Edge of Danger (San Antonio Security #2)

Chapter Two

How did anybody survive a baby?

Three days. It had been three days since Brax had slept more than a few minutes at a time. Three days since he’d gone more than an hour without hearing a baby cry.

No. Not cry. Wail . The kid wailed until Brax’s ears rang.

He kept expecting Robert to come back. That was the wildest part of all, waiting on somebody who’d been unreliable all his life to come back. To keep his word as the supply of diapers in the bag got lower and lower.

Diapers Brax had only figured out how to change by watching videos. Sad but true.

His brothers would’ve laughed themselves sick if they’d known. He could’ve told them, but it was smarter to stay quiet. Odds were whatever Robert was involved in wasn’t exactly on the up and up. He was a father now, and there was no telling what would happen to Walker if Robert went to prison.

But three days was the breaking point. There was nothing Brax could say to explain why he hadn’t been to the office the past few days. None of his brothers would accept another excuse. They would come out to the house soon, and then he’d have a lot more explaining to do.

It was better to come clean and get the whole thing over with.

Which was what led him to strap the car seat into the back seat—again with the help of online videos—and drive to the office.

“What is that ?” Chance’s jaw nearly hit the floor when Brax entered, seat in hand, diaper bag slung over his shoulder.

Brax held a finger to his lips, but it was no use. The ride had calmed Walker, but the respite was too brief. Maci hurried over from behind her desk, hands over her mouth, when the baby started up again.

Weston darted out from his office at the sound of Walker’s wails. “Where’d that come from?” He pointed to the baby, who Maci had taken from the carrier and held against her shoulder.

“Meet Robert’s son, Walker.” Brax sank into one of the chairs they kept out in the reception area and rested his head against the wall. “He likes to cry.”

“Robert? Your bio brother, Robert?” Weston looked like he was having a hard time keeping up. “Where is he?”

“I’m not sure.”

Chance followed Maci with his eyes as she walked up and down the length of the reception space with the baby, sort of bouncing him gently and patting his bottom with one hand. “So Robert showed up and left his baby with you?”

“Pretty much, though I barely remember. I don’t think I’ve slept two hours over the past three days.”

“I can take him to your office and try to get him calm,” Maci offered. Brax thanked her and meant it with all his heart. At least the closed door muffled the sound.

Weston’s confusion was clear in his dark eyes. “Did he tell you why he was doing it?”

“How long does he expect you to take care of the kid?” Chance asked, always logical and tactical. “Did he give you what you needed? Are you running low on supplies? Don’t babies need a lot of supplies?”

Brax held up both hands in a silent plea. “One thing at a time. Robert said he needed to get money from a friend who owed it to him. That was all he’d tell me, and it’s been three days without a word. He spent the night, but all that was left in the morning was Walker and a note saying Robert would be back before the diapers ran out. He gave me formula and clothes too.”

“What about the mother?” Weston asked.

Brax ran a hand over his eyes. “Dead.”

Weston and Chance both muttered a curse. None of them wanted to think of a baby growing up without a mother, although they all were testament that a woman giving birth to you didn’t necessarily mean she would be your mother beyond the word biological .

“Okay. Let’s run it down, see if we can find out anything about Robert.” Chance was already on the way to his computer by the time he’d finished speaking. Brax forced himself out of the chair and followed along with Weston. Walker was still crying, though somewhat softer than before.

“How did you figure out how to take care of him for the past couple days?” Weston asked while Chance ran Robert’s name through their system.

“Internet. Thank goodness.” Brax tried to muster a smile.

“You know you could’ve come to us for help.”

“What do you two know about babies?”

Weston shrugged. “Nothing, but you didn’t have to do this on your own.”

“Here we go.” Chance leaned in closer to his screen, eyes moving back and forth. “Big surprise. The last time he used his credit card was in Eagle Pass.”

“Gambling,” Weston muttered.

“Most of the activity on these cards the past few months has come from either there or Vegas,” Chance confirmed. “He seems to be bouncing back and forth.”

“Damn it.” Brax rubbed his temples against an approaching headache. “I figured this was all about him owing somebody money, not the other way around. I doubt there’s a friend involved. He has to run around trying to scratch together what he can now.”

“Yeah, and getting out of town means avoiding whoever it is he owes.” Weston shook his head. “Typical.”

“Here’s something interesting.” Chance pointed to a couple of lines, which Brax read over his shoulder.

“We’re not the only ones looking for him.” Somebody else had put out feelers on Robert’s card activity over the past few days. There was no way of knowing who without the digging getting much more complicated. The confirmation that someone else was after Robert was enough for the time being.

“What are you going to do about Walker?” Weston scratched his chin. “I think you should take him to Mom and Dad. You know how thrilled Mom would be to hold a baby, no matter whose it was.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. Not at all. Still... “I’d rather have him with me when Robert comes back. The fewer opportunities for Robert to slip away, the better.”

Weston’s scowl and Chance’s sudden silence spoke to their disagreement. They were smart enough to stay quiet, at least. As tired as he was, he might’ve said something he’d end up regretting.

The crying grew louder when Maci left Brax’s office. He turned in time to find her going through the diaper bag with one hand while holding Walker in the other arm. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I was looking for a pacifier. His diaper’s dry. When’s the last time he was fed?”

“Right before I left the house with him. Burped him too,” he added in case she was wondering. “I had to change my shirt thanks to his spit up.”

“Daddy didn’t pack any burping cloths?” Maci sighed, shaking her head. “Unprepared.”

Brax wasn’t about to ask what she was talking about, not with the kid wailing like he was. They nearly shouted just to be heard over the noise.

Maci handed Walker over and practically stuck her head in the bag to look through. “What’s this?” She nudged aside a few more diapers and undershirts, pulling a tag attached to the bag’s lining.

There was a phone number written on it. “That’s not Robert’s number.”

Maci looked at him. “Whose do you think it could be?”

“I don’t know but I’m going to give it a try.” He handed Walker back to Maci and pulled out his phone, dialing the number while she took Walker back to his office and closed the door.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice. She sounded troubled, concerned. Then again, he was calling from a random number. And how was he supposed to explain this?

“Uh, hi. This is going to sound strange. My name is Brax Patterson. Do you know a baby named Walker?”

She went quiet long enough to make Brax nervous. “Why are you calling me?” she finally asked.

He heard the suspicion in her voice and was about to try to ease it when Walker let loose with an ear-splitting scream. Even through the closed door, it rang out loud and clear.

“What’s wrong with him?” She sounded as frantic as Brax felt.

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m calling. I found your number in his diaper bag and figured it was worth a shot. I’m his uncle. His father is my half brother. He left him with me for a few days, but I can’t get him to stop crying.”

“Have you tried swaddling him?”

“What’s that?”

She let out a sigh. “I’ll take that as a no. Swaddling is when you wrap the baby in a blanket. Do you have a blanket around?”

“Yeah, there’s one in the bag.”

“Okay. Here’s how you do it. Think of it as a baby burrito.” She walked him through the steps, making sure Brax knew to leave room for Walker’s legs to move around. “He likes to be snug like that.”

It worked. The second Walker was wrapped up tight, he calmed down.

“You’re a miracle worker.” Brax sighed into the phone, not caring that he probably sounded half out of his mind. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“He’s always liked being swaddled. It calms him right away. It’s a shame his father didn’t know that.”

Even if he had, Robert hadn’t stuck around long enough to explain it. “How do you know what Walker likes? What’s your name?”

She was quiet again, which raised his suspicions. Why was she so hesitant? “I took care of him for a little while. My name’s Tessa.”

She was a babysitter or nanny or something. That made sense.

“Thank you. You’ve pretty much saved my sanity. Not to mention Walker’s lungs.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

As a last-second thought, he asked, “Have you heard from Robert?”

Another pause. “No, not any time recently. Is he in trouble or something?”

Brax decided to keep the specifics to himself. No telling who this Tessa was or who she knew. While his brother’s protection didn’t mean much to Brax, protecting Walker’s father meant a great deal.

“No. Just waiting to hear from him. Would you do me a favor and take down my number in case he does contact you?”

Tessa read off the number as it appeared on her phone, and he confirmed it. “Can I have your address, just in case?” she asked. He didn’t see any problem with that and, still feeling grateful for her help, recited the office address.

Finally, there was somebody from Walker’s life on his side.

“Thank you, Tessa. You don’t know how you’ve helped.”

“I’ve heard him holler. I know how I’ve helped. Please, just take care of him.” She sounded almost desperate.

“I will. I promise.” She disconnected the call before he could say anything else.

“You can leave him in the car seat for now,” he told Maci. “I’ll keep him next to my desk. Maybe I’ll be able to get some work done now that he’s quiet.”

Wishful thinking. While Walker didn’t interrupt him, fatigue did. It took no more than fifteen minutes before Brax started nodding off. Maci was kind enough to bring him a cup of coffee, which helped some. But not for long.

He woke with a start at the sound of the doorbell out front. His gaze immediately darted over to the baby, but he’d finally fallen asleep and didn’t seem ready to stir.

“Brax Patterson.”

Brax shot out of his chair like he’d been fired from a gun. Had Robert finally come back? For the first time in his life, had he stood by his word?

No. It was a courier holding a thick manila envelope. “I’ll need you to sign for these documents, Mr. Patterson.”

Brax exchanged a confused look with Maci before accepting the courier’s tablet and scribbling his name with the stylus. That earned him the envelope and its contents.

“Were you expecting something?” Maci asked.

“No.” He opened it and withdrew a sheaf of legal documents. He spread the documents on Maci’s desk, eager to find out what this was all about.

This had to be a mistake. He blinked hard, but that didn’t change anything. “Robert has given me custody of the baby. I’m Walker’s legal guardian.”