Page 6 of Brick (Chosen Few #5)

S leep surely wouldn’t come. Brick hadn’t even tried. After wrapping things up at the office, he’d headed to his town house on the west side of Seattle. The September night sky was overcast. Unable to stop pacing, he moved outside to the rear balcony. The cool air brought a level of calm.

A kid.

Possibly his kid. The idea that she’d been pregnant with his child and hadn’t tried to reach him, hadn’t even fucking told him, made his blood pressure hit the roof. She’d gone on and raised their baby without his knowing—and it fucking gutted him.

He hadn’t been given the choice.

If the kid was his. He was getting ahead of himself.

The boy could be someone else’s. He pulled out his phone and looked at the news article again.

He studied the child’s face. As a toddler, Brick had had the same ringlets, which his mother never cut.

The same big brown eyes. God, the more he looked, the more the tike seemed to be the spitting image of himself at that age.

He replayed that night in his mind. The night he’d literally fallen for her. Every day since waking to find his hotel bed empty, not even a damn note left behind, he’d willed her to find him. Occasionally he’d searched social media, but he’d come up empty-handed every time.

Meeting Natalie had been perfection. If love at first sight existed, he’d sure had his piece of that pie that cold night in Fargo. Now there wasn’t a chance he could walk away and pretend as if he’d never met the woman. That one-night stand might have changed the rest of his life.

On paper, he’d done everything right. He’d been careful. Used protection. A sharp memory struck him. The condom had gushed apart when he took it off. That had never happened before, but he’d assumed he’d just peeled it off too quickly. Now he realized it could have broken.

Not only that, but they’d made love again afterward.

Regret ravaged him.

I should’ve given her my number. Should’ve let her know she was safe with me... should’ve done anything but fall asleep when I did.

He pinched the corners of his eyes. She was running. Probably scared. The news said she was wanted on suspicion of manslaughter. There was no way that was right. No way someone so soft and gentle, so shy and sweet—

Buzz , buzz

His phone vibrated in his hand, and he glanced at the screen. Ghost. Apprehension pressed against his esophagus. “Hello?”

“How’d I know you’d still be pining? I mean, awake.”

“Fuck off, Ghost,” he said, his patience snapping. “You got info for me or not?”

“Yeah, yeah. Hold your panties.” Brick heard the tapping of a keyboard. “Natalie Shaw, from Detroit, Michigan. Thirty years old. Five foot four, one hundred and fifteen pounds—”

“Tell me you’ve got more than was released on the fucking APB.”

Ghost grunted. “I’ve got information on the kid if you want it.”

“Go.” He exhaled to calm himself. If Ghost didn’t have concrete intel by now, the chances of finding Natalie were nil. But biting off his friend’s head wouldn’t make him work any harder.

“Gave birth to a baby boy two and a half years ago. Seven pounds, seven ounces. Name on the birth certificate is—One sec.”

Brick held his breath. It wasn’t as if learning the boy’s name would somehow confirm his parentage. Still, his heart lodged in his throat. He was desperate to learn something about the child who could be his—and the woman who’d slipped through his fingers.

“Bray Slater Shaw.”

He inhaled long and hard. “ Slater? You sure?”

“I’m not an idiot. I can read. Congratulations, it’s a boy.” Ghost’s voice rang with a hint of amusement and not an ounce of compassion.

“Jesus.” He covered his jaw with his hand, needing to anchor his head before it popped off. “This doesn’t mean the kid’s mine.” Part of him needed to rationalize. To come to grips with the possibility that he wasn’t a father.

That he hadn’t missed the first two years of his son’s life. Hadn’t known him. Hadn’t held him as a newborn, heard his first words, or watched his first steps.

And she’d had the fucking gall to use his last name as the kid’s middle. Intense anger rushed through him. “I need to find her.”

“Figured you’d say that,” Ghost murmured dryly. “I’m still trying to find out what these allegations are about. Using facial recognition, I spotted her in Detroit.”

He massaged his temple. Why would she stay in Detroit if they were looking—

A thought shook him. “Was the kid with her?”

“No. That’s the weird thing. I’ve got a positive ID on her as of a couple hours ago, but the child wasn’t with her.”

Ghost’s words echoed through him. Brick leapt to his feet and stalked inside to yank open his laptop. “That’s why she hasn’t left Detroit. She can’t leave her son.”

“Maybe someone’s watching the kid, or—”

“Or someone else has him.” The latter was a worst-case scenario, but he couldn’t stop his mind from exploring all possibilities. “I’m booking a flight to Detroit now. If you can find out where she’s staying before I land, I’ll talk to Rami about promoting you.”

Ghost guffawed. “I’m happy with the minimal work I do, thanks.”

“Just find out where she’s staying—please.”

His friend sighed. “I should have something for you in the morning.”

Brick thanked him and disconnected. Thirty minutes later he threw a duffel bag into the cab of his truck and peeled out of the driveway toward the airport.

***

Natalie took out the burner phone from her nightstand drawer her sister had given her two weeks ago, when she left Keetan.

She’d called only Ellie on the device so far.

Her sister’s paranoia had made Natalie roll her eyes, but that was Ellie.

Always one step ahead. She’d even helped Natalie get the apartment. But Keetan had found her.

After Keetan and his friends had left with Bray, she’d gathered her things and gotten the hell out of there. She needed to figure out how to get Bray back. Deep down, though, she knew there was only one way.

Mopping the moisture from her cheeks, she stared at the device. Her hands shook. Urgency made her want to call him immediately. To say or do whatever possible to get her son away from a madman.

But she had to be careful. Keetan didn’t just want her back home with him. He was beyond pissed she’d had the audacity to leave him. If all he’d wanted was her compliance, he would’ve dragged her from the apartment along with Bray.

No, this was a show of dominance. Intimidation.

She had to handle her cards right. She couldn’t play with fire when no one was there to protect Bray. Her heart wanted to believe Keetan wasn’t so cruel that he’d hurt an innocent two-year-old, but she also knew he resented Bray.

Had from the moment he’d seen her swollen belly.

Because he knew Bray wasn’t his.

That had been the ultimate blow to Keetan’s ego. Keetan was the only male Bray had been around, but he didn’t call him Daddy, had always called him Keetan. Even as a stepfather, her ex didn’t love Bray.

Bray’s biological father would, though.

She slammed the door on that thought. She couldn’t go there. Not now. If she dredged up the guilt she’d carried for the last three years, she’d crumble.

She entered Ellie’s number, and the line rang in her ear. It was late. She’d be sleeping—

“Hello?” her sister answered groggily.

“It’s me. I’m sorry to wake you.” Natalie leaned against the headboard and drew her knees into her chest.

The musty scent of the brown checkered comforter tickled her nostrils. Fear clung so tightly to every cell in her body that her brain couldn’t process how seedy the room was. Nothing mattered right now except formulating a plan.

“Oh my god,” her sister said, her alarm evident. “What’s wrong?”

Natalie winced and pulled the device from her ear. Fresh emotion rushed forth. “It’s bad, sis,” she said, a sob escaping. “They took him. K-Keetan. He has Bray.”

“What? No! Where are you?”

Pain exploded in her chest. Her shoulders shook as her mind replayed the events of the night. The memory of Bray’s desperate little screams tore at her soul.

“Tell me where you are. I’m coming to get you and I’m sending the police to Keetan’s place.”

“No, you can’t,” she urged. Panic welled inside her. “You haven’t seen the news. Keetan went to the cops—he gave them the evidence. Or something. He told them about me. I’m wanted under suspicion of manslaughter.”

Ellie cursed a blue streak. “That sonofabitch. I’ll k—”

“ Don’t! Don’t,” she repeated softly. They had to be careful. Keetan would know Natalie would reach out to Ellie. He could have even tapped her phone. The idea might be a stretch, but she couldn’t take any chances. “I need your help. I can’t tell you where I’m staying, but I’m still in town.”

She had to get her sister on a secure line so she could give her more information. “Can you call me back at this number?”

“I’ll have to get a phone, but yeah. Give me a little bit.”

“Okay. Ellie, please be careful. I’ve never seen Keetan this angry.” Not since she attempted to leave him three years ago.

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. Try to sleep, and I’ll call you in an hour or two. You need to rest.”

The throbbing pain in her skull and face confirmed that, but how could she sleep? She needed to hear Bray’s voice.

“Don’t do anything,” Ellie implored. “I mean it. Don’t call him yet.”

“Okay.” She hung up. Every motherly instinct told her to ignore her sister’s advice. She glanced at the clock: 2:13a.m.

She rested her head on the pillow and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Bray would be tired. Exhausted. He was on a strict sleep routine.

If Keetan had taken him to his house, knowing Natalie wouldn’t call the police, Bray would feel safe there.

He’d be upset, he’d cry for her, but he had his bedroom.

His crib. Familiar blankets and stuffies they’d left behind.

He’d sleep if he was in his room right now.

She was certain Keetan wouldn’t cuddle him. Bray also knew his stepdad wasn’t one for affection. Surely Keetan had plopped him in his crib and shut the door.

Natalie’s heart split in two.

My sweet baby. Lord, please don’t take him from me.