Unbreakable Bond (10 page)

Slade traced his tongue along the seam of Nina's lips, urging her to open for him, and she complied. Her fingers tiptoed up his arm, and she threaded them in his hair, urging him closer, and another groan ripped from his gut.

Aching with the need to have her, he deepened the kiss, savoring the scent of her sweet body as she moved against him. Her lips tasted like berries and hunger, her kiss so erotic that flames of desire shot through him.

She moaned softly, her breasts brushing his chest in an erotic tease, and his hands slid downward to pull her hips deeper into the V between his thighs. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, greedy for more, and she trailed her hands down his arms to his back again, then slid one over his hip.

He wanted her to move that hand lower.

Then she pressed her lips over the scar on his cheek, and something moved inside him.

“What happened?” she whispered.

The images of his dying men flashed in his head. “Iraq.”

“I'm sorry,” she said, then traced her finger over the puckered skin.

Dammit. What the hell was he doing?

He tore himself away from her, well aware that they were both breathing heavily, on the verge of doing something each of them would regret.

“This is insane,” he said, then forced himself to look away from the stormy heat in her eyes. If he didn't, he'd haul her back into his arms and this time he wouldn't stop. He'd carry her up the stairs, throw her down on the bed and make love to her until neither one of them could remember their names.

“Why is it insane?” Nina asked in such a sultry voice that he had to close his eyes to regain control.

“It just is.”

“Why?” she asked again, this time hurt lacing her tone. “Because you think I'm unstable?”

God, he couldn't let her think that. “No. Because I'm working for you. This is a job, Nina. It can't be anything more.”

Disappointment darkened her eyes, but he steeled himself and shut down.

He couldn't allow himself to care. Couldn't give her false promises or the impression that he'd stick around, that he was any kind of family man.

He didn't deserve a family, not after all the people he'd failed.

 

N
INA SWALLOWED BACK
her hurt. Slade was right.

They were working together, and she'd been frightened and had forgotten her senses for a moment.

It couldn't happen again.

Still, need and desire heated her blood, and she wished for once that she could feel something besides anguish and worry and the never-ending pit of emptiness inside her.

That she could feel loved.

But loving was dangerous. And the only person she had room for in her heart was Peyton. If—no
when
—she found her, her daughter would need all of her attention and time.

But what if she's happy with a loving family? Can you tear her away from a good home?

Her chest clenched, but she pushed away the thoughts. She'd face that decision if it came down to it.

But the sound of Peyton's little voice taunted her. She wouldn't be able to hear that voice if Peyton wasn't calling out to her….

“Where did the baby blanket come from?” Slade asked, jarring her back to the present.

“I crocheted it for Peyton before she was born,” Nina said. “But I packed it away in the storage closet in the guest room. That's where I stored all the baby things.”

He narrowed his eyes. “So the intruder was in that room, and dug through your closet. I'll look for prints in there, too.”

She nodded, then shivered at the thought of someone pawing through her precious baby items.

“Was there something special about that blanket?” Slade asked.

Nina pressed a hand to her mouth. “I was going to bring Peyton home in it.”

A troubled look passed across his face. “Who knew about it?”

Nina frowned, trying to think back. “No one. At least I don't think anyone did. I made it when I lived alone here in Sanctuary.”

“How about the CD?”

“One of the nurses who taught the prenatal classes gave each of the women a copy.”

“What was the nurse's name?”

“Charlie,” Nina said. “Why?”

“I'm just looking for a connection between the items and the person who broke in. For some significance.”

Nina gave a small laugh. “Well, the psychiatrist said I played the CDs to soothe my grief, and the blanket to wrap my lost child in my love.”

He slanted her an odd look. “I'm not sure I buy into that psychobabble.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in years.”

Her gaze locked with his, hope bubbling in her chest.

Hope and desire so strong that it scared her to death.

 

F
OR A MOMENT, DESIRE
flickered in Nina's eyes again, and Slade was tempted to pull her into his arms once more.

But his body still burned with need from her earlier touch, and his willpower couldn't tolerate the temptation. So he took a step back. “We should report this break-in to the sheriff.”

“No.” Panic tinged her voice. “I did that years ago, and look where it got me. Skepticism from everyone I talked to.”

Slade hesitated. “All right. Let me retrieve the kit in my car and look for prints. I also want to figure out how the bastard got in here. And, Nina?”

“Yes?”

“Look around upstairs. Make sure nothing is missing.”

She folded and unfolded her hands, her face strained. Looking at the baby items had to dredge up bad memories.

Which was exactly what her tormentor intended.

But she squared her shoulders and disappeared up the stairs. He strode out to his car and retrieved the crime kit GAI supplied. He'd take prints and if he found other evidence, he'd collect everything and send it all to the lab.

He grabbed a flashlight, and examined the front door, windows and back door and discovered that one of the locks on the window in the laundry room was broken. The intruder could easily have crawled in through the window.

Running the flashlight across the ground, he searched for footprints, but the rain had washed away any that might have been made earlier, and he didn't find any stray hairs or clothing fibers. Damn.

Next, he dusted the breaker box for prints, and found an index fingerprint. But it looked too small to be a man's. Probably Nina's. Still, he lifted it for comparison. He dusted the window in the laundry room from the outside, then inside, but again found nothing.

This guy was obviously smart enough to cover his tracks. After all, he'd done the same thing to Nina years ago.

It could be a woman,
he reminded himself.

Or a hired crony.

Wiping perspiration from his forehead, he strode up the steps to the second floor and found Nina staring at a tiny pair of pink booties and a dress. God…

“Are you all right?”

“I'm fine,” she said in a soft whisper. “I don't see anything missing.”

A bittersweet look filled her eyes as she placed the dress back inside a plastic storage bin, and closed it. He dusted the closet door for prints, then the bin. Only one set, which he assumed belonged to Nina.

“Did you find anything outside?” she asked.

“The lock on the window in your laundry room is broken. The intruder must have climbed through it.”

Nina nodded. “I didn't realize. I'll go fix it now.”

He caught her arm as she stood and stopped her before she could go down the steps. “No, you look exhausted. Go lie down. I'll fix the window and stay on the couch tonight.”

Nina rubbed her forehead. “You don't have to do that, Slade.”

“Yes, I do,” he said. “This guy might come back.”

A shudder coursed through her, and he hated himself for scaring her.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Stop thanking me,” he muttered. “I'm just doing my job.”

She shifted, her mouth tightening. “Right.” Then she rushed into her own room and shut the door. For a moment, he stood rooted to the spot. The temptation to go inside with her taunted him.

What would she do if he knocked and asked to join her? Would she let him hold her? Kiss her? Make love to her?

Damn. This case was starting to feel like more than just a job. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore. And seeing that tiny little dress made him want to bring her child home to her.

But he couldn't get physically involved with her any more than he could emotionally. That would distract him from the case. And knowing that an intruder had broken in and might return meant he had to stay sharp and focused.

He took the steps two at a time, found a tool kit in the garage and repaired the broken lock. Then he retrieved his computer from his SUV, and booted it up at her kitchen table.

He'd set up watch for the night. And if the intruder came back, he'd catch the son of a bitch and make him sorry for tormenting Nina.

 

N
INA WRESTLED WITH SLEEP
, the images of the doll wrapped in Peyton's baby blanket haunting her.

She pulled the covers to her chin, hating the silence. But knowing Slade was downstairs made her feel safer.

Don't get used to it,
she reminded herself.
When you find your daughter, he'll leave and you'll be alone again.

No, she wouldn't. She'd have her little girl, and that would be enough.

With that thought on her mind, she finally fell asleep and dreamed that she had Peyton back, and that she'd taken her to the zoo. Peyton's blond curls bounced around her face as she giggled at the chimpanzees squawking and jumping up and down and chomping on bananas.

The lions' roar frightened her, and she scrunched close to Nina, and Nina smoothed her hair down and hugged her. Then a crowd gathered by the giraffes and they walked over to join them.

Suddenly Slade appeared, the sunlight gleaming off his strong jaw and rugged body. He smiled at her, then swung Peyton up onto his shoulders so she could see over the crowd.

Peyton clapped her hands and shrieked with glee. “I'm almost as tall as the giraffes,” Peyton said. “Lift me higher, Daddy, and I can eat from the treetops.”

Slade chuckled and pulled Nina next to him, and a warmth enveloped her. She loved her husband and her daughter and finally had the family she'd always wanted.

Then suddenly a dark cloud fell over the crowd, and she looked up and Peyton and Slade were gone. She cried out their names, frantically searching, but she'd lost them….

No, she heard Peyton singing again.

She jerked awake, the sound of her daughter's voice echoing through the room and sending a blinding pain through her chest.

Her breathing was ragged, and she crawled from the bed, walked to the window and looked up at the
moon. “I'm going to find you, baby,” Nina whispered. “I promise. I'll find you and bring you home and one day we'll take that trip to the zoo.”

Only Slade wouldn't be around. Peyton wouldn't have a daddy.

But she would make up for it by loving her enough for two parents.

 

S
LADE LOOKED UP THE
H
OOD
family and found numerous articles on William's father's law practice, his tragic death from cancer, and articles featuring William's graduation from law school, the honors he'd received and the cases he'd handled.

Apparently, William was a cutthroat lawyer who handled high-finance and tax cases and had made a fortune. Photographs of his society wedding to Mitzi Raynor, the daughter of a prominent judge, highlighted the young couple's budding social life.

Another photo depicted the celebration of Mrs. Hood's fiftieth birthday celebration a few months before. Slade studied the brassy-haired woman in her perfect outfit with her perfect smile, perfect face and perfect family.

Beneath that perfect veneer, beat the heart of an ugly barracuda.

The woman had tried to bribe Nina to abort her own grandchild, then urged her to give the baby up for adoption. Was she cunning enough to plan a kidnapping to spare the family the stigma of an illegitimate child?

His frown deepened as he scrolled farther down and zeroed in on a photo—one that included William, his sister, Diane, and her husband, Dennis, and their daughter.

His shoulders cramped with tension as he studied the little girl huddled between Diane and her husband. A little girl who looked about eight years old. A blonde…

The same age as Peyton…

 

R
EBECCA WAS RUNNING
, running, running, as fast as she could. She had to get away from the bad men.

He'd watched her at school and taken pictures. And now he'd followed her to the house.

But her legs were weak, and she stumbled. He snagged her arm, and she screamed, beating her fists against him. “Let me go, let me go.”

He shook her. “Stop it!”

“No, let me go!”

“Rebecca, wake up.”

“No, they're going to get me…”

He shook her harder, so hard her teeth rattled. “Wake up. You just scratched me, you little twerp.”

Rebecca jerked her eyes open and stared at the darkness. The voice…it belonged to her foster father. His breath smelled nasty as he glared at her.

“You were dreaming, kid, screaming and carrying on.” He released her and she fell back against the bed as he stood. “I don't want to hear any more from you, you hear me?”

“But the man from school, he was watching and he came after me…”

“I said hush.” He raised one fist as if he was going to hit her. “Do you hear me?”

Terrified, Rebecca bit her tongue to keep from screaming, then slowly nodded.

The bed creaked as he lifted his bulk. Then the floor squeaked as he shuffled back to the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned back to her. “I mean it, kid. I'd better not hear another sound out of you.”