Читать книгу The Return of Connor Mansfield - Beth Cornelison - Страница 9

Chapter 2

“I need to go back to Lagniappe.” Connor cast a side glance to the men on his couch as he paced his small living room in Dallas. “Just for a day or so.”

“You can’t do that, Sam,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Gerald Raleigh, a fiftyish man with thinning hair, a long, jowly face and the body of an aged football player, countered. “The program only works if you—”

“My name is Connor. Not Sam,” he argued, feeling peevish.

Raleigh sighed. “Connor Mansfield is dead. You’re Sam Orlean now, and if you want to stay alive—”

“I understand what going back there means. But I found out today that I have a daughter.”

Raleigh exchanged a startled glance with his partner, Deputy U.S. Marshal Jamal Jones. “How did you hear about your daughter?”

Connor stiffened and faced Marshal Jones. “You knew about Savannah?”

Jones, an African-American of approximately Connor’s age, with closely shaved hair and a short Vandyke, didn’t answer, but the twitch of muscle in his jaw and self-conscious lift of his chin said all the federal marshal didn’t.

Raleigh dragged a hand over his face. “How did you find out?”

Connor bit out a curse. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me? What right did you have to keep something like that from me?”

“For exactly this reason,” Raleigh said. “That part of your life is over, Sam, and knowing about your daughter would have only made it tougher to—”

“She’s sick. Or did you know that, too, and not tell me?” He divided a glare between his handlers and ground his back teeth until his jaw ached. “She has cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant. I may be her best chance for a match.”

Jones shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sam. But Gale’s men are still a threat to you. They could be watching Darby Kent’s house, waiting for you to show up. We’ve been monitoring Darby since you entered the program, in case Gale or his men made a move on her. That’s how we knew about the baby.”

Connor shook his head, confused, a chill coiling in his gut. After everything he’d sacrificed to protect Darby, could Gale’s men still be watching her?

“Why would they watch Darby if they believe I’m dead? She had nothing to do with Gale’s prosecution. You said you tied up all of the loose ends. I’m officially dead, right? So why—”

Jones raised a hand. “Connor Mansfield, witness for the state, is officially dead. And as long as you stay dead, there is little chance Gale can find you. You are safe, and Ms. Kent will be safe.”

“But if you suddenly come back from the dead,” Raleigh added, leaning forward and poking the coffee table for emphasis, “your cover is blown, you become a target again and you put Darby and her daughter in the line of fire.”

“Our daughter. She’s my flesh and blood, too!”

“Exactly.” Raleigh spread his hands. “So why would you put her in danger by returning from the dead? Think about her safety—”

“I am thinking of her!” Connor shoved his hands through his hair, gritting his teeth in frustration. “Savannah could die if she doesn’t get my marrow!”

Jones stood and jangled the keys in his pocket. “You don’t know that you’re a match.”

“What if I am?” Connor blew out a heavy sigh. “I have to try to save her. I can’t sit here, knowing she needs me, knowing I might be the one who could save her life and not do anything!”

“I understand your frustration and concern, Sa—”

“Do you?” Connor spun to face Raleigh. “Do you really understand? Giving up the woman I loved to enter the program nearly killed me. Not a day goes by I don’t think about chucking it all and going back, consequences be damned. Darby’s safety is the only reason I haven’t gone back before now. My life means nothing without her.”

“Sam, I know it is hard to leave behind—”

“You had no right to withhold the truth from me!” Connor jabbed a finger toward Raleigh, punctuating his point. “If I’d known I had a daughter on the way, I don’t know if I’d have ever agreed to entering WitSec without Darby.”

Jones shook his head. “We’ve explained why that was a bad idea. To make it believable that you’d died—”

“—the woman I loved had to believe I’d died, too. Yeah, yeah. I remember your reasoning, but...” Connor turned to pace again. “But things are different now. My daughter is sick. I have to go back.” He planted his feet and squared his shoulders. “I have an appointment Friday with Savannah’s doctor. There’s a chance I could be a marrow donor for her, and the doctor insisted on a face-to-face consult and more tests.”

Raleigh shook his head. “Sam...”

Connor firmed his resolve. “I have to try to help Savannah.”

“Even if it puts all of your lives at risk? Not just yours, but Darby’s and Savannah’s. Your brothers. Parents. Anyone close to you could be at risk, because Victor Gale hasn’t forgotten the man who brought down his father’s money laundering scheme and put ole Pop behind bars. He has a history of vigilante justice and revenge against those who cross his family.”

“I’m aware of that, but I am going. The question is, will you help me get in and out of town without detection?” When his handlers hesitated, Connor dropped heavily onto a wingback chair and propped his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. “I’ll be careful, use disguises. But I can’t sit here, knowing I have a daughter who needs me. Savannah will die without a transplant.” Connor gritted his back teeth and revisited the option he’d rejected years ago, for Darby’s sake. “Is it too late for Darby to join WitSec with me?”

Even as he asked, his gut tensed, knowing what a difficult move that’d be for Darby to make. Asking her to give up her life, her family, her home to be with him would be so horribly selfish. Did she even love him anymore? Perhaps she’d moved on, found someone else...

Raleigh grunted. “Hiding a child who’s as sick as Savannah would be highly dangerous, full of pitfalls. Besides the high level of medical care she needs, tracking you through her medical records, through treatment facilities would be far too easy. There’d be too many doctors and nurses and other patients involved who could talk and blow your cover, even if accidentally...”

“So then I have no choice. My mind is made up.” Connor divided an even stare between the two marshals. “I know the risks. I hate the risks, of course, and I’ll deal with them somehow. But my baby needs me, so I’m going home. I’m going to save my daughter.”

* * *

That Friday, with help from her longtime friend and almost-brother-in-law Hunter Mansfield, Darby packed Savannah’s bags, preparing to take her daughter home following the last chemo treatment. When her cell phone rang and the caller ID showed Dr. Reed’s office, she assumed the call was about Savannah’s discharge papers and directions concerning her at-home care. Darby answered, relieved to have the chance to ask questions. She hadn’t felt this nervous about taking Savannah home from the hospital when she was a new mother with a one-day-old baby.

Hunter had Savannah distracted, animating her stuffed rabbit to make her laugh as Darby took Dr. Reed’s call. “Hello?”

“Darby, it’s Jillian Evans in Dr. Reed’s office.”

“Oh, hi, Jillian.” Darby smiled hearing the friendly voice of the nurse who’d been so helpful and supportive in recent months. “We got Savannah’s discharge papers, and we’re just getting ready to leave the hospital now.”

“Oh, great, but...that’s not why I’m calling.”

Darby heard an odd note of apprehension in Jillian’s voice, and her gut immediately clenched. Bracing for bad news—God, she was tired of bad news—Darby said, “Go on.”

“Well, Dr. Reed asked me to call you about some rather confusing information we have regarding a potential donor for Savannah.”

Darby’s spirits lifted. “You have a potential donor?”

Hunter’s head jerked up, and she met his hopeful gaze as she listened to the nurse explain.

“Well...yes. Dr. Reed will call you later to tell you more about that, but...” Elation made Darby’s head spin, and her heart pounded so hard she almost missed Jillian saying, “But his test results show something that has Dr. Reed puzzled.”

“Puzzled? What’s wrong?” Like being on a roller coaster, her stomach swooped, her mood crashing from high to low again. Here we go. The bad news...

“The DNA tests that show that he is a strong candidate as a donor also say, with statistical certainty, that he is Savannah’s father.”

The air froze in Darby’s lungs. “Wh-what? That’s impossible. Connor is dead.”

Hearing his brother’s name mentioned, Hunter rose to his feet and hurried over to Darby, pressing his ear close as she tipped the phone for him to listen in.

“That’s what Dr. Reed understood from your records, which is why she wanted me to call. Are you sure about who Savannah’s father is? Is it possible this other man—”

“No! There was no one else. I don’t sleep around, if that’s what you’re asking.” Darby’s hand shook, and she dragged in a breath, trying to make sense of what the nurse was telling her. “Your test is wrong. This guy can’t be Savannah’s father. Connor Mansfield is Savannah’s father, and he died four and a half years ago.”

“Of course we can run the test again. Dr. Reed just wanted to double-check with you, in case maybe...”

“But if the test was wrong about him being Savannah’s father—” Darby held her breath, tears pricking her eyes “—does that mean it was wrong about him being a match for her, too?”

“We’ll have to see. It’s just all so odd, especially since he initiated contact with us about being a donor.”

Darby’s legs buckled. “He did?”

Hunter squeezed her arm, supporting her, but his own face was paler than normal.

“Who is this guy? Where is he from?” she asked.

“He’s from Texas, I think. Don’t worry, Dr. Reed will screen him and assess if he’s a nut job or if he’s truly a viable donor. In fact, she’s meeting with Mr. Orlean now, and she’s requested new tests, pending what she learns in her consult with him.”

Darby blinked. Shook her head as if she’d heard wrong. “Wait. What did you say his name was?”

“Sam Orlean. Why? Do you know the name?”

“I—maybe. It rings a bell but...” She fumbled through her memory. A classmate? A customer of Mansfield Construction? No. It was more recent. Darby looked at Hunter, and he shrugged and shook his head, silently denying any familiarity with the name.

She dredged up the call earlier in the week from her insurance company. Was that where she’d heard the name? She replayed bits of the call in her head, trying to conjure the man’s name. But other pieces of the conversation were what stood out.

Would her father have been a suitable match?

I’m sorry, Dahr-by.

“Connor,” she said under her breath, not daring to hope. And yet...

Her imagination raced, and just the possibility that Connor might still be alive made her dizzy with expectation. The need to know, the demand for answers pounded through her like a tribal chant. Connor. Connor. Connor.

“As soon as Dr. Reed gets out of her meeting with him, I’ll have her call you with—”

“Then Sam Orlean is still there, at your office right now?” Adrenaline made her pulse pound so hard in her ears, she could barely hear, much less think. Connor. Connor. Connor.

“He’s in with the doctor, discussing his test results and—”

“Don’t let him leave.” She squeezed the phone tighter and hurried to grab her purse from the chair by the bed. “Stall him. I’m on my way.”

“But—”

She hung up before Jillian could object and sent Hunter a pleading look as she rushed to the door. “Will you stay with her? I have to know.”

“Of course,” Hunter said, his expression reflecting his own shock and need for answers.

Darby jogged down the hospital corridor to the elevator. Dr. Reed’s office was in a medical building a couple blocks away. She debated taking her car but decided that by the time she got to the parking garage, dealt with traffic and red lights and parked again, she’d get there faster on foot.

On the elevator, she pushed the lobby button again and again as the car descended, as if it would make the elevator go faster. She knew better, but her nerves jangled, and she needed something to do until the doors parted at the lobby. Hiking her purse higher on her shoulder, Darby flew out the front door of the hospital and made a beeline for Dr. Reed’s office. She dodged people on the sidewalk, wove through cars to cross the street and took the stairs at the medical building rather than wait on another slow elevator.

By the time she raced through the door of Dr. Reed’s office, she could barely catch her breath. Though she’d run track in high school, she’d let herself get out of shape in recent months, while dealing with Savannah’s illness.

She approached the receptionist desk, panting. “Sam...Orlean? Jillian said...he was...here.”

The receptionist looked up and smiled at her, but when she saw Darby gasping for air and sweating, her smile fell away. “Um...he was here. But they just left.”

Darby’s whole body sagged, dejection sandbagging her. “He left? I told...Jillian to...stall....”

“Darby.” Jillian appeared behind the receptionist, frowning and shaking her head. “I tried to keep him here, but when I mentioned you wanted to meet him, he got agitated, and they left in a big hurry.”

She stiffened. “They? He had...someone with him?”

“Yeah. A big guy. Light brown hair. About fifty. Clean-cut and—”

Darby waved her quiet. “Never mind. How long ago did they leave?”

“They just did. Seconds before you got here. I’m sorry—”

Darby spun back toward the door, leaving her purse, encumbering ballast, on the receptionist’s counter. Heart in her throat, she sped back down the stairs, but this time made her way toward the parking garage. She had to have at least a glimpse of this man whose DNA tests were so confoundingly wrong. Unless...

He initiated contact...

Dahr-by...

She slammed through the heavy door to the parking garage and skidded to a stop on the concrete landing. From the slightly raised vantage point, she could better see over the top of cars on this, the main deck of the garage. She swept a glance down each aisle and spotted three men, an African American, a tall man with light brown hair and a raven-haired man with a beard, sunglasses and baseball cap.

“Mr. Orlean?” she called, her breathless shout drowned out by noise from the street below. She hurried down the steps and chased after the men. “Mr. Orlean?”

She stared at the back of the man in the cap as she ran to catch them. The broad shoulders and confidence in his stride seemed familiar, though his hair was many shades darker than Connor’s.

She closed the gap between them before trying again to get their attention. “Mr. Orlean! Please, wait!”

The man in the cap stiffened, slowed. When he started to turn, the black man beside him glanced over his shoulder and pushed the dark-haired man toward a silver sedan. With the fob in his hand, the tall, older man clicked the locks off and opened the back door of the sedan. With a jerk of his head, he motioned for the man in the cap to get in the car.

They weren’t just ignoring her; they were escaping from her. Puzzled and more than a bit miffed, Darby shouted again, “Wait! Sam Orlean, I need to talk to you!”

When she reached the silver sedan, the black man tried to block her path, but she shoved past him. She grabbed the arm of the man she believed was Sam Orlean as he tried to climb in the backseat. “Wait!”

He froze for a moment, dropped his chin to his chest then, straightening to his full height, he turned.

Mumbling an earthy obscenity, the older man stepped forward as if to intervene, but Orlean raised a hand to stop him.

Winded, Darby gasped for a breath and grabbed the open car door for support, her body shaking as she studied the beard-covered face. The man’s coloring was wrong, his hair too dark. His eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses and shaded by the cap. And yet...

He stood stock-still, except for a slight shudder as he drew a stuttering breath.

The chant in Darby’s brain screamed louder— Connor, Connor, Connor! Reaching up, she snatched away his cap, pulled his sunglasses off.

His jaw tightened, and he looked away, scowling at the cars parked across the aisle.

“Look at me,” she whispered, and when he refused, she screamed, “Look at me, damn it!”

She grabbed his chin and wrenched his head toward her. When he lifted his eyes to hers, they were damp with tears, brimming with regret and apology. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Her knees buckled, and her lungs seized.

She knew those golden-brown eyes. Intimately. They were her daughter’s eyes.

“Connor.” Her voice squeaked as her throat clogged with emotion. Her body shook with unspent adrenaline, and she lifted a hand toward his cheek. He wrapped long, warm fingers around hers, moving her hand off his face and squeezing her hand. Stunned, she grappled with what her heart was telling her, while her brain rejected the truth. A hesitant joy filled her chest like helium, expanding, lifting her hope. But a darker emotion lurked at the edges of her shock. She shoved the darkness aside, not wanting anything to shadow the moment.

Tears filled her eyes as a half laugh, half sob bubbled up from her chest. “You’re alive!”

He gave the slightest of nods, but that tiny confirmation sent a tidal wave of conflicting emotions coursing through her. Relief and elation tangled with disbelief. She surged forward to hug him, to celebrate their reunion. But the older man beside them caught her arm, separating them. “Not here.”

She blinked her confusion, looking to Connor for answers. His expression was grim, full of grief and regret. “I’m sorry.”

His apology released the darkness she’d tried to hold at bay. A chill crept from her scalp to her toes as the first flicker of understanding dawned on her. Anger and resentment elbowed past her other emotions.

He’d left her. On purpose. He’d deceived her, let her think he was dead. He’d said he loved her, but he’d abandoned her.

Just like her father.

Her hand flew up, surprising herself as much as him when she struck his cheek. Hard. “You bastard!”

“That’s enough,” the black man growled. He grabbed her, restraining her arms as he pulled her away from Connor.

Darby fought the captive arms. Furious. Heartbroken. “You lied to me! You said you loved me!” she spat at Connor.

“Get in.” With a hand on Connor’s head, the older man pushed him into the backseat.

“No!” she shouted, desperation rearing its head. She couldn’t lose Connor again. “Wait!”

The older man hitched his head to the black man, whose muscular arms held her like a vise. He hitched his head toward the backseat. “Bring her. We need to contain this.”

Fear clawed inside her as the black man lifted her effortlessly and shoved her in the backseat.

“What the hell?” Connor barked. “Let her go!”

When her abductor pushed into the car behind her, she toppled onto Connor’s lap. He caught her, steadying her as the car engine roared to life. Panic choked her as the sedan pulled sharply out of the parking space and lurched down the garage aisle. She clung to Connor’s arm for balance.

“Let me out! Please!” Tears and terror strangled her. “I have to get back to Savannah. My daughter needs me!”

“Damn it, Jones!” Connor snarled. “This was never part of the plan. What are you doing?”

We need to contain this. An ominous shiver spun through her. Who were these men, and what was Connor involved in? What was she now involved in?

* * *

Connor scowled at Marshal Jones as Raleigh pulled out of the parking garage onto the city street. Forcing Darby into a car against her will was not the best way to start an already difficult conversation. She was understandably confused, terrified.

“You’re safe, Darby,” he said and stroked a hand down her back, trying to calm her. She jerked away from his touch and sent him a dirty look. In her eyes he saw hurt, confusion, fear...but mostly fury. His return from the dead had her royally pissed.

Connor sighed, his heart heavy. Had he really thought that she’d simply fall into his arms and all would be forgiven and forgotten? That she’d still love him after so many years? That the lie of his faked death and subsequent hurt he’d caused could be swept aside merely by returning from the grave?

Using the rearview mirror, Marshal Raleigh glanced to the backseat at Jones. “What’s the plan? Where am I going? Back to the hotel?”

Darby lunged toward the front seat, grabbing at Raleigh’s arm. “Take me to St. Mary’s Hospital! My daughter is there. We were about to take her home!”

Jones pulled Darby off Raleigh. “Not yet. We have to talk.”

She wrenched away from Jones with a frown, then wiggled off Connor’s lap. She squeezed onto the seat between him and the car door, pushing him closer to Jones. When Raleigh stopped for a red light, Darby scrabbled with the door handle, trying to escape. Without success.

“Childproof safety locks,” Jones said evenly. “They’re not just for parents anymore.”

Raleigh chuckled, but Darby shot Jones a look that said she didn’t appreciate his dry humor. Then her gaze shifted back to Connor, and he felt the same kick of yearning and awe he’d known every time her green eyes had met his in the past. Except now her gaze was suspicious and hostile.

“Connor, who are these people? What’s going on? H-how are you still alive?”

He gave her a humorless laugh. “Wow. I missed you, too, honey. Thanks for the warm welcome home.”

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.”