Edge of Danger (San Antonio Security #2)

Chapter Five

Tessa finally had her son back in her arms.

It was all she could do to not break down sobbing, but with all the Patterson men watching, she knew that wasn’t an option. They would ask too many questions.

Questions she didn’t have answers for.

Tessa nuzzled Walker’s downy, fuzzy cheek, breathing in his baby scent. Soaking it in. Drowning in it.

He’d grown so much bigger than she had imagined he’d be by now—and she had imagined it so many times. All day, every day. Every time she’d seen a baby in the street, in the diner or at the dry cleaner’s, or in any of the houses she’d cleaned. No matter where she’d been working at the time, the sight or the sound or the evidence of a baby’s existence had left her arms aching and her eyes stinging with tears.

He was so beautiful. He had her eyes, dark and deep. She had no doubt they held the secrets of the universe. All the wisdom in the world.

He’d shed the fine, wispy hair he’d been born with. What grew in now was her shade of brown, touched with a tiny bit of red that brought her mother to mind.

She kissed his forehead and closed her eyes and thanked God. She had her son in her arms again.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered, her mouth close to his ear. “I love you so much. Did you know that? I do. I do. Mama loves you.”

This was an unimaginable gift. Worth the bus ride from Eagle Pass. Worth sleeping at the bus station. All so she could be with her baby for the first time in three months.

The longest three months of her life.

Two of the Pattersons were talking not far from the conference room. She looked up from Walker, frowning as she considered them. What was their story? What was this Brax person all about?

He’d called Robert his brother, but then he’d called the other Pattersons his brothers too. Did that mean Robert was related to all of them? Not only had Robert never talked about brothers, but the Pattersons were all of different races. Who was biologically related to whom?

Which one of them could potentially take her son away if they proved to a judge that Walker was related to them?

Who could she trust?

If Brax and Robert did share blood, there were more differences than similarities. Not only physically, though those differences had jumped out at Tessa the second she’d laid eyes on Walker’s uncle. Brax had a commanding presence, tall and broad-shouldered, built like he took his body seriously and worked hard to stay muscular. He had a penetrating gaze that she guessed could inspire fear or confidence, depending on what he intended.

It seemed as if he didn’t know she was Walker’s mother. He thought somebody had sent her there—she’d overheard him saying something to one of the other men about an agency. That was fine for now, since she had no idea whether Robert had mentioned her.

Or what he might’ve said if he had.

No, there was no question about what he’d say. He would’ve told Brax what he’d told the judge. That she was a drug addict, an unfit mother.

And once again, he’d leave out the part where he’d drugged her and paid other people to call her unfit.

She held Walker a little tighter. There had been so many times when she’d feared she’d never have this opportunity again.

Why would that vindictive pig go to all that trouble to get custody if he was just going to run off and leave the baby with Brax?

Walker fussed like he felt the direction her thoughts had taken. How her blood started boiling the second she thought about that awful time. The powerlessness. The helplessness. It made her sick.

What had been Robert’s plan when he’d destroyed her life and taken away the one good, pure thing that had ever been hers? His cruelty made no sense.

Walker whimpered. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she whispered. Just looking down at him was enough to make her forget everything that had ever hurt her. Everything that had ever made her angry.

Now, she had to find a way to keep him. She wouldn’t let go of him again. She couldn’t.

Maci stopped in not long after Tessa had settled Walker down. The woman gave Tessa a good feeling, like she had an ally in this new world.

“How is he?” Maci whispered with a smile.

“Fine. Calm now.” Tessa stopped short of thanking Maci for taking care of him. That would be a dead giveaway. Ally or not, Tessa had no way of knowing how much she could get away with.

“Good. He’s a sweetheart. Just unhappy, I think. But he’s happier now that you’re here.”

“I’m glad that’s true.” Tessa nodded past Maci. “What’s the story here? Who are these men? It seems like they care a lot about a strange baby.”

Maci smiled fondly as she took a seat across the table. “Brax’s brother Robert gave him legal custody of Walker.”

Tessa swallowed her fury. Why would Robert take Walker from her, then leave him with his brother?

“They’re good men,” Maci continued. “Private investigators. I think all of them were born with stronger protective instincts than most people. The work comes naturally to them.”

That would partly explain why they took Walker’s well-being to heart. But were they trustworthy?

“They’re brothers?” she asked.

“Adopted, yes. All of them.” Maci leaned in, whispering more softly now. “They were all foster kids, lost in the system until the Pattersons took them in.”

That explained things, while somehow boosting Tessa’s opinion of them. Was that why they wanted to take care of her baby? So he wouldn’t get lost too?

Maci muttered a mild curse as she hustled to her desk to answer the phone, but Tessa was glad to be alone again so she could think.

They did security and private investigations. That meant the odds of her getting away with Walker were slim to none. They’d track her down without breaking a sweat, especially since she had no money and no friends in San Antonio.

Or anywhere.

“Hey.”

Her head snapped toward the sound. Brax. Her cheeks flushed, though there was no way he knew what she’d been thinking. Guilt prickled under her skin, which made no sense. Walker was her son. Why should she feel guilty about wanting to keep him?

“Hi.” She forced a smile. “I don’t want to put him down. He might wake up.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I understand. My arms are still sore from carrying him.” He stretched them, bending at the elbows.

I seriously doubt arms that size could tire so easily.

What a weird thought to have.

“Where’d you go just then?”

The question stirred her from the strange, oddly aroused thoughts Brax’s body stirred in her subconscious. “Hmm? Nowhere. I’m just...”

He came into the room and sat across from her. His body language was easy, friendly. One of the skills she’d learned waiting tables was how to read a customer’s body language. Whether a guy was feeling particularly handsy that day, whether it would be better to put a little extra space between her body and his if she wanted to avoid having her rear end pinched.

Or worse.

Brax wasn’t suspicious of her, which struck her as both touching and painfully naive. He didn’t know who she was. He’d assumed. And every second she held her son, she was taking advantage of that assumption.

“Are you okay?” he asked, lowering his brows over his brilliant, penetrating eyes that seemed to look right through her. Was that a tingle running down her spine? Or a flash of guilt?

She shifted Walker to her shoulder. “Sure.”

“It’s just that when you first walked in earlier, I had the feeling you were in trouble somehow. Call it a professional habit, but I tend to pick up on those things. I honestly figured you for a client.”

She nodded slowly, though her brain moved at top speed. Trying to figure out whether he was for real or if he was taunting her the way Robert had. Torturing her like a cat that had cornered a mouse.

Brax would never believe it if she told him what his brother had done to her. After all, she was a nobody. A stranger.

And if he knew she wasn’t a nanny, he’d take Walker away from her. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to do whatever she could to keep Walker in her arms.

So she lied. “I was thinking about my parents, I guess. They’ve been on my mind lately. I was feeling sort of sad. Missing them.”

“I guess being with Walker is only stirring that up more,” he mused.

Was he playing around? She didn’t think so—or maybe she didn’t want to think so. It was all too confusing, and she was so tired.

“Yes. I guess so.” She wanted to snuggle the baby closer but knew that might give her away.

“Well, I have nothing but good things to say about how he’s responded to you so far. Between you and me, you’re a godsend.”

“Thanks.”

This was it. The point where he’d drop the but on her. You’re great with him, but I don’t need you. You’re a godsend, but we’d better not see you sneaking around here anymore.

“Are you free tomorrow?”

Her eyes popped open wide before good sense told her to cool her surprise. “Yes. I am.”

“What about the rest of the week?” He offered a sheepish smile. Charming, even. “You see how busy we are around here. I’ve been scrambling for days trying to take care of him while getting my work done.”

“Absolutely.” She would’ve agreed to just about anything as long as it meant being with her son. “Whatever you need.”

It was almost a dream day. They’d even given her half of a sandwich and a cup of soup left over from lunch.

This was the safest and happiest she’d felt since Robert had taken their son from her.

But all good things came to an end. By six o’clock, the guys were preparing to leave for the night. She’d have to go too, even though she had nowhere to stay. She couldn’t hide in the ladies’ room until they locked up or camp under the conference room table.

“Good night. And thanks again for everything.” Brax waved one last time before he walked off toward a car parked close to the building. Tessa walked slowly away from the front door, and with a glance over her shoulder to check if he was watching, slipped into the shadows of the alley between the buildings.

He didn’t know she was watching. It was the best way to see how he treated Walker.

There was nothing to worry about. He was gentle with the baby, secured his seat in the car and spoke quietly to him. She couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying, but the specifics didn’t matter. He wasn’t harsh or cold.

She breathed a sigh of relief before retreating deeper into the alley so he wouldn’t see her when he drove past.

Where was she supposed to go now? She knew without counting there wasn’t enough left from yesterday’s tips to afford a hotel room, which was why she’d spent the night at the bus station.

She couldn’t go back there. The cops might pick her up this time.

That left the alley. It was secluded enough. Clean enough. There weren’t any rats, and it didn’t reek of urine.

It would do for now.

She set her bag down along the wall and settled in with it against her back, guarding what little she had against potential thieves. Her brain hummed with the joy of having held her son again, the memories from the day replaying over and over.

She fell asleep with a smile, sitting upright in a narrow alley.