The Texas Lawman's Last Stand. Delores Fossen

he loved more than life itself.

      He looked at Mattie. This time, she wasn’t successful in blinking back those tears. She reached out, her fingers going straight toward Holly’s curls, but it was Rosalie who snagged her wrist.

      “You said some powerful things,” Rosalie acknowledged. “What I want to know is why you’re saying them.”

      Mattie kept her attention nailed to Holly. “Because it’s the truth.”

      Rosalie met Bo’s gaze, and he didn’t see the immediate dismissal that he hoped would be there. He kissed the babies again and passed them back to the nanny. “I need to clear this up with Ms. Collier.”

      Rosalie looked ready to argue, but thankfully she didn’t. She pulled both kids into her arms and headed back down the hall.

      “I was going to name her Isabella,” Mattie said before he could speak. Her voice cracked. “But Holly suits her. It’s a good fit.”

      He didn’t want to hear any of this.

      “This ends now,” Bo quickly told Mattie. “I’ve already wasted enough time. If you were really Holly’s mom, you wouldn’t have come here.”

      “I told you I didn’t have a choice. I’ve been keeping tabs on my uncle and his cronies, and I have reason to believe that Kendall or someone else has made the connection between your wife and me.”

      There it was. The feeling of being punched in the gut. “And how would he have done that?”

      “I’m not sure. Maybe that hospital video. Maybe by talking to eyewitnesses who were able to give him a description of me.” She paused. “As I told you, someone has been researching all the babies born around the time my child was due. It’s possible Kendall knows that you have my child. And if he knows that, then it won’t be long before he comes after her. Because he’ll probably try to use Holly to get to me.”

      Every muscle in his body tensed. Bo couldn’t bear the thought of anyone being a threat to his child.

      “I still don’t believe you,” he said, enunciating each word so that she wouldn’t misunderstand.

      “Just think this through,” she countered. “Nadine and you must have known she wasn’t carrying twins.”

      “We didn’t. There were no ultrasounds. Nadine had read a lot of articles about ultrasounds, and she was worried they might not be a hundred percent safe. Something to do with the way the high-frequency waves could maybe alter cells. Even though there’s no conclusive evidence that an ultrasound would be harmful, Nadine didn’t want to take the risk unless it was absolutely necessary.”

      Mattie cleared her throat. “If what I’m saying isn’t true, then why else would I have been in that maternity hospital?”

      He could think of a reason. A bad one. Maybe she’d been there to assist the gunmen. But if so, then why hadn’t she gone with them?

      Or maybe she had.

      Keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t go after Holly, Bo took out his phone, scrolled through his numbers and tapped Sergeant Garrett O’Malley’s personal cell.

      “Bo, have you got ESP or something, because I was about to call you,” O’Malley answered, obviously seeing Bo’s name and number on his caller ID. “You’re not going to like this, but the guy in the black van hasn’t even gotten here, and his lawyer has already arrived. It’s Ian Kaplan.”

      “You know this Ian Kaplan?” Bo asked. He heard Mattie’s breath rattle, and she took a step back.

      “No, but I ran a check on him as soon as he showed up,” O’Malley explained. “Ian Kaplan is expensive and exclusive.”

      He felt another punch. That was not a good connection. So what did this exclusive lawyer have to do with a van driver with fake plates?

      Bo didn’t think he was going to like this answer, either.

      “Do me a favor, Garrett. I told you someone’s been doing computer checks on me, and it flagged firewall markers. The person used a PC in a coffeehouse over on San Pedro. I had someone lift prints from that PC, and they were running the forty or so partials they found. Is that list ready?”

      Bo heard Garrett’s keystrokes on the computer. “Yeah,” the sergeant said a moment later. “Forty-six partials but only two hits.”

      The odds sucked, especially since the person responsible might not have prints on file in the database. “Is Ian Kaplan one of the hits?”

      “No. But there is a name here I recognize. Kendall Collier.”

      Bo thought his blood might have turned to ice.

      “You know, the guy that beat that illegal arms rap about a year and a half ago,” Garrett continued. “His own niece testified against him, went missing and is presumed dead, but I’m thinking she went into Witness Protection and they faked her death. So why the heck would an SOB like Kendall Collier be digging into your files?”

      Oh, hell.

      “I’ll get back to you on that,” Bo told Garrett.

      He shoved his phone into his pocket, caught on to Mattie’s shoulders and put her hard against the wall. “I want the whole truth, and I want it now.”

       Chapter Four

      Mattie wanted to give Bo the truth he was demanding, but she had no idea what that truth was. That would change. She had to figure out what was going on so she could try to keep her daughter safe.

      Her daughter.

      That nearly took her breath away. She was so close to her baby. Holly was just up the hall. Mattie wanted to run to her, take her and get as far away from this place as possible. But there were some big reasons why she couldn’t do that.

      The biggest reason now had her pressed hard against the wall.

      Bo was right there, in her face, his gaze drilling into her.

      “Your uncle used a computer in a coffee shop to dig into my background,” Bo told her, though she didn’t know how he managed to speak with his jaw that tight. “I know it was him because we found his prints on the keyboard.”

      It felt as if someone had punched her. “Oh, God. Kendall’s closer to learning the truth than I thought. I’d hoped we’d have at least a day or two.”

      Bo got even closer. His chest pushed against her so that it was hard to breathe. “A day or two for what?”

      “To get Holly to some place safe.” Mattie mentally cursed, as well. “If Kendall used a public computer and left his fingerprints, then he wanted you to know he was searching for information on you. Have the computer checked again, because I’ll bet he also used it to do searches on babies born the same day as Holly.”

      His eyes narrowed, his stare became even more intense, but he finally backed away from her. “Why would Kendall want me to know he’s doing these things?”

      “Maybe because he wants to use you to find me. So he can kill me. Of course, Kendall would never confess to something like that. According to him, he loves me and forgives me for testifying against him.”

      He stepped back even farther, apparently giving her theory some thought. Finally, Bo groaned and pulled out his phone again.

      “Whoever you talk to,” she warned, “be careful what you say.”

      Not that it would matter much at this point. If Kendall didn’t know she was at Bo’s house, then it was just a matter of time before he did. That’s why she had to hurry up this conversation.

      Bo dismissed her warning with an ice-cold glance with those intense brown eyes. But Mattie knew he wasn’t really dismissing everything she’d just told him. No. Bo was too sensible for that. And while this had