Wild Stallion. Delores Fossen

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СКАЧАТЬ the moment. He was wounded when he tried to run. That was the shot we heard.”

      But he was still alive. Bailey went to Jackson and caught onto his arm. “Have your men question him. Find out why he was here. You’ll learn that he didn’t come here because of me. He’s probably a would-be kidnapper after the baby.”

      “The sheriff just arrived,” Jackson said, not addressing anything she said. He stared at the grip she had on his arm, and didn’t continue until Bailey drew back her hand. “And here’s what I’m offering. You have two choices. You can leave now and look elsewhere for your missing baby. That includes you never attempting to contact me or my son again.”

      Her relief over the intruder’s capture was short-lived. Bailey shook her head. “But don’t you want to know the truth?”

      Jackson shrugged. “I already know the truth, and Caden is not yours. He’s mine. Leave now, and someone on my staff will drive you back to San Antonio.”

      She couldn’t leave. She might be just a room away from her baby.

      “And if I refuse to leave?” Bailey challenged.

      Another shrug. “Simple. The sheriff will arrest you for trespassing and take you to jail. Your choice, Miss Hodges. Which will it be?”

       Chapter Three

      Jackson rarely bluffed, but that’s exactly what he was doing now.

      Part of him, the paternal part, wanted this woman as far away from Caden as possible. He didn’t want to believe a word she was saying. He wanted to dismiss those photos she carried around like emotional baggage.

      But he couldn’t.

      He wasn’t the type of man to live in denial.

      “Okay,” Bailey said. She nodded, drew in a long breath. “Have me arrested, but I’ll pay the fine, or whatever, and keep coming back. I’m not going away. I will learn the truth.”

      So his bluff had failed. She hadn’t backed down on her story. Still, that didn’t mean she was Caden’s birth mother. It didn’t mean anything other than she was a woman who didn’t give up easily.

      Well, she’d met her match, because he didn’t give up at all. Ever.

      He checked the phone to see the progress going on outside. His men still had the intruder pinned down, and he could see the sheriff and his deputies approaching the ski-masked man.

      Jackson wanted to be out there. He wanted to be the one who got answers from this SOB who had dared to break in to the estate. But he had to stay put. He certainly didn’t want to leave Bailey in the house with Caden. The first thing she would do is go look for the baby. She wouldn’t find him, but he didn’t want his staff to have to deal with containing her.

      In the distance, he could hear the siren of an approaching ambulance. It wouldn’t be long before the sheriff came inside to give him an update. By then, Jackson had to decide what to do about the brunette in front of him.

      “If this is some kind of scam,” he said to her, “I’ll destroy you.” Best to put that out there right up front. He might have toned down his ruthlessness, but he’d resort to a few old habits if this woman was out for money.

      “It’s no scam. I just want to know if he’s my son.”

      Jackson moved closer to her again, because he knew it made her nervous. The last time he’d gotten in her face, her bottom lip had trembled. He didn’t get any satisfaction at the idea of frightening her, but it might be the fastest way to get to the so-called truth that she claimed she wanted.

      He slid his gaze over her. All over her. And he mentally pulled back a little when he felt that punch of attraction again. Hell. Hadn’t his past taught him anything? He couldn’t live his life thinking below the belt.

      “Caden doesn’t look like you,” he pointed out.

      She touched her hand to her short, spiky hair. Yep, she was trembling all right. “This isn’t my natural color. I dyed it after the attempts on my life. I have black hair, like yours.”

      Like Caden’s.

      But he kept that to himself.

      “What color are his eyes?” she asked. Despite the trembling, she no longer seemed afraid. She seemed—well—hopeful.

      “Blue.”

      Similar to Bailey’s.

      But many people had blue eyes, he reminded himself. Not that shade though. When he’d first seen her eyes, he’d thought they were memorable. And they were. Because they were a close match to Caden’s.

      “Blue,” she repeated, smiling. The smile quickly faded though. “You said he was safe? Are you sure?”

      “Positive.” To prove it to himself, he used his phone to scan through the security cameras, and he zoomed in on the panic room. Caden was there, still asleep. His nanny, Tracy Collier, was holding him.

      “May I see him?” Bailey’s voice had so much breath in it that it hardly had any sound. Also, there was that hopefulness in it again.

      But Jackson didn’t show her the images on his screen, and he wouldn’t. Not until he’d done some investigating, and even then it might not happen.

      He used the phone to call Evan again, and, as expected, his business manager answered on the first ring.

      “Is everyone okay?” Evan immediately asked.

      Jackson settled for saying, “They caught the intruder.”

      “Yes. I was watching the security feed, but I’m on my way out to the estate now. I figured you might need some help.”

      “I do, as a matter of fact.” His gaze met Bailey’s, and he didn’t think it was his imagination that she was holding her breath. “I need you to get the contact info for Caden’s birth mother.”

      Evan didn’t answer for several moments. “Are you sure?”

      “Positive.”

      A lot of money had gone into that private adoption. Well over a million dollars. The attorney had said it was to expedite the process and to pay the birth mother’s expenses, both medical and the cost of her return to college. Jackson hoped that was all the money had been used for, and that it wasn’t part of some illegal process.

      “Anything else?” Evan asked.

      Jackson looked at Bailey again. “Yes. Get me a detailed report of the hostage incident at the maternity hospital. I want everything the cops have, including info on employees they might have suspected in the disappearance of Bailey Hodges’s newborn.”

      Evan made a sound of disapproval. “That sounds like a messy can of worms you’re opening, Jackson.”

      Yes, it was, but this particular can was already open, and the proof was standing in front of him.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ