The Mommy Mystery by Delores Fossen Read Free Book Online Page B

turn onto a side street and then speed out of the area.
    Houston met her eye-to-eye. “Look, right now I’m not sure I can ever forgive my father for what he did, but I don’t think he wants me hurt or dead.”
    “No, he only wants a Sadler heir,” she fired back.
    He hissed out his breath. “If I had known about the embryo mixup, I would have told you.”
    “Would you have?” She didn’t intend to give him any sympathy, though she wasn’t totally untouched by the grief she saw on his face.
    “I would have,” he insisted. “I would have gone to you and worked something out.”
    That stayed between them for several moments. So did the eye contact. And Gabrielle cursed herself. Houston was pulling her in, and that couldn’t happen.
    He stepped back, away from her, and she immediately felt the loss. And his physical support. She had to brace her back against the wall to stop herself from falling.
    Houston scrubbed his hand over his face and continued to stare at her. “Look, I’m as messed up as you are right now, but we have to think this through. Maybe thepeople who came after us today in that black car have to do with the person my father made the deal with at Cryogen. Maybe this guy is trying to put a lid on all of this.”
    Great. Another possible suspect.
    Gabrielle started to shake her head but stopped. She’d assumed this had to do with the hostage situation. Or maybe it was someone who wanted to kidnap Lucas for ransom. But Houston was right. This could be related to the Cryogen Clinic. After all, the clinic head had committed a crime when he doctored her records and conspired with Mack to keep the truth about the illegally used embryo from Houston.
    “I need to check and see where this threat is coming from,” Houston said.
    She considered telling him that she could do it herself, but she couldn’t. Gabrielle didn’t have the resources, and she couldn’t very well go out in public and conduct her own investigation. Still, it was a risk to have Houston run this particular show. Mack was his father, and God knows what Houston would do to protect him.
    “If you discover that your father is indeed behind this attempt to run us off the road—”
    “Then I’ll have him arrested. That applies to anyone else who tries to come after us again.”
    His words were suddenly so calm that Gabrielle studied him to make sure he was telling the truth. She wanted to believe he was. She wanted to believe that the danger and harassment might finally come to an end. But while his words were calm, Houston’s expression wasn’t.
    His eyes were a dark, stormy blue.
    “I swear, I’ll get to the bottom of this,” he promised. “But first you have to do something.”
    Gabrielle shook her head because she knew where this was leading.
    He caught on to her face to stop the movement. “I’m not giving you a choice here, Gabrielle. You will take me to my son now. ”

Chapter Five
    Houston forced himself to concentrate on the drive to the motel where Gabrielle had said Lucas and the nanny were staying.
    Of course, she could be lying.
    But a lie wouldn’t stop him. If necessary, he’d bring SAPD and an entire team of private investigators into this. One way or another, he would see his son.
    “Take this exit,” Gabrielle instructed.
    Her voice was practically hoarse, probably because she’d been fighting tears since they left the ranch. She had also said as little as possible. She was no doubt trying to decide the best way to get out of this.
    Houston wanted to tell her there was no way out. Now that he knew the truth, he wasn’t going to disappear into the woodwork. He would find his baby and get custody of him.
    Hopefully.
    He couldn’t dismiss the fact that Gabrielle had been wronged in all of this. God knows how a court of law would interpret his father’s involvement, but Houston would fight as long as it took to get his son.
    “My son,” he mumbled.
    It didn’t seem possible. All those months, Lizzy and