Confiscated Conception. Delores Fossen

      Her head whipped up, her eyes narrowed and accusing. He could almost see her process that bit of startling information. She didn’t process it well. With reason. Before they’d gone their separate ways, Rachel and he had spent two long years trying to conceive a child.

      They’d failed.

      And so had their marriage.

      Rachel swallowed hard. “You have a son?”

      Jared wasn’t immune to the hurt he saw on her face. But that hurt was nothing compared to what he’d no doubt see when he told her the rest.

      “It seems that way. He’s six days old.” Jared hadn’t meant his explanation to grind to a halt, but then, he hadn’t counted on his mouth turning to dust either. Hell. He hated the people who’d set all of this in motion.

      Rachel shook a head, a nervous shudder. Obviously she didn’t understand. But how could she possibly understand this? He’d had hours to try to absorb it and still didn’t understand.

      She reached for the picture, but instead her fingers curled into a tight fist. “My God, you didn’t waste any time. So, who’s the baby’s mother? Is she someone I know?”

      Jared caught her shoulders. Their gazes locked. “You’re the mother, Rachel. According to the DNA report, he’s our son. Ours.”

      THE ONLY THING that saved Rachel from losing it then and there was that Jared was obviously lying. He had to be. But what she couldn’t figure out was why he was doing something so intentionally cruel.

      “Why are you telling me this?” She got up from the bed, snatched up the photograph and shoved it back into the pocket of his black leather jacket. She didn’t want even another glimpse of that image of the newborn. “You want to upset me? To get back at me for all the things that went on between us? Then, fine. You’ve upset me. Now, get out of here.”

      He caught her hand when she started to pace. “It’s the truth, Rachel.”

      That stopped her in her tracks. There wasn’t any hesitation in his voice. Not even a hint. And it was that sheer conviction that had Rachel studying him. What she saw in the depths of those whiskey-colored eyes sent her stomach plummeting to her knees.

      “You’re not lying?” she mumbled.

      But how could that be? She hadn’t been with Jared or any other man in over a year. And she darn sure hadn’t given birth. That she definitely would have remembered.

      Jared released the grip he had on her and scrubbed his hands over his face. He groaned softly. “I don’t have time to sugarcoat this, so here goes. According to the letter I received late last night, someone claims they stole a frozen fertilized embryo that we’d stored when you were trying to get pregnant. This person says they took it so they could use it to impregnate a surrogate.”

      It took her several tries just to gather enough breath to speak. “And?”

      “And according to them, they succeeded.”

      Oh God.

      Success in this case could mean only one thing. What was left of her composure went south in a hurry. Rachel had no choice but to sit back down on the bed, because her legs gave way.

      “There’s really a baby? Our baby?”

      “According to the letter, yes. Of course, we’d stored several unfertilized eggs as well, so I’m guessing they could have gotten one of those, instead. I just don’t know at this point. I’ve got the people at the fertility clinic checking to verify what’s missing, but it doesn’t look good. Apparently, frozen embryos aren’t a high-theft item so security was pretty lax.”

      The information was coming at her way too fast. Rachel pressed her hands against her head and tried to concentrate, but it was impossible to absorb something that didn’t make sense. “Do you believe it?”

      Jared lifted a shoulder, but there was nothing casual about that gesture. And there wasn’t a relaxed muscle in his body. “Whoever’s behind this included a saliva swab so we could do an independent DNA test. I sent it to the lab before I drove out here, but it’ll be a couple of days before we can get the results.”

      Days. She’d have to wait days to learn the truth. And even then, the test results might not be definitive. After all, someone sinister enough to come up with a plan like this wouldn’t hesitate to doctor DNA results.

      Still, it wasn’t the possibility of doctored DNA results that’d put that strained look in Jared’s eyes.

      “You must think the child is ours, or you wouldn’t be here,” Rachel insisted.

      He hitched his thumb to his chest. “I’m here because they gave me no choice. All I know at this point is there’s a child, and Esterman’s people have him.”

      “Yes.” It sickened her to know that a man like Esterman held the fate of a baby in his hands. The man was a killer. “But why would he do something like this?”

      The moment the question left her mouth, Rachel knew why. God. She knew. “It’s because of my testimony, isn’t it?”

      Jared nodded. “They want you to lie this afternoon when you take the stand, to exonerate Esterman. If you don’t, they say they’ll kill the baby.”

      The adrenaline and the emotions slammed into her like a fist. She fought to keep her breath level. But lost that battle. Rachel tried to remind herself that it might not even be true. The photo and the DNA report could be fakes. It was possible this was all just a ploy to stop her from putting a killer away for the rest of his life.

      But it didn’t feel like a ploy.

      It felt as if her child was in horrible danger.

      “Now that you know, it’s decision time, Rachel. I could force you to go with me, but in the end I’ll need your cooperation.”

      Cooperation? She wasn’t sure she could even move. A dozen emotions assaulted her. None good. So many doubts. So much confusion.

      A baby. God, a baby.

      “Rachel, are you sure you’re all right?” Detective Miller called out.

      “Don’t open the door,” Jared whispered.

      He extracted a small tool kit from his pocket, went to the window and proceeded to disarm the security system. That explained why he was wearing a jacket on a muggy spring day. He had to conceal heaven-knows-what to help them escape.

      But the real question was—did she want to escape?

      “Convince her to give us some time alone,” Jared instructed. “Lots of time. We’ll need it if you’re leaving with me.”

      Rachel nodded, somehow. And somehow she managed to get off the bed. She made it to the door, praying her voice wouldn’t break.

      “I’m okay,” she lied. “Jared will be staying until we leave for the courthouse.”

      The silence on the other side of the door didn’t do much to settle Rachel’s raw, tangled nerves. It was obvious Jared didn’t want either of the other officers involved in this, and Rachel would go along with him on that.

      For now.

      But there were still too many questions that needed answers before she’d leave with him.

      “Maybe I should call Captain Thornton?” Miller suggested. “I mean, just so she’ll know Lieutenant Dillard is here visiting you.”

      Rachel understood the implications of that. And they weren’t good implications. Miller wasn’t a fool and she no doubt suspected something was wrong.

      She looked over her shoulder at Jared. He merely shook his head and continued to work on the window.

      “No need to call anyone.” Rachel pulled in a long breath so she could finish. “I just want to, um, talk