Claim & Protect Page 25

  “Absolutely,” Mr. Lineman said. “The other agents will help us check on the way out as well and can report back if we see anything.”

  “Appreciate it.”

  The two ducked out the door and hurried down the steps. Whether Ms. Fuentes was pissed she hadn’t had the chance to play with her handcuffs, or was plotting to castrate the person who’d called in the tip was hard to say, but she covered the ground between the plane and their sedan in short order for someone with such short legs.

  His guests offered their thanks and said their goodbyes, lingering long enough to make sure they could exit the field without any undue attention. Only when Jerry had finally offered a mock salute and headed to the hangar did Trevor fire up his phone again.

  Knox answered quickly, the speakerphone sending white noise through the line behind his voice. “Talk to me.”

  Pausing at the top of the Gulfstream’s steps, Trevor watched the last unmarked sedan disappear around the security gate. “Think it’s safe to say, Wyatt made his play.”

  “And?” Axel demanded.

  A strong gust of wind whipped around the plane, the chill behind it as sharp as Trevor’s focus. “He struck out. Now it’s my turn at bat.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  God, Nat loved the holidays. As a kid, she’d always anticipated the exciting stretch between Halloween and New Year’s. The sights. The sounds. The delicate approach of cooler weather and the anticipation of memories accumulated with family. Since Levi had been born, they’d become even more precious. Like the universe had offered up a chance to relive the joys of her youth from a whole different perspective.

  Outside the passenger window, the streets of her neighborhood crept by, the heavy Friday-afternoon traffic making Trevor’s task of getting them to Levi’s school twice as cumbersome. The skies were overcast and the promise of impending rain hung thick in the air, but even the humidity couldn’t douse her mood. Even working a six to three shift so she could be the one to pick Levi up after school and processing twice as many irritated customers as usual, she was still on cloud nine.

  Trevor’s rich voice slipped through her thoughts. “You got a problem with my driving, or did you drink a pot of coffee for lunch?”

  Natalie ripped her gaze from the crowded convenience store on the corner and shook her head to clear it. “Huh?”

  He grinned and dipped his head in the direction of her lap. “That leg of yours has been jangling since we left the parking lot. Tryin’ to figure out if you’ve developed a fear of my driving, or if you’re overdosed on caffeine.”

  Well, damn. She forced her heel against the floorboard to still her leg and shrugged. “Sorry. I’m just excited.”

  “About the holidays?”

  “Yes. But more than that. I thought this Christmas was going to be torture, but now it’s got a chance to be extra special. Our first big holiday where we can be who are we and enjoy the time together.”

  “I take it holidays with Wyatt were something else?”

  Boy were they. Formal and tied to rigid agendas prescribed by Wyatt’s mother and her burgeoning social calendar. “At first they were okay. The first year we were together—before I got pregnant—we only joined his parents for a few holiday events. Otherwise, we kept to ourselves. After that, things changed. We spent more time at social events and abiding by his mother’s agenda than we ever spent enjoying each other.”

  She rubbed her shaky hand atop her jean-clad thigh. “Levi’s never known the kind of Christmas I grew up having. An easy Christmas Eve, watching Christmas classics, making our own food in the kitchen. Heck, even waking up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought and opening gifts was a structured event. I hated it.”

  Trevor reached across the console and covered her hand with his. “We’ll change it.”

  We. As in the two of them. The concept added a fresh layer of giddy to her already euphoric spirits. She twisted her hand, laced her fingers with his and squeezed. “I can’t wait!”

  His low chuckle filled the cab, mingling with the strains of a bluesy country ballad as he turned onto the school’s block.

  Her phone rang and she hefted her purse onto her lap. “When you get to the far parking lot, just get in line behind the other cars in the far right lane. The attendants won’t recognize your truck, so we’ll give them Levi’s name when we get to the front and they’ll walk him to us.” She swiped the answer button without checking to see who it was, wedged it between her shoulder and ear and zipped her bag. “Hello?”

  Wyatt’s voice volleyed back in the harsh, unbending tone he seemed to reserve for her and Levi alone. “Are you picking Levi up?”

  “Yes, of course. I told you I’d get him from school today. Is there a problem?”

  “I need him at my house at six o’clock. I’ve decided to take him with me to my event tomorrow night and spend the holiday at my parents’.”

  Everything froze, the music in the background dimming to a hazy drone while her mind scrambled to catch up. “What?”

  “I need him at my house at six as we’d originally planned. You had him for Thanksgiving. Christmas is mine.”

  “But you said—”

  “I know what I said. I’ve also realized my boy needs to be with me for the holidays and I’ve decided to put his best welfare first.”

  Trevor squeezed her thigh, a silent yet comforting show of support even as his mounting tension filled the truck.

  “His best welfare?” Her shriek ricocheted off the windshield and her cheeks fired with enough heat they tingled. “His best welfare is not getting jerked around by his father. We made plans, Wyatt. Plans Levi was looking forward to. Things he’ll be crushed if he learns aren’t going to happen.”

  “Like spending the whole time at your new fuck’s ranch?” What followed couldn’t be called a chuckle. More like sinister pride garbled up in audible form. “Yeah, Levi shared all about it last night before he went to bed. If you think I’m going to let that bastard play father to my kid over Christmas, you are sadly mistaken.”

  God, she hated that phone. Hated it almost as much as the man who’d given it to him. “Trevor’s not trying to play anything. Levi likes the horses and wanted the room to run and play.”

  “Then he’ll have ample time at his father’s and his grandparents’. Your cowboy can play wannabe dad the next time he’s with you.”

  Anger shifted to prickling dread, and the heat wafting from the floorboard vents blanketed her in a suffocating grip. He wouldn’t waver. Wyatt never did when he started in with that tone. “Please don’t do this. Think about your son.”

  “I am thinking about my son. I’m thinking about what kind of impression it makes when his mother spends the night with a man she’s not married to. Now, you have him at my place at six in accordance with our divorce decree, or we’ll deal with your failure to comply in court.”

  “But we had an agreement.”

  “Prove it.”

  And there was the crux of it. She’d trusted Wyatt and his generosity and had failed to get anything confirmed in writing. Now, Levi would be the one to pay in broken promises and disappointment.

  Trevor’s hand tightened on her thigh. “Shut him down, Nat. We’ll deal with this later. We’re almost to the front of the line and Levi doesn’t need to hear this.”

  “That man’s with you right now?” Wyatt barked through the phone. “Jesus, you just couldn’t wait to get your fairy-tale bullshit going could you?” He scoffed and something in the background thudded against a hard surface. “At my house, Natalie. Six o’clock sharp or I’ll file for sole custody first thing Monday morning. Don’t think I won’t get it.” He hung up before she could argue, the coffin finality of it resounding clear through to her soul.

  She powered off the phone and gently set it on the center console.
Three minutes. That’s all it had taken for Wyatt to upend everything without the slightest drop of remorse.

  “I gather he’s changed his mind about Christmas.”

  Natalie nodded, the weight of her disappointment too thick and muddy to let any words bubble to the surface. What had she ever seen in him? Worse, how had she missed everything he kept hidden beneath his polished surface? She was a nurse—or at least she had been before she’d foolishly given up her career. They were trained to look for details. To be watchful and follow their instincts. But she’d ignored all the signs. Stuffed them deep and pretended to be something she wasn’t for a man who willingly hurt his own child out of spite.

  Trevor pulled into the far lane, easing behind the long line of cars. Like her, his demeanor had shifted from light and easy to somewhere just shy of volatile. “He’s not gonna win this, Nat. He might take this round, but he will not win long-term. I’m done sitting on the sidelines and watching him jack you two around. One way or another, I’m wading in and making this right.”

  Her head snapped up. “You can’t, Trevor. That’s the whole reason he’s doing this. He’s jealous. Levi told him how we were spending the holidays and he’s changing the plans out of spite. If you get involved, it’s just going to make it worse.”

  Trevor’s face hardened, the cold fury behind his blue eyes plummeting the temperature in the truck to nearly arctic levels. “You’re fucking kidding me. He said that?”

  “Yes! He said he wasn’t going to let you play daddy to his kid, and I’m setting a bad impression for our son.”

  The muscles at the back of Trevor’s jaw twitched. “I brought this on you.”

  “Yes.” She shook her head and fisted her hair on the top of her head. “I mean no. I did. I should have thought about how Wyatt would twist it and made sure we made arrangements to come home.”

  Trevor pulled to the front of the line and slammed the gearshift in park. “No.” He shifted in the seat to face her. “This isn’t on you. It’s on me, but I’ll make it right. Swear to you, Nat. I’ll make it right, and we’ll make it up to Levi. He’ll get a second Christmas as soon as he’s home. Twice as long and better.” He forced her chin up and met her gaze straight on. “Promise you, darlin’. This is the last time that fucker jacks with you and your son.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  This was why Trevor avoided Christmas shopping at all costs. Too damned many people and not nearly enough patience to go around. Four hours he and Gabe had canvassed the mall, zigzagging between stores and exercising Trevor’s credit card with a gift-giving enthusiasm only a woman could muster. What little calm he’d wrangled while curled around Natalie while she’d slept the night before was nearly gone, but he’d happily endure twice as much shopping torture if it brought a smile to his woman’s face.

  He still hadn’t shaken the sound of her sobs from his head. The deep, gut-wrenching way her torso had shaken against his and the death grip she’d kept on his shirt. Wyatt might have won the battle, but he’d earned himself a full-scale war. “Sole custody my ass,” he muttered to himself.

  Gabe glanced up from her perusal of a huge display of silk robes in every vibrant color imaginable and frowned. “I thought our mission was to wow Natalie with so many gifts she was too busy opening presents to cry, not rehashing all the ways you’re gonna gut her ex.”

  “No, you’re on a mission. I want her to actually like her gifts, so I’m just handling the bankroll.”

  “Oh, she’ll like them.” Pulling the coral option from the rack, she held it up high for Trevor to see and waggled her eyebrows. It was short enough it would barely cover her ass and the slick fabric would no doubt cling to her luscious curves. “I doubt she’ll be the only one.”

  The minx. Gabe might have struggled with public places and social situations once upon a time, but with her new yet significantly extended family behind her and the way she’d tackled therapy, she had a lot fewer problems doing her female comrades proud at the mall. “Starting to think I might have been smarter to bring Viv with me and leave you to planning the party.”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s a swell idea. Let the mechanic plan the surprise instead of the event planner who does it for a living.”

  For a second, the niggling doubt he’d wrestled since the mothers and Vivienne had suggested tonight’s surprise party billowed up full force. “You sure this is a good idea?”

  Gabe hesitated mid-grab for a sheer teddy made of ivory lace and glanced down at the pile of clothes draped over her arm. “You don’t think she’ll like it?”

  “Not the robe. The party. I’m not sure distracting her like this is a good idea.”

  “It’s a great idea.” A holiday flip, Viv had called it. New Year’s Eve first with all the adult perks, and Christmas a week later when Levi was back. “You’ll make it special for her and him. Trust me. It’ll work out.”

  He hoped like hell she was right. One thing was for sure. If time, care and attention counted toward healing a woman’s heart, his brothers and the rest of their motley brood would have her fully recovered by the time the clock struck midnight. Even Frank and Maureen were committed to the mission, Maureen in particular taking on the task of prying her daughter out of the house if that’s what it took.

  His phone vibrated in his back pocket. Worried it was Natalie, he dug it out so quickly he nearly fumbled it while juggling all the Christmas loot. “Yeah?”

  Instead of Natalie, it was Knox’s smart-ass voice that greeted him. “Man, for a guy that demanded we kick our shit into high gear twenty-four hours ago, you’re awfully hard to reach with news.”

  Trevor checked the side of his phone, scowled and flipped the ringer back to active. “I’ll be outside,” he murmured to Gabe. “Knock yourself out.”

  The wicked grin she shot him said his bank account was about to take another serious hit, but in this store the payback would be more than worth it.

  He ambled out of the fancy lingerie shop into the chaotic flow of people along the main hall. “What news?”

  The tone in Knox’s voice shifted, the lowered pitch and the lack of background noise indicating his focus was squarely on the call instead of drawn between too many monitors. “Early this morning, Wyatt Jordan withdrew a rather sizable payment from one of his investment accounts. We’re talking three times what he paid the last time. About two hours ago, three boxes with our trackers ended up directly in his office...delivered in person.”

  “My middleman?”

  “Yep. Same guy that picked up the product when Beckett dropped it off in Fort Worth. Beck’s had a man on his tail ever since. How the guy stayed a shadow this long, I don’t get. He’s sloppy as hell.”

  “And Wyatt paid him triple?”

  “Yep.”

  “So, my middleman’s the leak.”

  “That’s what it looks like.”

  “I want him.”

  “How’d I know that was gonna be your first response?” Knox laughed and the muted taps from his keyboard sounded through the phone. “Beckett’s already contained him, but I’m not sure you’re gonna get first crack at him. You know how fired up Beck gets.”

  “Don’t care. He’s mine.”

  “Yep, I get it.”

  Across the massive hallway was a jewelry store with only a quarter of the people milling in the other nearby stores. Not surprising really. The place looked pretty damned swank and probably had a high price tag to go with the décor. He ambled that direction. “Gia set up with the sting yet?”

  “She didn’t have to. Someone from Wyatt’s office called about thirty minutes ago. She’s got an appointment on Tuesday.”

  The second he stepped inside the fancy shop, the crowd’s roar dimmed to dull background noise, replaced with soft classical music designed to comfort patrons as they whipped out their Amex cards. “I wa
nt him loaded up. He put down three times the normal pay, so let’s make sure his inventory matches the payment.”

  “Already on that, too. Beck and Danny are going in tonight, but they’re taking extra goods courtesy of Otter’s crew.”

  “I thought Otter stuck to the lighter stuff. Not sure that’s gonna make sense in a plastic surgeon’s office.”

  “He does. Doesn’t mean he can’t get access to the kind of designer dope Wyatt’s patients would be interested in. If we’re takin’ Wyatt down, we need to make sure standing up afterward’s not easy.”

  It made sense, and the fact that he hadn’t been the one to think of it rubbed him all kinds of wrong. Then again, he’d been preoccupied with fantasies of smashing the fucker’s face.

  The glass case in front of him sparkled with at least two dozen diamond rings in every shape and size. Soft spotlights shimmered off their many-faceted surfaces in a mesmerizing glimmer.

  A masculine voice punched through his thoughts. “Is there something I can show you, sir?”

  Trevor’s head snapped up and he took a huge step back. “Maybe in a minute.” Or in another month. Maybe a year. However long it took for him to get that close to the display again and be able to draw a steady breath.

  “You still shopping?” Knox asked.

  “Gabe’s shopping. I’m financing.”

  “Man, you’re braver than me. I’m an online only guy. That many people makes me kitchy.” The rumble of Knox’s chair wheels against the tile floors echoed through the line and his voice shifted like he was mid-stretch. “You need anything else from me? I’ve got to dig through my contacts and find a decent hookup for tonight’s big shindig. No fun being alone on our modified New Year’s Eve.”

  “You can tell me where my rat’s holed up. I’m thinking a little pre-party stress relief’s in order.”