Protecting Their Baby. Sheri WhiteFeather

      A child someone had threatened to kill.

      Anxious for the police to arrive, she glanced toward her Mustang. She didn’t wonder how the door had been unlocked and then relocked. A wire hanger or a slim jim or whatever those devices were called would’ve done the trick. Vintage cars were easy to access.

      Lisa took another sip of water. Rex was watching her, and his concerned scrutiny made her self-conscious. He reached out to smooth a strand of hair away from her cheek, where it stuck to the slight dampness of her skin. She suspected that she had mascara streaks running down her face, too.

      The police finally showed up. One of them, a stout detective named Bell, eyed Rex.

      “Don’t I know you?” the detective asked.

      Rex nodded. “You worked on a case that involved some friends of mine. Daniel Deer Runner and Allie Whirlwind.”

      “Oh, that’s right. You and Deer Runner are part of the same Warrior Society.” Bell gathered information while his partner processed the crime scene. “So, what’s going on here? What’s the significance of the doll?”

      Rex responded, “Lisa is pregnant.”

      The detective opened his notepad. “Are you the father?”

      “Yes. She just told me about it today.” The P.I. explained his whereabouts, being in his office with Lisa, then walking her to her car.

      Bell tapped his pen. “Do all of you Society guys have women who are being threatened?”

      “She isn’t my woman,” came the candid response. “It was just one night.”

      “I see.”

      Bell glanced at Lisa, but didn’t say anything to her. While he interviewed Rex, she wondered what the Warrior Society reference meant. Did Rex belong to a club or organization? And what was the deal about their women being threatened? She didn’t like the sound of that.

      She stole a glance at the doll. The other detective was taking pictures of it.

      Soon Bell left Rex to his own devices and interviewed Lisa. He spoke gently, as if trying to put her at ease. Did he think she might break? That she was as fragile as her appearance? Now she wished that she hadn’t cried.

      When he asked her who she thought could have done this, she was at a loss. She didn’t have any enemies, at least not that she knew of. The questions continued, but she wasn’t much help.

      “Maybe somebody saw something,” Lisa said, even though the side street was mostly back lots and alleyways.

      “We’ll be looking for witnesses,” Bell assured her.

      She glanced at Rex. By now, he was jotting down license plate numbers of other parked cars.

      Bell followed the line of her sight. “Your friend is going to conduct his own investigation. But he’ll be sharing information with us, too.”

      It seemed odd to hear the father of her child being referred to as a friend. But it was as good a description as any. “He offered to protect me.”

      “Then maybe you should let him.”

      A short time later, she and Rex were dismissed, and they returned to his office, leaving her vehicle for the police to finish examining.

      Once they were inside the Sixkiller Investigations building, Rex said, “I want you to come home with me.”

      Déjà vu, she thought. She’d heard those words from him once before. But this time she assumed it was because he wanted to talk about the case.

      “If you’re not up for the drive, you can ride with me,” he said. “After your car is released, I can arrange to have it brought to my place.”

      “I can drive.” She needed to prove that she had inner strength, no matter how frightened or exhausted she was. “But first, there’s something I need to know.” She looked into his eyes, trying not to be become fixated on them again. “What’s a Warrior Society?”

      He held her gaze. “In my case, it’s an intertribal group of former military men who defend American Indian rights.”

      “So, it’s an activist organization?”

      “Yes.”

      She should have known that Rex wasn’t a passive man, that his Native roots defined him. Instinctively, she touched her tummy. Her baby was going to be part…

      Part what? She didn’t even know what tribe Rex was from. Up until now, she hadn’t considered the cultural differences between them.

      She questioned him again. “Why did Detective Bell make that comment about women being threatened?”

      “Because he worked on a Warrior Society–related case that involved a stalking. But it’s unlikely this situation is related to my activism. I only found out about the baby today. It’s doubtful that someone associated with me would have known that you were pregnant.”

      “Maybe they saw us in the bar. Maybe they’ve been following me ever since.”

      “Hoping we would reconnect? I haven’t seen you since that night. We haven’t even talked on the phone. Tailing you to get to me wouldn’t have made much sense.”

      “So you think that whoever did this is associated with me?”

      “Yes, but I’m going to investigate every angle. I won’t rule out a Society connection, not until I know for sure.”

      Lisa didn’t know what to think, if the baby was being threatened because of her or because of its father.

      Either way, she agreed to go with him. Because going home alone didn’t seem like a very good option.

      Chapter 2

      After the police released Lisa’s car, she followed Rex to his house, and the entire time she was in traffic, the knifed doll loomed in her mind. She’d never been so grateful when his complex came into view.

      He offered her a seat on his leather sofa. The condo was decorated in dark woods and masculine fabrics. Laminate floors, textured walls and floor-to-ceiling windows provided contemporary ambience. The balcony in his bedroom overlooked the pool. She remembered the view.

      “Are you hungry?” he asked.

      “A little.” She knew that she needed to eat.

      “Is Chinese okay? I can have it delivered.”

      “That’s fine.”

      He rummaged through a kitchen drawer and retrieved a take-out menu. She chose an entrée and handed it back to him.

      While he ordered the food, she noticed the magazines on his coffee table, which ranged from sports publications to men’s entertainment—the kind with centerfolds.

      But what did she expect from a free-wheeling bachelor?

      “Do you have a theory about all of this?” she asked.

      He sat beside her. “All of this?” He made a grim expression. “You mean, the threat? I think the perpetrator is angry at you for getting pregnant.”

      “Do you think he or she is trying to scare me into having an abortion?”

      “Probably.”

      There was no way she was going to terminate her pregnancy. “And if I don’t? Then what? Will this person—this perpetrator—try to make me miscarry? Or attempt to kill the baby after it’s born?”

      He put his hand on her knee. “I won’t let it go that far.”

      Lisa hoped he was able to live up to his claim. She wanted to feel safe, but at the moment, she was still scared. At least Detective Bell seemed to think that Rex was capable of the job. That gave her a measure of comfort.

      He