“None. Because Lucas is not for sale.”
Houston obviously ignored that. “How much? Because you know what? As much as this disgusts me, I’ll give you fifty million for him.”
She made a sound of outrage.
“Seventy-five million,” Houston countered.
That did it. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone behind her because Gabrielle slammed on her brakes. Her tires squealed in protest, and she brought the car to a jarring halt amid the fumes and smoke of the rubber burning on the asphalt.
Gabrielle grabbed him by his shirt, gathering up wads of fabric in her fists, to make sure they would have a face-to-face conversation and complete eye contact. “I didn’t have Lucas so I could sell him to you, or anyone else. I had him because I’ve wanted a baby my entire life, and I didn’t want to wait until Mr. Right showed up so I could have a traditional family. Lucas is my family now. Your late wife might be his biological mother, but I carried him for nine months. I gave birth to him.”
She fought it, but the emotion clogged her throat, making her voice a whisper. Tears sprang to her eyes. “He’s my baby, and I won’t let you take him.”
Houston opened his mouth, probably to return verbal fire, but he stopped and glanced behind them. When he didn’t bring his gaze to hers, Gabrielle looked to see what had captured his attention.
It was a black car.
And it had come to a stop about thirty yards behind them.
“Is that the same car that you said was following you, the one that belongs to me? “ he asked.
Gabrielle turned fully in the seat so she could get a better look. Not that she needed it.
She recognized the black car with the heavily tinted windows. That tint made it impossible to see the driver or anyone else who might be in the vehicle.
“No. I told you that was a Range Rover,” she clarified. “The one behind us is a different vehicle, but I have seen it before.”
“When and where?” he snapped.
She fought through the fog in her head so she could remember. “The first time was the day I took Lucas home from the hospital.”
“The day you stole him.”
That should have given her another jolt of anger, but she was too concerned about that menacing vehicle behind them. “I didn’t steal him. After the hostage situation ended, the police had completed the DNA test on him, and I figured we were free to go. My mistake was in not telling the police that I used a donor embryo. Needless to say, I wasn’t thinking straight after being held at gunpoint for hours.”
“But you had something to hide,” Houston reminded her. “Because you went on the run.”
“Yes, because of that car back there. I thought it was following me, and I was afraid it might be someone involved with the hostage situation.”
“An accomplice?” he questioned.
She nodded. “I figured that was a strong possibility, so I asked for police protection. They didn’t have the resources to provide a round-the-clock guard, but they did say they would send an officer to patrol my neighborhood. I didn’t think that was enough.”
He made a sound that was possibly an agreement. If he’d lived through the hostage situation as she had, he wouldn’t have thought it was enough, either.
“I lost sight of the car that day,” she continued, “but it reappeared about a week later, outside the hotel where I was staying. That’s when I changed locations.” And why she continued to change.
The fear started to grow. That same fear that’d caused Gabrielle to be on the run for the past six weeks. “Please tell me you know who’s in that car. Is it someone who works for you? “ she asked, hoping.
“No.” And Houston didn’t hesitate, either. He took out his phone.
Gabrielle grabbed his wrist to stop him. “If you call the sheriff, he’ll take me into custody for questioning. Maybe he’ll even arrest me for what the cops think is an illegal surrogacy. If I’m arrested, you’ll never find Lucas.”
Houston volleyed glances between the car and her. The vehicle started to inch its way toward them. “You said you had Lucas hidden safely away?”
“Yes. Of course,” she answered, cautiously.
“Good. Because that’s not one of my vehicles back there, but it could belong to someone connected to the hostage situation.”
Her fear went up another notch, even though she’d already been through this mentally a hundred times. “But why follow me? If they want to eliminate a potential witness, why not just try to kill me?”
“Maybe because they haven’t had the right opportunity. Maybe they wanted to wait to kill you when they figured there would be no one around to see. Like now, for instance, when you’re on a deserted country road.”
Oh, God. He could be right.
“Start driving,” Houston instructed. “But keep your speed down.”
She glanced at the car, nodded and got her own vehicle moving. Thankfully, the black vehicle stayed put.
“If the gunmen did have an accomplice, would he have known that you had a child?” Houston asked her.
Gabrielle didn’t have to think long about that. “Probably. Lucas was born in the hospital not long after the gunmen stormed the place. After I delivered him, the gunmen made the nurse take him and put him in the nursery because they wanted all the babies in one place.”
She shuddered and bit her bottom lip to keep those nightmarish memories at bay.
Houston cursed and shook his head. “Could this accomplice know that he’s my son?”
She started to say no, but the truth was, Gabrielle had no idea, because she didn’t know who these people following her were. She’d been a lawyer long enough to know that leaks happened. Information could be misdirected. And people could be bribed.
“Oh, God,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” Houston agreed. “There could be a good reason why the accomplice hasn’t already killed you. They might want you to lead them to Lucas. That way, they have you, Lucas and about a billion dollars they can demand for my son’s ransom.”
Gabrielle’s gaze flew to the rearview mirror.
The black car was coming right at them.
Chapter Three
Houston wanted to curse. How the hell had he let this situation come to this?
He should have tackled Gabrielle when she ran from the barn, or else forced her to stay put while he made arrangements to go and get the baby. He damn sure shouldn’t be sitting on a
