“With Wyatt in the car?” She stalked around the back of the car and dropped into the passenger seat.
Nash had her gun in his hand and was unloading it. He poured the bullets from his palm into the cup holder. Stroking one finger along the barrel, he said, “Nice piece.”
“Thank you.” She cranked her head around and wiggled her fingers at Wyatt. “Do you even know why Jaycee dropped off Wyatt with you? Did you even ask?”
“I didn’t talk to her.”
“What?” Her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat. “Did she just hand off the baby and you took him with no words exchanged?”
“Jaycee left Wyatt on my porch when I wasn’t home.”
“Oh, that’s rich.” Emily slapped the dashboard. “She abandoned her baby on your front porch?”
“She knew I was in town. She knew when I was coming home from work, and she timed it perfectly.”
“Oh, that makes all the difference in the world. Do you see why his father might be concerned?”
“Do you know why she left Wyatt with me?”
“I do. Two men...thugs, paid Jaycee a visit in Phoenix. They were looking for her boyfriend, Brett Fillmore. Do you know him?”
“The name sounds vaguely familiar, but there are a lot of men in Jaycee’s orbit.”
Was Nash one of them?
Wyatt started fussing in the back seat, and Emily reached over and turned on the engine. “He needs the air-conditioning.”
“He needs his toy.” Nash reached onto the floor behind him and plucked up a multicolored stuffed caterpillar. He waved it in Wyatt’s face and allowed the baby to grab it from his hand.
“Why were these guys looking for Brett, and what makes you think they were criminals?”
Cocking her head, Emily pursed her lips. “You know I was a cop. Give me a little credit here.”
“Okay, why Brett?”
“Brett is involved in drugs—taking and selling. He must’ve crossed these guys or something and then disappeared. They were sniffing around Jaycee to see if they could get a bead on Brett, and they saw the baby.”
A muscle twitched in Nash’s jaw. “What did Jaycee tell them about Wyatt?”
“That he belonged to her roommate. Your friend might be a flake, but she’s street savvy. She knew why they were asking about the baby.”
“But if the baby’s father is...your client and not Brett, why didn’t Jaycee just tell these guys? Get them off the baby’s case.”
“Probably for the same reason I didn’t tell them. If she admits Wyatt is hers, they take him and maybe her, too, to force Brett’s hand. Also, Jaycee was a side piece. My client has not admitted his paternity yet, and he’s a married man.”
“Sounds like a prince.” Nash ran a hand across his mouth. “Wait, for the same reason you didn’t tell them? You’ve met these guys? These drug dealers?”
“I’ve met one of them. He’s here in Paradiso...and last night he threatened me.”
Chapter Eight
Nash’s blood thrummed in his ears. This situation just kept getting worse and worse.
“Threatened you? Where?”
“When I got to my motel last night.” Emily rubbed her midsection. “Shoved a gun in my ribs, punched me in the kidney, and told me if I didn’t turn over Wyatt today at about one o’clock, he’d kill me, you and Denali.”
Nash ground his back teeth together. “He knows where I live? He knows who you are?”
“This is what I figured.” Emily held up her hand and ticked off her fingers with each theory. “They followed Jaycee here to Paradiso and your house, just like I did. They were watching the house but didn’t want to make a move because they found out you were Border Patrol, and they saw me coming in and out with Wyatt. They put a GPS tracker on my car and followed me to my motel, where the one guy accosted me.”
“You’re telling me there’s a GPS tracker on this car right now?” Nash glanced at the side mirror and the time on the dashboard. They’d be expecting her and Wyatt in just over an hour, unless they saw that she was on the move.
“I took it off and dropped it in your driveway. As far as they know, I’m sitting at your place getting ready to turn over Wyatt.”
Nash studied Emily’s face, a slight crease between her eyebrows but calm. No wonder she came across as Mary Poppins. The woman had things under control—or thought she did.
“So, you see why I took Wyatt? I was trying to protect him.” She folded her hands in her lap and twisted her fingers. “I—I left you a note on the counter explaining things. I wouldn’t have just taken off without giving you some kind of...goodbye.”
Nash squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re not protecting Wyatt, Emily.”
“Of course I am. Even though my client isn’t expecting me to bring Wyatt to him, once I do, he can keep his son safe.” She flicked her fingers in the air. “I’m sure he’ll work out some sort of custody arrangement with Jaycee. He’s not going to cut her out of Wyatt’s life completely.”
“Why isn’t your client aware of the situation? Why doesn’t he know that you’re bringing his son to him?” Nash twisted his head to the side and pinned her with a stare.
“He hasn’t responded to my texts yet. He’s a busy guy, and I’m sure he trusts me to make the right decisions.”
She at least had the self-awareness to blush. The reasoning that had been going through her head for the past few days must’ve sounded even more absurd when she said it out loud in the small confines of the car.
“So, a man who’s paying you big money, tens of thousands of dollars, to follow his son and keep him safe is not monitoring or answering texts from you?” He snorted, a restrained sort of sound compared to the screaming in his head. He’d been so impressed with her detective skills up to this point.
“You don’t know this guy...” Her voice wavered. “How do you
