Landon

Of course, there was still that lump on her head.

The doctor had examined it, too, right after checking the baby, but like the paramedic, the doc said it was an injury that Tessa had gotten several days ago. In the doctor’s opinion, it was the result of blunt-force trauma.

Landon figured the timing wasn’t a coincidence.

“I don’t think she’s faking this memory loss,” Landon added to Dade.

Tessa must have heard that, because her gaze slashed to his. Of course, her attention hadn’t stayed too far away from him since this whole ordeal started. And after seeing that message on the rock, he knew why.

“All of this is definitely connected to me,” Landon said to Dade. “The second message proves it.”

Or at least, that was what someone wanted him to believe—that both Emmett’s murder and this attack were because of something Landon had done.

“Did you find anything else in the old arrest records you’ve been going through?” Dade asked.

Landon had found plenty. Too much, in fact. It was hard to narrow down a pool of suspects when Landon could name several dozen criminals that he’d had run-ins with over the years. But there was one that kept turning up like a bad penny.

“Quincy Nagel,” Landon answered. The name wouldn’t surprise his cousin, because Landon had discussed Quincy with Grayson, Dade and the other deputies in Silver Creek.

Landon had put Quincy behind bars four years ago for breaking and entering. Quincy had sworn to get even, and he was out on probation now. That made him a prime suspect. Except for one thing.

Quincy was in a wheelchair.

The man had been paralyzed from the waist down in a prison fight. It would have taken some strength to overpower Emmett and to club Tessa on the head. Strength or a hired thug. But while Quincy had plenty of money from his trust fund to hire a thug, there was no money trail to indicate Quincy had done that.

“I’ll keep looking,” Landon said to Dade. Though the looking would have to wait for now, because the doctor stepped away from Tessa, and that was Landon’s cue to go in the room.

Landon knew the doctor. Doug Michelson. He’d been a fixture in Silver Creek for years, and while Landon had moved away when he was a kid, he still remembered the doc giving him checkups and tending to him on the various emergency room trips that he’d had to make.

“The baby’s fine,” Dr. Michelson said right off. “But I want to get a pediatrician in here to verify that. I’m guessing she’s less than a week old since she still has her umbilical cord.”

Since Landon didn’t have a clue what to say about that, he just nodded.

“Is she yours?” Dr. Michelson asked.

Landon didn’t know what to say about that, either, so he lifted his shoulder. “I’m hoping Tessa can tell me.”

The doctor scratched his head. “Probably not at the moment but maybe soon she can do that. I can use the baby’s blood test to run her DNA if you give me the go-ahead.”

“You’ve definitely got the go-ahead for that. And put a rush on it just in case Tessa’s memory doesn’t come back.”

“Will do. I did manage to get Tessa to let a nurse hold the baby so I could get an X-ray of her neck,” the doctor continued, but he stopped, obviously noticing the renewed surprise on Landon’s face.

“What’s wrong with Tessa’s neck?” Landon asked.

“She’s got a small lesion.” The doctor pointed to the area where his neck and shoulders met. “It’s too big for it to be an injection site for the drugs she was given. Besides, I found the needle mark for that. Or rather the needle marks. There are two of them on her arm. One is at least a couple of days old, and there was bruising involved.”

“Bruising that probably happened around the same time she was hit on the head?” Landon asked.

“Yes. The other is more recent. I’d say an injection given to her within the last couple of hours.”

So she’d been drugged twice. “Then what’s with the lesion?”

The doctor shrugged. “I might know once I’ve had a chance to look at the X-ray. For now, though, I need to get an OB in here to examine Tessa.”

Landon heard something in the doc’s voice. Concern maybe? “You think something’s wrong?”

“She doesn’t trust me, so I’m thinking she might not trust an OB to do an exam, either. But an exam is a must since we have to rule out problems other than just the head injury.” The doctor patted Landon’s arm. “Talk to her. Convince her we’re the good guys.”

He’d have an easier time convincing Tessa that the sun was green. Still, he’d try. Plus, the doctor didn’t give him much of a choice. He headed out, no doubt to round up the OB and pediatrician, leaving Landon alone with Tessa and the baby.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Tessa demanded.

Since that was what Landon wanted to ask her, they were at an impasse. One that he hoped they could work through fast. While he was hoping, he needed those drugs to wear off—now.

“Tell me,” she snapped when he didn’t jump to answer.

He didn’t jump because Landon wasn’t sure where to start. The beginning seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Stop me at any point if this is old news,” he began. “A year ago, you moved to Silver Creek to open a private investigations office. We met shortly afterward, had a few dates, and I ran into you again at the Outlaw Bar when I was in town visiting my cousins.”

He paused, waiting for her to process that. “Is that when you were naked in bed with me?” she asked, setting the baby bottle down beside her.

Of course she would remember that. But then, if the baby was his, she probably had it etched in her memory. Landon had it etched in his for a different reason. Because of the white-hot attraction that’d been between them.

But that wasn’t something he needed to remember now. Or ever.

“Yes. The following morning, you told me you couldn’t get involved with me,” Landon continued. “And then your scummy boyfriend showed up. Joel Mercer. Remember him?”

She repeated the name, shook her head. “If I had a boyfriend, why did I sleep with you?”

Landon had asked himself that many, many times. “You said he was an ex, but he sure didn’t act like it.” He stopped, huffed. “Look, are you sure you don’t remember simply because you’d rather not be talking about this with me?”

“I’m not faking or avoiding this conversation. Now, tell me about Joel. Why did you say he’s scummy?”

“Because he is. He’s a cattle broker—at least, that’s what he calls himself, but it’s really a front for assorted felonies, including gunrunning and money laundering. That’s why I was surprised when he showed up and said you two were together.”

Judging from her expression, Tessa was surprised, too. But it wasn’t the same kind of surprise that’d been on her face that morning seven months ago. Landon had seen the shock, and then she’d changed. Or something. She’d become all lovey-dovey with Joel and told Landon to leave.

But Landon hadn’t forgotten the look that’d gone through her eyes.

After he’d walked, or rather stormed, out, he’d gone back to Houston and hadn’t seen her since. And apparently neither had any of his cousins. Tessa had closed her PI office, and while she’d kept her house in Silver Creek, she rarely visited it.

That was maybe why no one had known she was pregnant.

Because if his cousins had known, they would have told Landon. Plenty of people, including a couple of his cousins, had seen him leave the Outlaw Bar with Tessa that night.

“What does Joel have to do with Emmett?” she asked.