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Authors: Delores Fossen
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around.”
Bailey shuddered. “I don’t know why it happened the way it did. But I can’t pretend that man didn’t come here looking for me. That means I brought the danger here with me. I’m sorry for that. I was so desperate to find out the truth about Caden that I failed to remember it might not be safe for me to come here.”
Jackson couldn’t argue with any of that. Except he, too, had been threatened by those mysterious letters. Now, the question was, were the threats connected? He couldn’t immediately see how, but then he didn’t like the timing of the latest letter and Bailey’s arrival at his estate.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. She turned quickly and headed for the door.
Jackson hurried after her. “Wait. Where are you going?” He caught up with her just outside his office and stepped in front of her.
“Far away from here. I’ll call you about the test results.” She swallowed hard. “I swear, I didn’t mean to put Caden or you in danger.”
“The danger was here before you arrived,” he conceded. Part of him wanted to step aside and let her leave, but he wasn’t stupid. This particular Pandora’s Box had already been opened, and whether Bailey left or not, he didn’t think the danger would go with her.
When she tried to dart around him, Jackson put her against the wall again. Hell. He’d been manhandling Bailey a lot lately, but he wasn’t going to let her leave until she saw the whole picture.
Even if it was a picture he wasn’t sure he wanted her to see.
“This is a theory,” he started, “with a lot of if’ s. But it’s a theory that kept me up most of the night. If this mystery woman did indeed hire the intruder to kill you, and if she also arranged Caden’s adoption, then she might want to cover that up as well. That might be the reason she sent the hired gun here to the estate.”
Bailey uttered another, “Oh, God.”
Yeah. Oh, God summed it up.
She grabbed on to handfuls of his shirt. “You have to beef up security—”
“I already have. And my house manager is in the process of getting even more guards out here. Trust me, Caden will be safe.”
The breath swooshed out of her, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder. Even though he couldn’t see her face, he had no doubt that she was crying. Jackson could feel her knotted muscles, and he heard the sob she was trying to hold back in her throat. He hadn’t needed anything else to convince him that Bailey was on the up-and-up, that she truly was just trying to find her missing baby, but her reaction was definitely more proof that she was the victim here.
She lifted her head, met his gaze. “Why aren’t you throwing me out?”
Jackson was asking himself the same thing. He was good at coming up with the angles, and one angle was that he should keep her close, just in case that payoff would become necessary. But his usual heart of stone didn’t feel so stone-cold all of a sudden.
He wanted to help her. Even if that meant facing a truth he didn’t want to face.
Jackson cursed, and that caused her forehead to bunch up. No doubt she was wondering what he was cursing about. But this profanity was for her —for those needs she stirred deep inside him.
She stood there, her breath hitting against his mouth. Her incredible blue eyes wide with concern.
And with her body pressed against his.
Jackson especially noticed that body-to-body part.
He was responsible for it. After all, it had been his manhandling that had resulted in her being against the wall again.
There was a moment, just a split second, when his body started to think below the belt again. A moment where he wondered what it be like to kiss her.
How did she taste?
And were those lips as soft as they looked?
Jackson felt himself moving in closer. His body revved up, everything inside him preparing for something that damn sure shouldn’t happen.
He breathed in her scent, some kind of floral shampoo maybe. But beneath the bottled stuff was
Bailey shuddered. “I don’t know why it happened the way it did. But I can’t pretend that man didn’t come here looking for me. That means I brought the danger here with me. I’m sorry for that. I was so desperate to find out the truth about Caden that I failed to remember it might not be safe for me to come here.”
Jackson couldn’t argue with any of that. Except he, too, had been threatened by those mysterious letters. Now, the question was, were the threats connected? He couldn’t immediately see how, but then he didn’t like the timing of the latest letter and Bailey’s arrival at his estate.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. She turned quickly and headed for the door.
Jackson hurried after her. “Wait. Where are you going?” He caught up with her just outside his office and stepped in front of her.
“Far away from here. I’ll call you about the test results.” She swallowed hard. “I swear, I didn’t mean to put Caden or you in danger.”
“The danger was here before you arrived,” he conceded. Part of him wanted to step aside and let her leave, but he wasn’t stupid. This particular Pandora’s Box had already been opened, and whether Bailey left or not, he didn’t think the danger would go with her.
When she tried to dart around him, Jackson put her against the wall again. Hell. He’d been manhandling Bailey a lot lately, but he wasn’t going to let her leave until she saw the whole picture.
Even if it was a picture he wasn’t sure he wanted her to see.
“This is a theory,” he started, “with a lot of if’ s. But it’s a theory that kept me up most of the night. If this mystery woman did indeed hire the intruder to kill you, and if she also arranged Caden’s adoption, then she might want to cover that up as well. That might be the reason she sent the hired gun here to the estate.”
Bailey uttered another, “Oh, God.”
Yeah. Oh, God summed it up.
She grabbed on to handfuls of his shirt. “You have to beef up security—”
“I already have. And my house manager is in the process of getting even more guards out here. Trust me, Caden will be safe.”
The breath swooshed out of her, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder. Even though he couldn’t see her face, he had no doubt that she was crying. Jackson could feel her knotted muscles, and he heard the sob she was trying to hold back in her throat. He hadn’t needed anything else to convince him that Bailey was on the up-and-up, that she truly was just trying to find her missing baby, but her reaction was definitely more proof that she was the victim here.
She lifted her head, met his gaze. “Why aren’t you throwing me out?”
Jackson was asking himself the same thing. He was good at coming up with the angles, and one angle was that he should keep her close, just in case that payoff would become necessary. But his usual heart of stone didn’t feel so stone-cold all of a sudden.
He wanted to help her. Even if that meant facing a truth he didn’t want to face.
Jackson cursed, and that caused her forehead to bunch up. No doubt she was wondering what he was cursing about. But this profanity was for her —for those needs she stirred deep inside him.
She stood there, her breath hitting against his mouth. Her incredible blue eyes wide with concern.
And with her body pressed against his.
Jackson especially noticed that body-to-body part.
He was responsible for it. After all, it had been his manhandling that had resulted in her being against the wall again.
There was a moment, just a split second, when his body started to think below the belt again. A moment where he wondered what it be like to kiss her.
How did she taste?
And were those lips as soft as they looked?
Jackson felt himself moving in closer. His body revved up, everything inside him preparing for something that damn sure shouldn’t happen.
He breathed in her scent, some kind of floral shampoo maybe. But beneath the bottled stuff was
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