Loving Baby Read online

  “Even if I did know who this Hank was, you haven’t given me a reason to tell you,” the man countered. “What’s your business with him?”

  “My business is my own,” James replied. Suzy was impressed at the level tone, as if he were calmly telling a child no instead of refusing to answer a man twice his size.

  “Meeting with you was a favor given to an associate, but I’m telling you now you’re in my business. You can’t make demands and expect me to buckle to them.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. Suzy saw a new set of tattoos on the back of his arm. A snake with stripes coiled near his elbow. Although unique and adventurous, the rest of his tattoos were the standard macho variety. No gang-related symbols jumped out at her. The bar owner was tough, but if he was on the seedier side of the law, he didn’t broadcast it in body art like some of the men and women the sheriff’s department had handled in the past.

  “I’m not trying to be disrespectful,” James said. “It’s just a personal matter we’d like to keep quiet. So why don’t you name your price, instead. Payment for your information.”

  James didn’t make a show of taking out his checkbook, like they did in movies. It was the best move to make, in Suzy’s opinion. He was exuding nothing but confidence in his nonchalance. No fear or worry.

  The man, however, was unimpressed.

  “Money isn’t a motivation to me. I don’t know you or your lady. And I don’t think any mutual friend of ours is going to change that fact, especially if it has to do with one of the people who may or may not be a patron of my bar.”

  He rose in one quick movement. James didn’t flinch. Suzy’s fingers itched for her gun’s trigger. If the man was holding a weapon, it was well hidden. He took a few steps away from them and held his hand out to the door. “You can tell me right now who you are, who your friend is and what you want with Hank if you find him. Even with a pretty lady on your arm, I’m not a man who takes payoffs.”

  The urgency that Suzy had been feeling all morning finally came to a head. There was a child out there who was being targeted for whatever reason, and James and Suzy were on a short list of those who wanted to keep him safe. She felt the slithering shame of having already lied to those in law enforcement who would also try to keep the boy safe, and she’d simply had enough. James opened his mouth, but she stood and spoke first.

  “Gardner Todd wanted us to meet Hank,” she said. “And to be really honest with you, we’re pressed for time. So instead of acting big and bad, actually talking to us would be preferred. We need to know where Hank is. Now.”

  Suzy couldn’t read his reaction. He now looked mildly bored instead of annoyed. Still, his tone fell flat.

  “Gardner Todd is dead,” he said simply. “And has been for months. Whatever business you think you had with him died with him. It has no place here.”

  “Don’t you want to know who we are?” Suzy prodded.

  He shook his head. “No, I don’t. The favor was to meet you and I’ve done that. Now see yourself out. The beers are on me.”

  “Listen here, buddy,” Suzy started, finger going up to stop him from talking over her. But instead of hearing authority in her voice, all she could hear was her mother. “We need to—”

  “Did you ask anyone else to come meet us?”

  Suzy and the man turned to James. He was on his feet, staring past them. For a second she thought the question was for her. Then the man answered.

  “No. I’m assuming you didn’t, either?”

  Suzy heard a car door shut before she pivoted to look out of the front window. James swore loudly. The SUV didn’t have bullet holes in it, but it was identical to the vehicle that Suzy and James had been chased by the night before. Three men got out. They were dressed in jeans and T-shirts. If they had guns—which, if it was the same people, she assumed they did—they were most likely concealed in the backs of their waistbands.

  “No. They’re not with us. But if it’s the same people we ran into last night, then I’m betting they’re here for Hank, too,” she answered. “And I guarantee they won’t ask you to talk like we did.” She didn’t recognize any of the men, but then again, she hadn’t been able to make out any faces the night before. But she couldn’t be certain if the same was true for the men. She had been in plain view during the chase and the following shoot-out.

  “Just in case you don’t know them, I’ll tell you those aren’t good men,” James warned. His hand slid around hers. He started to pull her toward the back hallway. “It might be best that we leave while we can.”

  Suzy thought about standing their ground, testing their cover of boyfriend and girlfriend and seeing what happened next, but then the men stopped in their tracks and looked back at their car. Inside, the bar fell silent. James’s hand tightened slightly. It was warm and reassuring. The men looked like they were waiting for something. Suzy didn’t like it.

  Neither did her gut.

  “I’m calling in backup,” she said, making a decision. Waiting to see if something bad was going to happen wasn’t a strategy they should be using anymore. Not after what had already happened. She felt James stiffen, but he didn’t argue. She glanced up to see his focus was on the bar owner. His arms were still down at his sides. If he drew a weapon, she’d be faster.

  “You’re cops?” he asked, voice low.

  “I am,” Suzy retorted, dropping James’s hand and going for her gun. The bar’s front windows were heavily tinted. It was easy for them to see out, but those in the parking lot would have a harder time making heads or tails of the people inside. Still, she felt exposed. She didn’t like it.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James straighten his back even more. The men in the parking lot were still looking at their car. Suzy pulled her phone out with her free hand.

  “I’m not a cop,” he announced. “I’m James Callahan, Gardner Todd’s little brother.” Suzy couldn’t help but turn at that, surprised. James’s jaw was set. Hard. His focus was on the man in the middle of the room. “And I’m pretty sure you’re Hank.” He pointed out of the window. “Which means they’re here for my nephew, and I’m not going to let them get him. What about you?”

  Suzy had several questions—how had James known the man was Hank? Was he really Hank? How had the men in the SUV found them? But it didn’t matter. The bar owner only had one.

  “What was Gardner’s real name?”

  James didn’t miss a beat. “Trick question. Gardner was his real name. He was named after our grandfather on our mother’s side. All he did was drop the Callahan after he ran away.”

  Suzy held her breath, waiting for a reaction from the man at James’s answer. Finally she got one. Now she could read his expression with ease.

  Relief.

  “He told me he was going to talk to his brother about the kid, but he refused to give me a name. He was more uptight about privacy than I was.”

  “Where is he?” James pressed. “The boy.”

  The bang of another car door shutting prevented an answer. All three turned to watch as a fourth man stood next to the SUV.

  This time it was Hank who swore.

  “Who are they?” Suzy had to ask.

  The men came together and began their walk across the parking lot toward the front door. Whoever the fourth man was, he had changed the group’s demeanor. They weren’t there for a leisurely drink or two. They weren’t there to ask questions politely. They were there for answers.

  And blood.

  A sentiment Hank already seemed privy to.

  “Follow me,” he said quickly, swinging around and rushing to the back hallway. Suzy hesitated. James didn’t. He had her hand again, fingers gripping hers and the phone in her hand. She let herself be pulled along as she realized that Hank was projecting another heavy emotion.

  Worry.

  “I don’t know the first three
, but the last fella is Grayton McKenzie,” Hank called over his shoulder. Instead of leading them to the back door, he swung a right and headed through a fairly large but cluttered room.

  The kitchen.

  The bartender looked up from the sandwich he was eating. One look at Hank and he was as rigid as a soldier before a commanding officer.

  “Rudy, I need you to go to the house and check on Patricia. Bring your gun.” Suzy opened her mouth, but Hank was faster. “He’s got a permit for it and no criminal record. But I need you to go with him and go ahead and send deputies out there. An ambulance, too.”

  “What? Why?” James was just as lost as she was.

  “There are only two people who knew how to find me. Grayton landing on my doorstep means he either found me through Gardner or through my wife. If it was Patricia, then you’ll need to get to my place fast. My lady plays by the rules, but she’s a fighter, too. If Grayton and his boys went asking questions, she didn’t give them answers easy.” Rage and worry battled for position across his face. So did sincerity. He looked at James. “That’s where your nephew is.”

  James’s grip tightened around her hand. As if a current of electricity was running between them, she felt a charge of excitement. Excitement and caution.

  “You’re not coming with us?” she asked, trying to ignore the surge of adrenaline beginning to move through her.

  Hank shook his head. “Grayton isn’t the type of man to stop unless he’s gotten what he wants. I want to find out what that is.”

  “You’re outmanned,” Suzy pointed out. She nodded back behind them. On cue, the antique bell James had admired over the front door sounded. “If we stay, there’s a better chance of—”

  “You make sure my wife and that boy are okay,” he interrupted. “I’ll deal with Grayton.”

  The two men looked at each other. Finally, James nodded.

  “Hello?” a man called from the front room. “Can we get some service in here or what?”

  “Now go,” Hank said to Rudy.

  He was wide-eyed but accommodating. He went to a door on the opposite wall and opened it, revealing the back alley.

  “Hold your damn horses,” Hank called out, already moving back into the hallway. “I’m comin’!”

  “They could kill him,” Suzy whispered, but James didn’t pause. He pulled her along with him all the way until they were in Rudy’s truck. Even then, he didn’t let go of her hand until they were racing away from the bar.

  * * *

  HANK’S HOUSE WAS in the country, just like Gardner’s had been. However, it was less off the beaten path and seemed more lived-in at first glance—garden beds in the yard, patio furniture on the front porch and even a wreath on the door. James knew that judging people based on their appearances wasn’t always reliable, but he couldn’t help but be surprised that the man they’d left at the bar lived in such a quaint place. There was even a little gnome wearing a flowered dress next to the mailbox.

  Then again, according to Hank, he didn’t live alone.

  “Patricia is a really nice woman. I hope nothing bad went down here,” Rudy said, breaking his silence. He’d kept his mouth shut as Suzy had spent the ride in the back seat on the phone with the sheriff’s department. He hadn’t even muttered a word when she’d called local police to The Tavern, making sure the officers knew that Hank was friendly but also a person of interest. James wanted to ask if Rudy had known Gardner, but he knew it wasn’t the time. Suzy and the bartender weren’t the only ones with guns. He had his compact .45 caliber in the holster at the back of his pants and wasn’t afraid to draw if he needed to.

  “It doesn’t look like anyone is here,” James said.

  Rudy stopped his truck a few feet from the closed garage door. There were no other vehicles in the long driveway or on either side of the house. There was a house in the distance, but it was one heck of a walk. James squinted but couldn’t make out any vehicles that way, either. If any of Grayton’s pals were around, they were hiding well enough.

  “Rudy, have you ever been inside?” James asked after Suzy hung up with whoever was on the phone. Rudy put the truck in Park but didn’t cut the engine. “Do you know the layout of the house? Any good spots where someone might try to jump out and get us from?”

  The man sucked on his teeth, brow furrowed. “The living room is right when you walk in, and there’s a small hallway to the left with a bedroom and a bathroom. I’ve never been to their bedroom upstairs,” Rudy answered. “Only time I’ve ever been here was at a Christmas thing Patricia threw last year. I got plastered, and they let me sleep it off in the room downstairs. The kitchen’s in the back with a door that goes to a patio. I think there’s a shed behind the garage, but I was too wasted to really check it out at the party.”

  Suzy slid forward in her seat. Her service weapon was already out. She might not have been cleared for field duty yet, but James knew from the determination shining bright and clear in her eyes that not even the sheriff could have stopped her.

  “Is Patricia the type of woman to take us out with a shotgun if she thinks we’re a threat?” she asked.

  Rudy hesitated, then nodded. “She’ll protect herself, and if there’s a kid in there, she’ll protect him, too.”

  “Does she know you well enough that she’ll believe you when you tell her we’re friendly?”

  Rudy didn’t hesitate this time when he nodded.

  “Hank doesn’t have a lot of people he trusts, but I’m one of them.” His chest puffed out in pride.

  “Okay, leave the truck running but come with us. Keep your gun in its holster until I tell you to bring it out. Or we start taking fire,” Suzy ordered. She shared a look with James. It was worried. “The closest patrol to us is a few minutes out. An ambulance is just behind them. But if there’s a chance there’s a hurt woman and kid in there?”

  James understood. And agreed.

  “Right behind you, Chief Deputy.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Hey, Patricia, if you got a shot on us, don’t take it! Hank sent us to make sure you’re okay!”

  Rudy yelled the same line three times before they made it to the front door. So far, she hadn’t responded. No one had. It wasn’t until they were smack-dab in front of the door that the sense of something being terribly wrong crept in. It wasn’t locked, but it had been. The dead bolt hung in its intended spot, but the wood around it was splintered.

  The door had been kicked in.

  James turned to Suzy. She made a succession of hand motions that made him feel like he was back in boot camp again. She wanted him to go right while she went left when they went inside.

  No dice, he thought.

  “We stay together,” he mouthed.

  The urgency of the situation didn’t give Suzy room to argue.

  “Stay here,” she whispered to Rudy, instead. “Keep an eye out.”

  The bartender nodded, hand hovering over the spot where his gun must have been hidden in the back of his pants. He might have originally seemed as big and bad as his employer, but James could see how unsettled he was. Nervous and not ready. Which meant he probably didn’t find himself in this situation often.

  Suzy led the way into the house, gun sweeping the room seconds before James did the same. Together they pivoted, ducked and moved through the living room, hallway and two guest bedrooms like synchronized dancers. Their flow never wavered as they scanned each room in silence.

  James balanced being alert with being observant. Southern Living magazines were spread around almost every room alongside football paraphernalia and a few issues of Jeeps magazine. Fresh flowers were in worn vases in both bedrooms, while the bathroom was pristine. Both beds were made, the rooms they were in smelling as pretty as the flora around them. Yet, despite the bottom floor being pristine, there was one detail that made the unease in James’s stomach he
avier. However, he kept it behind closed lips as he led Suzy up the stairs to the one part of the house Rudy had never seen.

  The master bedroom was small but, like the house itself, quaint. It was furnished with white linens embroidered with flowers and leaves, and an oversize leather chair in the corner with a quilt across it. A large window let in enough sun to warm the space. Again, not what James had expected from Hank, not in the least. Not that anything he’d learned in the past two days had been less surprising.

  The master bathroom was pretty much the same as the bathroom downstairs, and both closets in the bedroom were filled with women’s and men’s clothing. One had a small box in the corner of it. Suzy popped open the lid to confirm it contained nothing having to do with a secret baby.

  Once they finished, Suzy lowered her gun.

  “Someone broke the front door to get in, but there are no signs of a fight.” She motioned around the room. “And unless we’re missing something pretty big, I don’t think any baby lives here, or any older kids, for that matter. Do you think Hank was playing us?”

  James shook his head. “I think Patricia was here. I noticed that there are no bags in this entire house.” Suzy’s eyebrow rose. He elaborated. “In the closet downstairs, under the beds, the cabinets...no duffel bags or luggage. Not even Walmart bags in the kitchen. Someone who is this neat with their house, and this organized, could easily handle fleeing with a kid without leaving any traces behind. I’m guessing it was Patricia. There are easily thirty issues of Southern Living magazine throughout this house, and every single one is neat and orderly.”

  “Suggesting Patricia wouldn’t get sloppy if she needed to stay discreet,” Suzy said. “Like if she needed to leave in a hurry with a baby no one is supposed to know about.”

  James nodded. He walked to the window and looked out into the distance. The driveway started at the end of a long, thin road that branched off an even longer county road. Both were in clear view.