Protecting Her Secret Son

“Told me not to make a report or—or else.”

Daniel’s nostrils flared and Shannon had the feeling he was suppressing a string of choice words and opinions unfit for the ears of little boys.

“Did they say anything to you guys?” Daniel asked the twins.

“They were bossy,” the first twin replied.

“And mean,” his brother added. “They smelled like spaghetti.”

“Seriously?” Daniel cocked his head.

The boys nodded in unison.

Rachel shrugged. “Maybe. Whatever he sprayed in my face made me groggy and choked me. I woke up on the landing, the boys crying over me and trying to wake me up.”

“You always wake up when we cry,” one twin declared.

“We can take you to a hospital,” Daniel offered. “Get you checked out.”

“I’m fine,” Rachel said.

“The cough may be more related to the spray,” he said. “You shouldn’t take the chance.”

“Not now, not today,” she insisted. “What are you going to do?” she asked Shannon.

What could she do? “I’m not sure,” Shannon confessed, staring at her phone. “I won’t report it,” she promised Rachel.

“You have to,” Daniel countered. “The kidnappers are gone, coming back isn’t smart.”

She shook her head as Rachel gasped in fear. “I believe the threats. I won’t put this family at risk.” She pulled Rachel into another hug. “I don’t know why this happened, but I don’t want you in the middle of it.”

“The men this morning put me in the middle of it. You’re one of my best friends. You and Aiden are family. Whatever you need, we’ll help.”

Moved beyond words, Shannon could only hug her again.

Daniel pulled out his phone. “I’m calling one of the guys to take care of this door and the gate.” He turned the phone to Rachel. “Is there someone else to stay with you when he’s done?”

“My husband’s traveling on business. He won’t be home until next week.”

Shannon caught the flare of concern in Daniel’s dark blue eyes. “I’d feel better if you could go somewhere else for a few days at least. You shouldn’t be here alone,” she said.

When Rachel agreed, Shannon helped her and the boys pack while Daniel and one of the Jennings carpenters she didn’t normally work with repaired the damage. She kept expecting another message from the kidnappers, some proof of life or a demand she could work with, but nothing came through.

She leaned against her car door, trying to smile as she waved to Rachel’s boys as the family left their house to visit her mother a few hours away in New Jersey. “At least they’re out of harm’s way. What now?” she murmured, at a complete loss.

“You need to call the cops,” Daniel said flatly.

“I can’t. You heard Rachel.”

“They took your son,” he said, incredulous.

“I know!” She bit her lip against another outburst.

“What aren’t you saying?”

“He called,” she said. “When I got here. When I walked into the backyard, he called and said...” She couldn’t get the words out. “He said he’d send Aiden back to me in pieces if I involved the police.”

“Oh, Shannon.” He rubbed her shoulder.

The immense sympathy in those two words overwhelmed her. She didn’t know if she should lean into him or run away. “Thank you for helping her and fixing everything.”

“I followed you to help you,” he said, a lick of impatience in his voice. “You need to report this.”

“If I do and they hurt my baby, it will be my fault. I can’t live with that.”

“What’s really going on?”

“I don’t know much more than you do.” She didn’t realize she was crying again, or that Daniel had her wrapped in his arms, until the fabric under her cheek was damp.

“Will you trust me?” he asked when she quieted.

It seems she already did. She eased back from his solid warmth and tried to regain some distance and some dignity, a lost cause at this point. “I won’t speak with the police. Not yet, not after those threats.”

“How do you feel about former police?”

She shook her head. “Daniel—”

“Your place is nearby, right?” He looked toward the corner, squinting at the street signs.

“Around the corner,” she answered, caught off guard by the shift in topic. She supposed he knew her address from her personnel file.

“We’ll drop off your car and then you’re coming with me.”

“You need to get back to the job site.” She should go back as well, there wasn’t anything she could do other than wait for the kidnappers to make a demand she could work with.

“Ed’s got it under control.”

She groaned, thinking of her immediate supervisor and the project manager on the house they were finishing up. A little older, Ed Scanlon was patient and easygoing most of the time. Over the past few years, she’d come to think of him as the older brother she’d never had. “I need to call him, let him know I won’t be back.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “What am I going to tell him?” He doted on Aiden. If she told him the truth, he’d be relentless about pressuring her to call the cops. Daniel posed plenty of opposition without Ed chiming in.

“I handled it,” Daniel said. “I outrank him, remember?”

Ed was a friend as well and she didn’t want to hurt him. “Handled it how?” She gaped at her boss. “You didn’t tell him the truth.”

“No, I didn’t. And the guy who helped me with the repairs got a story about an attempted home invasion. Come on now.”

“I’m not talking to the police.”

“Trust me, I got that part loud and clear.” He reached around her and opened her car door. “First, your place. Lead the way.”