Delores Fossen - Newborn Conspiracy

“Not even close. What made you suspicious of Brighton?”

She almost refused to answer, but maybe he knew something about this, as well. Maybe the tables would be reversed and he could provide her with some answers.

“Someone was following me,” she explained. “Then once, someone actually tried to kidnap me. After that incident, I went to the police and they found a miniature tracking device taped on the undercarriage of my car. By then, there were rumors that Brighton was being investigated for illegal adoptions and lots of other criminal activity.”

He shrugged. “So why take the files?”

“I thought I was just taking my file. I wanted to make sure there were no…irregularities. Because by then, I’d gone through the insemination and was nearly five months pregnant. I wanted to verify that they hadn’t done anything that would ultimately harm my baby.”

That earned her a flat look.

“And you know the other file that you took was mine,” he tossed out there to her.

Because Mia didn’t think it would do any good to deny it, she nodded. “I don’t know how it got mixed in with mine.”

“Don’t you?”

Surprised with his increasingly icy accusations, she shook her head. “No. I don’t.”

“Did you read the file?” he demanded.

“I glanced at it, because I didn’t know what it was at first. I thought it was part of my records.”

He made a sound to indicate he didn’t believe her. “I’ll bet you did more than glance. But then, you already knew what was in it, didn’t you? You’re the reason that file was at Brighton.”

Stunned, Mia stared at him. She hadn’t expected him to say that. Nor did she know why he’d said it. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course, you do. Five years ago, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I’m cured now, but because my treatment could have left me sterile, I decided to stockpile some semen. It was stored in Cryogen Labs, here in San Antonio. That file you took, the one tucked inside yours, was my file from Cryogen.” He paused. “What I want to know is why you did it?”

Tired of the ambiguous questions, Mia threw out her hands. “Did what?”

He huffed as if he thought she were stonewalling him. But she wasn’t. Mia had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

“ He’s your nephew ,” he said, enunciating each syllable. “That’s what you said right after I told you that you’d had a son. You said that because—”

“I was delirious.” Her voice was so filled with breath that it hardly had sound.

“No. You said it because you thought it was true. You thought I was my brother. Therefore, you thought my brother had a nephew. And since he’s my only sibling, there’s only one conclusion I can draw from that.”

Logan McGrath stared at the carrier seat. “Judging from what I’ve uncovered, the little boy that I delivered is my own son.”

Chapter Two

“ My son ,” Logan mumbled, in case Mia Crandall hadn’t heard him.

But, of course, she had heard every word. She sat there, shaking her head and looking…terrified.

That wasn’t quite the reaction he’d expected. He’d thought she would at least look a little guilty.

“Why did you do it?” he asked. And this time, he would get an answer.

“Do what?” she argued.

He groaned. He was already tired of this game. “Why did you use my semen to have yourself inseminated?”

“I didn’t.” And there wasn’t a thread of doubt in her denial. “I asked for an anonymous donor.”

Figuring that it would intimidate her, he stared into her eyes, not plain brown as he thought when he first saw her on the porch. They were rich dark amber with flecks of honey gold that were nearly the same color as her loose sweater and coat. Mem orable eyes.

As was the woman herself.

Despite what he thought about her—and his thoughts about her were pretty bad—Logan had to admit that Mia Crandall was damn attractive. It was in part the hair, he decided. He’d always been a sucker for a redhead and she had that in spades. Her hair was long and thick; it framed her ivory-pale aristocratic face.

However, it was also her mouth that caught his attention. Full and lush. Nothing aristocratic about that part of her anatomy. That mouth stirred something primitive and male deep inside him.

But he wouldn’t let that get in the way of what he had to do.

Besides, he didn’t need another redhead in his life.

“I was shocked when I saw your file, because I’d requested someone with light-colored hair.” She combed her gaze over him. His hair was incredibly dark. In fact, for some missions Logan had posed as an Italian, a Greek and even someone of Lebanese descent. No one had ever questioned that foreign pretense.

She paused and stared at him. “Mercy, do you actually believe that I arranged to make you my baby’s biological father?”

“You bet I do.”

Well, he’d believed it until a few moments ago, anyway. Now, after seeing her shocked and disgusted reaction, Logan wasn’t so sure.

He hoped like the devil that her mouth and hair weren’t responsible for this wavering of his beliefs. Just in case it was, Logan forced himself to remember that all the evidence made her look guilty as sin.

“I would never choose a man like you to father my child. Never .”

That stung, but Logan tried not to be insulted. From her point of view, he was a mercenary. That wasn’t even close to what he did for a living, but to correct her would mean explaining things he couldn’t get into. Best for Mia to believe the mercenary part rather than know the truth.

Some secrets should stay secret.

Not hers, of course. Because her secret involved him in the most personal way.

“So, you didn’t arrange to use the semen I’d stored at Cryogen Labs?” he clarified.

“No. I didn’t arrange it, and if I’d known, I would have stopped it before the insemination.”

Logan continued to push because he still wasn’t convinced she was telling the truth. “When did you find out I was the anonymous donor?”

Her gaze lifted slowly and met his. “When I saw your file. By then, it was too late. As I said, I was already five months pregnant.”

He studied her, thought about it. She seemed sincere, but that didn’t mean she was. Someone had arranged this and Mia Crandall was the most likely candidate. Maybe if he discovered her motive all the other pieces would fall into place. Which would be a good thing. Because so far, he hadn’t been able to figure out much.

“Did you think if you had my baby, that you could blackmail me in some way?” he asked.

She looked at him as if he’d grown a third eye. “Excuse me?”

“Blackmail?” Logan repeated.

“And why exactly would I want to do that? I have money. As you probably know, I was the sole heir to my parents’ estate and it was worth several million. I can live quite well for the rest of my life.”

Yes, he did know that. “Maybe you wanted even more money. Or maybe you wanted to have some psychological hold over me because you feel I’ve wronged you. Or you feel that I owe you something. Maybe you’re connected to someone involved in a past case that I worked on.”

She huffed. “You’re sounding paranoid.”

He had a reason for that. “My ex-girlfriend made me paranoid about females in general. She used to like to follow me and make my life difficult.”

Her chin came up. “Well, I’m not your ex-girlfriend. And I had no idea who you were before I saw the file that’d been tucked inside mine.”

“You’re sure?” Logan pressed.

“Dead sure. Plus, the reason I chose insemination was so I wouldn’t have any moral or personal obligations—or for that matter, any contact whatsoever—with the sperm donor. That’s all you are to me, Logan McGrath. A sperm donor . It doesn’t matter if there was some kind of mix-up at Brighton. It doesn’t matter what you think I’ve done. You have no part in my life or Tanner’s life. Now, get out of my car.”