Protecting Her Secret Son

“Just keep believing you’ll see him again.”

She sniffled. “I want to. I want that so much, I’ll cooperate with the first demand not to formally involve police.”

“All right.” Although he couldn’t advise her one way or another, he could be grateful she was talking again and he’d be her sounding board.

“You can’t think cooperating is a mistake after encouraging me to pack up and leave my home?”

“Didn’t say that,” he replied.

“Didn’t you?”

Daniel glanced over, caught the flash of a fight coming into her brown eyes. “No.” He wouldn’t let her goad him into a futile argument. “You’re hurting, confused and worried for your son. It’s natural to second-guess every choice while waiting for a response or reaction from the people holding him.”

“You’re not second-guessing anything.”

He shot her another look. She had no idea what was going on in his head and he intended to make sure that didn’t change. He couldn’t imagine her having a positive reaction if he told her he’d been trying to ask her out. “Taking orders is part of my job.”

“In my experience, you give the orders,” she said.

“Huh?” He scowled. “Oh, sure. I hand out task lists at the construction sites.”

“More than that,” she said. “You manage timelines, supply and personnel, too.”

“Are you calling me bossy?”

Her lips twitched into something less sorrowful. “If the boot fits.”

He cleared his throat. “About orders. I meant I’m the one taking orders at the firehouse.”

“You’re a lieutenant.”

She must have heard that through chatter on the job. “Yes.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “A lieutenant is one link in a long chain of command.” Thankfully, they’d reached the house and he could change the subject gracefully. “The house is right here.”

He parked in the spot reserved for the house he intended to turn into a big profit once they were done using it as a hideout.

One of the calls he’d made from the Escape Club was to the staging service they used for open houses. He didn’t ask for the full treatment with all the mood and style bonus points, but he didn’t want them sleeping on the floor. Meals would still be a string of takeout menus and prepackaged options. That couldn’t be helped unless he stocked the kitchen with food and utensils. That kind of action felt too permanent. In his opinion, right now Shannon needed to believe this would all be over within a day or two.

“We can’t stay here.” Her gaze roved up and down the street as they walked to the door. “We just finished this house last week.”

It wasn’t as if he could take her to his place. He’d just moved into another renovation site and the place was a dusty construction zone. “The stagers will be here any minute so we’ll have furniture,” he said.

“That’s not the point. You need to get it on the market.”

He opened the door, nudged her inside. “It will go on the market soon enough.” A few days, or even a week, wouldn’t make a real dent in his bottom line. This was one property where the investment risk was all on his shoulders, though she didn’t need to know that. He didn’t mind putting off the listing for her sake. Her safety was more important to him than the profit.

He told himself he’d do the same for any employee and nearly laughed out loud. He considered the core of his crew friends, though Shannon was different. He wanted something more from her, and had for a long time.

Smothering his attraction for her was going to be tough enough in a neutral environment.

* * *

Shannon turned a slow circle, taking in the details. Ed had moved her to another job and she hadn’t seen this house completely finished until today. It was sleek and modern and some happy buyer would snap it up in a hurry.

“This is a bad idea.” Her voice bounced around the empty space. Real estate agents often claimed the hollow effect put off potential buyers, but to her ear it signaled a wealth of potential.

“How so?”

She shrugged, searching for the words to explain. Being in her house without Aiden, wondering if she’d ever see him playing with his trucks again had been miserable. Being away from the home she’d made didn’t bring her any relief. “What if he gets away and tried to come home?”

Daniel opened his mouth and snapped it shut, his vivid blue gaze sliding away from her.

She knew what he was trying not to say. “That’s a mother’s fantasy talking, I know it. He’s only four and they had hours to get him out of the city before we knew he’d been taken. We have no leads.” She shoved at her hair. “I know.”

“No leads yet,” Daniel said. “You have to believe you’ll see him again. That’s your primary task right now.”

She did believe. She did, but doubt was a dark, persistent undercurrent dogging her every thought. Doubt and dread. “I believe.” She curled and flexed her fingers, made herself say the words again. “It’s this helpless feeling I don’t know how to cope with.”

“Kidnappers prey on that, use it against loved ones to get their way. Your son is still in the city and you’ll get him back.”

“You don’t know that,” she said.

“You don’t know I’m wrong.”

“Fair enough.” She wandered through the kitchen, ran her fingers across the smooth quartz countertops. “We can’t stay here. If you’re paying to stage it, you need to list it.”

His dark eyebrows dipped low as he scowled at her. “Have you been talking to my father?”

“Not since last month,” she replied, moving around the island and down the hallway. “I didn’t agree when Ed installed the bead board. It works.”

“That was my call,” Daniel said. “No one liked it on paper. Now back up a second. Exactly when and why were you talking with my dad?”

She faced him. His bewilderment gave her a moment’s distraction from the pain squeezing her heart like a vise. “You do remember I work for him?”

Only for a bit longer, though. If Bradley was behind the kidnapping, she’d have to move on as soon as she got Aiden back. “He signs my paycheck,” she reminded him. “He comes around and checks in with each of us at least once during a project.”

“No, he leaves that to his managers,” Daniel insisted. “Especially on jobs like this one, jobs I choose.”

She tilted her head, startled by his outburst. “I really thought you two got along.”

“We do,” he said through clenched teeth. “We didn’t see eye to eye on the timing of the charity house, that’s all.”

He was genuinely upset. It seemed she was wrecking his day right and left. “I got the impression he wasn’t happy you fronted so much of the financial responsibility there. I’m sure he’ll be pleased with the positive publicity for Jennings.”

“Yeah, he will.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “And I didn’t realize he was snooping around the projects on my slate.”

“Not snooping, taking an interest.”

Daniel snorted in obvious disagreement.