The Horseman's Son by Delores Fossen Read Free Book Online Page A

women were still lurking nearby, Collena stepped inside Dylan’s office, as well, and closed the door. It was a matter of picking her poison—she’d rather have Dylan overhear this particular conversation than his staff. Besides, she apparently didn’t have anything else to hide. Curtis had already spilled the unsavory details of her life to Dylan.
    “Collena,” the caller greeted. It was Sgt. Katelyn O’Malley from the San Antonio PD.
    And Collena was almost certain what this call was about.
    “Rodney Harmon escaped from jail last night,” Katelyn confirmed. “We’re doing everything we can to locate him and put him back behind bars.”
    So, it was true. Curtis hadn’t been lying after all. And this added a new wrinkle. “Yes. I heard about the escape. From Curtis Reese. He came to Dylan Greer’s ranch a couple of minutes ago.”
    She risked looking at Dylan, knowing what she would see. She was right. He was glaring at her. And waiting.
    “So, Curtis knows that you found Adam?” Katelyn verified. “What about Dylan—how’d he take the news when you told him who you were?”
    “We’re still dealing with that. Can I call you back, Katelyn? I’m in the middle of something here.”
    “I’ll bet you are. I’ll check for updates on Harmon, and I’ll also try to find out if Curtis Reese is planning to hang around the town of Greer for a while. Let me know if you need anything else.”
    Collena assured her that she would, thanked her old friend and ended the call.
    “Talk fast,” Dylan insisted. “It won’t be long before the fire department arrives.”
    Yes, judging from the sound of the sirens, they were already by her car. Soon, they’d come to the house to do interviews and a report.
    “Everything Curtis Reese said about me is true,” Collena confirmed.
    Judging from the way Dylan stared at her, he hadn’t expected that answer.
    “My mother was a drug addict, and before she walked out on me, she occasionally turned tricks to pay for her drug habit.” She slipped off her coat and eased it onto the back of the chair. “And, yes, Rodney Harmon will probably try to kill me if the police don’t find him before he finds me.”
    “What about the part about it being your fault that Adam was stolen?” Dylan asked.
    Collena decided it was a good time to sit. She took the chair across from him. She also took a deep breath and prayed she could explain this without crying. This was painful enough with adding the humiliation of tears.
    “When I was pregnant, I was working Special Investigations for SAPD. We got reports about irregularities at the Brighton Birthing Center, but it was out of our jurisdiction. The local sheriff didn’t have the manpower or the experience to handle it so he requested our assistance. Since I was pregnant, I went in undercover. Not at Brighton. But at a nearby home for unwed mothers where I would have daily access to the birthing center. We’d had reports that Brighton officials were pressuring and even coercing these young women into giving up their babies.”
    “That still sounds dangerous.” His eyebrows lifted.
    “It was. It was also stupid.”
    Dylan shook his head. “Then why’d you do it?”
    Ah, he’d cut to the chase. “Because my boss asked me to, and I thought I could handle the situation. I thought I could stop what was happening to those young women at Brighton.”
    His mouth flattened into a thin line. “You put the job ahead of your pregnancy?”
    “Yes,” she admitted. It wasn’t the first time she’d confessed her guilt.
    Collena reminded herself of it every minute of every day.
    She let Dylan fill in the blanks. Someone at Brighton had gotten suspicious of her. Maybe someone had recognized her as a cop. A former witness or a person involved in a previous case. Or maybe someone at the home or the center had even had her investigated because they believed she was a prime candidate to put her baby up for adoption. It wouldn’t have been that hard