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  Bailey and Jackson exchanged glances, and Jackson decided it was a good time to show both Ryan and Shannon that he was armed. He did sit, but he took out his gun and placed it on the table next to him. Bailey sat next to him, so that either of them would be able to reach the weapon if necessary.

  Shannon already looked ready to jump out of her skin, but this upped her anxiety significantly. Jackson could see sweat popping out above her upper lip, and she had a death grip on her purse.

  “I lied to you,” Shannon finally said, aiming that remark at Jackson. “Well, at least I lied by omission. What I didn’t tell you…” She took a deep breath and blinked back tears. “What I didn’t tell you was that I’m Caden’s birth mother.”

  The room went deadly silent.

  Jackson’s gaze flew to Bailey, and she’d gone ash pale. She was holding her breath and staring in disbelief at the woman who’d just dropped a bombshell.

  “You’re Caden’s mother?” Bailey challenged.

  Shannon started to sob now, and Ryan sat beside her and put his arm around her.

  “I didn’t know until this morning,” Ryan explained.

  “This doesn’t make sense.” Bailey shook her head. “You were working in the hospital the day that Caden was born. There’s no way you could have given birth on that day, and there was no mention in the investigation of your being pregnant.”

  “Because I hid the pregnancy.” She plucked at her oversized caftan dress. “People just thought I was gaining weight, and I didn’t tell them any differently.”

  “Why would you do that?” Jackson pressed.

  Shannon swiped at the tears that spilled down her cheeks. “My family is very conservative, and they would have disowned me for having a child out of wedlock. So I hid it from them, too.”

  The tears were genuine, but Jackson figured that was the only thing about this story that was. “And what about Bailey’s question? Caden was born on the day of the hostage situation.”

  “The day after,” Shannon corrected. “I gave birth to him in my apartment. Delivered him myself. I had arranged for a private adoption, but it fell through. So when I heard you were looking to adopt a child, I had a friend call Ryan Cassaine. I had the friend lie and say she was a college student who needed compensation for her medical bills and tuition.”

  “Oh, God,” Jackson heard Bailey say, and he also heard the enormous pain in her voice.

  Bailey clamped her teeth over her bottom lip, but it was too late. It was already trembling. So was she.

  “He’s not my son,” Bailey mumbled. “Caden’s not mine.” She got up from the chair and would have no doubt raced from the room, but Jackson caught onto her.

  “I can’t do this,” Bailey insisted, and she broke free of his grip.

  This time, when she tried to run Jackson didn’t stop her. She hurried up the stairs. Jackson wanted nothing more than to go to her, but first he had to settle some business with Shannon.

  “You have proof that you’re Caden’s mother?” Jackson asked.

  She nodded and took an envelope from her purse. “That’s a maternity test I had done right before I handed Caden over to Ryan. It proves he’s my son.”

  Jackson took the envelope but didn’t open it. “So what do you want? Why are you really here?”

  “Not to claim my son. I want you to raise him, that’s why I put him up for adoption.”

  “But you want more money,” Jackson concluded.

  Shannon dried her tears again. “I have debts, and if those were paid, then I could leave Texas. I could go live with my cousins in Seattle. I swear that you’d never hear from me again. The only thing I need other than the money, is for you to stop this investigation. If you press for the truth, my family will learn about Caden and they’ll make my life a living hell.”

  Jackson’s hands fisted, and he felt the envelope crush under the pressure.

  “No,” Jackson told her.

  “No?” Shannon question. “No to what?”

  “To the money and to stopping the investigation.” Jackson didn’t know who was more surprised by his refusal—Ryan or Shannon.

  Ryan held up his hands in defense when Jackson aimed a glare at him. “I had no idea she was going to ask for payment. She came to me with the maternity test results and said she wanted to show you the proof, so that you’d have some peace of mind.”

  “I didn’t want Bailey Hodges trying to scam you,” Shannon piped in. She jumped to her feet. “I don’t want much money,” she concluded. “A hundred thousand is all, and that’s chump change to a man like you.”

  “It’s extortion,” Ryan grumbled. “I’m sorry, Jackson. I really had no idea this is what she wanted to do.” Ryan grabbed on to Shannon’s arm and started to move her toward the door.

  But Shannon dug in her heels and wouldn’t budge. “A hundred thousand or whatever you happen to have in your safe right now. And for that, I go away. There’ll never be any questions about me trying to regain custody of my son.”

  It took every ounce of his willpower not to throw her out the door. “Get her out of here,” he told Ryan. “Now.”

  Shannon continued to resist, but Ryan shoved her out of the sitting room. “I’m sorry,” he repeated to Jackson.

  “You’re the one who’ll be sorry,” Shannon insisted, looking back at Jackson. “A hundred thousand dollars is a small price to pay to keep my baby.” And she repeated that threat all the way out the door.

  “I’ll make sure they leave the estate,” Steven said, following them.

  Jackson shut the door, rearmed the security system and glanced down at the envelope Shannon had given him. Hell. This was yet another issue that he would have to deal with. But first things first.

  He had to check on Bailey.

  Jackson retrieved his gun from the sitting room and headed up the stairs. He had no trouble finding her. All he had to do was follow the sound of her sobs. She was on his bed, her face buried in the pillows.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said without looking up at him. “I only wanted to find my baby. And by coming here, I’ve placed your son in danger.”

  Jackson drew in a long breath and went to her. He eased down on the bed and touched her shoulder, turning her so that he could see her face. Or rather, so she could see his.

  “I’m the one who needs to apologize,” he told her.

  She stiffened slightly and swiped her hand over her eyes. Bailey studied his expression. “What do you mean?”

  This wasn’t a blow he could soften, so Jackson just decided to say what he had been keeping secret from her for the past twelve hours.

  “Remember that call you overhead in the foyer?” he asked.

  Bailey nodded. She pressed her hand to her chest as if to steady her heart.

  “I had another DNA test done from the same samples I gave Evan. I wanted to verify the results with a second lab. Last night I got the results.”

  Her breath was uneven now, and she grabbed his shirt. “And?”

  Jackson looked her straight in the eyes. “The DNA was a match. Caden is your son.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Wh-what?” Bailey managed to say. She scrambled to get to a sitting position, and she blinked back the rest of her tears so she could clearly see Jackson’s face.

  “According to the DNA, you’re Caden’s biological mother,” Jackson repeated.

  She heard the words, but it still took several seconds for them to sink in. She hadn’t been wrong. Caden was her missing baby.

  “Oh, God.” Because she had no choice, she dropped her head onto Jackson’s shoulder.

  The relief flooded through her, and so did the other dozens of emotions. She’d searched so long, four months, and now she’d finally found her son. Not only was he alive, he was under the same roof, just a few rooms away.

  But then her head swooshed off his shoulder. “Shannon lied.”

  Jackson nodded, and he tossed the envelope Shannon had given him onto the nightstand. “I fi
gure her so-called maternity study is completely bogus. She is a nurse after all, so she probably used her medical training to fake a report that she thought would convince me to pony up some cash.”

  “But wouldn’t Shannon have realized that you’d run your own tests to prove or disprove what she was claiming?” Bailey asked.

  “Yeah, but maybe she thought I wouldn’t be thinking too clearly after I saw that maternity study. She had her eyes set just on getting the money.”

  The relief and the joy were suddenly darkened by the anger that slammed through Bailey. “I want her arrested.”

  Jackson nodded again. “I’ll deal with Shannon. And with Ryan, if he’s had any part in this.”

  Of course. Ryan. A greedy adoption attorney could have helped set this up. It sickened and infuriated Bailey to think that either or both were willing to use her baby to extort money from Jackson.

  He put his fingers beneath her chin, lifting it. “I owe you an apology. When I got that call last night, I intended to tell you, but I needed time to come to terms with what all of this meant.”

  His apology certainly seemed sincere enough, but Bailey remembered something else. “You told the person on the phone to destroy the samples and to keep the results a secret.”

  “I did,” he readily admitted. “Because I didn’t want anyone but us to know the truth. For now,” Jackson added. “If the person who stole Caden from you realizes that you’ve found him, there might be other attempts to kill you. Other attempts to take him so this person can cover up his or her crime.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. “But for hours you kept this to yourself.”

  “Yes.” He paused, shook his head. “Like I said, I was trying to come to terms with it. I wouldn’t have kept it from you much longer.”

  Bailey believed him and wondered if she was a fool for doing so. After all, Jackson was a wealthy, powerful man, and he loved Caden. Just how far would he go to make sure he remained Caden’s father?

  The image of her precious little boy flashed into her mind. “I need to see him.”

  Bailey expected Jackson to try to stop her. She figured he would insist they talk before she went racing to her baby. But he didn’t. Jackson got off the bed and stepped aside so that Bailey could race toward the suite door.

  Her feet suddenly couldn’t go fast enough, and she ran down the hall to the nursery. For several terrifying moments, she thought he might not be there, that Jackson had already sent Caden off somewhere so Bailey couldn’t take him. But when she threw open the nursery door she saw that her son was in the nanny’s arms. Tracy was seated in the rocking chair, an empty baby bottle next to her, and she was burping Caden.

  Bailey obviously wasn’t able to hide her raw emotions, and she moved much too quickly toward them. Tracy’s eyes registered the alarm, and Caden turned his head, no doubt to see what the commotion was about.

  Tracy looked past Bailey and to Jackson, and he simply nodded. That was it. His approval for Tracy to stand up and hand over Caden.

  Of course, Bailey had held him before, but this time it was different. This time she wasn’t holding Jackson’s adopted son, she was holding her own baby.

  She couldn’t stop the tears and didn’t even try. Bailey hugged Caden close and held on tight.

  Finally. She had him, and she had no plans to let go.

  “Give us some privacy, please,” Jackson said to Tracy.

  Tracy waited a moment, probably trying to figure out what was going on, but the woman finally gathered up the empty bottle and the bib and headed out the door.

  Jackson didn’t say anything else. He merely leaned against the wall and watched them.

  Bailey didn’t mind the audience. Heck, she didn’t mind anything right now. She sank down into the rocking chair and sat Caden on her lap so she could see his precious little face.

  He was perfect of course, and she went through the visual exam that most new mothers did of their newborns. She was four months late with this, but that didn’t lessen her joy of counting ten little fingers and ten little toes.

  Caden laughed when she wiggled his pinkie toe.

  Bailey was certain that was the most miraculous sound she’d ever heard.

  “He has my eyes,” Bailey confirmed. There were pieces of her ex there, too, but they didn’t bring back bad memories of a stormy relationship. On Caden, they were incredible features.

  Caden reached for her hair, his chubby fingers pulling at the strands. Bailey laughed, too. These were the little miracles she had missed; but she would make up for all that lost time.

  “D-d-d,” Caden blurted out, and he looked at Jackson and gave him a big grin.

  Jackson grinned back, but Bailey could see the pain in his eyes. It was a pain she understood all too well. She knew what it was like to lose a baby.

  “Caden obviously loves you,” Bailey mumbled.

  “Yeah,” Jackson said, but nothing else.

  Bailey wasn’t immune to what he was he feeling. Her own joy didn’t make her blind or unfeeling to what Jackson was now experiencing. In fact, it only reminded her more that Jackson had risked his life for her son. He’d taken extreme measures and more to make sure Caden stayed safe. And in addition to that, Jackson loved Caden as much as her son loved him.

  And that love caused Bailey’s heart to sink a little.

  What the heck was she going to do?

  “Don’t overthink it,” Jackson warned, as if reading her mind. “For now, just get to know your son. We can talk later.”

  His generosity stunned her. Of course, she already knew he was an exceptional man, but that offer had no doubt cost him dearly. If their positions had been reversed, Bailey would have probably been doing everything within her power to hang on to Caden.

  Jackson started to leave.

  “Thank you,” Bailey called out.

  He turned back, gave her a slight smile and reached for the door. However, his phone rang before he could open it. He glanced down at the caller ID screen and groaned softly.

  “It’s the lab that Evan used to run Caden’s DNA,” Jackson let her know. He put the call on speakerphone and moved closer so she could hear. “Jackson Malone,” he answered.

  “Will Delaney. I’m the tech from Cyrogen Labs in San Antonio. Evan Young asked me to call you with the test results.”

  “And?” Jackson pressed when the tech didn’t continue. Was it her imagination, or did the tech seem rattled?

  “The two samples weren’t a match,” the tech informed them.

  Bailey sucked in her breath. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

  “The female’s DNA that I tested couldn’t possibly be related to the infant male,” the tech continued. He hesitated again. “I hope these results are satisfactory?”

  “Not really.” Jackson tipped his eyes to the ceiling and mumbled something under his breath. “I’ll get back to you. I need to call someone first.”

  Jackson slapped his phone shut and mumbled some harsh profanity, but he kept it at a whisper, probably because he didn’t want Caden to hear his da-da curse a blue streak.

  With Caden firmly in her arms, Bailey got to her feet. “You don’t believe those results, do you?” And for one horrifying moment, she thought he might.

  “No,” Jackson assured her. “Evan no doubt told the lab to fake the results. If they ran the test at all. I’m sure he wanted to get the results he thought I wanted to hear.” He met her gaze. “I wanted the truth, not a cover-up.”

  She released the breath she’d been holding. “Does Evan often do things like this?” Bailey thought of the threatening letter and Evan’s strange behavior.

  “Never.” A moment later, Jackson repeated it and remained deep in thought. It wasn’t so deep, however, that he didn’t kiss Caden’s hand when the little boy reached for him. Jackson didn’t take the baby, but he stayed close and tickled Caden. Caden giggled.

  “So we have both Evan and Shannon lying,” she commented. The serious discu
ssion seemed totally out of place with Caden’s laughter and smiles, but Bailey knew this discussion had to happen. “A coincidence?”

  Jackson shrugged. “Maybe. What I need is more information, and I need to figure out if Evan, or even Ryan Cassaine, had some part in this illegal adoption.”

  Yes, Ryan had seemed uncomfortable as well during his visits. Did the man have something to hide?

  “Who’s more likely to give you the answers you need—Evan or Ryan?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure I trust either of them anymore to tell me the truth.” Still, he opened his cell and made a call.

  It was Ryan Cassaine who answered. “Jackson, I was hoping you’d call so I could apologize again for Shannon demanding money—”

  “Is Shannon with you right now?” Jackson interrupted.

  “No. We didn’t drive out to your estate together, and she left her car by your front gate. When Steven drove us back down, Shannon and I went our separate ways. Don’t worry, Jackson, I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you again with demands for money.”

  “Why did she lie?” Jackson demanded. Good. Bailey was glad that he got right to the heart of the matter.

  “Lie? I don’t think she’s lying about the baby—”

  “She is. And I have proof. What I want to know is why. Is this just about money, or is it something more?”

  Ryan stayed quiet for a moment. “What do you mean by more?”

  “I mean, are you involved in this little scheme of hers?”

  “No!” Ryan jumped to answer that. “Are you sure she’s lying?”

  “Positive.”

  “But she gave you a copy of the maternity test results,” Ryan reminded him.

  “She, or someone else, faked them. It’s as simple as that. Come on, Ryan. Do you honestly think I would take her word, or yours, that the results are legit without verifying it? And I did verify that she was lying. She’s not Caden’s birth mother.”

  More silence, and the lawyer made a sound of frustration. “I don’t know what to think. You obviously believe I’ve done something wrong, and I haven’t. When you asked me to help arrange for a private adoption, that’s what I did. I put out feelers and contacted other adoption attorneys to see if they had any leads. I worked my butt off to find Caden for you.”