Delores Fossen - Surrendering to the Sheriff

Her I’m sorry didn’t cause his jaw to relax, though. “We’ll talk about the baby later. For now, I want to know anything you haven’t told me about what those men said to you. And no, I’m not accusing you of being a part of it. I just need to know anything that’ll help us find that dirtbag who drove away in the SUV.”

Kendall didn’t especially want to relive the images of the attack or her kidnapping, but she also didn’t want to focus on the pain that the stitches were causing in her arm.

“I don’t know either of them,” she started. “At least I don’t think I do.”

Aiden latched right on to that. “You don’t think you do? Does that mean maybe there’s something you recognized?”

“Maybe,” she had to concede. “There was possibly something familiar about the one who did most of the talking, but I just don’t know what. The other, however...the dead one...he had an accent. Jamaican, perhaps, and he was black, because I saw his hands.” She paused. “I’m guessing he didn’t have an ID on him?”

“Nothing, but we’re running his prints now. Once we know who he is, we might be able to figure out who hired him.” Aiden stared at her, apparently waiting for her to suggest who that might have been.

“I don’t have a clue who hired them, but it wasn’t me or any of Jewell’s kids.”

“You’re sure?” he pressed.

She nodded. Prayed she was right about that. “Rosalie, Rayanne and Seth all love Jewell and want her cleared of the murder charges, but they wouldn’t put me at risk to do that.”

“They know about the baby?” he snapped.

Kendall shook her head. “Only your sister Laine knows. Like I said, she saw me coming out of the OB clinic. Since she’d also somehow heard rumors about us being together that night at the bar, she put one and one together.”

“And she didn’t tell me,” Aiden grumbled under his breath.

“Don’t blame Laine. I begged her not to tell you or anyone else.” Much to her surprise, it appeared that Laine had kept her secret.

That comment earned her a glare from Aiden. “She’s my sister, and she should have told me.”

Kendall was about to ask if he had actually even wanted to know, but the medic eased a bandage on her arm and stood.

“What you heard in this room stays in this room,” Aiden warned the medic. “Got that?”

Since Aiden could win an intimidation contest hands down, the guy was smart to nod. “Follow me to the ultrasound room.”

As she probably didn’t look too steady, Aiden took hold of her arm and helped her stand. Good thing, too, because the dizziness returned with a vengeance, and she had no choice but to lean against him. Judging from the way the muscles in his body stiffened, he wasn’t pleased about that. Still, he hooked his arm around her and led her up the hall.

“You were just going to leave town,” Aiden said, clearly not pleased about that, either. Of course, she hadn’t said anything yet that’d pleased him.

Kendall nodded. “I thought it was for the best.”

“Well, it wasn’t.” He probably said that a lot louder than he’d intended, because the medic glanced back at them. “I had a right to know that I made a baby with you that night,” Aiden added in a much lower voice.

He said that night as if it were profanity. Which to him it probably had been. Kendall had felt the same way, too, immediately afterward. Yes, Aiden and she had skirted around this attraction for years, but with their families at serious odds, a one-night stand had been a stupid thing to do.

“I won’t think of this baby as a mistake,” she clarified.

She figured he would disagree with that, but he didn’t. Kendall also figured he wouldn’t go into the ultrasound room, but once they reached it, Aiden waltzed right in.

“I’m staying,” he insisted before she could give him an out.

Again, the medic looked at them, his volleyed glances finally landing on Kendall. “The tech won’t be long, but I can wait here if you want.” There was concern in both his tone and expression. However, Kendall shook her head to assure him that it was all right for him to go.

“It’ll be okay.” Well, she’d be safe with Aiden at least, but Kendall could feel a mighty storm coming her way.

About the baby.

About her decision to leave him out of this.

“Okay, then.” The medic tipped his head to her arm. “If you need something for the pain, just let the ultrasound tech know, and I’ll have the doc write a script.”

Kendall thanked him, knowing that she wouldn’t be taking any painkillers even if she needed them. They’d be too risky for the baby.

The medic stepped out, finally, and Aiden didn’t wait long to get that storm started. “How long have you known you were pregnant?” he asked.

“For about two months.” She probably would have figured it out sooner if she hadn’t been in complete denial. Denial about a possible pregnancy anyway. The memories of that night had stayed with her.

Big-time.

She’d lusted after Aiden for so many years. Too many. They were both thirty-six now, and the heated looks had started about twenty-three years earlier. The heat clearly had some staying power, because even drunken sex had fulfilled more than a fantasy or two. Sadly, Aiden had lived up to those fantasies in spades. If any part of it had been lacking, she maybe could have finally pushed Aiden out of her head.

So much for that happening now.

Especially since he was right in front of her. And his scowl and bunched-up forehead weren’t the lust killers that they should have been. Probably because even with a scowl, Aiden managed to make most men look just plain ordinary.

“Jewell doesn’t know?” he asked.

Kendall shook her head. “I figured I’d tell her after the trial.”

That deepened his scowl. “A trial that might not happen if the goon in the ski mask gets his way.”

She hadn’t even thought of that. If whoever was behind this couldn’t get Aiden to destroy the evidence, then he or she might just hire someone else to do the job.

“I’ve had the evidence moved,” Aiden said. “It’s being couriered to the Ranger Lab in Austin. So Jewell’s out of luck when it comes to that.”

Maybe out of luck, period. The bone fragments had been identified as belonging to Aiden’s father, and that meant Jewell had means, motive and opportunity to have killed the man who was supposedly her lover. It certainly didn’t help that Jewell wasn’t denying the deed.

And now this.

If this was linked back to Jewell, the DA could tack on some obstruction of justice charges along with other assorted felonies like kidnapping and attempted murder of a county sheriff.

“Even you have to admit that it would be stupid for anyone connected to Jewell to try to destroy evidence,” she said.

Aiden made a sound of agreement. “Stupid, yes, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I’ll be looking at Jewell’s daughters and stepson. Joplin, too.”

Jewell’s lawyer, Robert Joplin. Of all the suspects that Aiden had just listed, he was the one at the top of Kendall’s list. Because Joplin was hopelessly in love with Jewell. Had been for years and would do anything to save her. However, that didn’t mean Joplin was the only one with motive for this attempted fiasco.

“I hope you’ll look at your own family, too,” Kendall tossed out there. “Your mother and sister Shelby aren’t exactly fans of Jewell, and they might have done something like this to make her look even more guilty.”

And while that wasn’t as strong of a motive as her family’s, Jewell knew that Aiden’s family had secrets.

Secrets that even Aiden might not know.

She braced herself for him to jump to their defense. Didn’t happen. “I’ll be talking to them and anyone else who hated Jewell and my father.”