Daddy Devastating

Russell turned, angling his body, so he could slip his arm around her waist. The corner of his mouth hitched into a cocky smile that only he and a rock star could have managed to pull off, and those dark brown eyes that’d been so intense just a second earlier, softened.

It was an act.

“Yeah, that’s my kid,” Russell said to Milo, but the fake smile was directed at her. “Julia and I have got some things to work out, but the old feelings are still there,” he added, all slow and sexy.

Then he leaned in. Too close. Julia was certain she stiffened and looked stunned. Because she did. But that didn’t stop Russell. He caught onto the back of her neck and hauled her to him.

He kissed her!

She didn’t fight him, though she considered it, but decided to wait and see where this was going. However, she got her pepper spray ready just in case.

He moved his mouth over hers as if this were something they did every day. He was good at the facade. Very good. And for just a split second Julia’s body reacted to the man who was doling out that one, hot kiss.

And, sadly, he was hot, too.

In that split second, she understood the attraction that had no doubt drawn Lissa to him. She hated it, especially since she was feeling it herself. But she understood it. Russell Gentry, with his butt-hugging jeans, cowboy boots and too-long hair, was the kind of man who reminded a woman that she was indeed a woman.

A reminder she never wanted to feel again.

She slapped her hand on his chest, pushed him away and glared at him. But Russell only chuckled.

“Julia’s upset that I missed the birth of our little one.” Russell stared at her when he spoke. His tone was all light, but the facade didn’t make it to his eyes. He was giving her a warning to stay quiet. “But she understands how important my work is. She knows I need to make a living. That’s why she’ll head out while we talk business.”

Milo made a grunting sound that could have meant anything, and he didn’t say a word for several moments. Julia felt every one of those moments in her held breath and racing heart.

“I have a better idea,” Milo finally responded, and there was sarcasm in both his tone and body language. “You spend the evening with your girlfriend and baby, and I’ll call you about another meeting.”

“This meeting is important,” Russell snapped. He was staring at Milo now, so she couldn’t see his face, but Julia didn’t need to see his expression to know Russell wasn’t pleased. Whatever this meeting was supposed to be about, it was obvious he didn’t want it postponed.

But she did.

Julia wanted out of there so she could get some answers and then call the police. It was entirely possible that Emily’s father would be arrested before the night was over.

“The meeting can wait,” Milo insisted. He motioned toward the ski-masked guy, who then darted out of sight. Milo turned to leave, as well, but Russell caught onto his arm with this left hand. The gun was still ready in his right.

Russell shook his head. “It can’t wait. I have people already onboard for this deal, and they aren’t into waiting. They want this to go down in the next twenty-four hours, or else they’ll pull out. All that money will be gone, including your sizeable cut.”

Milo looked down at the grip Russell had on his arm, and he didn’t say anything until Russell released it. “I’ll be in touch.” And with that calmly spoken exit line, Milo turned and strolled away.

Russell cursed, stared at her, and then cursed some more. “Lady, you have no idea what you’ve just done.”

Though he was furious and she didn’t know if he would act on that fury or not, Julia still hiked up her chin and met him eye-to-eye. “Oh, I have an idea. I stopped something illegal from happening.”

The stare turned to a glare, and he grabbed her arm. “Come on. Did you leave your silver Jag in the bar parking lot?”

Julia blinked but didn’t ask how he knew about her vehicle. He’d obviously noticed her earlier, when she was following him. Strange, he hadn’t given any indication that he’d known.

“Why do you ask about my car?” she demanded.

“Because we’re going to get in it, that’s why, and then we can have a serious chat about how you just screwed up everything I’ve worked so damn hard to put together.”

She didn’t even have to think about that proposal. “No, we’re not doing that. And I don’t care a rat’s you-know-what about screwing up any of your plans. I’m also not getting in a car with you, but we are going to get some things straight right here, right now.”

But where should she start? There were so many questions. So many concerns and fears. Julia started with the most recent one.

“You told that man, Milo, who I was. Why? Why not just give him a fake name the way you did? Now he knows who I am, and I would have preferred someone like that to not have any personal info about me.”

Russell continued to volley cautious glances at both ends of the alley, but he also huffed to let her know he wasn’t pleased about her not budging. “Milo saw your driver’s license in your purse.”

Of course. It was right there. Russ had looked at it himself, just minutes earlier. That took a little of the fight out of her.

“Unnecessary lies cause unnecessary suspicion,” he added. “Trust me, you don’t want to make a man like Milo more suspicious.”

He glanced at the sidewalk again and eased his gun into the waistband of his jeans. “And you don’t want to hang around in this alley. I’ll walk you to your car, and then I’ll watch you drive out of town. We can have the rest of this conversation over the phone.”

Russell Gentry expected her to leave. And what she wanted was nothing more than to get away from this man and whatever was happening—but not before she had the answers she’d come for.

“Did Lissa know you were a criminal when she slept with you?” she asked angrily.

This was supposed to be a quick trip to turn over custody of Emily, but Julia had no idea what to do now. This might end up in a custody battle, though she seriously doubted that Russell had a burning desire to raise a newborn.

He used the grip he had on her to get her moving, much as he’d done in the bar. “I told you I don’t remember your cousin, so I have no idea what she knew or didn’t know about me. Other than Lissa’s word on her deathbed, what proof do you have the baby is mine?”

“DNA proof,” she snapped.

That stopped him, and even though they were now on the sidewalk where Milo and his henchman would see them if they returned, Russell stared at her. “Impossible.”

She was too scared and angry to be smug. “No. The P.I. who followed you around San Saba took a coffee cup you used, and the lab compared it to Emily’s. There’s a ninety-nine-point-nine percent chance that you’re Emily’s biological father. And I stress the biological part, because anyone, including the likes of you, can father a child.”

He blew out a slow breath, and even though he didn’t dispute her claim, he didn’t jump to announce that he was indeed the birth father. There wasn’t just doubt in his eyes, there was total disbelief.

“Look, I don’t know if you’re trying to scam me, or what,” he said, his voice low and somewhat threatening. “And at this point, I really don’t care, other than to warn you that scamming me isn’t a good idea.”

“Why would I lie about something like this?” she asked, not waiting for an answer. “No one with any common sense would want you to be an innocent newborn’s father. If I had any doubts whatsoever about that, I don’t have them now. I know what you are, and I don’t want you anywhere near Emily or me.”

He stayed in deep thought for several moments. His forehead bunched up. His mouth slightly tightened. “Is the baby here in San Saba?”

Baby Emily was with a temporary nanny in Julia’s hotel room, but she had no intention of revealing that to Russell. It’d been a mistake to bring Emily. But Julia hadn’t known she would be walking into a vipers’ nest.

“She is here,” he insisted. And he cursed, the words even more vicious than before. “The baby is here in San Saba.” He kicked at a piece of broken beer bottle on the sidewalk, and he got her moving again in the direction of the bar—and the parking lot that was on the other side.

“It doesn’t matter where Emily is, you’re not going to see her,” Julia informed him. “You’re a criminal, and I’ll fight you with every breath in my body to stop you from getting anywhere near her.”

Of course, she hadn’t actually counted on becoming a permanent guardian to the child, but at the moment Julia didn’t think there was another option. Not for her, and definitely not for Emily. She could return to her San Antonio estate with Emily and lock them both away from Russell and his cohorts. With her money and connections, she could be sure to keep him away.

She hoped.

He didn’t say a word. Not when they passed the bar. Not when he hauled her into the parking lot and toward her car, which she’d parked directly beneath the lone security light. While they walked across the cracked concrete of the parking lot, he used the remote button on her keys to open the car door. He maneuvered her inside behind the wheel and shoved the key into the ignition.