Shotgun Daddy. Harper Allen

as well start with you, Dixon.”

      Steve looked affronted. “Unless you think I had something to do with this, why waste time grilling me?”

      “For the same reason I wanted to look around Jess’s study when I arrived,” Gabe told him. “It helps to get the whole picture of an abductee—”

      “I understand you knew Jess when the two of you were in some kind of reform school together,” Kanin interjected smoothly. “Not that I’ve ever done juvenile time myself, but wouldn’t that mean you already know him pretty well?”

      It was meant to be a pinprick, Caro realized. It was clear how Larry intended to work this—on the surface he would extend his company’s resources and cooperation, just in case he was ever called to account for his part in the matter, but whenever he could, he intended to erode what little confidence Dixon and anyone else had in Gabe’s capabilities.

      And from the tightening of Gabe’s jaw, he knew exactly what Kanin was trying to do.

      “I was a sixteen-year-old car-thief and Jess was a smart-ass seventeen-year-old, expelled from school for hacking into the computer system and boosting his friends’ grades. In the fifteen years since, we’ve both taken different paths. I need to know more about the man he is now.”

      As if he’d wasted all the time he intended to with Larry, he turned back to Dixon. “I understand you’ve been with Crawford Solutions since the start?”

      “Jess was working out of his garage when we met at a trade show in my hometown of Detroit,” the executive said impatiently. “When he asked me to join his team, I told him he had some moxy, expecting me to throw my lot in with his fly-by-night operation. He didn’t take offense—well, if you know Jess you know he never does,” he added with a reluctant grin.

      Gabe had called Jess one of the good guys, Caro thought as Dixon continued telling Gabe how Jess’s persuasiveness had convinced him to join Crawford Solutions. Beneath his corporate slickness, Steve Dixon’s liking for his partner was equally sincere. And she herself owed Jess more than she could ever repay, with all he had done for her after her father disowned her.

      She could barely remember the mother who’d died so long ago in a car accident. But she’d grown up taking her father’s indulgence for granted, had thought she could wrap him around her little finger. She hadn’t realized he’d seen her solely as an appendage of himself.

      It was funny, Caro reflected, giving only half her attention to Dixon’s explanation to Gabe about how the company worked, including the fact that besides she and Steve, a handful of other key employees had their living quarters on the Lazy J Ranch. Eighteen months ago, the shallow, insecure woman she’d been had scuttled back as fast as she could to the familiar security of her father’s status-conscious world because she hadn’t wanted to admit that her night with Gabe had changed her in any way. Within weeks she’d been cast out of William Moore’s world—and his life—herself.

      Jess had offered her much more than just a paycheck and a home. Being Jess, he’d become her friend, with no strings attached. He’d never asked who the father of her baby was, although she assumed he privately thought it was Larry, and when Emily was born he treated her like a cherished niece. Even when he’d asked Caro to marry him he made it plain that if her answer was no, she wasn’t to worry that it would cost her her job or his friendship.

      Except, her answer wasn’t going to be no, Caro thought. She’d come to that decision only hours ago, when she’d seen Gabriel Riggs again for the first time in a year and a half and had realized with numb certainty that she hadn’t gotten over him at all.

      I can’t ever let you know you have a daughter, she told him silently, her gaze taking in the slight frown on his hard features, the air of lazy alertness in his attitude as he put a question to Dixon and received an answer. So I’m never going to be able to let you know that your daughter’s mother has always wondered how things might have been if you hadn’t already disappeared from the face of the earth when she tried to phone you to tell you she was pregnant.

      Because wondering was foolish. Gabe had no desire to settle down, while Jess was more than willing to. Providing Emily with a father who would be there for her took precedence over all else, Caro reminded herself.

      “…aside from Andrew Scott, a kid I brought to Jess’s attention who for a while was his latest protegé, that’s everyone I can think of. But Scott left Crawford Solutions a week ago, so he’s not in the picture anymore. Any other questions, Riggs?”

      The edge in Steve Dixon’s voice wrenched Caro from her thoughts, and almost thankfully she thrust her own problems to the back of her mind.

      “Just one,” Gabe replied. “You said Jess paid his employees more than they could make anywhere else. What reason did his protegé give for leaving?”

      “Scott didn’t leave of his own volition, Jess fired him. He was a genius, but he was also a typical computer nerd—couldn’t get along with anyone, always had his back up over something.” Steve grimaced. “I think he and Jess—”

      Whatever else he’d been about to say was abruptly cut off by the ringing of the phone. Immediately Larry reacted, his voice sharp with tension.

      “Put it on speaker.” His command was directed to the technician.

      Gabe countered the order instantly. “Not yet, Jackson. Give it two more rings.” His manner was businesslike, but his voice betrayed a hint of warning as he went on. “My show, Larry, remember? Pick it up on the first ring and you’ve already handed the caller the advantage before a single word’s spoken. Second ring, he still knows you were sitting there waiting for him. By the end of the third ring he’s starting to get a little antsy.”

      The phone rang again.

      “You can bet this isn’t a cold call. He’ll be working from a script, whether it’s written down or not. Emotion’s going to make him want to deviate from his script, and if he does he’s more likely to make a slip.”

      “So what if he slips up?” Caro heard her own voice rise. “They’ve still got Jess. We’re still going to do what they say, aren’t we?”

      The phone rang a third time. Gabe nodded, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since he’d walked into the room.

      “Yeah, we’re going to do what they say. But the more we know about them and how they react, the better, especially if anything goes wrong during the handover.” He moved toward the phone. “And handovers never go exactly to plan, do they, Jackson.”

      “You got that right, Gabe,” Kanin’s man said tensely. “On your signal.”

      “Now.”

      Even as Gabe pressed the speaker button on the phone, Caro heard a tiny ping as the fourth ring began and was cut off. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jackson flick a switch on his equipment.

      “Dixon? You there?”

      At the kidnapper’s abrupt question, Jackson glanced at his monitors. Her heart pounding, Caro gave her full attention to Gabe.

      “Dixon’s not handling this. My name’s Riggs and I’m the hostage negotiator in charge. What do I call you?”

      There was a pause. Then the caller spoke again, his tone oddly metallic.

      “How about Leo, Riggs? Or does that name bring back bad memories?”

      Caro was close enough to see the muscle that jumped at the side of Gabe’s jaw as he answered. “You’ve made your point—you’ve heard of me but I don’t know anything about you. Fair enough. I’m ready and willing to deal under whatever name you choose, but first I want to know for sure that Crawford’s still alive. Put him on or I’m hanging up.”

      “No, dammit!” The shocked exclamation came from Dixon. Gabe nailed him with a glance and turned back to the phone.

      “Put Jess on, Leo. The lady who’s calling