Protecting His Secret Son. Laura Scott

he approached cautiously, unwilling to scare them. “What’s going on?”

      Shayla and the child were huddled together behind the Jeep, smartly using the bulky frame as cover. The boy was crying, his faced pressed against Shayla.

      “Are either of you hurt?” he asked, dropping down on one knee. “He’s not crying because he’s hit, is he?”

      “N-no, we’re fine. Just scared.” Her pale, frightened face belied her words. “Brodie, it’s okay. We’re safe now. You don’t have to be afraid.”

      The little boy’s sobs faded and he turned his tear-streaked face to look at Mike. “Is he a good guy, Mommy?”

      Mike did his best not to flinch at hearing the word mommy. Shayla had broken his heart four years ago; he should be over their breakup by now.

      “I—um, yes. He’s a good guy.” Her voice sounded thick as if she were on the verge of tears, as well.

      He couldn’t blame her. That had been a seriously close call. He wasn’t surprised someone had come to Duncan O’Hare’s house with a gun, although he didn’t understand why Shayla and her son would be a target. “Come on, we need to get you both out of here before they decide to return.”

      “They who?” she asked. “I heard gunfire and caught a glimpse of the sports car driving away, but who was behind the wheel?”

      “I don’t know.” He stared at her, amazed at how she was still so heart-wrenchingly beautiful. “I was hoping you could tell me.”

      She dropped her gaze and hugged the boy close. “I have no idea. I’ve only been back in Milwaukee for a couple of days.”

      Ignoring the urge to dredge up the past, he glanced at the Jeep. It must have belonged to her because Duncan drove a white pickup. “Let’s go. We’ll take my car.”

      “Wait.” Shayla frowned. “Shouldn’t we call the police?”

      “My first priority is to get you and Brodie somewhere safe. We’ll work out the rest later.”

      “O-okay.” Shayla still looked a bit rattled but slowly rose to her feet. Brodie clung to her, so she hauled him up and into her arms. The kid was husky, no doubt about it. Smaller than Mike’s seven-year-old niece, Abby, but not by much. “Will you get the child safety seat out of the Jeep?”

      “Sure.” He wrenched open the door and, thanks to practice with his abundance of nieces and nephews, expertly unlatched the seat and carried it to his SUV.

      Five minutes later they were on the road, putting distance between them and the scene of the crime. If he hadn’t been there, watching and waiting for Duncan to show... He shuddered. It was too easy to imagine the worst.

      The attempt to kill Shayla and her son had to be related to Duncan’s illegal activities. Unless there was something going on in Shayla’s life that had placed her in danger.

      “What brings you back to Milwaukee?” he asked, breaking the long silence.

      Shayla didn’t answer for a moment, glancing surreptitiously over her shoulder at the child tucked into the back seat. “I came to visit my father. He’s in the hospital. In fact, that’s where I was headed just now.”

      He inwardly winced. As much as he held her father and brother responsible for his father’s death, he felt bad for what she was going through. “Is he going to be okay?”

      She bit her lip and shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “He needs open-heart surgery. And you can stop pretending you care about my father’s health. We both know that’s a lie.”

      The bitterness in her tone reminded him of their last, horrible argument a few months after their breakup. Shayla had reached out to him, but he’d shut her down, unwilling to let go of his beliefs about her family’s guilt. She’d accused him of being obsessed, and maybe he was.

      He held his tongue, realizing there was no point in antagonizing her.

      “Where is your brother? At the hospital? Or back at the house?”

      She hesitated. “I’m not sure. He was supposed to meet me at the house for dinner, but didn’t.”

      “Call him,” he suggested.

      “I did. Twice. It goes straight to voice mail.”

      “What time was he supposed to meet you?”

      “We spoke to the doctor about Dad’s surgery at eleven a.m. We both left the hospital then and were supposed to meet up again at three p.m., but Duncan never showed. I thought for sure he’d meet me at the house at five thirty for dinner, as planned. But he didn’t do that, either.”

      Had Duncan realized Mike was following him? Mike glanced at the clock on his dashboard, noting it was almost seven o’clock. Seven hours wasn’t a long time to be missing, but considering what he knew about Duncan’s recent activities, he figured the guy may have got himself into trouble. Either that, or he was hiding from Mike.

      “Do you know where Duncan likes to hang out?” he asked, hoping for a kernel of information he could use to find the guy.

      “How would I know something like that?” Her voice shimmered with exasperation. “I live in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m only here because of Dad’s hospitalization and upcoming surgery.”

      “Does your husband know you’re here?” The blunt question popped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

      “I’m not married, and my personal life is none of your business.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a familiar, defensive move. “Where are we going?”

      Shocked to hear she wasn’t married, he didn’t answer right away. His thoughts whirled and he wanted to know more about what Shayla had been doing over the past four years.

      Mike forced himself to stay on task, keeping his eyes on the highway as he inwardly debated where to take Shayla and her son. No way would she agree to go to his place, and that seemed too personal anyway, so a motel was their best bet.

      “I’m going to put you and Brodie up in a motel for the night.” He took the exit ramp that would take him to the American Lodge Motel. The place was owned by a former firefighter and friend of his brother Mitch’s. Their entire law enforcement family had used the motel as a safe haven while on the run from bad guys so often that they’d joked about renaming it the Callahan Lodge.

      Now it was his turn to use it as a place to hide Shayla and her son. And he finally understood a little of what his brothers and his sister had gone through when they’d been in danger.

      “Okay,” she agreed. “Thank you.”

      The fact that she didn’t argue was concerning. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was keeping information from him.

      “Shay, I need you to be honest with me. Is there anyone who wants to hurt you or the boy? Are you running from his father?”

      “What?” Her eyes widened in horror. “No! Of course not.”

      “Then what’s going on?”

      “I don’t know!” The denial was spit out through clenched teeth.

      “Is this related to Duncan?” he pressed. “It’s hard to understand why he wouldn’t have met with you, considering your dad’s upcoming surgery.”

      “He’s a cop. I’m sure he had a good reason.”

      Her continued support of her brother grated on his nerves. He knew Duncan was up to his eyeballs in the Dark Knights’ illegal activities. And that involvement must have put Shayla in harm’s way.

      As much as he wanted to find out the truth about his father’s murder, keeping Shayla and her son safe had to be his top priority.

      * * *

      Shayla twisted her hands in her lap,