like ice chips. Looking at him compared to Slade made her wonder why she’d been stupid enough to give him her virginity.
“Nina, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” William barked. “Didn’t you understand my warning last night?”
“Warning?” Slade asked in a lethal tone.
Nina shifted. “William threatened to tell my coworkers at school that I’m crazy.”
“Is that so?” Slade glared at William. “Well, I’m working for Nina now, Hood, and I don’t like bullies.”
A vein throbbed in William’s forehead. “And I don’t like smarmy P.I.’s nosing into my business.”
A nasty grin slid onto Slade’s face. “You don’t, huh? Well, you’d better get used to it, because I’m just getting started.” He shouldered his way past William into the foyer of the condo. “And no one, especially some skinny-assed lawyer, is going to stop me.”
* * *
SLADE GROUND HIS TEETH in an attempt to rein in his temper. He couldn’t tolerate any man who’d abandon his own child, and this man had rejected his before his baby had even been born.
To think that Hood would use his money, status and weight to intimidate Nina infuriated him.
If it were his own child and he were in Nina’s situation, he’d move hell and high water to find out the truth, just as she was.
“Mister—”
“Blackburn,” Slade cut in.
“Either leave or I’m going to call security.”
“William, please,” Nina interjected. “All we want is a few minutes.”
William gave her a seething look. “There’s nothing to talk about, Nina. We’ve been over this a thousand times.”
“You never wanted to have a child, did you?” Slade asked.
William glared at him but drew a breath, adopting a professional mask that Slade was sure he used in court. Probably to free any lowlife slimeball who paid his salary.
And judging from the condo and the pricey modern furnishings, he either had a lot of clients or his fees were enormous.
Hood checked his Rolex. “Excuse me now, I have work to do.”
Slade caught his arm. “First you’re going to answer some questions.”
Hood jerked free of Slade, his suit jacket crinkling as he squared his shoulders. Finally he gave a labored sigh. “Five minutes.”
The temptation to hit the bastard was so strong, Slade rolled his hands into fists. “What makes you so sure that your baby died in the fire in Sanctuary?”
A cold look settled in Hood’s eyes. “If you’d seen that explosion, the chaos, the debris…you’d know there’s no way that anyone left inside survived.” He paused. “And Nina and the sheriff certainly questioned everyone at the hospital.”
“Maybe not,” Slade said. “You’re a lawyer. Kidnappings happen in hospitals all the time. Can you honestly say that it wasn’t possible for someone to have carried your baby outside and disappeared with her?”
For the briefest of moments, Slade saw Hood’s mind working, saw the hesitation in his eyes, a moment where he actually considered the possibility. But it quickly disappeared, and the uncaring façade returned, his skepticism firmly tucked in place.
“Even if it were possible, it didn’t happen,” Hood said. “According to the police, every other baby was accounted for. The unit exploded before the rescue workers could save Nina’s child.”
“She was your child, too,” Slade pointed out.
Beside him, he felt Nina’s wave of pain as if it had washed through him. But she didn’t react. In fact, he admired the way she maintained her composure.
“Nina and I came to an agreement before the child was born,” Hood said sharply.
Slade gave a sarcastic laugh. “You came to an agreement? You mean you acted like a spoiled, selfish prick and declared that you didn’t want the child.”
“I was only nineteen,” Hood said defensively. “I had plans.”
Nina folded her arms. “So did I. But that didn’t mean that I could walk away from our baby.”
“That’s right, Nina. You’re such a damn saint,” Hood bit out. “You can’t even let the child go when everyone has told you she’s dead.”
A brunette with wavy hair and catlike eyes appeared with a frown, her silk pantsuit flowing freely. “What’s going on, honey?”
Hood jerked his head toward her. “Mitzi, we have company,” Hood said. “Nina and her new detective, Mr. Blackburn.”
“God, Nina,” the woman muttered. “Don’t tell me you’re nagging William again.”
Hood wrapped his arm around Mitzi’s shoulders. “Sorry, sweetheart, but she’s still as crazy as ever.”
“We were discussing the night of the fire in Sanctuary,” Slade cut in. “You seem certain of the facts, Hood, but I spoke with Dr. Emery, the ob-gyn, and I think the case is worth investigating.”
Slade removed the bagged doll from inside his jacket and held it up. “In fact, last night someone left this on Nina’s doorstep.”
Mitzi made a shocked sound, then clung to William’s arm as if she feared Slade had stabbed the doll himself just for effect.
Slade directed his comment to Hood. “Where were you last night?”
Mitzi answered before Hood could respond. “He was with me. All night,” she said with a suggestive smile.
Hood made a clicking sound with his teeth. “Blackburn, you poor, dumb sucker. Obviously Nina forgot to mention a few details about her past.”
“William, don’t,” Nina said in a choked whisper.
“Don’t what, Nina?” Hood scowled at her. “Tell him the truth, that you’ve pulled this same stunt before?”
Slade shot Hood an angry look, but something about the guilt in Nina’s eyes warned him to tread slowly. He was here to investigate, find out the truth, whether or not Nina liked it.
Whether or not he did.
“What are you talking about?” Slade asked.
William’s expression turned pitying. “Nina has a habit of suckering people in with her sweet smile and big, sad eyes. But she’s unstable. She has been for a long time.”
“If you’re referring to the fact that she had a breakdown after her baby went missing, then yes. I am aware of that.”
Hood arched a
