LITMIR.BIZ

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fought back a surge of panic. A father? No. This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t father material. Look at the role model he’d had. His old man drank too much and hadn’t hesitated to lash out if he and Kayla said the wrong thing. Alex had vowed he’d never have children.

      Yet, Cody had his green eyes.

      Taking a deep breath he concentrated on identifying one problem at a time. It had been dark and Shelby only thought she saw her sister get shot. Even if she fell to the ground, Trina may have survived. Trina knew how to take care of herself.

      He focused his attention on the problem at hand. Shelby and Cody needed protection from whomever had attacked Trina. Trina had been leaking information to the coast guard and DEA for the past two years, playing a very dangerous role. Someone on the drug smuggler’s payroll must have caught onto her. She may have gotten careless, digging too hard to find proof that Alex was targeting the wrong suspect. Whatever she’d found, he could only imagine she’d been shot to keep her mouth shut. He couldn’t help but wonder what she’d learned, and if her theory had been right. She’d vowed her father was innocent, but Alex had never been totally convinced.

      Drugs were coming in on Russ Jacobson’s ships and Alex believed that Jacobson had to know what was going on right under his nose. In Alex’s opinion, Jacobson himself could be the mastermind behind the entire drug smuggling operation.

      But did that mean Russ Jacobson was capable of having his own daughter killed? It was a stretch, but without proof one way or the other, he had no way of knowing for sure.

      “Tell me what’s going on,” Shelby pleaded.

      “It’s complicated,” he warned. “But first, are you sure the person with the gun was a man? Did you see him clearly?”

      “No, I couldn’t see him much at all, but I’m pretty sure he was a man.” Shelby stared at him, her brow furrowed. “And in the car when we were driving away, Cody asked me if the bad man hurt his mom.”

      “What? You mean Cody actually saw the guy?” This news changed everything. The danger was worse than he’d imagined if Cody was a witness to the potential leader behind the smuggling.

      Alex eased away, trying to unobtrusively disentangle his hand from her hair. The silky strands seemingly had a will of their own as they clung to his fingers. He glanced toward the kitchen where the boy had disappeared. “I need to talk to him.”

      “Oh, no you don’t.” Shelby’s tone was sharp and she tugged on his arm when he moved to get up. He hid a wince as a tender nerve zinged with a shaft of pain. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. Besides, Cody has been through an awful ordeal. He practically saw his mother being murdered. I don’t want him to relive the horror all over again so soon.”

      “But if he’s seen the bad guy, maybe we can get a description or at least something to go on.” Alex understood her reluctance to expose the boy to more distress, but this was a possible murder investigation. Not to mention, a potential lead to the organizer behind the drug smuggling ring. Trina’s murder was obviously linked to his case. Or rather, to Rafe’s case.

      “Maybe you can talk to him later,” she hedged. She stood up and walked closer to the fireplace, as if needing the warmth. “I brought him here so that you’d keep him safe. We need to protect him, not traumatize him.”

      Alex frowned, understanding her logic to a certain extent. But decided to let the subject go for now when Kayla and Cody emerged from the kitchen trailed by the clumsy puppy.

      “Shelby, look at Clyde,” Cody said happily. “Isn’t he great?”

      “He sure is.” Shelby’s face softened into a warm smile and Alex couldn’t dismiss her obvious love for the boy.

      In a daze, Alex did the mental math and came to the conclusion that the timing was right for him to have fathered Cody, although for all he knew Trina could have been sleeping with both him and Stephan at the same time. He’d request a DNA test at the very least, so that he would know for sure.

      During the time he’d been undercover as a longshoreman, he hadn’t seen Trina’s son at all. Wisely, she’d kept him far away from the unsavory characters who had often hung out at the docks.

      One look at Cody now, though, told him almost as much as a DNA test. At first he was so focused on Cody’s blond hair, he hadn’t really looked at the rest of his facial features. He could see that aside from the hair and the stubborn chin, Cody was the mirror image of himself at that age. Kayla had a box full of their baby pictures in the attic to prove it. The kid’s green eyes haunted him.

      Not the kid, he admonished himself. My son. I’d better get used to the fact that Cody could really be my son.

      Shelby knelt beside Cody and scratched the pup behind the ears. “So how were the cookies? Did Clyde get any?”

      Cody giggled as he petted the puppy. “No. Dogs can’t eat people food. It’s bad for them, ’specially chocolate. The cookies were good, but not as good as yours,” he loyally added.

      “I can show you to your rooms.” Kayla’s intensely curious gaze bounced back and forth between the three of them. “That way you’ll have some time to freshen up or to take a nap, if you prefer, before dinner.”

      “Oh, well—” Shelby’s hesitant gaze swung around to collide with Alex’s.

      Alex raised a brow at her dismay. Clearly Shelby hadn’t thought any further than tracking him down. Logically, he knew he should turn both of them over to Rafe. But now that they were here, he’d rather keep them close at hand. At least, until he’d gotten a chance to talk to Cody.

      “Kay’s right. You’re both safe here, so there’s no point in you leaving to go somewhere else. Especially when this place has more than enough room.” He flashed a crooked smile, waving a hand at the various rooms overhead. “There’s plenty of privacy, I’m the only guest at the moment.”

      Shelby drew in a long breath, reaching up to rub at her temple. “All right, then,” she agreed slowly. She stabbed him with a fierce glance. “But we still need to talk.”

      Alex hesitated, glancing down at Cody who was watching them both curiously. “We will, but for now, why don’t you get settled into your rooms. I have some phone calls to make.”

      “Me, too,” she said with a frown.

      “That’s not a good idea. You can’t tell anyone you’re here or what you’ve seen,” he warned. “I’ll explain more later.”

      He could tell she wasn’t happy with being put off, but she also clearly didn’t want to say much in front of Cody. Obviously she took her role of being the boy’s protector very seriously.

      Slowly she nodded. “All right.” She turned to Cody. “Should we check out our rooms, partner?”

      The boy nodded, although his attention was focused on Clyde who jumped up on him, trying to lick him in the face. Within moments the two were rolling on the floor with Cody giggling madly over the puppy’s enthusiastic affection.

      Alex felt his chest tighten at the sight. He glanced up to find Shelby staring at him intently. For a long moment, they exchanged a look full of understanding. Hers reinforced that she would protect Cody at all costs. His admitted the need to take things slow, so he didn’t scare the boy.

      He watched them walk up the stairs, grappling with the knowledge that he could deny the truth all he wanted, but he was likely Cody’s father.

      What he was going to do about it, he had no clue.

      Shelby’s earlier fear slowly began to fade as she gazed at her surroundings, while Kayla gave them the nickel tour. They mounted the staircase to the second story. The log home was even more impressive inside. A cathedral ceiling towered overhead giving an expansive view over the great room from the loft encircling the second floor. When Kayla showed them two adjoining rooms, Shelby saw that her earlier

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