Finding Her Son(38)

Her hands trembling, she touched him, and he surged in her hand before covering her with his body. He stared into her eyes as his hips flexed. She accepted him, and her body thrummed with joy as he filled her.

She let out a long sigh, and he smiled. He lowered his head to her throat and kissed her neck. Her scar.

She tensed under him as his mouth explored the ridge of skin at her throat that had so changed her life.

He raised his head. “You’re beautiful.”

“Don’t kiss me there.”

“You survived the attack.” He moved his hips, and her world clouded over. “That makes you even more beautiful. I’ll keep saying it until you believe it.”

He drove into her again and again. The past melted away, and all she could feel was Mitch and his body as he worshipped her. He drove her higher and higher. His breathing grew ragged until finally she shuddered in completion.

When awareness returned, he was draped over her.

“Amazing,” he whispered and kissed her throat once more.

Her hand reached to cover her scar, but he held it back. “Don’t hide from me. You don’t need to.”

Tears burned behind her eyes at the intense satisfaction in his. She hadn’t thought she’d ever feel this way again. Good. At peace. If only for a moment.

Her phone ringing stopped Mitch’s caress from her throat toward her breasts.

“I don’t want to move,” she said.

“I’ll get it.” Mitch kissed the curve of her breast and rose, hurrying to find the phone tucked in her jacket pocket. “Blocked number,” he said. “Sales call?”

Emily took the phone and pressed the screen. “Hello?”

“Mrs....Mrs. Wentworth?” The whispering voice was urgent…and scared.

Emily’s hand gripped the phone tight while Mitch’s hand squeezed her shoulder. “Who is this?”

“It doesn’t matter. But I wanted you to know. Your son is alive.”





Chapter Nine


Emily’s face went milk-white. She dropped the phone, and fear slammed through Mitch. He picked up the instrument and wrapped his free arm around her waist. “Who is this? What do you want?”

Emily grabbed the phone from him, her fingers digging into his skin. “Please. Tell me where he is. I’ll do anything.”

The desperation in her voice twisted his heart. Only one person on earth would evoke that kind of response in Emily: Joshua.

Mitch pressed his cheek against hers so he could hear the call.

“Who was that? Who’s with you?” The woman’s voice trembled to a barely audible whisper.

“A…a friend,” Emily said, her voice shaking.

A shuddering breath escaped through the phone; then the slamming of a door sounded. “They’re back. I’ll call later. You get your son if I get enough money to escape them.”

“I’ll pay you anything!”

The phone went quiet, and Emily stared at it.

“She’s gone.” Emily tilted her head and met Mitch’s gaze. “She said Joshua is alive. He’s alive.”

Mitch wrapped her close as she shivered uncontrollably against him. “Emily—”

“I know what you’re thinking.” She clutched at him even harder. “That it’s probably a hoax. But no one’s ever called before. With everything happening to us, I have to take the call seriously. We’ve got to find out who she is.”

He kissed her forehead. “Do you still have the tracer the cops put on your phone?”

Emily moaned, sagged back into the bed and covered her eyes. “They stopped it after six months.”

Mitch gently removed her arm from her eyes. He took her hands in his. “We can find the number.”

“I don’t want the cops to know,” she said. “I don’t trust any of them.”

Mitch couldn’t stop the tension from entering his jaw. “Except me. And I have an alternative.”

He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and dialed his dad’s number.

“Mitch? You okay?” Paul Bradford’s voice was deep with worry.

“Until Noah gets a look at his SUV,” Mitch said drily. “Dad, I need your help. A blocked number traced. No cops. Can you do it?”

“Of course, but it’ll take a bit of time if I don’t go through the usual channels.”

“It’s more important to stay under the radar,” Mitch said then rattled off Emily’s cell number. “When can I have it?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Try to make it sooner. We may have a lead on Emily’s son. If not, I want to nail the person who called.”

The color drained from Emily’s face, and Mitch ended the call before hugging her to him. “I’m sorry, but she could be playing you.”

Emily shook her head. “I don’t think so. She asked for money, but she really sounded afraid. I believe her.”

Mitch leaned back against the pillows and folded her in his arms, tucking her under his chin. “We’ll assume she’s trying to get out of a bad situation. For now. I’ll let Dad do whatever electronic voodoo he’s been perfecting. Until then, we wait.”

As he cradled her in his arms, Emily rested her head against his chest. He listened to her breathing and lay still, amazed this woman had wrapped herself around his heart. He wanted to tell her the truth, longed to wash the lies from between them. But she was proud and strong. Those things he loved about her made him afraid for her.