“Yes. I didn’t have any reason to suspect or doubt him—and I still don’t. Why in the world would a man like that want a baby?”
“Didn’t we just go through this? He could want Wyatt for the same reason those two men want him. He knows he’s Brett’s child and they want to use him as bait.”
She shoved her fingers beneath her sunglasses, covering her eyes. “I don’t know. I’m confused, but I can get some clarity if you know people.”
“Know people?” He cranked his head to the side. “What kind of people? What kind of clarity?”
She’d been cleaning her sunglasses on the corner of her shirt, and she waved them back at a sleeping Wyatt. “Well, we have his DNA...and I have Lanier’s DNA, too.”
Chapter Nine
Nash swallowed hard and said, “Not sure I want to know how that happened.”
“His straw.” She rolled her eyes. “I have a straw he used, and I put it in a plastic bag.”
“Does Lanier know that?”
“No.”
He glanced at her profile, her chin firm. “Why did you take his DNA? It must’ve been because you didn’t trust him. That’s it, isn’t it? You got a bad feeling from him.” He wiggled his fingers in the air. “It was that cop sense.”
“I can’t tell you why I did it.” She slumped in the seat and wedged one sandal against the glove compartment. “Stop calling me a cop. I’m not a cop. I’m a PI.”
“What happened to your career in law enforcement? Your father was a respected homicide detective at the same department.”
“I thought you did a dossier on Emily Lang and knew everything about me.” Her bottom lip quivered, and he had a strong desire to press his mouth against hers.
He snorted instead. “I know almost nothing about you. I’m assuming most of what you told me was lies. You slipped up by mentioning your father the homicide detective and by using your real first name. Seeing Emily Lang in Lanier’s financial records wouldn’t have even been a blip on my radar if I hadn’t just met another Emily.”
“And if that other Emily hadn’t snooped in your email. You figured that out, didn’t you?” She rubbed the tip of her nose.
“I did, but you had me fooled with your act.” He clamped his mouth shut, and his lips formed a thin line. She’d fooled him. Used him.
She ran her knuckles down the side of his arm. “It wasn’t all an act, Nash. I’ve really come to care for...Wyatt over these past few days. I’ll admit I saw him as a pawn, a piece in a job for a client, but now I’d do anything to protect him—and not just for a paycheck from Lanier.”
Puckering his lips, Nash blew out a breath. “What do you plan to do with Lanier’s DNA?”
“Ah, this is where your people come into play. Do you have access to Rapid DNA? I’d like to do my own test to find out if Lanier is, in fact, Wyatt’s father. If he’s not—” she placed a hand over her heart “—then he must want Wyatt for some nefarious purpose, and I’ll do anything in my power to stop that.”
“Rapid DNA.” Nash drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel. “We do use it. We used it in the case of one of the decapitated women last month.”
“Having that piece of information about Lanier and Wyatt could tell us a lot.” Emily tapped on the glass. “We’re getting closer. There’s a sign for Boothill.”
“Yeah, except Wyatt Earp is buried out in California.”
“Wyatt.” Emily turned in her seat and ran a finger over Wyatt’s chubby thigh. “Do you think Jaycee named her boy after Wyatt Earp?”
“Could be. Jaycee Lemoin moved to Paradiso right before high school, and she and my sister became fast friends. She was always wild and kept dragging my sister into mishaps.”
“Were you a little in love with her?” Emily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
Nash threw back his head and laughed. “God, no. Jaycee was an annoyance just like my sister, but my sister had her head on straight. Jaycee could lead my sister into almost any harebrained scheme, but my sister drew the line at drugs. She put her foot down for that, and she and Jaycee drifted apart because of it.”
“Good for your sister.” Emily flicked her finger at his phone, which buzzed twice. “Do you want me to look at your texts, or no?”
“That’s my personal phone. You can have a look. Unlike some people, I have nothing to hide.”
She plucked his phone from the cup holder and swiped. “Password protected.”
He held out his hand and she smacked it into his palm. He entered his passcode with his thumb and dropped it in her lap.
She tapped the screen. “Your friend parked my car near the border and drove back to Paradiso with his girlfriend.”
“Hopefully, those thugs think you took Wyatt over the border. Can you please text him a thanks back?” He flipped his turn signal. “We’ll find a place for tonight. There aren’t many hotels in town, but most visitors stay in Tucson or even Phoenix and drive down. I think we should be able to find a room.”
She turned in her seat and rested her chin on the headrest. She blew kisses in Wyatt’s direction and said, “Who could resist this little guy?”
A smile tugged at Nash’s lips. That was one thing he hadn’t mistaken about Emily. She did care for Wyatt. “Not all the guests are going to be happy when he breaks into a crying fit in the middle of the night.”
“He doesn’t do that.” She pinched Wyatt’s toes. “Do you?”
“Yeah, you’ve never been with him during the night. He does wake up sometimes, but he’ll usually go right back to sleep after a bottle.”
“Of course he does.” She righted herself in her seat and powered down the window. “Do you think the hotel will have a crib?”
“I hope so.” Nash scratched
