Beth Cornelison - The Return of Connor Mansfield

A fresh wave of anger hardened her face briefly before tears filled her eyes and grief slackened her features. “You jerk. Of course I missed you. I died inside when I thought I’d lost you!”

Compunction punched him in the gut. “I’m sorry, Darby. I just—”

“Sorry?” she shrieked and landed an inert fist on his arm. “We buried you! Your parents had to pick out a headstone for their son. Your brothers carried your casket. I saw them wheel a body bag out of the charred cabin. But it was all a lie!” A tear broke free from her eyelashes, and when he reached up to wipe it from her cheek, she knocked his hand away.

“Honey, I know my leaving hurt you and my family. I’m sorry. I am! Leaving all of you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done! If I’d had any other way—”

“You did! You could have not pretended to die, not devastated us, not lied to us—”

“I did it to protect you. All of you. I loved you, Darby. I didn’t want to hurt you, but the Gales wanted—”

“You abandoned me. You don’t abandon someone you love.” Her voice cracked, and she turned toward the window, biting her bottom lip.

Connor mumbled a curse and rubbed his face.

After pulling the car into an alley with a tall privacy fence on one side and a department store loading dock on the other, Raleigh cut the engine. He caught Connor’s attention via the rearview mirror. “I know you two have a lot of personal stuff to air out, but can we stick a pin in it for now? The more immediate problem is coming to an understanding with Ms. Kent and assuring her silence.”

Darby’s chin snapped up, her eyes widening. “That sounds like a threat. What do you mean assure my silence? Connor, what kind of thugs are you involved with?”

“Not thugs, ma’am,” Jones said, pulling out his badge. “Deputy U.S. Marshals. Sam Orlean is under our protection as part of WitSec, the Witness Security Program.”

“U.S. Marshals?” Darby ignored Jones’s badge and scowled at him. “Since when is it okay for federal agents to kidnap law-abiding citizens?”

* * *

Darby’s stomach swirled sourly, and she held her breath, wondering where she’d found the nerve to so openly challenge these men. The bulges under their jackets were almost assuredly guns. How far would these men go to assure her silence?

The man named Jones looked surprised. “You haven’t been kidnapped. You’re free to go whenever you like.”

Darby scoffed. “Childproof locks ring a bell?”

Jones smiled and sent Connor a side glance. “Feisty.”

“Just one of her many attributes,” he replied.

“Marshal Raleigh,” Jones said, still smiling, “would you be so kind as to unlock Ms. Kent’s door for her?”

“Roger that.” Raleigh pushed a button on the driver’s door, and the rear door locks clicked off.

Darby blinked, startled by the turn of events. Was she really free to go, or would they shoot her in the back if she tried to leave? She glanced from the door to Jones, narrowing her eyes as she decided whether Jones was pulling a trick. She tested the door release, and it popped open. Then she paused. Connor.

She jerked her gaze back to Connor, the man she’d once loved and conceived a child with, and her heart staggered. This wasn’t about a standoff between her and two U.S. Marshals. The important issue was Connor. Who was alive. In Witness Security. And who’d contacted Dr. Reed.

He could well be a tissue match for Savannah’s bone marrow transplant. Connor.

She exhaled a ragged breath, shifting her gaze from one man to another. And closed the car door. “I... All right. You have my attention.”

Chapter 3

Connor divided a look between Jones and Raleigh. “Do you want to do the honors?”

Jones waved a hand in deferral. “Go ahead. We’ll jump in as needed.”

Darby sighed impatiently. “Someone talk.”

Turning on the seat to better face her, Connor scooped Darby’s hand in his. For a moment, he thought she might yank it back, but she hesitated, eyeing him with a combination of suspicion and concern. “Do you remember right before I...left—”

Her eyebrow rose as if taking issue with his euphemism. You abandoned me.

Connor’s chest wrenched. Knowing how hard Darby had taken his disappearance—no, his faked death—poured acid guilt on his conscience. He’d known she’d be heartbroken. They’d been in love, planning to marry. But he truly hadn’t realized how bitter, how hurt she’d be.

He puffed out a breath and plunged on. “You remember that I testified in the federal trial against William Gale, right?”

She nodded, holding his gaze.

“Well, what I didn’t tell you at the time was that the Gales have ties to organized crime. In fact, they head up a branch of organized crime that operates in Lagniappe.”

She sat straighter, her eyes widening and her face paling. “Organized crime? But—”

“I didn’t know about their criminal connections when I went to work for them. And I didn’t learn about the criminal activity for a long time. They’re quite good at hiding their illegal sidelines.”

Darby held up a hand. “Wait. I’m sensing this is too big to cover in one hurried conversation parked in a back alley.” She flipped her wrist and checked her watch. “I’ve already been gone too long. Savannah is leaving the hospital today. She was almost ready to go when I bolted out of her room to follow my hunch about you.”

Connor frowned. “Who’s with her now?”

“Hunter. But I have to get back. I—” She leaned toward the front seat, grabbing Raleigh’s arm. “Take me to St. Mary’s Hospital. Now!” She sighed and added, “Please.”

Raleigh turned on the seat to face his partner. “She’s right about one thing. We need to get her back to the hospital before her absence causes concern with the family or hospital staff.”

Jones tapped fingers to his lips as he thought. “Okay.” While Raleigh started the engine again, Jones narrowed a serious look at Darby. “Here’s the deal. Witness security only works if the subject breaks all ties with his former life. No one can know Sam is still alive.”

“But his family—”

“No. No one. Do you understand?”

Darby hesitated, nodded, then knitted her brow in consternation. “Wait, how is Connor supposed to be Savannah’s donor if no one can know he’s alive?”

“Connor can’t. Connor is dead. But Sam Orlean can.” Jones paused and leaned toward Darby to emphasize his point. “As long as his cover remains intact.”

Darby glanced at Connor, then back to the marshal. “Only problem with that is my family, Connor’s family...everyone knows Connor is Savannah’s father. And because of the DNA tests he took, so does Dr. Reed and her staff. They even called me to ask about it. They were puzzled when the tests showed Sam Orlean—” she drew quotation marks with her fingers as she said the name “—was Savannah’s biological father. They wanted to know if I was sure it was Connor who’d fathered my baby. As if I slept around and couldn’t keep track of my lovers.” Her tone held a bitter edge.

“That could work,” Raleigh said from the driver’s seat as he negotiated traffic. “You could tell the doctor you had a one-night stand while on vacation and were too embarrassed to say anything before now.”

Darby’s expression mirrored her outrage. “Pregnant from a one-night stand? Hell, no! I’m not that kind of woman.”

“We’re not saying you are. But if you could tell people that’s how you got pregnant, that’s why Sam Orlean of Dallas is the girl’s father—”

She visibly tensed, her fury palpable. “You mean lie? If I tell people that, I become that woman in the eyes of people I love and respect.”