Killer Daddy, page 10
“You’re splitting hairs.” Walking over to the stroller, he reached under and took her gun from the place where he’d hidden it. Pulling out his camera, he took a picture of it.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Sending it to a friend to run the serial number.”
Her lips quirked. “He won’t find it.”
“Is it stolen?”
“Not exactly. More like unlisted.”
He placed the gun on the coffee table and crossed his arms. “How does a nanny get her hands on an unregistered weapon?” Before she could reply, he barked, “Because you’re not a damned nanny. Who are you? Who do you work for?”
“I could ask the same of you.” There was no point in pretending anymore. Her secret unraveled the moment he came across her on the sidewalk taking on a guy almost twice her size.
“Don’t you turn this around. This isn’t about me. This is about the woman who lied her way into my home and planted a bug in my office.”
They found that rather quickly. She lifted a brow. “Since when do realty offices sweep for bugs?”
“Not going to deny you put it there?”
Edith shrugged. “What would be the point? I admit I bugged your office. I don’t suppose you’ll give the microphones back? They’re not cheap.”
“Are you seriously asking me to return your spy equipment?”
“You could just say no. I don’t know why you’re being so rude about it. If you were a regular realty office, you would have never known it was there. What is Bad Boy Inc., really? Are you a front for drugs? Money laundering? Must be something hardcore given your security. The panic doors were a nice touch.”
His gaze narrowed. “The only way you’d know about our security is if it was you who broke into our offices.”
She tossed her head. “You can’t prove it.”
“You just admitted it.”
“And?” She smiled. Teasing. Coy. Meant to drive him a little over the edge. “What are you going to do about it? Call the police? I think we’ve ascertained that neither of us is keen on that option. I didn’t steal anything. No harm done.”
“How about the fact you used me?”
“I did.” Said with a hint of smugness.
“Why? What did you want?”
“Nothing you need to know.” And, obviously, she’d miscalculated when she thought she could use him. Mr. Hood was more than he appeared. More than her research on him had shown.
“Is that why you were so insistent I hire you? To get close to me and steal company secrets?”
“I thought about sleeping with you for information, but the nanny gig worked out better.”
He moved quickly, and yet she could have stopped him from grabbing her arms and shaking her. “Stop acting as if this is a joke.”
“I wasn’t laughing.” Smirking, yes. Outright giggling, no.
He gripped her tighter, yanking her up on her tiptoes. “What are you hiding? Why are you spying on me?”
She could give him at least this. “It isn’t about you.”
“Then who?”
“Who do you think? One of your clients.” It didn’t take a genius to realize why she’d target a realty company. Perhaps he’d be willing to give her the info so she wouldn’t have to hurt him.
“Which one?”
“If I tell you who I’m interested in, will you share what you know about him?”
“Like fuck. I’m not giving you shit.”
“That’s not nice.”
“I stopped being nice when I found out you were two-faced.”
Her lips pursed. “Insults? That will cost you.”
“Like hell, it will.”
“Language.”
“Fuck your language rules. You’re not the one in charge here, lady.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “What makes you think you are?”
His grip tightened. A manly move that she totally expected.
She smiled as she slammed her foot down on his instep, brought up her knee, ramming it into his lower stomach. The rapid strikes loosened his grip enough that she twisted and broke free. A dive to the side meant she got her fingers on her gun. She aimed it at him. “Weren’t you ever taught to never ass-u-me anything, Mr. Hood?”
“Ha. Ha,” he said without mirth. “Very subtle. Ass out of you and me. Not exactly the most original taunt. I’m not too proud to admit you fooled me.”
“If it’s any consolation, I was also guilty of assuming things. You are more than you seem, as well, Mr. Hood. A realtor with an office that is strongly guarded? A man with guns all over his apartment.”
“You found them?”
“Last night after you left. Given what happened at your office, I grew curious.” So interested that after her cursory search, she dug deeper. Found false bottoms in cupboards. Knives inside a window frame that folded away. The grenades he kept in the toilet tank. “Home security is one thing, but you have an Uzi inside your box spring.”
Ignoring the gun she pointed at him, he flopped onto the couch, bracing his arm over the back of it. “What can I say? I like my toys.”
“The stuff you’ve got lying around here is more than toys. You own electronics that even the government doesn’t have. Military-grade weapons, some not available for sale because they’re supposed to still be in development.”
“I have connections.”
She took the club chair across from him, gun dangling from one hand as they conversed. The strangest conversation ever. “You are an arms collector who stayed cool as a cucumber when faced with a gunman. You knew how to defend yourself against kidnappers. For an upstanding man of the community, you have no problem lying to law enforcement.”
“I hate unnecessary paperwork.”
“Don’t play coy with me, Mr. Hood. You have secrets.”
“I do.” He wasn’t even ashamed at having been caught. “You don’t know the half of it, Edith.” The slow grin that stretched his lips did things to her lower half. Dirty things. With just a look. “And what’s with the ‘Mr. Hood’ thing? I thought we were on a first-name basis, Edith. You’re also one to talk. You’re not a nanny.”
“If I admit I’m not, will you admit you’re not a realtor?”
“Oh, but I am a realtor.”
She arched a brow.
“A realtor with a second job.”
“Which is?” she asked through gritted teeth as he dragged this out.
“What if I told you I’m a mercenary for hire, and that the realty gig is just a cover?”
She snickered. “I’d say you watch too much television.” And yet… She frowned. It would explain a few things. Except for one. Why hadn’t her handler—the one she’d sent reports to about her lack of progress on the mission—warned her? “Why would a mercenary bother with a day job?” She knew why she had one. Mothers couldn’t be full-time spies. Someone had to take care of the kids.
“Only an idiot doesn’t have a real job. You need one to maintain your cover. Something Uncle Sam can tax. Something you can tell your neighbors. A paper trail to make you legit.” He leaned back, the height of relaxation. Meanwhile, she felt her nerves stringing tight.
“So, you’re saying the realty thing is all a fake?”
“Yes, and no. I really do sell real estate. However, Bad Boy Inc. is a front for a shadow company. We’re actually a group of international problem solvers. Industrial espionage, information gathering on a rival, the maneuvering of government and law enforcement officials, bodyguards, acquisitions specialists. And, oh yes, assassins.” He said the last with a cold smile.
“Are you trying to tell me that everyone in your office is some kind of American version of James Bond?”
“Not quite. We’re not government-run or owned. We’re independent.”
“You’re delusional.”
“Why?”
“Because a real spy wouldn’t be spilling his secrets.”
He leaned forward. “Did you miss the part where I said I was an assassin? You assume you’ll leave this room in a position to actually tell anyone.”
“Are you really going to threaten the woman holding the gun?” She aimed it at him.
“You mean the one with no bullets?”
Her lips flattened. No use checking because the smirk said he told the truth.
“You won’t kill me,” she said.
“Says you. I, on the other hand, am mightily disturbed by the fact you weaseled your way into my home and used me to infiltrate my office.”
“So fire me.” She leaned back in the chair, displaying the same nonchalant confidence.
“I thought that was a foregone conclusion after what’s happened.”
“Is that so? Then I guess I’ll be packing my things.”
Except it wasn’t her bag she prepped, it was the baby’s.
“Those aren’t your things.” He prowled around the kitchen table strewn with baby gear.
She kept stuffing them into the diaper bag. “You’re right. They’re not. And yet I bought most of them.”
“With my money.”
“On the contrary, you clueless man.” She held up a stuffed giraffe, worn smooth in spots by gnawing slobber. “I bought this, and I’m leaving with it. And Harper. Because you were right about one thing. I did manipulate you into hiring me.” She dropped a grenade of her own. “To take care of my daughter.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sometimes it wasn’t a straw that broke the camel’s back, but the realization that your baby’s momma had super-duper lied that made a man go a little nuts.
Declan wasn’t one to manhandle women, or hurt them unless they were shooting at him first. But the fact that Edith, or whoever this stranger was, threatened to leave made something in Declan snap.
He lunged for the woman, and she fought him.
Fought him dirty, too. Her knee connected with the soft tissue between his legs—argh, she broke my balls—and punched the air out of him. Her fists pummeled at his body, leaving bruises. However, Declan hadn’t spent four years at the academy knitting tea cozies. He could take a hit. He could also subdue without leaving a mark.
The Vulcans had the neck pinch. A jab in the right spot could do the same thing.
Mid-yell, Edith’s eyes rolled back, and she flopped into his arms. He didn’t let her hit the floor, even as he wanted to shake her and ask her why. Why had she dropped the baby bomb on him out of the blue? Why all the subterfuge? Who was she looking to get information about?
But most important of all, was he the baby daddy, or was that a lie, too? Because the thing was, he didn’t think he’d ever slept with her. Surely, he’d remember.
Even if he weren’t Harper’s daddy, there was the mystery of what Edith wanted and who hired her. Until he could find out, he had to keep her somewhere he could watch her. Somewhere safe.
The kidnapping attempt outside his building did show one thing. His loft was obviously compromised. Which meant he needed a place to take Edith and Harper until he could get the answers he wanted. Where could he go with decent security, where people wouldn’t ask questions?
The answer proved easier than expected.
Ben brought over the keys within the hour.
As a realtor, Declan had access to many vacant properties, not all of them for sale. Some of them for rent fully furnished. The condo Declan chose in the downtown high-rise offered impeccable security, and best of all, no one but Ben would know where he was.
Ben, however, did ask questions. “Any reason why your nanny is handcuffed in the trunk?”
A passenger in his friend’s car, Declan grimaced. “Remember how I said on the phone that I found out some stuff about the break-in, but I needed you to keep quiet?”
“Yeah.”
“My nanny is the one who did it.”
Ben shot him a look. “No, she’s not. I saw that woman.”
“I know what we saw. And I’m telling you, it was my nanny. Except, she’s not really a nanny.”
“Then what is she?”
“Not sure. However, it turns out she’s Harper’s mother.”
“What?” Ben swerved as he took his eyes off the road to exclaim his shock.
“But she’s more than that. I think she’s an agent. When those thugs tried to take Harper, she pulled a gun. An unregistered one. And she can fight. Dude, you should have seen her taking on that beast. Then there’s the fact she bugged our office and broke in.”
“Looking for what?”
Declan shrugged. “Fuck if I know. But I aim to find out.”
“Going to torture the mother of your kid?”
Could he do that? “I’m hoping it won’t come to that. And, again, really doubting I’m the father.” Which caused him more of a pang than he’d expected. Shouldn’t he feel relief at being off the hook?
“Do you have a plan?”
Hell, no. But that didn’t stop Declan. Arriving at the condo, they borrowed a flatbed dolly and heaped luggage around Edith’s body before covering it with a layer of coats. To the casual observer, it would seem as if he were moving in.
While Ben maneuvered the cart into the elevator, Declan handled the car seat with a babbling baby in it.
Are you my daughter?
It bothered him to realize that he very much wanted her to be his. This sweet child with the slobbery grins and the warm hugs made him want to be a father. Not something he’d ever imagined. Something he’d feared.
Yet now, he was more scared of losing it. With the lab being cleaned up from the bomb, the original swabs destroyed, there was no way to get a quick answer.
The condo was on the fifth floor with no balcony. Each floor had a security camera. As did the elevator, the lobby, the parking garage—which Ben was handling to ensure no one watching the footage even saw them enter the building. A round-the-clock guard watched the front entrance. Another patrolled the area at the back.
The condominium complex catered to the rich who didn’t want to be disturbed, which suited him fine. He didn’t need any more surprises.
It didn’t take long for him to set the stage for his captive.
Ben shook his head when he saw the preparations. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
No, but he didn’t let his doubt show. “I got this part of it covered.”
“I’ll dig and see if I can find out more about your baby momma.”
“Run her fingerprints in every database you can find.” Not just the DMV and police databases. He wanted FBI, Interpol, everything.
“Didn’t you run it already?”
“Yes. But I must have missed something.”
“You sure you don’t want me to take the baby?” Ben asked.
No, because the baby was part of his plan.
A devious plan that she wouldn’t expect.
When she finally snapped out of her unconscious state, she looked around and barked, “What the fuck is going on?”
Being a smartass, he shook his finger at her and said, “Language!”
Chapter Fifteen
Regaining consciousness when the last thing she remembered was fighting Declan put Edith in a bad mood. Being chided for her potty mouth meant she glared at the man who dared rebuke her language. “Where’s Harper?”
He pointed at the floor behind him. Harper sat in a saucer type baby thing, hopping and bouncing as she tugged at the bright, plastic toys attached to it. “The baby store delivered it just as we were leaving my place. She seems to like it.”
“Where are we?” She looked around and noted the lavish space with its crown molding, floor-to-ceiling windows, and ornate furniture, including an expensive-looking, cream-colored leather couch—that she’d drooled on before waking.
“Somewhere a little more private than my place.”
Sitting up on the couch, she was surprised to find herself unfettered. Her gun sat on the table.
He noticed her glancing at it. “I reloaded it, and before you freak on me about leaving it lying around, I will point out that Harper is contained, and the safety is on.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because it’s yours. Go ahead. Grab it.”
“You’re giving me my gun?” She eyed him askance.
“Seems only fair since I’ve got mine.” He lifted his arm, showing the bulge from the harness he wore. “Wouldn’t want either of us to be caught unprepared again.”
Her hand whipped out and grabbed the weapon. She aimed it at him. “You knocked me out.”
“Hardly knocked. More like squeezed. Then perhaps administered a sedative to ensure a smooth transition.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“Relocated for our mutual safety.”
“Making it sound fancy doesn’t improve what you did.”
“Fine. I knocked you out and kidnapped you. Is that better?”
“I’m leaving.” She stood, keeping her aim steady despite the fuzziness in her head. She couldn’t afford to wobble.
“You could. But then you’d hardly get what you came for.” He swept a hand behind him, indicating the dining table, a laptop with its lid open on the surface.
“What is that?”
“Access to my client files. It is what you were after, correct? There they are.”
Disbelief colored her next words. “You’re just going to give them to me?”
“Not exactly give. More like let you browse.”
Suspicion narrowed her gaze. “Why would you let me do that?”
“Because you’re going to tell me who Harper’s daddy is.”
“You are.” She said the lie quickly, but he caught it.
Declan shook his head, but not before she noticed a hint of disappointment. “No, I’m not, and you just confirmed it. Who is her real daddy?”
“No one you know. He’s not a part of our lives.”
“Does he know about the child?”
Her lips flattened. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Nope. Let’s just say our relationship was a mistake. He’s not a nice man, and it’s best if Harper is kept far away from him.”
“Doesn’t seem right keeping a child from her father.”
