Daddy Devastating (13 page)

“Let’s get inside,” he said. “And make it as fast as you can.” The parking lot seemed secure, and there were two uniformed officers milling around outside on what appeared to be a smoke break, but Russ didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances.

San Saba wasn’t a big city, and neither was the police station. It was a single-story, yellow brick building with a covered walkway across the front.

“I don’t see Sylvia,” Julia said.

Neither did Russ, and that tightened the knot in his stomach even more.

He’d had his badge delivered with the car, and he stuck it in his back pocket, just in case someone inside questioned him. He locked his weapon in the glove compartment because it would never make it through the metal detector. The trick would be to keep Julia safe and meet with Sylvia without letting her suspect that he was a federal agent.

Julia and he walked past the two smoking officers. Russ made eye contact with him and nodded a greeting before he ushered Julia inside. As expected, there was a metal detector just steps past the door, and they walked through it, thankful they didn’t set anything off.

Sylvia was there in the waiting area across from reception. The reception desk was manned by a female uniformed officer, and when she gave him a questioning look, Russ tipped his head to Sylvia.

“I’m here to pick her up,” Russ lied.

That seemed to satisfy the officer, and Julia and he made their way to Sylvia. Russ took the seat directly next to the woman, and Julia sat beside him.

“This had better be worth my time,” Russ told her, right off the bat.

“It will be.” But Sylvia didn’t make a move to show him anything—other than her nerves. The woman’s hands were trembling, and her eyes were red—she’d obviously been crying or had somehow faked the look— and she was gripping her purse as if were a lifeline.

“Well?” Russ demanded.

“First of all, I’m in love with Milo, and this meeting is a last resort for me.” Her voice was barely audible. “I’ve tried to reason with him, to talk him out of this deal, but he won’t listen. He insists on going through with it, even though I think it’s dangerous.”

“It
is
dangerous,” Russ told her. And he thought about how he should phrase this. “But we can bypass Milo if you know where the baby is.”

“I don’t.” She met his gaze. “But I don’t think it’s safe for anyone to carry out this deal.” Sylvia pulled in a weary breath and opened her purse. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope you can find out.”

Julia moved to the edge of her seat, probably so she could see what Sylvia was taking from her purse. Photos.

She handed them to Russ.

There were two of them, both black-and-white. Grainy shots, obviously taken from a long distance, and perhaps only seconds apart. Two people were in both photos and Russ immediately recognized one of them. Milo.

Julia’s soft gasp let him know that she recognized the other person, as well.

Sylvia stood. “My advice? Before you show up at that meeting tomorrow, you find out why those two are together.”

Russ intended to do just that.

Because the second person in the photos was none other than Tracy Richardson, the “stolen” baby’s mother.

“I
WANT
S
YLVIA
H
ARTMAN FOLLOWED
,” Julia heard Russ say to the agent he’d phoned the moment that Sylvia was out of sight. “And have someone call me with the financials on Aaron and Tracy Richardson.”

Russ was talking to the agent who’d accompanied them to the police station, and while Julia didn’t like the idea of driving to the hotel without backup, she didn’t want Sylvia to get away. Not after what the woman had just given them.

She glanced at the photos again before Russ folded them and slid them into his pocket.

“You think they’re real?” Julia asked, in a whisper. “Or did Sylvia doctor them?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

Julia only hoped that it was possible before the meeting. She hadn’t exactly felt comfortable about going another round with Milo, but this would make things even more questionable. And perhaps more dangerous.

“How long will it take you to get the financial information on the Richardsons?” she asked. “Not long.”

Good, because that might give them some important pieces to this puzzle.

“Is there a place in here to get some coffee?” Russ asked the officer at the reception desk. “Our friend had to run a quick errand, and we need to wait for her to get back,” he lied.

She pointed toward a side hall. “It’s from a vending machine and tastes like sludge. There’s a café across the street if you want something better.”

“Sludge is fine,” Russ mumbled, and he didn’t say anything else until Julia and he were out of earshot. “I want us to hang around here until another security detail arrives.”

Julia was thankful for the precaution and equally thankful that the small room with several vending machines was vacant. She had a dozen things she wanted to ask Russ, and she didn’t want anyone around to listen in.

While keeping watch around them, he threaded several one-dollar bills into the machine and got them each a cup of coffee. The officer was right. It did taste like sludge.

“So what’s going on?” Julia asked. “Why do you think Sylvia really wanted us to meet her?”

“Could be several things.” There were four metal chairs lined up across from the machines, and she and Russ sat.

“The pictures could be a hoax. Milo’s man could have seen Tracy Richardson at the hotel, followed her and then orchestrated the photos to make it look as if she knows Milo. Heck, Milo and Tracy might have never even met.”

“But why doctor the photos to make us think that?”

“Milo could have done it to see how we’d react. This could all be some kind of sick test just to see what we’ll do. He might think we’ll panic and do something stupid.”

Julia couldn’t rule that out. “But Tracy could actually know Milo. And that means he could also know that she’s the baby’s mother.”

Russ nodded. “Milo could have figured that out. Or maybe he just suspects she’s involved with us. If that’s true, it goes without saying that he’ll be more suspicious of us.”

Yes, he would. And it could be worse than that. “Milo might know you’re an agent. Tracy could have told him.”

“She could have,” Russ readily admitted. “But if she did, I think Milo would have already confronted me about it. He’s not shy about saying what’s on his mind.”

True, but Julia didn’t like the possibilities. Sylvia could be playing her own game, maybe so she could turn Russ and her against Milo and then somehow collect the money for herself. Or it could be Milo or Tracy playing a game. A dangerous one.

Russ sipped the coffee and grimaced at the taste. He tossed the cup into the garbage can beside them. “We have to wait and see what all of this means. Maybe Milo wants us off kilter when and if we walk into that meeting. Hell, he might even have Tracy show up so she can get in a bidding war with my
buyer.
”

“That’s assuming Milo still believes you
have
a buyer,” Julia pointed out. “Since Sylvia knew Silas had shown up at the hotel this morning, Milo and she probably also know the Richardsons dropped by for a visit, too. So maybe they now assume that the Richardsons are the ones behind the two-million-dollar offer.”

“Entirely possible.”

Julia thought of something else. “If Milo knew he could get this much money from the Richardsons, then why didn’t he just hold their baby for ransom?”

“Good question, and I don’t know the answer. Maybe he thought the buying process would keep him safer, one step away from the authorities. He can definitely control this situation better than he could if he risked going to the birth parents. Hell, maybe there is no actual Z, and
he’s
the real seller.” He checked his watch and settled deeper into the chair, as if this might be a long wait.

And it just might be.

Even though she grimaced, too, at the coffee taste, she continued to sip it. She needed the caffeine to stay alert, since the fatigue was starting to catch up with her. “You said
if
we walk into the meeting with Milo. I thought we’d gotten past your argument that I shouldn’t be there.”

“We haven’t gotten past it.” He leaned his head against the wall and looked at her. “I don’t want you there. I want you safe.”

“That’s your libido talking. You need me there. The Richardsons’ baby needs me there.”

He blew out an audible breath. “And if something goes wrong? If you’re hurt?”

She tried to shrug. “It’d be worth it if the baby was safe.”

Russ cursed. “The baby might not be safe because his own mother put him in danger.” Since he hadn’t exactly said that in a whisper, he looked around to make sure he hadn’t drawn any attention. They still had the room to themselves.

“I’ve been trained to do this kind of thing,” Russ said, continuing, his voice quieter but definitely not calmer. “You haven’t been. And you shouldn’t have to take the risk. I’ll just tell Milo that you’re sick. Or indisposed. Or that you refused to come. He’ll have no choice but to back off about you being there.”

Julia wasn’t at all sure that would work. Milo was calling the shots, and he could continue to do that as long as he had the baby.

She stared into the cup and wondered if she should even bring this up. The timing was wrong, but then it might not be right for a while. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

“About Emily?” Russ didn’t wait for her to answer. “We’ll work out an arrangement. Maybe split custody, or something.”

“Wow.” She took a moment to let that sink in. “You’ve had a change of heart. Just yesterday, you were reminding me that you were the best choice to raise her.”

“I was wrong,” he readily admitted. “Emily has to come first. Even if you and I are as different as night and day, we can put our differences aside and do what’s best for her.”

Julia made a sound of agreement. Partial agreement, anyway. “We’re not that different, Russ.”

He raised his eyebrows and gave her a dry smile.

She only shrugged. “Maybe our bank accounts are different, but I inherited my money. Not much accomplishment in that. And until I got that call about Emily, I’d closed down. The press called me a recluse. That’s a kind word. I would go months without leaving the safe little world I created at my estate.”

“But that safe little world
was
safe,” he reminded her.

“
Safe
isn’t necessarily the way to live your whole life. What about you?” she asked. “Why did you close down and get lost in your job? Does it have something to do with that scar you showed me?”

He rubbed his fingers against it. “Yeah.” That was all he said for several moments. He checked his watch again, then his phone. “Three years ago I got sexually involved with a woman in my protective custody.” Russ met her eye-to-eye. “She was killed. It was my fault,” he added.

“I doubt that.”

“Then you’re the only one,” he mumbled.

So he’d been punishing himself all this time. “You were in love with her?” Julia asked.

“No.” There was no hesitation in his answer. “But that didn’t make it easier.”

“I suspect not. And I suspect you’re thinking that this situation with me might be history repeating itself.”

“Aren’t
you?
” he fired back. “The last time you got involved with a dangerous man, you nearly died.”

Yes, and even though there was a huge difference between Russ and her attacker, Julia couldn’t completely tamp down the fear. Part of her wanted to take Emily and go running back to her estate; but if she did that, she would never be able to forget the child she could have saved.

Russ’s phone rang, and he seemed relieved. Maybe because he wouldn’t have to continue this too personal conversation. As usual, he didn’t identify himself when he answered, but a moment later she heard him say “Soto.”

That grabbed her attention, because he was the agent taking Emily to the safe house.

“They’ll be at the location soon,” Russ relayed to her.

“Soon? But I thought it wouldn’t take them so long to get there?”

“They can’t just drive there. They have to make sure no one is following them, so they take what we call a circuitous route. They’re doing this by the book. And everything is okay, going just as planned.”

Julia released the breath she’d been holding and said a quick prayer of thanks. Emily was away from Milo, and she was safe. Now she had to see what she could do so the Richardson baby was, as well.

Russ stayed on the line, listening to whatever Soto was telling him. He asked about Silas. And about Milo. By the time he ended the call, Julia was anxious for answers.

“What about Silas?” she asked.

“Still no sign of him, but they did locate his phone. It was in a trash bin at the park.”

Where he’d last been seen. That could mean Silas had been kidnapped. Or maybe he was setting all of this up so it would appear that way.

Or maybe Silas was dead.

“And Milo?”

Russ shook his head. “He’s staying put at his office. He’s had no visitors, so if he’s been in contact with his boss, then it hasn’t been in person.”

Russ had no sooner put his phone away when it rang again. Julia hoped this would be the call to tell them that another security detail was in place. She didn’t mind being in the police station, but the longer they stayed, the more it might alert Milo that something was wrong.

Again, Julia tried to make sense of what part of the conversation she could hear, but Russ didn’t give much away—except for his expression. The muscles in his jaw turned to iron.

“Repeat that,” Russ asked the caller.

Julia moved closer and waited.

“I want them brought to the Wainwright Hotel ASAP,” Russ insisted. “Keep it quiet, but if they won’t come, arrest them. Do whatever you need to do to get them there.”

He hung up but continued to stare at the phone. “That was Special Agent Toby Kaplan. He’s the one who followed Sylvia. She left here and went straight to another meeting.”

“With Milo?” Julia questioned.