like that, without even asking her? No matter what biology said, he was not Cody’s only parent, and he had no right to make decisions like that without consulting her. She didn’t approve of guns and she especially didn’t approve of teaching children how to shoot them. Shelby held on to her temper with an effort, turning her attention to Cody. “Who’s your new friend?” she asked, gesturing to the girl standing near the stove with Kayla.

“That’s Brianna. She’s five. Clyde’s her puppy, but he likes me better.”

Shelby rolled her eyes at the rivalry in his tone. “I’m sure Clyde likes you both the same. Are you hungry, or did you eat dinner without me?”

“No, of course not,” Kayla said. “Brianna, you and Cody need to set the table.”

“Okay,” Brianna agreed as she dashed toward the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen, dragging Cody with her.

“I’m sorry,” Kayla murmured, her gaze apologetic. “I didn’t realize you’d heard the gunshots until I saw you running for the door. I wanted to come after you, but I couldn’t go outside like this.” She pointed down to her feet, covered only in thick socks.

Shelby tried to smile. Cody was safe and that was the important thing. “It’s okay. I’m just not keen on guns.”

“Guns are only a problem when they’re misused.” Alex spoke testily. “Don’t worry, I keep trigger locks on all my weapons.”

All his weapons? How many did he have? Shelby wasn’t about to stand around, debating the pros and cons of gun legislation with him. Not on the same day when she’d watched someone shoot her sister. In fact, she was glad Cody was doing all right in here, and hadn’t reacted to the noise of the gunshot with the heart-wrenching fear she’d felt. Maybe he hadn’t seen as much during their frantic dash to the parking lot as she’d thought. Gathering every ounce of patience, she steered the conversation toward a safe topic. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Venison stew,” Kayla replied.

“Venison?” Shelby tried to hide her dismay.

Kayla chuckled. “That was my reaction too, at first. But trust me, you’ll like it.”

“Don’t tell me it tastes like chicken.”

Kayla laughed. “Why don’t you two go have a seat in the great room?” she suggested. “I’ll call you when everything’s ready.”

Back in the great room, Shelby noticed that the fire had died down. She reached for a log, intent on adding to the dying embers, but a masculine arm snatched it from her grasp.

“Here, let me. You need to change into some dry clothes.”

Annoyed, Shelby wondered if all men liked to pretend they were in charge of the world, or if this was a characteristic unique to Alex McCade. She might be afraid of the shadows, but years of living alone had taught her to fend for herself in her own way. She valued her independence and preferred to keep it that way. Dire circumstances had brought her here. She needed Alex to keep Cody safe. She did not need him to boss her around.

She sat on the edge of the sofa, propping her feet on the stone hearth of the fireplace. “I don’t have anything else with me. Besides, I’m fine.”

“I’m sure Kayla will lend you a few things.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated stubbornly. She didn’t want to put her hostess out any more than she already had.

“I know you’re upset with me,” Alex murmured in a low tone. “I promise I’ll try to answer your questions. But I don’t want to talk in front of the kids.” Alex waved in the general direction of the kitchen, where Cody and Brianna were still helping Kayla by setting the table.

Shelby lifted her gaze to his. He wasn’t looking at her, though, but stared thoughtfully into the fire. When he wasn’t ordering her around, he was very attractive, not that she had any business noticing. He wasn’t at all her type, even if she wasn’t interested in men, which she wasn’t. Considering her past experiences, she didn’t trust men on a personal level and that included Alex. “They won’t hear us if we’re quiet. Be honest with me. Are you in law enforcement?”

“Sort of.” He shrugged and glanced at her. “I work for the government.”

Her eyes widened. “FBI?”

He shook his head. “DEA. Shelby, you’ll need to keep everything I tell you confidential. Your life and Cody’s depends upon it.”

She swallowed hard at the seriousness of his tone. “Okay.”

Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “How much do you know about your father’s shipping business and the marina?”

“Not a lot. Most of my time is spent running my day care center.” Shelby wrinkled her forehead, realizing she’d have to call her assistant soon to let Debbi know she wouldn’t be there on Monday. “Trina and Stephan manage the marina.”

“I know. Trina was helping us, providing inside information.”

Shelby frowned. “Like what?”

“Details that may be pertinent to us finding the drugs being smuggled into the U.S. from Canada through the Great Lakes. Names of ships, routes, etcetera. We’re trying to find the identity of the mastermind behind the drug smuggling operation. We knew there were several insiders, including one in customs, but we needed to find the guy in charge.”

“Drugs? On my father’s ships?” She stared at him in shock. “You can’t be serious.”

“Shelby, I saw the shipments firsthand. I was working undercover as a longshoreman, reporting to Bobby Drake, the warehouse foreman and your father’s right-hand man. During the time I spent on the docks, I discovered drugs coming in on your father’s ships over and over again. That much is fact. What we don’t know is who’s responsible.”

She sucked in a harsh breath. She’d had no idea. “You think my father is involved, don’t you?”

“I saw him on the docks a fair amount. He kept his hand in every aspect of his business. Russ Jacobson was especially interested in the cargo on the ships that traveled from Sault Saint Marie to Green Bay, with the final destination being Chicago. The same ships where we found drugs.”

“No!” Shelby jumped to her feet, her hands fisted at her sides. “I’m telling you, Alex, my father isn’t involved in drug smuggling.”

“Shh.” He frowned at her, and then glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen where the kids were playing with Clyde. “Calm down. Trina felt the same way you do. Yet we have no choice but to treat everyone as a suspect, until proven otherwise. You wanted to know the source of the danger, well this is it. Whoever hurt Trina must have figured out she was feeding us information.”

“Dinner’s on,” Kayla called.

Alex glanced toward the kitchen. “We’ll discuss this more later.”

Shelby didn’t want to discuss it later. She wanted to talk about it now, so she could show Alex he was wrong. Yet in spite of her instinctive defense, she felt uneasy. She wasn’t an idiot. Her father’s shipping company dominated the Great Lakes shipping business. How could drugs be on his ships without his knowledge? She shoved aside the shimmer of doubt. She didn’t know how her father had missed what was going on, but she was relieved to hear Trina believed in their father’s innocence, too.

She was tempted to insist he tell her more, but bit her tongue, in deference to Cody. The poor child had been traumatized enough. He didn’t need to hear his aunt arguing with his other dad.

“Yes. We will talk more later.” Her gaze warned him that she expected answers. He returned her look with a bland one of his own.

Kayla called out to them from the kitchen. “Are you coming?”

They both hurried into the kitchen. Instead of eating in the formal dining room usually reserved for guests, they crowded around the oak picnic table in the kitchen. There should have been plenty of room, especially when Cody insisted on sitting next to Brianna. Yet Alex seemed to take up more than his share of space. His presence was disturbing and not just because she usually avoided being so close to a man. For some strange reason, his woodsy aftershave teased her senses.

“Excuse me,” she muttered when their elbows bumped for the third time. She scooched over a few more inches. Any farther, she’d be sitting on the floor.

“Switch places with me, I’m left-handed.” Alex lifted his plate and stood while she slid into his spot so that he could sit at the end.

He was still too close. His right hand rested on the table and Shelby could see a few of the reddened scars above the denim cuff of his shirt. What had happened to him? Mesmerized by the dark sprinkling of hair on his forearm, she didn’t realize she’d eaten half her stew until Kayla snickered at her from across the table. Flustered, she stared at her bowl. Had the meat tasted different? She couldn’t say one way or the other.

“What do you think?” Kayla asked.

She flashed her a sheepish smile. “You’re absolutely right, Kayla. The venison stew is wonderful.”

“Thanks. Alex is a hunter and he shot the deer himself, last year.” Her voice rang with pride.

“Can I learn how to hunt deer?” Cody piped up from the other side of the table.

“No.”

“Sure.”

Both Shelby and Alex answered simultaneously. She threw him a dark look. Alex had the grace to look away guiltily.

“I don’t think you’ll be old enough to hunt for quite a while yet, Cody,” Shelby amended, noticing the confusion in the boy’s eyes. She mentally cursed Alex for interfering. She’d been making decisions regarding Cody’s upbringing for years, how could he expect to suddenly step in and take over?

Because he’s Cody’s father. Shelby’s appetite vanished and she stared down at her half-eaten food. The thought of losing Cody to Alex twisted her stomach into a hard knot. She loved Cody. She couldn’t love him more if she’d borne him herself. What if Alex took him someplace far away where she’d never see him again?

Her fork clattered to her plate from fingers gone numb.

“Shelby? Are you okay?” Alex sent her a glance so full of concern she nearly blurted out the truth. Only a deep sense of self-preservation made her hold her tongue.

“Sorry. I’m just clumsy I guess.” Shelby tried to smile, but her face felt as if it might split in two with the effort.

Drugs coming in on her father’s ships. Cody’s bad man. Trina’s death. Suddenly it was all too much. Obviously she needed Alex, in order to keep Cody safe, but a tiny part of her just wanted to grab Cody and run away from it all. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? All alone with Cody would she ever be able to stop running? She couldn’t condemn Cody to that kind of life. He was safer here with Alex. For now.

How she made it through the rest of dinner, she’d never know. Afterward she excused herself from helping with the dishes and retreated to her room long enough to use Trina’s phone to place a call to their father and then to Debbi, her assistant manager of the day care center. Shelby didn’t intend to break her promise to Alex, but needed to at least find out about Trina. Maybe her sister had miraculously survived.

Punching the numbers on the phone pad, she dialed her father’s number. A woman’s voice drifted over the line after the third ring.

“Hello?”

Shelby swallowed her annoyance when her father’s wife answered the phone. She didn’t particularly care for the woman who’d become their stepmother. “Hi, Marilyn. Is Dad around?”

“Shelby? Your father’s worried sick. He’s been trying to call you for hours. What is wrong with you? You should be here with him. Don’t you care about him at all? Where are you?”

Shelby winced at her shrill voice. “Please, Marilyn, stop yelling at me. Just put Dad on, would you?”

“Fine. Be that way.”

Marilyn dropped the phone with a clatter making Shelby pull the instrument away from her ear. After a few minutes, her father’s booming voice came over the line.

“Shelby? Where have you been? I’ve been calling your place all day.”

“Sorry, Dad.” Shelby tried not to back down from his accusatory tone, but it wasn’t easy. Her relationship with her father wasn’t great. When her mother was still alive, they’d been a close-knit family. Every Sunday, after church, they’d have family game night. She’d cherished those times. But things had gotten worse after her mother died. Her father had changed. Ever since her mother’s death he’d been trying to toughen her up, trying to make her into something she wasn’t. Someone like Trina. Most of the time she avoided her family, preferring her friends from church to the rowdy crowd who hung around at the marina. Her father never hesitated to vocalize his disapproval.

“I’ve been worried about you. Do you have Cody?”

“Yes, Cody’s with me. We’re safe. Everything is fine,” she hastened to reassure him.

“So you haven’t seen Trina, then?”

She hesitated, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to break her promise to Alex, either. “Not in a while,” she hedged. To the best of her knowledge, no one had known that she was meeting Trina down by the marina. Cody had often stayed with her when her sister was working.

“Then you don’t know.” He let out a heavy sigh. “There’s been a terrible accident, Shel.” For a moment, he sounded like the father she used to know. The one who taught his young daughters how to sail on the waters of Lake Michigan. “Your sister…” He struggled to get the words out. “Someone shot her. She’s dead.”

Shelby closed her eyes against a wave of grief, even though she’d suspected the worst all along. To hear her father state the truth so bluntly was harder than she’d anticipated. “What—what happened?”

“I don’t know.” The helplessness in his tone was so uncharacteristic that Shelby wished she were with him. “I can’t think of anyone who’d want to kill her. Of course I called the mayor, asking him to make Trina’s murder a priority. It pays to have friends in high places. So far, Lieutenant Holden thinks it’s a robbery, since all of the jewelry Trina had been wearing was stolen, including her wedding ring.”

Her father sounded lost and forlorn, reinforcing what Shelby had known all along. He couldn’t possibly be involved in something so heinous as drug smuggling, and he certainly played no part in Trina’s death. A part of her wanted to blurt out the truth, how she’d seen the dark figure shoot Trina, but she held her tongue. For Cody’s sake. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Where are you? You said you have Cody with you? Because Stephan has been wondering where he is.”

“I have Cody and we’re staying with a friend.” She frowned. “I know Stephan and Trina were having problems, and that Trina had moved out, but I’m sure this is still very hard on him.”

“Yes. I was hoping they’d work things out.” He sighed heavily. “Why don’t you come home? I need you, Shelby. Trina—the police haven’t released her body yet, so we haven’t scheduled the funeral.”

The funeral? A fresh wave of tears threatened and Shelby blinked them back with an effort and rubbed the scar at her temple.

Of course she and Cody would be expected to attend the funeral. But would that be good for Cody? Was it safe enough for him to attend? She honestly didn’t know. “I’m sorry, but I can’t come home right now, Dad. Please don’t worry, we’re fine. And I promise I’ll stay in touch.”

“See that you do.” Russell Jacobson’s tone hardened. “I know your church views prevented you and your sister from becoming close, but our family needs to stick together in times like this.”

His words were sharp, an arrow piercing her heart. Her father had taken this attitude, acting as if her Christian path was somehow the wrong one, maybe because she’d found so much comfort in her church community, rather than with her family. “We weren’t that close, but I loved Trina. And I love you, too. I’ll call you later, Dad.”





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