LITMIR.BIZ

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happen to her if he couldn’t convince her. “First you can start by trusting me.”

      Chapter 4

      Ilene looked at the man standing before her for a long moment. How could he ask her to trust him after the history they had?

      “If I remember correctly, that was where I made my mistake.”

      The next moment she forced herself away from the emotional vortex that was sucking her into its midst. The past was over. She had to leave it behind her. She hadn’t called him because they had a history, she’d called him because she needed a policeman and he was familiar with what was going on. She hadn’t wanted to go into long explanations, she’d just wanted to have someone come quickly.

      “Sorry, that was uncalled for.” Her voice was crisp, devoid of feeling. Ilene told herself that the only way she was going to get through this was to keep a very tight rein on her emotions. “After all, you’re just trying to do your job.”

      Clay couldn’t shake the feeling he was out in the middle of nowhere, trying to find his way through a minefield. “Right, and my job is to keep you and your son safe even if you don’t want to be.”

      Her temper erupted. “I never said I didn’t want to be safe. I just don’t want to have complete chaos.” She thought of her own childhood, of how she’d never felt as if she could count on anything. “A child needs stability in his life, otherwise there’s no foundation, nothing to build on.”

      She could see by the expression on his face that Clay thought she was blowing this all out of proportion.

      “And going to a hotel would cause chaos?” He wasn’t mocking her, but he might as well have been.

      Ilene didn’t expect him to understand. He didn’t have children. And from what she gathered, his own life had been cushioned by a family that cared about him.

      “He has a routine,” she insisted. “Kindergarten, friends. If I give up our liberty to a tag-team of policemen, how is that going to make Alex feel? I would be taking him away from everything that’s familiar to him.”

      “Except for the most important ingredient. You,” Clay pointed out quietly. “And maybe your son’s more resilient than you think.” She just continued to look at him, not saying a word. She didn’t have to. Her eyes did it for her. Clay sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. He went back to the thought he’d had when she made her initial protest. “Okay, maybe I have an idea.”

      Here came the trust part, she thought, her eyes never leaving his face. “Like what?”

      Even though he was pretty sure his father would go along with this, he knew he couldn’t just take it for granted. “Give me a second.”

      Turning from her, Clay took out his cell phone and pressed a preprogrammed number. It belonged to his father’s new cell phone. The cell phone had been an impromptu gift that hadn’t been all that warmly received. Andrew maintained that he didn’t need a cell phone. That the old-fashioned method of using a stationary telephone was just fine with him.

      But Callie and Teri had insisted that he needed to get “with the times” and that this allowed them to always reach him if necessary. The deciding argument that he could also reach them whenever he wanted had finally turned the tide.

      Now if his father had only remembered to leave it on, Clay thought, they’d be home free.

      The cell phone on the other end rang a total of ten times before the annoying automatic message finally came on. Not bothering to listen to the theory that “the party you are trying to reach is either not answering or currently out of the calling area” Clay closed the phone and then opened it again. He hit redial immediately.

      This time he got a response.

      “Hello?”

      “Dad, it’s Clay.” There was some kind of din accompanying his father’s voice. He wasn’t sure, but it sounded like singing. Very bad singing. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

      “Was that you? I thought I heard something ringing, but it’s so damn noisy in here, I thought maybe it was just me.”

      “You’re still at the party?” Clay had difficulty picturing his father in that kind of social situation. Ever since his mother had disappeared, his father had become the very core of the family unit. Because he’d become such a fixture, there were times Clay had to remind himself that his father needed to get out among his own kind.

      He heard his father chuckle. In the background the noise level picked up. “You’re missing a hell of a time. By the way, Adrienne Ballard is asking after you.”

      Patrol Officer Adrienne Ballard was just one of the scores of women he’d gone out with since his breakup with Ilene. Blond, vibrant and nicely endowed, Adrienne was a woman who knew how to enjoy herself and how not to complicate things by trying to bring up the matter of strings. In short, his kind of woman.

      Still, the notion of seeing Adrienne right now did nothing for him. He tried to tell himself it was because he was on duty but the truth of it was after a handful of dates with the woman, he’d found himself getting bored, wanting to move on. She hadn’t kept his mind occupied—the way Ilene had.

      “That’s nice,” he said dismissively. “Listen, Dad, I need a favor.”

      “Ask.”

      That he was one of the lucky ones was once again brought home to him. His father was always there, always willing to help. Clay knew by experience that not too many people could say that about either of their parents.

      “How do you feel about having a houseguest? Two,” he amended, remembering the boy sleeping upstairs.

      “Two?” The long pause on the other end surprised Clay. “Look, Clay, this is just as much your house as it is mine, you know that, but, call me old-fashioned, I draw the line at something kinky—”

      The seriousness of the situation eroded for a moment as Clay struggled not to laugh. Obviously, his father thought of him as a wild stud. “Dad, Dad, hold it. It’s not like that. I need a safe place for a friend and her little boy.”

      There was relief in the sigh Clay heard. “Oh, sure. When?”

      “Now.” Clay kept his fingers mentally crossed.

      His father didn’t disappoint him. “Right. I can be home in about fifteen minutes.”

      Clay grinned. The man was a rock. He should have known there was nothing to worry about.

      “Thanks, Dad.” Time to launch into the second phase of his plan. “Do you know if Shaw and Callie are still at the party?”

      “Callie left with Brent, but Shaw’s still here.” Andrew made no effort to disguise his curiosity. “Why?”

      Clay glanced toward Ilene and wasn’t surprised to see that she appeared to be listening to every word. Why shouldn’t she? It was her future that was being bandied about here. “I’m going to need decoys.”

      This time the pause was pregnant, as if Andrew was entertaining various scenarios. “Is it that serious?”

      “I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t.”

      “Well, I don’t know where Rayne is, I never do with that girl, but I did see Teri a few minutes ago, will she do?”

      All three of his sisters had basically the same height and coloring. Their hair was lighter than Ilene’s, but their builds were similar and they just needed the suggestion of Ilene, not an exact duplicate. “Just as good. I’ll give them each a call. See you in a little while.”

      Clay rang off. But before he could start punching in his brother’s cell phone number, Ilene placed her hand on his wrist. “Why do you need decoys?”

      He saw the heightened state of alert in her eyes. Despite her protest,

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