Holden Read online

  Holden tapped his badge. “That’s why I’m helping her. And as for the sleeping-with-me part, that’s none of your business. In fact, you’re not allowed any more questions until you answer this one, and trust me, a wrong answer will get you jail time. Are you the one who stole Annie and Emmett’s embryos and had them planted in a surrogate?”

  “No!” Oscar didn’t hesitate, either, and if he was lying, he was doing a convincing job of it. “Something like that never crossed my mind.”

  “Really? Because I figured just about anything down and dirty had crossed your mind at one time or another.”

  That got Oscar’s eyes to turn to slits again. “This isn’t about me. It’s about my grandson. I was willing to pay a million dollars to get him. If I’d put together this plan, I certainly wouldn’t have kidnapped him.”

  “Not intentionally anyway,” Nicky said. “But maybe the plan backfired. That happens sometimes when you hire criminals to carry out criminal activities.”

  Oscar cursed her, and it wasn’t a mild profanity, either. Clearly, there was no love lost between father and daughter. It was also clear that Oscar did indeed want his grandson. But that didn’t make him innocent in all of this.

  “How soon before that package arrives?” Holden asked him.

  Oscar shook his head, as if gathering his thoughts. “As soon as my assistant can retrieve it from my San Antonio office and drive it here. Maybe an hour or two.”

  Holden glanced back at Gage, and even though he didn’t say anything to him, Gage made a phone call and asked for SAPD to escort Oscar’s assistant to Silver Creek. There were two reasons for that. First, to make sure the guy actually did what he was supposed to do, and second, to keep him safe if those kidnappers decided to stop him along the way. Holden doubted the kidnappers or their boss had left anything incriminating in or on that package, but the thugs might be in the midst of tying up all possible loose ends.

  Which brought Holden to his next concern. Well, a concern only because he was a lawman.

  “You got a bodyguard?” Holden asked Oscar.

  “Of course. He’s waiting for me in the car.” He tipped his head to the black limo parked just outside.

  “Keep him with you. Heck, hire a couple more because if you’re truly innocent, those kidnappers could come after you. Since they didn’t get the million for the baby, they might make you a target instead. Or maybe they’ll just put a bullet in your head because they think you know too much about their operation.”

  Judging from Oscar’s glare, he didn’t like that reminder. Or maybe he just didn’t like it that Holden could be right. Oscar wasn’t going to like this next part, either.

  “You can leave now,” Holden told him, and yes, it was another order. He wanted to get the man out of there before the baby made a sound to confirm to Oscar that the child was indeed there at the sheriff’s office.

  “I can’t leave,” Oscar argued. “Not until I see my grandson and know that he’s safe.”

  “That’s two different things,” Holden argued right back. “Seeing him could put him in danger because I’d have to take you to him, and those kidnappers could follow us.”

  It surprised Holden when Oscar seemed to accept his answer, but he didn’t accept it for long. “Soon, then. Very soon. I’ll hire as many bodyguards as it takes, but I will see him. And if you try to keep him from me, I’ll get a court order.”

  “Good luck with that. It won’t be easy to convince a judge that you have a newborn grandson when your daughter’s been dead for months now. And I wouldn’t count on the FBI just handing you their records of the investigation.”

  Oscar turned his sharp gaze on Nicky. “You know more about this than you’re saying.”

  “That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Holden said, stepping in front of her. He didn’t want Nicky to start blurting out what she did and didn’t know because this could be a fishing expedition on Oscar’s part.

  And if Nicky knew too much, or even if Oscar thought she knew too much, it could spur another attack.

  “This is your last warning,” Holden told Oscar. “Leave now, or I’ll arrest you for obstruction of justice.”

  If looks could have killed, Oscar would have just sent Holden to the hereafter. “Charges like that won’t stick.”

  “Maybe not, but at least it’ll get you out of my face and behind bars for a while.” That wasn’t a bluff, and Oscar must have figured that out because after he belted out some more profanity, he turned and finally left.

  One down, one to go. Well, one immediate to go anyway. He had a mile-long list of things to do, but it started with Nicky.

  “You shouldn’t have let your father know you were here,” Holden told her.

  “I think he already knew.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have confirmed it,” Holden amended. “Let’s not give the bad guys anything else they could possibly use.”

  She glanced out the front windows, where her father was getting in his limo. “You really think he’s behind this?”

  “I’m not taking him off my suspect list.” Of course, right now the only name Holden had on that list was Oscar. Oscar had means, motive and opportunity. But then again so would anyone else with a sick mind and a desire to make a boatload of money.

  Since Nicky was still staring at her father’s car, Holden got her moving back toward the interview room, in part because he didn’t want her in front of the windows and also because he wanted to see how the baby was doing.

  Soon, very soon, he’d have to deal with some major feelings stirring inside him. He’d loved Emmett, and now this baby was like having a piece of his brother. That wasn’t exactly a feeling to dwell on right now, though, because it could cause him to lose focus.

  Ditto for Nicky.

  For whatever reason, he was still attracted to her. At least his body was anyway. But even thinking about her that way was yet another distraction that Holden didn’t need.

  When they got to the interview room, the doctor appeared to be finishing up his exam. Landon was holding the baby, and the doctor was putting away his stethoscope.

  “He’s fine,” Dr. Michelson said. “Not a scratch or a bruise on him.” He volleyed glances between Nicky and Holden. “Can either of you tell me what’s going on?”

  Since he trusted the doctor, Holden went with the simplified version. “The baby is Emmett and Annie’s. We believe someone used the embryos that they’d stored at Conceptions Clinic.”

  Hearing the simplified version aloud gave Holden a not-so-simple jolt. Nicky had already said there were other babies, and she’d said those babies weren’t Emmett and Annie’s. But how did she know that?

  He turned his gaze to Nicky. “Was there anything, no matter how small, in the files or the conversations you recorded to hint that one of the other babies could be our niece or nephew as well?”

  She shook her head. “From what I could tell, Emmett and Annie only had two embryos stored, and both were implanted into the surrogate. But she only had one baby.”

  Now it was Holden who shook his head. “Why would they implant both of them?”

  “That’s not unusual,” the doctor explained. “They often do that with in vitro to ensure the success of getting one baby. Sometimes, even with multiple embryos, the procedure fails.”

  It certainly had failed once with Annie and Emmett, but it’d obviously worked with the surrogate. Holden was still caught between being furious about this whole surrogacy situation and being thrilled to still have some living part of Emmett. One thing was for sure, he loved this kid—and there was no way he was going to lose him or that part of Emmett.

  “I took a DNA sample with a cheek swab,” the doctor volunteered. “You want me to run it?”

  Holden nodded. He didn’t have any doubts that the baby was Emmett’s, but
he might need DNA proof in case this turned into a custody battle.

  “I can tell you something about the baby,” the doctor went on. “He appears to have been delivered via C-section. That’s an educated guess, mind you, but his head is perfectly shaped. You don’t usually see that with a vaginal birth. Plus, his birth weight seems to be a little low, maybe an indication that he was delivered before his due date.”

  So, they were looking for a surrogate who’d had a C-section. Possibly a dead surrogate.

  The doctor motioned toward a bag on the table as he headed toward the door. “There are diapers and bottles with premade formula. All you have to do is warm it up,” he added and left.

  Since Holden had more cousins than most day-care centers had employees, he figured there was someone at the Silver Creek Ranch who could tell him how to warm formula. Of course, that led him to his next question.

  Where the heck was he taking Nicky and the baby?

  Just thinking about it required a deep breath. “Stay in here,” Holden told Nicky. She took the baby from Landon. “I’ll get to work on a place for us to stay for the night.”

  “Us?” she asked.

  Holden gave her a flat look in case she thought he was going to let her out of his sight. He wasn’t. “Us,” he confirmed.

  Landon mumbled something about having a lot of work to do. Which he probably did. But Holden also thought his quick exit had something to do with the sudden, thick tension in the room.

  “We’re joined at the hip until this is resolved,” Holden added to Nicky.

  The corner of her mouth lifted. Not quite a smile but close to one, and it vanished as quickly as it came. “I was just thinking that you’re probably not very happy about that.”

  “I’m not, but it should tell you just how serious I am about keeping him safe.”

  Him.

  It was yet another reminder that they needed to work on a name, but in the grand scheme of things, it would have to wait.

  “Stay here,” he repeated. “I’ll see if I can get an update on those kidnappers. Plus, the CSIs should be out at the inn by now.”

  Holden wasn’t holding out hope that either would produce good results, but before he could even make it to one of the desks in the squad room, Gage was making his way toward them.

  Hell.

  Gage was the one Ryland who could usually put a positive spin on things, but even he was scowling.

  “What now?” Holden asked.

  Nicky must have heard his rough tone because she stepped into the doorway.

  Gage glanced down at the paper he was holding. Paper that Holden recognized, since it was the info about the storage cloud and the password that Nicky had given him.

  “It appears that about an hour ago someone erased all the files in the storage cloud,” Gage said. “Everything in it is gone.”

  Chapter Six

  Gone.

  Nicky had no trouble hearing what Gage had just said, but the trouble was getting it to sink in.

  “That can’t be right,” she insisted. She handed the baby to Holden, and she would have bolted to the squad room to find a computer to use, but both Gage and Landon stopped her.

  “Your father could be watching the sheriff’s office,” Holden reminded her. “Or those kidnappers could be. Best not to make it easy for them to see you.”

  “But I need a computer,” Nicky persisted.

  “Wait here. I’ll bring you one,” Gage said, and he headed back to the squad room.

  The moments crawled by. Unlike the thoughts in her head. Those thoughts were going at lightning speed. The files had to be there. They just had to be. Gage had likely just accessed the wrong account or something, and she could clear this up with a quick search.

  She hoped.

  Gage finally returned, and Nicky immediately took the laptop from him, sat at the table and pulled up the online storage. She put in her password. Waited.

  And it felt as if her heart had actually stopped beating.

  Because Gage had been right. It was empty. No files. Nothing.

  Both Landon and Holden cursed, but Nicky ignored them. She logged out and logged in again, hoping it was just a glitch. It wasn’t. The files weren’t there even after she rebooted a fourth time.

  “How could someone have done this?” Holden asked.

  She was about to say she didn’t know, but then Nicky remembered something critical. “Paul Barksfield. Quick, I need a phone.”

  Landon handed her his cell. “Who’s Paul Barksfield?”

  Nicky had purposely memorized his number just in case something happened to her own phone, and she pressed in the number. “He’s a PI who does some work for me from time to time. I told him if something happened to me that he should make sure the files get to the cops.”

  “He had the password?” Holden asked, and this time his voice was loaded with suspicion.

  “Yes, but I can trust Paul.”

  She was certain of it. But Nicky didn’t like that shiver that went down her spine when the call went straight to voice mail. She left a message for Paul to call her immediately and then tried the number once more. Again, he didn’t answer.

  “You’re sure you can trust him?” Holden asked, and Gage must have had the same question because he used the laptop to start a search.

  On Paul.

  “Paul’s done PI work for me for nearly five years. He wouldn’t have just deleted the files.” She paused. “Unless he heard about the attack and thought the kidnapper might have gotten the password from me.”

  Of course, there were ways they could have done that—torture, drugs or some kind of coercion that would involve a threat to the baby. None were good scenarios, and Paul would have known that.

  “The files could still be safe,” she said, and Nicky prayed that was true. Because by now, there was probably nothing left at Conceptions Clinic that would help them unravel all of this.

  “Could the kidnappers have known you gave any info to Paul?” Holden asked. The baby started to fuss a little, and he looked down at him as if he didn’t have a clue what to do. Maybe he didn’t, but when he started to rock the baby, he hushed.

  She nearly said no, but Nicky had no idea if that was true. As she’d already pointed out, Paul had worked for her a long time, and it was possible the kidnappers had made the connection.

  Judging from his expression, Landon must have thought so, too, and he took his phone back. “I’ll call and have someone check on him.”

  Oh, mercy. That meant something could be wrong. Or more than wrong. The kidnappers could have killed him.

  “Don’t borrow trouble,” Holden said as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Probably because she had a panicked look on her face.

  The panic continued to rise as Nicky considered who else those thugs might go after. Because of her job and her constantly being on the go, she didn’t exactly have a lot of friends, and in this case that could turn out to be a good thing. Just in case, though, she needed to contact the various newspapers that often bought her stories to warn them of the possible trouble.

  “We’ll find Paul and get the files,” Holden said. “In the meantime, we need to get the baby to a safe place. Not here,” he quickly added. “Because your father already knows you’re here, and he might send his own hired thugs to try to take the baby.”

  That gave Nicky another slam of adrenaline that she didn’t need.

  “We could take them to the Silver Creek Ranch,” Landon suggested.

  But Nicky was already shaking her head before he even finished. “Too risky. Many of your cousins live there, and they have children.”

  Gage made a sound of agreement. “There are also dozens of ranch hands who could help protect you.”

  She still shook her he
ad and looked at Holden. “I don’t want to put another Ryland in harm’s way.”

  “Admirable,” Holden said, and there wasn’t as much sarcasm in his voice as there could have been. “But whichever way we go with this, the Rylands are involved.”

  That meant the danger was automatic. Because they were lawmen. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t do something to stop them from becoming targets. Well, most of them anyway. Like her, Holden was already a target since he wasn’t going to stop protecting their nephew.

  “Maybe you can go to Kayla’s place?” Gage suggested.

  “Kayla?” Nicky asked.

  “Dade’s wife,” Holden explained.

  Dade was Gage’s brother and a fellow Silver Creek deputy, but Nicky didn’t know his wife.

  “Kayla’s, well, very rich,” Gage went on, “and she has a ranch with a huge house and a lot of acreage about a half hour from here. For a while a group used it as a place for trouble teens, but it’s empty now.”

  “The kidnappers might suspect we’d go there,” Nicky pointed out.

  “The Rylands own a lot of houses,” Gage said, “and this one is in Kayla’s maiden name. It’s got a high-end security system as well as a wrought-iron fence surrounding the place. Either Landon or I could stay with you until we can come up with a real safe house.”

  Holden made a sound of agreement. “The house isn’t far,” he told her, “but it’ll take us a while to get there.”

  Yes, because they’d have to drive around to make sure they weren’t followed. It was a necessary precaution but would only add to the already long night. Not that Nicky figured she’d get any rest once they arrived at the house, but being there might be better than this limbo of waiting around for something else bad to happen.

  “I’ll pull a cruiser up in front of the building,” Gage said.

  Landon added, “And I’ll get the reserve deputies that we’ll need for backup. Two of them live in town so they can get here right away.”

  Nicky still wasn’t certain of this, but then she wasn’t certain of anything right now. Well, nothing except that something had to be done to protect the baby.