The Baby's Guardian (13 page)

It was a lesson Shaw didn’t want his own baby to have to learn.

“He’s guilty,” Gavin insisted, jabbing his index finger in the direction that Rouse had just exited. “If you want to keep Sabrina safe, then you’ll put him behind bars.”

Shaw had had enough of this. “When there’s evidence to prove his guilt, or yours, that’s when I’ll make an arrest.”

Gavin looked as if Shaw had slugged him. “My guilt? You think I’ve done something wrong?”

Shaw didn’t answer. “Go to work, Gavin. Let us do our jobs, and I swear I will learn the truth. It’s just a matter of time, and if that truth leads me to Rouse, then I’ll personally arrest him.”

Gavin stood there, staring, his eyes focused on the floor, his breathing uneven. “I just hope the truth doesn’t come too late,” he mumbled. Then Gavin, too, turned and left.

“Finally,” Sabrina said, glancing at his face again. “Let’s get to the flop room so I can clean those cuts.”

They walked toward the flop room while he looked down at her stomach. “Any cramps?”

“None.”

He hoped she was telling the truth, but he wouldn’t put it past her to smooth over how she was really feeling just so there wouldn’t be more pressure on him. But the pressure was already there. Sabrina and the baby were his top priority.

And he was afraid that didn’t just apply to their safety.

He opened the flop room, and a detective who was lying on the sofa immediately got to his feet. “Captain. I was, uh, just taking a nap. Double shift.”

Shaw nodded. “There’s a sofa in my office. You can use that.”

The detective nodded and didn’t waste any time getting out of there. Shaw locked the door behind him.

Sabrina immediately headed for the bathroom, and she returned with a wet washcloth. “Sit,” she instructed. She took him by the arm, positioned him on the sofa and sat next to him. “And then convince me why I shouldn’t be calling a medic.”

“Because I’d rather have you nurse me back to health.” He tried to sound cocky, even tried to smile, but he couldn’t when he saw her expression.

With her so close, he could see the emotion and the fear in her eyes. They’d come close to dying, again. Even though this was the third hellish event in just as many days, he knew it wasn’t old hat. Never could be. That’s why her hands were shaking.

She dabbed at the nicks, turned the washcloth to a clean spot and dabbed some more.

“How bad do I look?” he asked.

Shaw touched his fingers to her arm and rubbed gently, hoping it would soothe the raw nerves that were right at the surface. Her bottom lip was trembling now, and her eyes were shiny. Sabrina was on the verge of crying, but she was fighting it.

She pulled back the washcloth and stared at him. It seemed as if she wanted to say something. Probably not related to the nicks she was cleaning. No, this would be something far more important.

But then she shook her head.

“That bad?” Shaw said, still trying to keep things light.

Sabrina looked down at the cloth in her hands. “You’re the most attractive man I’ve ever seen. A few cuts and a bruise won’t change that.”

Surprised and a little embarrassed by the unexpected compliment, he thought he might have blushed. He put his fingers under her chin and lifted it so they’d have eye contact.

“Shaw,” she whispered the moment their gazes met.

He couldn’t stand to see her like this, but he didn’t have any idea how to make the fear go away. So, he did the first thing that came to mind. He leaned closer and put his mouth on hers. Shaw kept it soft. Gentle.

And, he hoped, reassuring.

While he was hoping, he added that she would agree to get the rest that he was about to suggest. Yes, it was still late morning, but the adrenaline crash was going to leave her bone tired. It was certainly playing a number on his own head and body. But instead of rest, he wanted to hold her. To have her hold him. He needed to believe all of this would turn out with both Sabrina and their baby safe.

She touched his face, keeping everything slow and gentle, and she eased him closer to deepen the contact of the kiss. Shaw continued to keep it reassuring.

Well, he tried.

His attempts went south in a hurry, though. Because Sabrina didn’t just deepen the kiss. She touched her tongue to his and slid her hands from his face to his neck. To his chest. And his body went from being interested to being on fire.

Man, he wanted her more than his next breath.

Shaw shook his head, trying to fight through the haze
and the heat. He considered pulling back. It was the smart, responsible thing to do. To pull back and insist she take a nap.

But he didn’t.

He continued to kiss her. Continued to ease her closer and closer. Maneuvering her until he had her on his lap. The last time they’d been in this position, things had gotten intimate fast. Maybe too fast.

“Don’t think,” Sabrina warned.

Don’t think?

He was about to laugh that off, but then she slid her hand from his chest to the front of his pants. The fire went to full blaze and was hotter than Texas heat.

Shaw took her advice and didn’t think, other than to accept he would probably regret this.

Later.

Much later.

For now, he just went with the need to take Sabrina. She certainly went with it, as well. The intensity of the kissing went up a notch. So did the touching. And she had him seeing stars and cursing when she went after his zipper. Shaw very much intended for that zipper to go down, but he needed to gather a little control of the situation.

And himself.

His body was begging him to take her fast and hard, but his body wouldn’t get its way on this. He forced himself to slow down. Not easy to do. Not with Sabrina kissing his neck and pressing herself to him. He wasn’t helping much in that department, either, because he continued to kiss her as if his life depended on it.

Maybe it did.

That thought came from deep within, but he pushed it aside. Sabrina was right.

Now wasn’t the time for thinking.

Since her dress was loose and stretchy, he shoved it up so he could get to her breasts. Evidently, both of them were past the point of foreplay, but Shaw intended to satisfy a few fantasies. He shoved down the cups of her lacy white bra and put his tongue to good use on her breasts.

She was full and warm. Like silk. But tasted like sin. Apparently, the breasts kisses were a fantasy for her, too, because she made a sound of pleasure that went straight through him. That sound was a primal invitation to take more.

So he did.

While he kissed her neck and that sensitive little spot just below her ear, he was rewarded with more of those silky moans. More pressure from her body against his. Until everything inside him was yelling for more.

Sabrina gave him more.

She caught on to her panties, hooking her fingers around the elastic band and peeling them off. It wasn’t easy, and Shaw helped because suddenly getting her naked was the only thing that mattered. He pulled the dress off over her head and sent it flying across the back of the sofa.

He didn’t stop. Didn’t bother with finesse, though he swore he’d try better if he got this lucky again. Sabrina shoved down his zipper, jerking open his jeans so she could take him from his shorts.

Shaw took things from there.

He turned and dropped back onto the sofa, so that Sabrina was on top and straddling him. It was another fantasy fulfilled. Sabrina with her pregnant belly, her full breasts and that look of pure heat on her beautiful face.

She put her hands on his chest to steady herself and slid her fingers through his chest hair. She eased her hips forward. Slowly. Inch by inch.

Until she took him inside her.

The pleasure was instant. Intense. And Shaw had to close his eyes a moment just to absorb what was happening. Sabrina obviously had something to absorb, too, because she made that incredible sound of pleasure and slid her sex against his.

Shaw caught her hips to help with the thrusts. Not that she needed help. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing and how to get both of them to a fast, hot climax.

Her belly prevented any mouth to mouth contact in this position, but she leaned down and blew on his lips. Almost a kiss. Better in some ways. Her breath was warm, like her, and he took her taste and scent into his mouth.

She kept moving. Her hips thrusting forward, taking him in and then out of her. Creating the friction with that deep slide into her. She moved faster, and faster, each deep move pulling him closer and closer.

She came first. Sabrina threw back her head. Her grip tightened on his chest. She clamped her teeth over her bottom lip, and her eyelids eased down. She made that sound again, deep within her throat.

Maybe it was that sound, or the tremors of her climax that did it for him. Maybe it was just because this was Sabrina. But Shaw didn’t fight it.

He let her take him to the only place he wanted to go.

Don’t think,
Sabrina reminded herself.

Fortunately, her body was cooperating with that reminder. Sex with Shaw had left her buzzing and feeling, well, incredible. It was hard to think with all the pleasure still milling around inside her.

She took several moments, to settle her breathing and to allow herself time to drift back down to planet earth. It took even longer before she could look down at Shaw.

He was staring at her.

There was no lift in his eyebrow to indicate he was about to question what had just happened. His jaw muscles were relaxed, a rarity for him. But he didn’t offer her a smile or romantic words.

He just continued to stare.

Maybe he was shell-shocked that he’d just had sex with her. Perhaps like her, his body was still numb with pleasure. Either way, the silence began to settle uncomfortably around them.

So did the awareness.

She was naked, except for the bra that Shaw had
shoved down. Her breasts were exposed.
She
was exposed. And she suddenly felt the need to cover up.

Sabrina eased off of him, which took some effort. She was about as graceful as a drunk elephant, and there was no good side of her body that she wanted him to stare at. So, she got up from the sofa and began to gather her clothes.

“You’re beautiful,” Shaw said, sitting up and putting himself back into his shorts and jeans.

That stopped her. Sabrina glanced down at what she could see of her body and decided she obviously didn’t see what he did.

“I’m eight months pregnant,” she reminded him.

“And you’re beautiful,” he repeated. Shaw let the words linger between them for several seconds, and then he looked away and got up. “Get dressed. I’ll order us some late breakfast.”

She started to say something sexual, like she could have him for late breakfast, but Shaw’s mind was obviously already on other things. He took out his phone and pressed in some numbers. He was indeed ordering food.

Since she didn’t want to be standing around naked when it arrived, Sabrina gathered up her clothes and went into the bathroom so she could freshen up and dress. She didn’t rush, hoping that the awkwardness she felt would fade by the time she went back into the main room.

It didn’t.

Shaw was sitting on the sofa, his clothes all back in place, and he was talking on the phone. He glanced at
her but kept it too brief for her to see what was really going on behind those stormy blue eyes.

Was he thinking about Fay?

No doubt. Sabrina certainly was. The sex had been easy. And incredibly satisfying. But it was clear that sex wasn’t going to solve all their issues. It wasn’t going to make them forget. Maybe though, just maybe, a sexual relationship could be the start of something else.

“What do you mean?” Shaw asked the caller. His tone was suddenly gruff and angry. “How did that happen?” He paused, and the tight jaw muscles returned. “Find him. And don’t let him inside headquarters, understand?”

“What happened?” Sabrina asked the moment he ended the call.

“Newell slipped away from the officer who was tailing him.”

“Just like Danny,” she mumbled, and groaned.

“Not quite. Danny just got lucky when he got ahead of the tail, but Newell actually sneaked out of his apartment. He apparently went through the back window sometime, and the guard just realized what had happened.”

Sneaking out the window didn’t sound like something an innocent man would do. “You think he’ll come here?”

“He might try, but the word will be out not to let him in.”

That didn’t mean he couldn’t sneak into headquarters, or that he couldn’t coax a friend to let him past watchful eyes.

“It’ll be all right,” Shaw said. It was something he
was saying a lot lately. He tipped his head to her stomach. “How’s the baby?”

“Quiet for a change. I hope she slept through all the noise of those loud gunshots.”

“Yeah.” That was all Shaw said. He reached to put his phone back into his pocket, but it buzzed before he could do that. His eyebrow did shoot up when he saw the name on his caller ID screen.

“It’s Dr. Nicholson,” he let her know, and he answered the call. “What can I do for you, Doctor?”

Sabrina couldn’t hear what Dr. Nicholson was saying, but Shaw apparently didn’t care much for it. “You can do that in just a minute, but first I’d like to know if you’ve heard from an old friend. Keith Newell.” He paused. Listened. “So, you don’t know where he is?”

Or else the doctor wasn’t saying.

Still not looking pleased about this call, Shaw reached out to hand her the phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

Sabrina’s first thought was a bad one. The doctor had drawn her blood yesterday, and maybe something was wrong. She practically grabbed the phone from Shaw.

“Is this about the blood test?” Sabrina immediately asked.

“No. All your tests were fine. But I just found out from my business manager that the police are investigating me.”

Until this call, Sabrina had forgotten that the investigation had extended to her OB.

Sabrina clicked on the speakerphone function of Shaw’s phone. “They’re not really investigating you.” She stopped, looked at Shaw, and he nodded for her to
continue. “It’s because of your friendship with a possible suspect.”

“Officer Keith Newell,” the doctor supplied. “Yes, as I just told the captain, Keith called me last night and said he’s being railroaded, that Captain Tolbert is so anxious to make an arrest for the hostage crisis, that he’s willing to ruin an innocent man’s career.”

“If Newell’s innocent, that’ll come out in the evidence.” She hoped.

“Well, whatever comes out, I haven’t done anything wrong. Keith and I are old friends. Nothing more.” The doctor mumbled something that Sabrina couldn’t understand, but she sounded frustrated. “If, and that’s a big if, he’s a dirty cop, he wouldn’t have come to me.” She paused. “What exactly do the police think I could have done to help him?”

“There’s a DNA file and the DNA itself that was destroyed during the hostage standoff. It belonged to a newborn that’s missing. His mother was murdered.”

“And you think Keith did that?” the doctor snapped.

“He’s just a possible suspect,” Sabrina corrected. Then she paused. “Is he capable of that?”

“No.”

“Even if it meant this dead woman could have hurt his career?” Sabrina pressed.

Dr. Nicholson wasn’t so quick to answer this time. The seconds crawled by. “I don’t think he would murder anyone.” But she didn’t sound convinced.

Neither was Sabrina.

“You should get another OB,” Dr. Nicholson said. “You should be in the care of someone you trust completely. Obviously, I’m not that person.”

Sabrina wanted to assure her that she did trust her. But it wasn’t true.

The doubt was there.

“I’ll contact some colleagues,” the doctor continued. “I’ll get some names of available OBs and call you back. I’ll also send over some prenatal vitamins. With everything going on, I’m sure you haven’t been taking them.”

“I’ve missed a few days,” Sabrina admitted. And she had no idea when she’d be able to go home and get them.

“Not to worry. I always have a supply here at the clinic, but I forgot to offer them to you yesterday. Should I send them to Captain Tolbert’s office, since Keith said you’d been staying with the captain at the precinct?”

The question caused Sabrina to hesitate. It didn’t sound like a fishing-expedition type of question, but she wasn’t exactly eager to volunteer her exact location. “Just phone the script into the pharmacy on St. Mary’s, and I’ll have someone pick it up for me.”

Now, it was the doctor’s turn to hesitate. “Of course. Good luck with this pregnancy, Sabrina. I wish you the best.”

The doctor hung up, leaving Sabrina feeling frustrated and uncertain. Mercy. If the doctor was truly innocent, she was going to owe her a huge apology. But if Dr. Nicholson did have some part in this, even a small one, Sabrina didn’t want to take any chances.

“I’m sorry,” Shaw said.

Sabrina shrugged. “Couldn’t be helped.” Though she did hate the idea of having to find a new doctor this close to her delivery date.

“I’ll call Lieutenant Rico in a few minutes and make arrangements for someone to pick up your prenatal vitamins,” Shaw offered, just as there was a knock at the door. “Who is it?”

“Detective Luke Hennessey. I have your food and a report that Lieutenant Rico asked me to give you. I also have a message. The lieutenant said the report was important and that you’d want to read it right away.”

Shaw stood and went to the door. He eased it open and peered out at the young officer who was in the hall. He handed Shaw a brown delivery bag, the report and a large cup of coffee.

“Lieutenant Rico wanted you to know that Danny Monroe died during surgery.”

Sabrina hadn’t expected the news to hit her so hard, but it did. Part of her had hoped that Danny would pull through and be able to help them identify his boss. There was no chance of that happening now.

Shaw cursed, but then thanked the detective, and closed the door.

He immediately reset the lock.

It seemed absurd to take these kinds of security measures in police headquarters, but it had to be done.

“I didn’t think Danny would make it,” Shaw mumbled. But there was still disappointment that he hadn’t.

Sabrina took out the food while Shaw read the report. There were several sandwiches, a fruit salad, two bottles of juice and one of milk, and she placed everything on the table. And waited. Whatever was in that report had captured Shaw’s complete attention.

“At any point during the hostage standoff did one of the gunmen take your sandals?” he asked.

“No.” But then she shook her head. “Wait a minute. When they were holding me at the office building, one of them, Burney, took them. He said it was so I wouldn’t escape. There was broken glass on the floor, and he warned that it would cut my feet to shreds. But then, about ten minutes later, he brought the shoes back to me.”

Shaw rubbed his fingers over his forehead and winced when he connected with one of the nicks. “Because evidence and trace just got around to examining them, and they found a tiny device that’d been affixed adjacent to the heel of your left shoe. It’s a transmitter with eavesdropping capabilities. The heel was just high enough so that the receiver wouldn’t hit the ground when you were walking.”

Oh, mercy. So, the gunmen could have listened in on everything she and Shaw said from the moment he rescued her. “Did they put the device on me and then let me escape when you arrived at the abandoned building?”

“I don’t think they
let
you do anything,” Shaw said, staring at the report again. “I think this was their insurance policy. If you did manage to run, they would have been able to track you down.”

Yes. And they’d tracked her down to the hotel room where they’d planned to take her hostage again. They’d probably also listened in to determine when the best time was to attack.

“So maybe Newell didn’t leak our location,” she suggested.

“Not necessarily. He could have followed the transmission to the hotel. Or he could have put it there after
the fact so it would give us a reasonable doubt not to suspect him.”

Yes. After all, they’d left Newell in the hotel room when she’d started cramping. Her bagged clothes and shoes had been there, and Newell would have had ample time to put a transmitter in place.

Shaw downed some of his coffee and motioned for her to eat, but he continued to read the report from Lieutenant Rico.

“The leak about the fake pacifier and the missing baby’s DNA is making the rounds. Rico’s already gotten some calls about it. A couple of reporters want to know if it was true, and it’ll be the lead story on the noon news.”

So, the word was out, and that meant the person responsible might be desperate to keep the information hidden. “What about the baby?”

Shaw shook his head. “He’s still missing, but the FBI’s involved now. They have a deep cover agent near the border, and he has connections to several black market baby brokers. He’s been alerted in case the birth father is trying to sell the child.”

Sabrina nearly choked on the sip of milk she’d just taken.

“It takes all kinds,” Shaw mumbled.

There was a sound. Like a loud blast. And it brought Sabrina to her feet.

“A gunshot?” she asked Shaw.

He shook his head. “It was more like an explosion.” Shaw took out his phone, but it buzzed before he could make a call. He checked the caller ID screen.

“It’s Gavin,” he relayed to her.

Sabrina groaned. She didn’t want to go another round with Gavin, or any of the others. She wanted to know what had caused that sound. Mercy, they might have to evacuate. She only prayed this wasn’t some other form of an attack.

Shaw put it on speaker. “How did you get this number?”

“From dispatch. I told them it was an emergency and I had to speak to you.”

Shaw rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”

“You have to help me,” Gavin said. It was clear from the man’s tone that this wasn’t one of his usual complaints. “Someone just tried to kill me.”

Sabrina put her hand over her heart to steady it and moved closer to the phone.

“I’d parked my car in the lot across the street, and when I started toward it, the damn thing blew up.” Gavin’s voice got even louder. “Rouse is behind this. I know he is. I told you to arrest him.”

“Where are you?” Shaw asked. Unlike Gavin, his voice was calm, but his expression wasn’t.

“In the parking lot across from the headquarters building.”

“You need to take cover in case the blast is just the beginning.” Shaw hung up and made another call. “Lieutenant Rico, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure. It appears someone set a car bomb—”

There was a second blast, a loud crashing sound. Sabrina looked around, wondering if she should take cover.

What was happening?

“Lock down the place,” Shaw ordered. “And get some men out there to see what’s going on. I just got a call from Gavin Cunningham, and he said someone’s trying to kill him.”

But Sabrina wasn’t sure Lieutenant Rico heard the last part of Shaw’s order because there was a third blast. Louder than the others.