Baby Trouble: The Spy's Secret Family

Laura turned around and looked up at him doubtfully. “If you do that, you’ll sacrifice a shot at a legitimate trial at some future date. You’d be giving away your chance to get justice for the crimes committed against you. Maybe you just launch a campaign to overturn the sale of Spiros Shipping and get it back.”

Nick shrugged. “If I get my son back, who cares about justice or shipping companies? Even if they skate on the kidnapping charges, you have to admit there’d be a certain justice in destroying the reputations of AbaCo’s senior leadership and wrecking the company.”

Laura winced. “How many people would you put out of work? Do you think you’re capable of destroying the business your great-grandfather built and your entire family poured its heart and soul into?”

Nick had to unclench his jaw to grind out, “How can you ask that of me? Do you really think I’m that shallow and materialistic? He’s my son. Nothing on earth is more important to me than him.”

Laura scowled back at him.

It was one thing to know they were both just lashing out in their stress and panic, but it was another thing entirely to stop the unreasoning fury bubbling up inside him, demanding that he yell at someone, anyone, in his agony. He knew Laura was feeling the exact same way. But it was still hard not to turn on her. They had to maintain a unified front. Work together. Adam’s life depended on it.

Blackledge broke the heavy tension between them. “May I remind you that a massive manhunt is in progress as we speak? Let’s not give up on the idea of finding and rescuing your son outright, shall we?”

Laura glanced over at Blackledge in chagrin. He was right. But it was so in her nature to have a plan B in case the main plan failed, and a plan C if plan B didn’t work out, that she couldn’t help coming up with contingencies for the crisis at hand.

The second video had put her mind a little more at ease. It was a good thing for a mother to know her child wasn’t scared or in pain. And thank goodness Lisbet was still alive and with him. She’d protect Adam with her own life, Laura had no doubt. But there was still the dilemma of how to proceed, given that they weren’t ultimately going to be able to meet the kidnapper’s demand in a court of law.

Nick’s thoughts must be running in the same vein, because he said soberly, “It would be a calculated risk to launch a media war against AbaCo. Maybe it would satisfy the kidnapper, maybe not. And if not, we’d have blown our shot at a trial that would satisfy the guy. What do you think about it, Laura?”

She looked up at him thoughtfully. “I think Agent Blackledge is right. Let’s allow the manhunt to play out while we see what our … friends … can come up with now that we’ve got a few more days to search for Adam.” She looked at him significantly. And in the meantime, they’d meet with Kloffman.

Nick nodded resolutely. “Done.”

She touched his hand lightly, silently thanking him.

He responded, “In the mean time, how do you feel about heading up to Washington for the night?”

She nodded and glanced over at the FBI agents within easy earshot. “You know me well. I’m starting to feel claustrophobic just sitting around here. I’d like to be close to Langley in case I have to twist some arms in person tomorrow. I’ll go pack a bag for Ellie.”

Nick nodded briskly. “I’ll call the hotel and have them arrange for a babysitter.”

Blackledge snorted. “Are you kidding? You’re bringing along an FBI agent to guard your baby.”

Laura glanced at Nick in chagrin. He said smoothly, “Excellent idea, Agent Blackledge. I’ll call the Imperial Hotel and get us all a suite.”

The FBI man nodded. “Morris, you’ve got kids, right?”

Agent Morris grinned. “Yes, sir. Five. I’m fully checked out on diapers.”

“Perfect,” Laura announced. “We’ll leave in an hour.”

Ms. I-can-handle-anything, I’m-totally-in-control vapor locked when it came time to choose a dress to wear to dinner. It was the darnedest thing. Laura stood in front of the hotel closet, staring at the dresses Marta had packed for her, mostly conservative business wear appropriate for a mother who was deeply concerned about her child’s safety. And for the life of her, she couldn’t choose one. It was as if her brain just shut down.

Nick stepped out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower, wearing dress slacks and no shirt, toweling his hair dry. He looked at her in concern from under his towel. “Everything okay?”

The man really was observant. “No,” she wailed. “I can’t decide what to wear.”

He moved swiftly to her and gathered her into his arms. Smart man. He knew something was seriously wrong if such a little decision was hanging her up. His body was warm and humid against hers and smelled of his expensive soap.

He murmured into her hair, “You’re doing great. I have no idea how you’re holding it together the way you are. Just a little while longer, and we’ll get him back. Courage, darling.”

“I think I’m all out of courage,” she whispered.

“Then borrow some of mine. Remember that Adam’s happy and safe and the kidnapper has promised not to hurt him. We’ll find a way to meet the kidnapper’s demands. And Werner Kloffman’s going to help us do that. He’ll give us his files, and we’ll be one step closer to getting our son back. But the first step is to pick out a dress and put it on.”

Wise advice. Just take this one moment at a time, one simple task at a time.

He turned with her still in his arms to face the closet. “I’ve always liked you in blue. How about this one?” He pointed at an elegant, navy-blue suit dress.

“It’s not very sexy,” she said in a small voice.

He laughed. “Sweetheart, you could wear a burlap sack and a paper bag over your head, and I’d still find you sexy.”

She sighed. “You do have a golden tongue. I don’t know if you mean a word you say, but you say all the right things.”

He kissed her forehead lightly. “I don’t say them to anyone but you, so I must mean them.”

She let him help her slip on the dress. He zipped it for her, and the perfectly tailored garment hugged her body with its slim lines. Nick left to finish dressing, and she pulled her hair back into a quick French twist. She added stockings and conservative high heels to the ensemble but stopped short of adding a pearl necklace to the outfit. She didn’t want to look like her grandmother, after all. She tugged the dress’s V-neck wider open and tightened her bra straps to increase the undergarment’s lift. There. Definitely non-granny cleavage.

She smiled at Ellie who was playing in the middle of the big bed. “Sweetie, you do wonders for Mommy’s assets.”

The baby burbled back. Verbal early, Ellie was. Must be a girl-baby thing. She scooped up the infant and inhaled deeply of her fresh baby scent. “Mommy’s going to go torture Daddy with this naughty dress for a few hours. It’s going to be loads of fun. Be good for the nice FBI agent, okay?” She blew a raspberry against her daughter’s tummy and laughed when Ellie squirmed and gave her a sweet, gum-filled smile.

Agent Morris poked his head through the open door. “Mr. Cass is ready whenever you are.”

She nodded at the man. “Ellie just ate. She should be good for at least four hours. There’s a bottle in the fridge just in case, and she should go down around 10:00 p.m. Order whatever you want from room service and watch whatever you want on TV.” She added dryly, “And no boys in the house, please.”

The agent grinned. “You forgot to ask me if I have a current CPR license and a babysitting certificate from an accredited after-school program.”

Laura laughed. “I’m not paying you that much.”

Morris looked around the plush suite. “Hey, this is the best babysitting gig I’ve ever landed. You and Mr. Cass have a nice evening. Ellie and me, we’ll get along just fine.” He patted the bulge on his right hip and added grimly, “Mr. Glock and I will see to it that nothing happens to your little princess on my watch.”

Laura nodded, abruptly serious. “Thank you.”

She stepped out into the living room and Nick made an appreciative sound. “You’re stunning, Super Mommy.”

She made a face. “I’m not feeling very super at the moment. I feel like I’m hanging on by my fingernails.”

“Well, you’re doing it with style. You look fabulous.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’ve been over this before. I’m the thirty-year-old mother of two.”

“That’s correct. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more.”

Her heart melted a little. It would be so easy to ignore his trespasses from the past. To fall into his beautiful blue gaze and forget everything else. Exactly the way she had for the past year.

Like it or not, she had to face up to the fact that their current predicament wasn’t entirely Nick’s fault. She’d been as guilty as he of ignoring the past and pretending that nothing bad could be lurking in that giant memory gap of his.