The Cradle Conspiracy. Christy Barritt

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      Devin had the urge to reach over and offer his neighbor some kind of comfort. But he didn’t. It...didn’t seem appropriate and, though this wasn’t an official assignment, he wanted to keep things on the up-and-up. Still, his heart hurt for the woman and her distress.

      A stranger had turned her life upside down.

      Silence fell between them, and the sweet sound of Colby snoozing filled the car.

      Devin glanced in the mirror again. The lights were still there behind him on the road. No one else followed, just the one lone car. Most people weren’t out on the road at 3:00 a.m.

      He needed to figure out if he was being followed once and for all.

      As he came up on a street, he veered to the left.

      “What...?” Sienna muttered, her eyes widening.

      Devin kept his grip tight on the steering wheel. Keeping a cool head means keeping everyone alive. That’s what one of his instructors at Quantico had always said. That was what Devin needed to adhere to now as well.

      “Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m taking a little detour.”

      Sienna craned her neck behind her as the truth seemed to click in her mind. “Are we being followed?”

      “I didn’t say that.”

      Her gaze was sharp as she turned to him. “You didn’t deny it, either.”

      “I’m just being cautious.” And the woman was no dummy. That was good, because they’d need to keep their wits about them to get through this situation.

      The way Sienna squeezed the armrest didn’t go unnoticed, nor did the way she rubbed her forehead with her other hand. “I just don’t understand.”

      “I don’t think any of us do.” He kept his eyes on the narrow road as the asphalt edged closer to the mountain’s edge.

      “Is this about me? Colby? Anita?”

      “Until we have more information, we won’t know.” Another glance in the rearview mirror showed that the car had turned also. They were definitely being followed.

      The driver didn’t appear to be aggressive. That was the good news. The bad news was that he—or she—wasn’t backing off, either. Devin tried to get a better look at the vehicle, to see if it was the same one he’d seen earlier—the one the intruder had jumped into. It was too dark to tell, but that was his suspicion.

      “What are we going to do?” Sienna asked, glancing over her shoulder again.

      “We’re going to have to lose them.”

      She sucked in a quick breath. “But...these are back roads. Mountainous. There aren’t a lot of places to go.”

      So she was familiar was this area. And she was correct. These were winding, narrow streets where one wrong move could mean crashing into a mountain or going off a cliff.

      Neither of those things were options. Devin was going to have to do his best in the situation. The one thing he wouldn’t be doing was leading the guy straight to his cabin.

      * * *

      Sienna couldn’t shake the bad feeling—and rightfully so. Her instincts screamed that danger was on their tail. But it was like she’d just asked Devin: Why? It just didn’t make sense. How could the simple task of watching a coworker’s son have turned into this nightmare? This fight for survival?

      And now someone was following them. How far was this person going to take it?

      Sienna glanced in the back seat at little Colby. He was such a cute kid with his spiky, fine blond hair and cherublike features. He had incredibly long eyelashes that made his blue eyes look even bigger than they already were. His favorite word was more, and he could entertain himself for hours just playing with pots and pans.

      He snoozed in his car seat, unaware of anything going on around him. What Sienna wouldn’t give to have that kind of peace and serenity in the midst of a storm like this.

      Her life hadn’t worked out according to plan.

      She wasn’t supposed to be here in Colorado. She wasn’t supposed to be single without children.

      But she was. And on most days, she made the best of it.

      But right now, all Sienna felt was resentment. And fear. A lot of fear.

      “Hold on.” Devin turned the wheel sharply again.

      Sienna held her breath as they pulled onto another mountain road—this one smaller, tighter, possibly more winding. As the SUV turned, she reached for the armrest, grabbing Devin’s hand instead. She quickly pulled away as she felt a jolt of electricity rush through her.

      Electricity? No, that couldn’t be right. When—and if—she decided to fall for another man, it would not be someone like Devin. She needed someone warm and friendly.

      Then again, her ex, Jackson, had been Mr. Personality, and look where that had gotten her. Humiliated at the altar.

      She glanced over at Devin quickly, noting his strong jaw and determined gaze. There was no question the man was attractive and fit. Sienna’s friend Viviana used to joke, asking Sienna to call her next time Devin was outside cutting his grass in the heat. The man had light brown hair that was pushed back from his face and a barely-there beard. He towered at least a foot taller than her own five foot three inches.

      She closed her eyes, hoping Devin knew what he was doing. Why had she entrusted her life and Colby’s to him? What had she been thinking? That hotel room was looking better and better all the time. Yet Devin seemed so confident and protective. Maybe in a subconscious way she’d been drawn to that.

      Being alone out here in Colorado—being single—it wasn’t easy. Most of the time she prided herself on being independent. But deep inside, it would be nice to have someone watching out for her. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought it would be Devin.

      Sienna had only said yes because she knew Devin was FBI. She’d seen him talking with the officers on the scene. He’d seemed respected and professional. He’d also been surprisingly kind.

      She gripped the armrest as she glanced out the window and saw the steep cliff beside her. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to breathe until they reached the end of this. Until the car was no longer behind them.

      This whole thing was a bad idea. She should have gotten that hotel room and begged the police to station a guard outside it.

      Why hadn’t she thought of that an hour ago?

      Instead, she was in the middle of the wild, rugged mountains with a man who was virtually a stranger. If this car hit them, they’d have no help. There would be nowhere to go.

      This was all a bad, bad idea.

      “It’s going to be okay,” Devin said.

      Sienna wished she felt as certain as he sounded. Because nothing felt okay right now.

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