Undercover Daddy (11 page)

“I don’t see anything out there. Stay put. I’ll have a look around.”

“Be careful.”

Luke ended the call and waited. While Elaina stood directly across from him. She smelled like sex. Looked like it, too. But his brain had already kicked into protection mode. He reached over and turned off the overhead light in the nursery.

“Deer sometimes feed out there at night,” she said. There was no more heat and passion in her voice. Only concern.

He nodded. Prayed that’s all there was to it. And waited some more. He stared down at the screen, willing Rusty to phone back with a good report.

That didn’t happen.

There was a crash. The sound of breaking glass. And it came from the nursery.

Because Luke knew what it was, he automatically pulled Elaina back to the floor. But he didn’t stop there. He scrambled toward the crib in the nursery so he could get Christopher.

Christopher was alone, thank God. His son woke up and started to fuss. Luke ignored him and dropped with him to the floor. He sheltered Christopher with his body so the baby wouldn’t be hurt. Then, Luke started the mad scramble back to Elaina’s bedroom so he could turn off the light there and get his gun.

“We have an intruder,” Elaina said. She sounded terrified. And no doubt was.

Luke knew what he was about to tell her would terrify her even more.

“That wasn’t an intruder. That was a gun rigged with a silencer. Someone just fired a shot into the house.”

Elaina took Christopher from Luke so that he could grab his gun from her dresser. Within the span of a few seconds, she’d gone from postorgasmic bliss to sheer terror.

Someone had fired a shot into the house.

A shot that could have hurt Christopher.

There was another crash of glass, and Elaina knew another round had been fired.

But where?

The first had obviously been fired into the nursery, but this one appeared to have come from the direction of the living room. In other words, the front of the house. The gunman wasn’t standing still.

He was on the move.

Or there was more than one.

With the overhead lights off, she had to rely on the meager light filtering into the hall from the kitchen. It was literally the only interior light still left on. She checked the baby for any signs of an injury, but he was fine. Well, except for the fact that he was crying at the top of his lungs. Christopher had no doubt been startled when Luke pulled him from the crib. But thank God Luke had reacted so quickly. Elaina didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Luke hadn’t done what he did.

“Stay on the floor,” Luke ordered.

Elaina did, and she sheltered Christopher with her own body. She tried to soothe him by humming, but she failed miserably. But then, Christopher could likely feel the fear and concern in her.

Luke crawled forward so that he was between her and the door so he could fire if someone stormed into the house and tried to get into the bedroom.

“Press redial,” he said passing his cell phone to her. “Ask Rusty what the hell is going on out there.”

Somehow, she managed to do that, though she had to struggle with Christopher who was trying to wiggle out of her arms. “Someone fired a bullet into the house,” she relayed to Rusty the moment he answered.

Silence.

Even over Christopher’s sobs, Elaina could hear breathing so she knew someone was there on the other end of the line. God, was he hurt, unable to speak?

Or had something much worse happened?

And if so, if Rusty had been killed or incapacitated, then who was this on the phone?

Elaina snared Luke’s gaze and passed the phone to him. He pressed the phone to his ear, listened. Waited. “Agent Foley, if you can hear me, we’re inside, in the kitchen. Can you get to us?”

“Did he answer?” Elaina mouthed.

Luke shook his head. He listened several more seconds and then ended the call.

Since Luke had obviously lied to the caller, that meant he probably didn’t think this was his fellow agent.

Did that mean that Rusty was dead?

Who was this SOB who’d put her son in danger? She only wished she could get her hands around his throat.

Thinking of the danger reminded her that someone might be lurking around the house. So, he would know where to fire the next shot. Christopher’s crying would make them much easier to find. It could make them targets.

Elaina tried again to soothe the baby. She kissed him, forced herself to hum a lullaby and she began to move in a rocking motion. Thankfully, Christopher cooperated, and his sobs tapered off to soft whimpers. He finally hushed, and Elaina prayed that he’d gone back to sleep. She didn’t want him to have to experience any of this.

Luke jabbed in more numbers on his phone. “Sheriff Dawson,” she heard him say. “This is Elaina’s husband. Someone is firing shots into the house. Agent Foley is somewhere on the grounds, but he’s not responding. We need assistance immediately.”

But how soon would that be? Elaina calculated the distance between the sheriff’s office and her house. With luck, he could be there in five minutes if he came alone. Ten minutes, if he waited for backup from the deputy. That wasn’t an eternity, but she was certain it would feel that way before this was over.

With his gun aimed and ready, Luke stayed in a crouching position and made his way to the hall. He looked out and lifted his head, listening. Elaina listened, as well, but she didn’t hear anything.

That thought had no sooner formed in her mind, when there was another crash.

From the kitchen.

“Stay put,” Luke whispered. “Keep Christopher quiet if you can.”

Alarmed, Elaina frantically shook her head. “What are you going to do?”

“Create a diversion.”

Elaina definitely didn’t like the sound of that, but then she didn’t care much for the crash of more breaking glass. It was still coming from the kitchen. Why hadn’t the security alarm gone off? Someone must have disarmed it.

Luke backtracked toward her and dragged the mattress from her bed. He shoved it in front of the window and then hurried back to the hall.

“Be careful,” Elaina whispered, but she said it so softly that she doubted he heard her.

A few seconds later, the light came on in the nursery. She craned her neck and saw Luke crouched down just outside the nursery door. He was waiting for another round bullet, probably so he could return fire.

Christopher stirred, and she began to hum to him again. Her breath was all over the place, and she wasn’t sure she could produce enough sound to keep Christopher quiet. But her lullaby was interrupted by another crash.

Another bullet.

This one in the nursery again. So, the gunman was watching for any sign of activity and had fallen for Luke’s diversion. Elaina only prayed that the shots stayed in the room and didn’t stray into the hall where Luke was. He’d put himself in the line of fire to save them. She hadn’t doubted he would do that, but that didn’t stop her fears from soaring.

Luke couldn’t be hurt.

He had to stay safe.

She didn’t care if she felt that way because of what had happened earlier in the hall. She didn’t care if lust and attraction were part of this. Elaina just wanted the shots to stop and for Christopher, Luke and her to be unharmed.

There was a slash of light in the front of the house. She thought of the earlier fire, but there weren’t any flames. She heard the slam of a car door, and hoped that signaled the arrival of the sheriff.

There were more shots.

All the bullets came spewing through the nursery windows. One right after another. She counted four, and she had no doubt that they’d gone through the wall, perhaps even into the kitchen.

Then, it stopped.

“This is Sheriff Dawson,” he called out.

Elaina recognized the voice and knew that help had arrived. But at what cost? The sheriff likely hadn’t heard the silenced shots from the front of the house, and the man could be ambushed if he got near the shooter.

“The gunman’s out back,” Luke shouted to the sheriff. “Take cover. I’m going to return fire.”

“No!” Elaina whispered. She didn’t dare say it any louder because she couldn’t alarm Christopher. Nor could she move closer to Luke. It would put the baby at risk.

But Luke took all the risks. He levered himself up, aimed his gun at what was left of the back nursery window and fired. These were not muffled shots but thick, deafening blasts. Elaina hugged Christopher even closer to her and prayed that he wouldn’t wake up. While she was at it, she added a prayer that Luke would be okay.

“Halt your fire,” the sheriff called out. “I see the shooter. I’m in pursuit.”

Luke scrambled into the nursery. Elaina could no longer see him, but she figured he’d moved to the window so he could provide backup for the sheriff if necessary.

She sat there, holding the baby and waiting for all of this to end. She could hear the hum of her clock and Christopher’s soft rhythmic breathing. She tried to let that calm her so that she wouldn’t be tempted to call out to Luke to make sure he was okay.

“He got away,” she heard the sheriff say. He sounded close, perhaps by the nursery window. But just the fact that he was nearby made her breathe easier. The sheriff probably wouldn’t be standing in the open if he thought the gunman was still a threat.

“
He?
” Luke questioned. Elaina moved closer to the door so she could better hear the conversation. Thankfully, Luke asked the question that was foremost on her mind. “You’re sure it was a man?”

“I’m not sure of that at all. The person was wearing dark clothes. You have a suspect in mind, or any idea why someone would want to do this?”

“I’ll go over that with you just as soon as I’ve checked on Agent Foley.”

“I’ll do it. You stay put,” the sheriff insisted. “Just in case our shooter returns.”

So much for breathing easier. And at least from this angle she could see Luke. He wasn’t hurt. But he was angry. His jaw muscles were iron stiff, and he seemed primed and ready for a fight. Elaina understood that. Someone had endangered Christopher. Neither Luke nor she would forget that anytime soon.

Luke didn’t look back at her. He kept his gun and attention focused on the gaping hole in what was left of the window and the plantation blinds. The gauzy pale blue curtains fluttered around him like ghosts. And beneath his shoes was a thick layer of broken glass. It looked like carnage and chaos.

“This won’t go unpunished,” she heard Luke say.

And she didn’t doubt him. What Elaina did doubt was that Luke could catch this shooter and come out of it unharmed.

He would die to protect them.

Two days ago, that would have made her feel safe. Right now, it made her sick to her stomach. She didn’t want to deal with the thought of losing him, which was ironic, because Luke Buchanan wasn’t hers to lose.

There was a heavy-handed knock at the door. The sound shot through her and made Elaina gasp. Her body prepared for a second round of deadly threats, but she soon realized that wasn’t necessary.

“I found Agent Foley,” the sheriff shouted. Luke hurried to the front door and opened it. “He’s been shot.”

Luke cursed. Silently, Elaina did the same thing.

“How bad?” Luke asked.

“He’s alive, and I’ve already called for an ambulance. I’ll wait with him.”

So, this wasn’t over. A federal agent had been shot. If Rusty didn’t make it, then they had a killer on their hands. A killer who’d tried his best to murder them tonight.

Why?

Was this really about that damned software? Or Devereux’s retaliation? How could anyone risk a baby’s life for the sake of money or reprisal?

“Don’t come out just yet,” Luke instructed. His voice was level, but there was raw emotion in it. He was no doubt thinking of his fellow agent, a man who’d been shot while trying to protect them. “How’s Christopher?”

She looked down at him. “Sleeping.”

Luke made a sound of approval. “I swear I won’t let this happen again.”

“You didn’t
let
it happen this time,” Elaina countered.

She would have said more, probably something sappy and emotional. She no doubt would have gushed her thanks. Gratitude that Luke would have resented because he wouldn’t have seen his actions as an option.

But there was another knock at the front door.

“It’s Sheriff Dawson,” the man said. She heard Luke open the door again. “More bad news.”

Luke waited until he was alone in the bedroom of the safe house before he cursed. He cursed the situation that Elaina and he were in and he cursed the list of things that just kept going wrong.

Most of all he cursed himself.

He should have pushed to get this safe house in San Antonio sooner. That way, Rusty wouldn’t have been sitting in front of Elaina’s house, he wouldn’t have been shot in the chest and he wouldn’t now be in the hospital fighting for his life. If they’d been in a safe house, Elaina and Christopher wouldn’t have had to go through an attack that could have easily gotten them killed.

Those things were massive mistakes, but there was another by-product of Luke’s failure to speed up the safe house process. Because Sheriff Dawson had had to respond to the shooting, that left the jail manned only by a bank security guard who occasionally did duty as an auxiliary deputy. The sheriff estimated there was a half-hour window of time while he and his real deputy were dealing with the aftermath of the shooting that the two prisoners were alone with the security guard.

The two men—the blonde and the guy with the eye patch—had managed to knock out the guard and escape.

Now, they were at large, and that meant in addition to keeping Elaina and Christopher safe, Luke had two more culprits that he had to be on the lookout for.

Yeah. He’d made a mess of things.

Luke was trying to remedy that. He now had Elaina, Christopher and even the sitter, Theresa, settled into a safe house in San Antonio. But that didn’t mean they were
safe.
As long as the two escapees and their boss were out there, Elaina and Christopher would be in danger.

He glanced at the computer he’d set up on a fold-up card table. The screen was still blank, which meant the audio feed wasn’t coming through yet. But it would. And then Luke would get a chance to do something else that he should have done before he ever visited Elaina…have a chat with George Devereux. And thanks to computer technology that should happen within the next half hour.

There was a soft tap at the door, and he peered over his shoulder as Elaina came in. She’d showered and changed into jeans and a shirt the same honey color as her hair, but she didn’t look refreshed. Her eyes were sleep starved, and she looked as stressed out as Luke felt.

Elaina glanced at the computer screen, saw that it was blank and she walked in. But she didn’t walk in too far. She kept her distance.

“How’s Christopher?” Luke asked.

“He’s fine. Theresa’s feeding him breakfast. It was a really a good idea to bring her here with us. It’s nice to have the extra pair of hands.”

Well, that was one reason Luke included Theresa in their rushed evacuation of Crystal Creek. The other reason was that he was concerned that the escapees would go to the sitter’s house and try to get her to tell them where Elaina was. Theresa was likely in as much danger as the rest of them. Maybe more since she wouldn’t be able to defend herself.

“The hospital just called Agent Culpepper,” Elaina told him.

That got Luke’s attention. Agent Culpepper was the guard assigned to the safe house. A man that Luke trusted. Thankfully, Culpepper was in the living room and would stay there throughout this ordeal. “Is Rusty—”

“He made it through surgery and is in stable condition,” Elaina interrupted. “The doctors think he’ll make a full recovery.”

Luke released the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding. That was one thing knocked off his mental list of concerns. Still, Rusty shouldn’t have been put through this.

“What about the escapees?” Luke wanted to know. “Has anyone called Agent Culpepper about them?”

She shook her head and walked to the window where he was standing. Like him, she peered out at the morning sun and the empty sidewalk of the sleepy middle-class neighborhood. “But Culpepper did say that the Justice Department was involved in the search. Maybe that’ll speed things up and get them back behind bars where they belong.”

“That can’t happen soon enough. These are the men who tried to kill you last year.”

“But it wasn’t them last night,” she commented. She turned, faced him and raked her fingers through the side of her hair. “I’ve been trying to piece it together, and I think we’re back to square one.”

Luke nodded. Frowned. Cursed. Because he’d come to the same god-awful conclusion. “Gary, Brenda, Carrie or George Devereux. Any one of them could be behind what happened. Maybe none of them was the actual shooter, but they could have hired someone to do it.”

“True. But were they merely trying to create a diversion so the prisoners could escape?” Elaina asked.

Luke wished that were the only reason, but he suspected something much more sinister. “With you and me out of the way, it would be much easier to search your house.”

“Of course.” She waited a moment, obviously trying to grasp and get past that. “What about the background checks you did on the suspects? Any news?”

He shook his head. “I talked to the investigator early this morning before you got up.” At least he thought it was before that. Elaina and Christopher had stayed in one room. Theresa, in another. Luke had ended up in the third bedroom, where he’d spent the night mentally kicking himself.

“And?” she prompted.

“Gary has those mysterious funds in his account, but he claims it was repayment of an old loan from a college buddy. Nothing financial has popped up in Brenda’s files yet, but the investigator can’t rule her out, especially since Brenda moved to Crystal Creek just a few months ago.”

“They didn’t find anything on Carrie, either.” It wasn’t exactly a question.

Unfortunately, Luke had an answer that Elaina wouldn’t be pleased to hear. He certainly hadn’t been thrilled about it. “Were you aware that Carrie recently started using one of those prepaid cell phones that aren’t traceable?”

Elaina shrugged. “That’s not a crime. She’s always on a tight budget. She probably ran up too big of a bill on her last phone and had to switch to something cheaper.”

“Maybe. But the Justice Department isn’t quite as trusting as you are. Carrie left the cell phone behind in the Crystal Creek diner yesterday, Rusty spotted it, and he sent it to the crime lab to see if we can retrieve any of the numbers she called.”

“I’m sure you won’t find anything incriminating,” she insisted.

Luke didn’t give up. He continued with the next bit of info he’d learned about her assistant. “Two weeks ago, Carrie applied to Rice University in Houston for their summer term. Did you know about that?”

She blinked, and it took a moment for her to answer. “No. Well, I knew she wanted to take art classes, but she said that she couldn’t afford them.”

“Well, she can apparently afford it now, which means that Carrie might be on the verge of a big payoff for locating that miniature memory chip that Kevin used to store his modifications.”

Elaina folded her arms over her chest and stepped back. “I just can’t believe she’d do something like this.”

Luke understood that skepticism, but he wasn’t about to cut Elaina’s shop assistant any slack. Carrie was a suspect, and he would treat her as such.

Behind them, Luke heard a voice, and he turned to see the image of an agent on the screen. “The video interview has been set up,” the agent informed Luke. “Are you ready to speak with inmate George Devereux?”

“Give me a second.” Luke caught on to Elaina’s arm and moved her to the corner of the room so that she’d be out of camera range. “I need you to stay quiet.” He didn’t want Devereux to know that Elaina was with him. It was best to give his old nemesis as little information as possible.

Luke sat down at the computer, glanced over the notes he’d made earlier and he gave the nod to the agent. There was a flicker on the screen, mere seconds passed, and he saw the face of a man that Luke had hoped he’d never see again. It wasn’t easy, but Luke put a chokehold on his anger. However, if he learned that Devereux had had some part in the shooting, that chokehold would snap.

Devereux didn’t look like a beaten man. In fact, he looked pampered. He had a good haircut. No signs of aging, even though the man was in his early sixties. Luke hoped that didn’t mean that Devereux had used part of his multimillion dollar estate to bribe a guard or two.

“Agent Buchanan,” Devereux greeted. “I’m missing my midmorning workout.”

Luke considered some smart-mouth response, but he held back. “I’ve been going over a list of your visitors and call sheets. Your daughter, Genevieve, has phoned the prison six times in the past month. Your conversations were unsupervised.”

Devereux shrugged. “Because she’s acting as my legal counsel.”

Yes, that’s what the guard’s note had said. “But she’s not a lawyer.”

“I can designate anyone to legally represent me.” His cobalt-blue eyes seemed to pierce right through the screen. “Agent Buchanan, if you have plans to go after my daughter—”

“Has she done anything that warrants an arrest?” Luke quipped.

“No. And I won’t have you try to use her to get back at me. What happened between us is finished.”

Luke was more than a little surprised with that comment. He’d expected Devereux to be defensive. Irate, even. But the man seemed to be protecting his daughter.

Now that he had Christopher, Luke totally understood that reaction. He glanced at Elaina who was nibbling on her bottom lip. Yep. She understood it, too. It gave people a bond that might not always be a good bond to have, but that was a thought for another time, another place.

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t using your daughter for more than legal council,” Luke continued.

Devereux’s reaction was mild, a slight tilt of the head. “Such as?”

“Perhaps Genevieve is doing your dirty work. There was a shooting last night. What do you know about that?”

Devereux sat there amid the dust-gray walls and stared at him. “I know nothing about it. Neither does Genevieve. My daughter is trying to start a family, Agent Buchanan. The only thing she has on her mind is motherhood. I want it to stay that way. Under no circumstance will you bring any of this to her, understand?”

“Fine. Then, give me the answers I’m looking for, and I won’t have to go to her.”

“What answers?” Devereux snapped.

“Have you been in the market for some software modifications?”

Devereux paused as if absorbing that, smiled and shook his head. “No. I’m not a computer person. I hire people to do that sort of thing for me.”

That wasn’t the answer Luke was looking for. “Are you saying one of your employees was in the market?”

“I’m not saying that all, but I wouldn’t have any use for software modifications unless those modifications can reverse the prison sentence that put me in this place. That’s my concern right now. That and my daughter. I’ve put my business ventures on hold.”

Either Devereux was a convincing liar, or he was telling the truth. It might be a while before Luke figured out which, but for the time being, he was going to treat the man as he was treating Carrie and the others.

Like a suspect who wanted Elaina and him dead.

“How about your investment in the Brighton Birthing Center?” Luke questioned.

Devereux relaxed his shoulders. “Oh, that. The police were already here first thing this morning. I’ll tell you what I told them. I make lots of investments, and I chose that one when my daughter informed me that she was interested in starting a family. I knew the former director at Brighton, I believed her to be an honest woman, and I learned the hard way that she wasn’t. She was behind many of those illegal adoptions and even once tried to kill a police officer.”

That meshed with the phone briefing Luke had gotten with San Antonio PD. There didn’t appear to be anything sinister about Devereux’s investment, but Luke would keep digging. If there was anything to find, he’d find it.

“Talk to me about my late wife,” Luke insisted. He debated how to go with this and decided to take the direct approach. “Did you have anything to do with her death?”

“No. But I doubt you’ll believe me.” Devereux made a dismissal wave of his hand. “I’m a family man, Agent Buchanan. My problem is with you, not any member of your family.”

“But you could have tried to get to me by going through my family,” Luke quickly pointed out.

The man sighed dramatically. “That would create bad karma. And what purpose would it serve? It would only cause you to hound and harass me, and since I will almost certainly have my sentence reversed on appeal, why would I do anything to keep you on my tail?”

Luke could think of reasons. “For money, power or both.”

“I already have those things in spades.” But there was no smugness in his tone. Devereux had said merely as fact. “Has someone been trying to connect me to this software and your dead wife?”

“Me. I’ve been trying to do just that. She gave birth to a child at Brighton.”

“I’ve never stepped foot in the place,” Devereux insisted. “There is no connection between your wife and me.”

“I hope, for your sake, there isn’t.”

“Investigate to your heart’s desire, but you won’t find my metaphorical fingerprints anywhere near your late wife.”

Luke stared at the man, wondering if he’d get a different answer if he kept pushing, but Luke instinctively knew that he wouldn’t. He didn’t bother to say goodbye. Luke used the computer mouse to end the video call, and he clicked back to the agent who’d set up the connection.

The face of the agent reappeared on the screen. “Monitor all his visits,” Luke insisted. “Report anything suspicious directly to me.” Luke turned off the computer and looked at Elaina.

“Is Devereux a good liar?” she asked.

He stood, shook his head. “He’s capable of lying, but I wouldn’t say he’s good at it.”

Elaina huffed and clenched her hands into fists. “I just want answers. I want to know why someone is trying to kill us.”

“We’ll figure that out. In the meantime, Christopher is safe.”

“But for how long?” But she didn’t just say it; her voice trembled.

Luke walked closer.

“If it were just me at risk, it wouldn’t hurt like this,” she whispered. “But Christopher. God, Christopher could be in danger.”