Page 5

THREE
She needed to be careful not to reveal too much.
Ellie traced circles on Owen’s back, breathing in his baby powder scent. He was here. With her. Safe and content. But her mind couldn’t stop playing out all the ways the attack could have gone differently, couldn’t stop thinking about how close she came to losing this precious boy who’d captured her heart from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him.
Why God… why have You put me in this position?
It was a petulant question considering the good Lord above had spared her life along with Owen’s. But Ellie was desperate for wisdom. She was walking a tightrope. The men who’d attacked her needed to be caught, but how much could she say without raising more questions? Daniel was already suspicious. Rightfully so. Ellie might’ve been able to convince everyone in town—including the police chief—that she’d worked for a publisher before starting her career as a mystery writer, but it was all a lie. A fabrication designed to keep her and everyone around her safe.
In actuality, before moving to Silver Creek, she’d been a Special Agent with the FBI.
A phantom ache spread from the bullet wound in her side. The undercover operation had gone sideways without warning, leaving Ellie dying in a pool of her own blood. The doctors said it was a miracle she survived. But that miracle had come at a price. The criminal organization she'd been investigating had connections everywhere and a reputation for tying up loose ends. A hit was ordered before she went into surgery. By the time she came out of recovery, her death had already been reported to the media.
The Bureau hadn’t corrected the story.
Only a handful of people knew she was alive—her direct supervisor, the witness protection coordinator, and the surgeon who'd saved her life. To the rest of the world, Special Agent Elizabeth Conway had died that night. The Bureau had moved quickly, giving her a new identity. A new life.
And so, Ellie Brooks, the mystery writer, was born.
Today's attack wasn't connected to her past. She was sure of it. She’d be dead if it was. No, Owen was the target and while Ellie had a theory about why, suggesting it might raise Daniel’s suspicions even more. The handsome Texas Ranger had noticed how precisely she'd described the attackers. She’d slipped up there. A civilian would have struggled and been more vague. But in the aftermath of the attack, in order to keep herself calm, she’d relied on her training.
Old habits died hard.
“Miss Brooks.” Daniel’s voice cut into her thoughts. His pen was still poised over his pad, his gaze steady on her as if he was trying to decipher a puzzle she hadn’t meant to offer. “You seemed lost in thought. Why don’t you share what’s running through your mind?”
“I was thinking about your question.”
“Who would want to kidnap Owen?”
Ellie nodded. She continued to rub Owen’s back gently, but purposefully let a little of the fear twisting her insides bleed into her voice. “I’ve read about baby trafficking rings while doing research for my books. They can be organized and are known to snatch kids in blitz-style attacks.”
Daniel was quiet for a long moment. “Despite what you may see on television crime shows, stranger abductions are incredibly rare. I’m not ruling out the possibility, but it’s more likely someone close to Owen is behind this. What do you know about his birth parents?”
“His mother died in childbirth and his father signed away his rights without ever meeting his son. Neither of them is responsible for this.”
“And their families?”
Frustration built like a storm surge in her chest. A part of her knew these questions were relevant—Daniel was right that stranger abductions were rare—but it was annoying to follow a path she already knew led nowhere. “I don’t think either of Owen’s parents had good home lives, and so far, no one in Owen’s extended family has even requested to meet him. They don’t care. Certainly not enough to hire two men to snatch him from a parking lot.”
She sucked in a breath and calmed her voice. “Besides, if they wanted to raise him, all a family member would have to do is contact the caseworker. Family courts are partial to relatives. Unless the relative was unfit, Owen would be placed with his family.”
Daniel uttered a noncommittal sound and arched a questioning brow. “How do you know the perpetrators who attacked you were hired criminals?”
Oh, Marta Perez hadn’t raised a fool. Ellie forced herself to meet his gaze. “I don’t know for certain. It was just… an impression.”
The explanation sounded weak even to her own ears. Daniel's expression remained neutral, but something in his eyes suggested he wasn't convinced.
He didn’t press, not right away.
Instead, he studied her for a beat longer, then shifted in his chair and jotted something in his notebook. The silence stretched out. Maybe he was attempting to rattle her? See what else she might say to fill the silence? It wouldn’t work. Ellie had used the same tactic herself many times and was comfortable staying quiet.
She kept her hand on Owen’s back as she studied the Texas Ranger across from her. She’d known he was a problem from the moment he walked in. Daniel had the kind of quiet authority that didn't need to announce itself. Everything about him suggested competence and control, from his steady dark eyes that missed very little to the questions he asked. His olive-toned skin was weathered just enough to suggest years in the sun, and his neatly trimmed dark hair carried a hint of silver at the temples.
He resembled Marta slightly, in the curve of his generous mouth and the way his brow furrowed when he concentrated, but unlike his mother’s extroverted nature, Daniel was far more reserved. A product of his job, perhaps. It made him harder to read than most. Even now, Ellie couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking.
Daniel glanced up and met her gaze. Suspicion darkened their color to a rich brown, but when he spoke, his tone was mild. “How long have you had Owen?”
“Since birth,” she said. “He was placed with me directly from the hospital.”