Finding Her Son(42)

“Of course I am. I’ll be there. Thank you. Thank you.”

Emily secured the appointment, gave the woman a false name and ended the call. She leaned back in the seat, clutching the phone.

“What have you done?”

Mitch’s deep voice nearly shot Emily out of her seat. The phone flew out of her hand. Standing just inside the open door of the truck, Mitch snagged the cell out of mid-air right before he tucked his badge and gun under his coat.

“You scared me.” She glared.

“And you terrify me.” He pressed a couple of buttons on the phone. “Who were you talking with?”

He crossed his arms and stood there, silent, waiting.

“I thought Tanner fired you,” she said in a lame effort to change the subject.

He shook his head at the obvious attempt but answered anyway. “He threatened to. I quit. He walked away in disgust with a lecture about protocol, then returned my badge and gun. We’ll see.”

Many might not be able to tell if Mitch was happy or not. His face was expressionless as stone, but Emily knew better. His voice was clipped and short as he toyed with the electronics in his hand, but the tension in his neck and arms told her he was furious.

“I’m glad,” she said gamely. “I know your job means a lot to you.”

“Give it a rest, Emily. Who did you call?”

She toyed with her too-long jeans. “You looked like you were in trouble. I thought maybe if I could find Joshua on my own, you wouldn’t have to be involved…”

Mitch’s gaze snapped to the open bottle and papers on her lap. He plucked them and scanned them. “You used one of the numbers?”

His jaw went tight, and his eyes flared with fury with a dangerous look that made her shiver. She’d seen it focused on others. She didn’t like being on the receiving end.

He slipped into the truck and closed the door before twisting to her. “The adoption number?”

She nodded, avoiding his glance.

“What did you tell them?”

The softness in his voice made her shiver. There was not a whisper of the desire she’d experienced last night and this morning. He was a man trying to hang on to control.

“I just called to see whose number it was.”

“I can hear the but in your voice. You didn’t hang up, did you?”

She shook her head.

He let out a violent curse that made her wince. “Tell me every word that was said, and don’t leave anything out.”

As Emily relayed the conversation, Mitch released a tired sigh and rested his head on the back of the seat. The more she spoke, the more and more she realized she’d been a fool. She was so used to doing everything on her own, working around the cops, that she hadn’t considered anything but her own needs.

“Didn’t it occur to you that I have contacts? You called from your phone. What if they track the number?”

“Perry made me block it, so my name doesn’t show up.”

“Thank God for small favors. That may give us some time, but if they forwarded your call to an 800 number, call blocking doesn’t work. If they have contacts at the police or phone company, it’s only a matter of time before they have your name.”

So much she didn’t know. She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose to try to ward off the headache threatening to pound behind her eyes while he drummed his fingers on the dash.

“Okay, first we cancel your phone.”

“We can’t. The woman could call again.”

“Damn.” Mitch rubbed his temple. “Okay. I’ll make a couple of calls.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you hurt because of me.”

Mitch twisted in the seat and tucked her hair behind her ear. “You have to trust me, Emily. Let me help you. That’s why I’m here.”

She nodded. “I do trust you.”

Her clear expression made his heart ache. For now, he just had to keep her safe. He would deal with the consequences—and there would be huge repercussions—later.

“How much trouble did I get us in?” she asked.

“I don’t know. We’ll deal with the fallout when we have to. For now, we take Perry’s papers back to Noah’s house and go through them. Then we plan our next move. Together. No more on your own. You got me?”

“Together.”

Mitch yanked the car into gear and pulled into the street.

“Mitch,” Emily said, her voice quiet. “I wanted you to know that it won’t happen—”

“Hold that thought.”

Mitch’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. She recognized the intensity on his face. He checked both mirrors, reached the next light and, after it turned red, made a quick right. He let out another curse.

“You buckled up?” he asked.

Emily snapped her seat belt. “What’s wrong?”

“We have a tail.”





Chapter Ten


Mitch stepped on the accelerator and maneuvered through several sharp turns as Emily twisted and looked at the nondescript vehicle behind them. The SUV jostled her, and she gripped the door handle.

Mitch let out a long breath. “False alarm. This time.”

Her gorgeous baby blues met his, concern filling them. He didn’t like making her worry over nothing. He’d overreacted, but without the security of his department or teammates behind him, he couldn’t afford to make any assumptions. No one had his back. Except Emily.