Buch lesen: «Confiscated Conception»
A baby she’d never carried inside her…
Never held in her arms. Never even seen. And yet he was already there in her heart. A son. Rachel slowly let that sink in.
She had a child, and Esterman’s people might hurt him before they could find him.
“I’d given up hope of ever having a baby,” she admitted. She ran her fingers over the child’s picture. “Especially when you refused to let me use the embryos after we separated.”
“Yes.”
That was it. The sum total of Jared’s response. But Rachel didn’t hold it against him. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond, either. Most couples had nine months to build up to a moment like this. Nine months of hope, planning and dreams. Their dream was one big nightmare.
“We have to find him….”
Confiscated Conception
Delores Fossen
MILLS & BOON
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Imagine a family tree that includes Texas cowboys, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, a Louisiana pirate and a Scottish rebel who battled side by side with William Wallace. With ancestors like that, it’s easy to understand why Texas author and former air force captain Delores Fossen feels as if she was genetically predisposed to writing romances. Along the way to fulfilling her DNA destiny, Delores married an air force Top Gun who just happens to be of Viking descent. With all those romantic bases covered, she doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Lieutenant Jared Dillard—Even though he still cares for his soon-to-be ex-wife, Rachel, he believes she’s out of his life for good—until he receives word that someone stole the fertilized embryo they stored years ago. Now there’s a child—their child—and the baby will die if Jared and Rachel don’t work together to find him.
Rachel Dillard—She’s been in protective custody for over a year, and just hours before she’s supposed to testify against her dirty dealing boss, she learns that she has a newborn son. If she doesn’t testify, a killer will go free, but if she takes the stand, her child will die.
Clarence Esterman—Rachel’s former boss would do anything to stop her from testifying against him.
Sergeant Colby Meredith—Is he a cop on the take with orders from Esterman to assassinate Jared?
Lyle Brewer—Clarence Esterman’s lawyer. He’s possibly Esterman’s silent partner and the one who has Rachel and Jared’s baby.
Donald Livingston—Is this prison warden the mastermind behind Esterman’s plan to stop Rachel from testifying, or is he simply a pawn in a dangerous game?
To my brother, Mike, and his wife, Ann Marie
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter One
Jared heard the footsteps a split second before the man aimed a semiautomatic at his head.
“Don’t move,” the officer ordered. He stepped around the side of the ranch house and approached Jared as if he were a cobra ready to strike. In a way, he was.
With the thick envelope still clutched in his hand, Jared lifted his arms in a show of surrender. “I’m Lieutenant Dillard, San Antonio PD. I believe you’re expecting me?”
“It’s all right, Smitty,” a woman called out from inside the house. “He’s Rachel’s husband. I recognize him.” The door opened, and Detective Miller, the dark-haired officer on the other side, motioned for Jared to enter.
“Lieutenant Dillard,” she greeted. “I wish you were here under different circumstances.”
The officer glanced at the envelope, and from the somber expression on her thin face it was clear that she thought it contained the divorce papers that Jared had mentioned on the phone.
It didn’t.
But it would have been far better if it had.
Jared stepped inside and made a mental note of the weapons that were neatly arranged in a rack next to the door. Side arms and rifles for backup. Extra magazines of ammunition. Ditto for the two Texas Rangers posted at the checkpoint at the end of the road. They were armed to the hilt.
Maybe the four peace officers wouldn’t try to use those weapons against him before this visit was over.
He glanced around the sparsely furnished place and spotted Rachel right away. She was in the adjoining room that had been converted to a gym of sorts. She was barefoot. Her shoulder-length dark blond hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail. She wore a pair of loose gray boxers and a red sleeveless T-shirt.
Oh, man.
She looked good. It’d been months since Jared had last seen her and well over a year since he’d had her in his bed. But even after all that time and after everything that had gone on between them, the thought of making love to Rachel still set his blood on fire.
He had too-vivid memories of her naked body slick with perspiration. The feel of her firm breasts beneath his hands. The scent of her arousal mixed with his. The heat of her mouth. The eagerness of her touch.
Which obviously wouldn’t be so eager now.
Jared watched as she pounded her fists and then her forearms into the punching bag. The blows weren’t random but part of a workout routine. Shaolin boxing. And from the looks of things, she wasn’t a beginner.
“Hello, Jared. You’re early. I didn’t expect you for another hour.” Rachel spared him a cool glance with those intense jungle-green eyes before she peeled off her scarred boxing gloves. She picked up a bottle of water from a weight bench, took her time drinking it and then strolled to the window.
Ah, the ice princess act. Her favorite. He recognized it immediately. It probably fooled her bodyguards, but it sure as hell didn’t fool him. She was riled by his visit.
Interesting.
“When did you take up Shaolin boxing?” he asked, walking toward her.
Rachel wiped the perspiration from her forehead with the back of her hand. “About a year ago.”
Of course. It made sense. After all, there was a reason she was in protective custody. This was probably her way of dealing with the constant fear and stress from Clarence Esterman’s death threats.
“You’re good at it.”
She shrugged. “Well, if I’m ever accosted by a punching bag in a dark alley, I’ll be able to hold my own.” The comment might have been lighthearted, but that lightheartedness didn’t quite make it to her voice. She flexed her eyebrows, a mild indication that the chitchat was over. “Let me get a pen so I can sign those papers.”
So much for breaking the ice. This obviously wasn’t an ice-breaking sort of moment. Unfortunately, he had to proceed anyway.
Jared went to her, slipped his arm around her waist. Before she could protest their bodily contact—or use one of those Shaolin boxing moves on him—he upped the ante. He crushed his mouth to hers.
The kiss was, well, interesting, too. Even though it was supposed to be all for show, it sent a jolt of pure heat through him. Too bad he couldn’t say the same for Rachel. If she felt any heat, it was likely from temper and not passion. She shoved her forearm against his abs and jerked away. Jared didn’t let her get too far.
“Play along,” he whispered against her ear. He slipped the thick envelope into the inside pocket of his jacket. “It’s important.”
No cool dismissive glance from her this time. Rachel’s scalpel-sharp gaze sliced him, her eyes asking a lot of tough questions. Questions he couldn’t begin to answer in front of the other officers.
Jared touched her arm with his fingers and rubbed softly. More of the pretense. It was a gesture meant to comfort and reassure.
It didn’t work.
He felt her muscles tighten even more.
“Could you give us some time alone?” Jared asked the detectives. He didn’t look back at Miller and Smith, nor did he take his attention off the obviously irritated woman in front of him. “Rachel’s going in the Witness Protection Program after she testifies against Clarence Esterman this afternoon, so this is my last chance to be with her.”
Detective Miller practically marched across the room and joined them. “Sorry, but I’m not allowed to let Rachel out of my sight. Especially not today.”
Jared gave her his best wise-guy glare. “Then, you’d better brace yourself for one helluva peep show, Detective, because I intend to take my wife in the bedroom and do my best to talk her out of this divorce.”
Rachel opened her mouth and then closed it just as quickly. She pulled her eyebrows together. Jared gave her arm a gentle squeeze, hoping it would buy him a little more cooperation. It bought him a scowl.
“I have orders from the captain—”
“I’m a cop,” Jared reminded Miller. “Head of Special Investigations and your superior officer. The captain’s order is that Rachel be guarded at all times. She will be—by me—and it’ll happen in the bedroom.”
Jared didn’t wait to see if Rachel or Miller would call his bluff. He latched onto Rachel and got her moving toward the back of the house.
“What’s this all about?” Rachel demanded in an angry whisper.
Jared didn’t answer. Not with the detectives right behind them in the hallway. He’d studied the floor plan of the house so he knew where her living quarters were. He maneuvered Rachel into the makeshift suite and slammed the door before Miller could invite herself in.
“I don’t have time to explain everything,” Jared informed her. “I have to get you out of here—now.”
Surprise and then outrage raced through her eyes. It was an understandable reaction. He was feeling plenty of outrage himself.
Jared clamped his hand over her mouth before she could voice her emotions. “Just listen.”
But she didn’t. Rachel shoved his hand away. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I want no part of it, understand? Just give me the divorce papers, damn it, and I’ll sign them.”
“There are no divorce papers.”
Other than a somewhat shocked look, Rachel didn’t have time to react to that news flash.
“Rachel?” Detective Miller called out. “Are you sure you’re all right in there?”
Jared moved quickly when he heard the door open, and he cursed himself for not locking it. It was time to beef up the charade, since Miller obviously wasn’t backing off.
He snapped Rachel to him and kissed her as if they hadn’t been separated for the past fourteen months. In the same motion, he slid his hand beneath her T-shirt. With everything else going on, he sure as hell shouldn’t have noticed that she was wearing only a tiny, silky swatch of a bra.
Lace, at that.
Miller cleared her throat. “If you need me, Rachel, just yell. I’ll be right outside.”
The moment Miller shut the door, Rachel pushed Jared away from her. “What the heck is wrong with you?”
“Plenty.” Jared hurried to the door and locked it. “It’s been a really bad night, and the morning hasn’t gotten any better.”
Not wasting any time, he went to the closet. It was in perfect order. As he’d known it would be. Rachel arranged and organized things when she was nervous. And when she was really nervous, she paced. He figured she’d be pacing and organizing a lot before this was over.
Jared grabbed a pair of running shoes and jeans from the closet and thrust them into her hands. “I don’t have time to soothe your doubts or convince you that I’m doing the right thing. I have to get you out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Rachel dropped the shoes on the floor, but with incensed tugs and jerks, she did put on the jeans over her workout shorts. “In a little less than three hours, I’m leaving to testify against Clarence Esterman, and the officers outside will be the ones driving me. Not you.”
“You can’t testify,” Jared said. “Not today, anyway.”
“Judas Priest!” Rachel propped her hands on her hips and stared at him. “Are you saying there’s been another trial delay? Because if there has been—”
She stopped, and just like that, the color drained from her face. She slowly sank onto the edge of the bed. “My God, did Esterman get to you? Did he send you here to try to talk me out of testifying?”
Jared cursed. Hell. She obviously thought he was lower than slime to have suggested something like that. It meant there was nothing he could say that would make her change her mind about leaving with him.
Instead, he’d have to show her.
Jared finished putting on her shoes, tied the laces with far more force than required and then reached inside his jacket. He yanked out the envelope.
“I told you earlier on the phone that I’d sign the divorce papers,” she continued, her voice getting more indignant with each word. “There’s no reason for us to go through this—whatever the heck this is. You can have the town house. The car. Everything. I’ll need to start fresh anyway, once they give me a new identity.”
Jared ignored her, opened the envelope and extracted the photo of the newborn baby. When she refused to take it, he dropped it on the bed next to her.
Rachel glanced at it and shrugged. “So? What does that have to do with our divorce or with me testifying against my former boss?”
He had to unclench his jaw so he could speak. “I’ve been told that the baby in that photo is my son.”
Her head whipped up, her eyes narrowed and accusing. He could almost see her process that bit of startling information. She didn’t process it well. With reason. Before they’d gone their separate ways, Rachel and he had spent two long years trying to conceive a child.
They’d failed.
And so had their marriage.
Rachel swallowed hard. “You have a son?”
Jared wasn’t immune to the hurt he saw on her face. But that hurt was nothing compared to what he’d no doubt see when he told her the rest.
“It seems that way. He’s six days old.” Jared hadn’t meant his explanation to grind to a halt, but then, he hadn’t counted on his mouth turning to dust either. Hell. He hated the people who’d set all of this in motion.
Rachel shook a head, a nervous shudder. Obviously she didn’t understand. But how could she possibly understand this? He’d had hours to try to absorb it and still didn’t understand.
She reached for the picture, but instead her fingers curled into a tight fist. “My God, you didn’t waste any time. So, who’s the baby’s mother? Is she someone I know?”
Jared caught her shoulders. Their gazes locked. “You’re the mother, Rachel. According to the DNA report, he’s our son. Ours.”
THE ONLY THING that saved Rachel from losing it then and there was that Jared was obviously lying. He had to be. But what she couldn’t figure out was why he was doing something so intentionally cruel.
“Why are you telling me this?” She got up from the bed, snatched up the photograph and shoved it back into the pocket of his black leather jacket. She didn’t want even another glimpse of that image of the newborn. “You want to upset me? To get back at me for all the things that went on between us? Then, fine. You’ve upset me. Now, get out of here.”
He caught her hand when she started to pace. “It’s the truth, Rachel.”
That stopped her in her tracks. There wasn’t any hesitation in his voice. Not even a hint. And it was that sheer conviction that had Rachel studying him. What she saw in the depths of those whiskey-colored eyes sent her stomach plummeting to her knees.
“You’re not lying?” she mumbled.
But how could that be? She hadn’t been with Jared or any other man in over a year. And she darn sure hadn’t given birth. That she definitely would have remembered.
Jared released the grip he had on her and scrubbed his hands over his face. He groaned softly. “I don’t have time to sugarcoat this, so here goes. According to the letter I received late last night, someone claims they stole a frozen fertilized embryo that we’d stored when you were trying to get pregnant. This person says they took it so they could use it to impregnate a surrogate.”
It took her several tries just to gather enough breath to speak. “And?”
“And according to them, they succeeded.”
Oh God.
Success in this case could mean only one thing. What was left of her composure went south in a hurry. Rachel had no choice but to sit back down on the bed, because her legs gave way.
“There’s really a baby? Our baby?”
“According to the letter, yes. Of course, we’d stored several unfertilized eggs as well, so I’m guessing they could have gotten one of those, instead. I just don’t know at this point. I’ve got the people at the fertility clinic checking to verify what’s missing, but it doesn’t look good. Apparently, frozen embryos aren’t a high-theft item so security was pretty lax.”
The information was coming at her way too fast. Rachel pressed her hands against her head and tried to concentrate, but it was impossible to absorb something that didn’t make sense. “Do you believe it?”
Jared lifted a shoulder, but there was nothing casual about that gesture. And there wasn’t a relaxed muscle in his body. “Whoever’s behind this included a saliva swab so we could do an independent DNA test. I sent it to the lab before I drove out here, but it’ll be a couple of days before we can get the results.”
Days. She’d have to wait days to learn the truth. And even then, the test results might not be definitive. After all, someone sinister enough to come up with a plan like this wouldn’t hesitate to doctor DNA results.
Still, it wasn’t the possibility of doctored DNA results that’d put that strained look in Jared’s eyes.
“You must think the child is ours, or you wouldn’t be here,” Rachel insisted.
He hitched his thumb to his chest. “I’m here because they gave me no choice. All I know at this point is there’s a child, and Esterman’s people have him.”
“Yes.” It sickened her to know that a man like Esterman held the fate of a baby in his hands. The man was a killer. “But why would he do something like this?”
The moment the question left her mouth, Rachel knew why. God. She knew. “It’s because of my testimony, isn’t it?”
Jared nodded. “They want you to lie this afternoon when you take the stand, to exonerate Esterman. If you don’t, they say they’ll kill the baby.”
The adrenaline and the emotions slammed into her like a fist. She fought to keep her breath level. But lost that battle. Rachel tried to remind herself that it might not even be true. The photo and the DNA report could be fakes. It was possible this was all just a ploy to stop her from putting a killer away for the rest of his life.
But it didn’t feel like a ploy.
It felt as if her child was in horrible danger.
“Now that you know, it’s decision time, Rachel. I could force you to go with me, but in the end I’ll need your cooperation.”
Cooperation? She wasn’t sure she could even move. A dozen emotions assaulted her. None good. So many doubts. So much confusion.
A baby. God, a baby.
“Rachel, are you sure you’re all right?” Detective Miller called out.
“Don’t open the door,” Jared whispered.
He extracted a small tool kit from his pocket, went to the window and proceeded to disarm the security system. That explained why he was wearing a jacket on a muggy spring day. He had to conceal heaven-knows-what to help them escape.
But the real question was—did she want to escape?
“Convince her to give us some time alone,” Jared instructed. “Lots of time. We’ll need it if you’re leaving with me.”
Rachel nodded, somehow. And somehow she managed to get off the bed. She made it to the door, praying her voice wouldn’t break.
“I’m okay,” she lied. “Jared will be staying until we leave for the courthouse.”
The silence on the other side of the door didn’t do much to settle Rachel’s raw, tangled nerves. It was obvious Jared didn’t want either of the other officers involved in this, and Rachel would go along with him on that.
For now.
But there were still too many questions that needed answers before she’d leave with him.
“Maybe I should call Captain Thornton?” Miller suggested. “I mean, just so she’ll know Lieutenant Dillard is here visiting you.”
Rachel understood the implications of that. And they weren’t good implications. Miller wasn’t a fool and she no doubt suspected something was wrong.
She looked over her shoulder at Jared. He merely shook his head and continued to work on the window.
“No need to call anyone.” Rachel pulled in a long breath so she could finish. “I just want to, um, talk things out with Jared.”
Another pause. Rachel pressed her forehead against the door and waited. She really didn’t want to speculate what would happen if Detective Miller decided to make that call.
“Okay. Whatever you say, Rachel. But I’ll stay put right out here in the hall. Just yell if you need me.”
Oh, she would do that. Too bad it might become necessary. Because she didn’t know if she could even trust Jared. Their last months together hadn’t exactly fostered a trusting relationship. There’d been too many incidents where they’d frozen each other out. Along with that had come the bitter feelings and the accusations. He definitely wasn’t the same person she’d vowed to love, honor and cherish five years ago.
But then, neither was she.
During their separation, they’d grown as far apart as two people could get. Heck, they hadn’t even contacted each other the entire time she’d been at the ranch house. Yet here he was, right back in her life.
Jared put his tool kit away and eased open the window. The morning breeze stirred the curtains when he shoved out the screen. No alarms went off, which meant he’d successfully deactivated the system.
“If you’re doing this, we have to leave now,” Jared insisted.
But Rachel held her ground. “And then what?”
Obviously not pleased with her lack of cooperation, he mumbled some profanity under his breath. “I need to take you someplace safe so you won’t have to testify. The courts will almost certainly ask for another trial delay while they try to locate you. In the meantime, we find this child and get him out of danger.”
It was a simple plan. Also a vague one. And it had holes in it the size of the Alamo.
“You didn’t turn this over to the police,” Rachel pointed out. “Why?”
This was one of those times she wished she didn’t know Jared so well. His mouth tightened. A muscle stirred in his firm jaw. And a sickening feeling crawled down her spine before he even answered.
“The person who wrote that letter said the baby would die if we told the cops, and I’m pretty sure there’s a leak in the department. A big one from a person who can do lots of damage if he puts his mind to it. I’ll give you the details once we’re out of here.”
Great. Just great. Her life had just been turned upside down and inside out. Somewhere out there, a child—maybe their child—was possibly in grave danger, and they couldn’t even go to the police.
Rachel debated and wished like the devil that she had more time to figure out what to do. This could easily be construed as the point of no return. Once she went out that window, she would essentially be on the run. A fugitive. But if she stayed and told the truth to convict a killer, then a child might die.
Jared helped her decision along. “Every minute we waste here, we could be using to find the baby.”
He was right, of course—about that particular argument, anyway. She couldn’t be sure about anything else.
However, when Jared gripped her arm, Rachel didn’t argue. Didn’t take a step back. She climbed out into the yard with him. Then she prayed, hoping this wasn’t the biggest mistake of her life.
Jared didn’t give her time to dwell on her doubts. He kept low, his gaze darting all around. He led her to the side of the house, toward the detached garage.
“We’re taking one of the detective’s cars?” Rachel whispered.
“No. But I need a distraction.”
Looping his arm around her waist, he ducked behind some thick shrubs. He paused a moment and checked out the yard before he continued to the side door of the garage. From the corner of her eye, Rachel saw him try to turn the knob.
It was locked.
Other than one single harsh word of profanity, he said nothing. Instead, he rammed his shoulder into it, but when that didn’t budge it, he snatched the tiny tool kit from his pocket and got to work picking the lock.
Rachel’s gaze whipped back to the open window where they’d escaped. No sign of the officers. Yet. But they’d come. After all, it was their job to get her to the courthouse. Once they realized she wasn’t in the bedroom, the search would be on.
For months, she’d prepared herself for that testimony, and for its aftermath. A divorce. A new life. A new identity. Out with the old and in with the new. But instead of putting the undercover investigation and her past behind her, she was apparently about to leap headfirst back into it.
God.
Was she doing the right thing? Maybe there was some other way to save the child. Some way that didn’t involve them going on the run.
Rachel heard the sound at the exact moment that Jared apparently did. Footsteps. Some movement along the driveway on the side of the house. He reacted quickly. Jared shoved her behind him and pressed her against the wall of the garage.
She waited. And listened. Even over the thuds of her own heartbeat, Rachel clearly heard the footsteps on the cement. They were hardly more than whispers, but it wasn’t difficult to tell where they were headed.
Right toward them.
It was probably Detective Smith doing a routine check of the grounds, but if he saw them, there’d be nothing routine about his reaction.
Jared turned, facing her, and he went back to picking the lock. She saw the intense focus in his eyes. Felt his breath brush against her cheek. Felt the heat of his body.
But she also felt his shoulder holster, and his weapon.
That didn’t do much to steady her heart. Thank God he hadn’t drawn it, but he probably would if that was the only way they could get out of there.
The footsteps suddenly stopped. She’d seen Smith do a check of grounds dozens of times and knew he was thorough. He’d no doubt be coming around the side of the garage very soon. Too soon. She and Jared needed to get inside, or Smith would certainly see them.
The lock finally gave way, and Jared pushed her inside and quickly followed. There were two cars parked in the dark, cramped space. He opened the door on the one nearest them and retrieved the remote for the garage.
“Come on,” Jared whispered. But he didn’t use the remote. He opened the side door again and peered out.
“Rachel?” she heard Detective Miller call out, the sound coming through the open window of her bedroom. But it wasn’t the only sound. The officer soon began to pound on the door. “Open up. I want to make sure you’re all right in there.”
Jared glanced over his shoulder at her and put his finger to his mouth in a stay-quiet gesture. He led her out of the garage, staying behind the shrubs, and they made it to the side of the house. Only then did he lean back around the corner and press the button on the remote opener.
The noise started almost immediately as the metal door began to lift. Jared didn’t waste any time. He tossed down the remote, latched onto her and got her moving toward the front of the house where he’d parked.
Smith shouted something to Miller, and a second later, Rachel heard the back door slam. The diversion had worked.
Well, maybe.
Once the officers verified that both of their vehicles were in the garage, they’d start looking elsewhere.
Jared opened the door on the driver side of his car and pushed her through to the passenger seat. He peeled off his jacket, tossing it on the seat. Probably so he’d have better access to his shoulder holster.
Not a comforting thought.
The key was already in the ignition, and he wasted no time starting it.
Rachel caught a glimpse of Miller and Smith as they raced around the side of the house toward them. Both had their weapons drawn and ready. That didn’t deter Jared.
“Get down, Rachel,” he ordered.
He gunned the engine and headed for the road.
