home to me.” Narrowing her eyes to slits, she skewered Frank with her angry glare.
Frank cleared his throat, then took a step toward Leenie. Easing backward, she held both hands in front of her, a gesture that warned him not to come any closer.
“Dammit, Slim, don’t you think I want that baby to be Andrew? Don’t you think I want to drive to Memphis and be the one to go in there and tell those slimeballs that I want to adopt the baby and then get him away from them as quickly as possible?”
“Then why don’t you? Why can’t we pose as the people wanting to adopt Andrew, then—”
“Moran will send in a couple of federal agents,” Frank told her.
Leenie nodded. “All right. And if the baby is Andrew?”
“If these people supposedly representing the birth parents have the baby with them, they’re not going to release him immediately to the adoptive couple. A price will have to be agreed on and a second meeting set up to sign legal documents and exchange cash for the infant.”
“What are you not telling me?”
Frank swallowed. Damn! She wasn’t going to let this go until she knew everything. “It’s complicated. The feds have a major case going on, something they’ve been putting together for quite some time. In order to bring down the ringleaders of the infant abduction ring, they can’t do anything that might tip off these people and that includes grabbing this particular infant before the time is right. The entire procedure could take several days, maybe even several weeks.”
“I see.”
No, she didn’t. She didn’t see, didn’t understand. And she hated him. It was all there in her eyes, in the cold, distant expression.
“Leenie…”
“The FBI has its own agenda and if Andrew gets lost in the shuffle, too bad. He’s just one baby out of hundreds, right? What difference does it make if they lose him as long as they save all the others?”
“That’s not the way it is.” Frank held out his hands to her.
“Yes, it is. You don’t have a problem going along with Special Agent Moran’s plans, do you? You see the big picture, whereas I see only the little picture. Andrew. My son is all that matters to me. Call me selfish and uncaring of other people’s feelings, but all I want is my baby! And if Andrew meant a damn thing to you, he would be all that mattered to you.”
“Leenie, give Frank a break,” Kate said. “His hands are tied. Moran is in charge and no matter how much Frank and I would like to rush in and grab this baby—be he Andrew or not—we can’t. We won’t. If we did, we might not only jeopardize the child’s life, but we would definitely jeopardize the bureau’s operation that is on the verge of—”
“To hell with the bureau’s operation. I want my baby! And I’m going to get him.” She glowered at Frank. “With or without your help.”
Frank glanced at Kate. God help them, Leenie was irrational.
When Leenie ran into her bedroom, Frank turned to Kate. “What do I do now?”
“Be patient and understanding.”
“Should I go in there and—”
“No, leave her alone. Let her calm down. I’ll check on her in a little while.”
Two minutes later Leenie came barreling out of her bedroom. Wearing a black winter coat and carrying her black shoulder bag, she stormed past Kate and Frank on her mad dash to the front door.
“Where are you going?” Frank called to her.
“Where do you think? I’m going to Memphis!”
Frank groaned. Damn it! She’d completely lost it. She wasn’t thinking straight. She had no idea where Moran was or where the meeting tomorrow would take place.
“Leenie, come back,” he told her when she yanked open the front door.
Ignoring him completely, she rushed outside. Frank ran after her, catching up with her on the sidewalk. When he grabbed her arm, she turned on him, a snarl on her lips and maternal rage shining in her eyes.
“Don’t do this,” he said. “Slim, pull yourself together. You have no idea where to go in Memphis. And Moran is not going to tell you or me or Kate. Whether we like it or not, all we can do is wait.”
“No, dammit, no!” She hurled herself at him, her fists pounding against his chest. “I want my baby. I want Andrew.”
He allowed her to vent her anger, frustration and fear by pummeling him repeatedly. When her blows became nothing more than unsteady, weak strikes, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. She sank into him. Exhausted. Soul weary. He held her with a fierce protective strength, wanting nothing more in life than to ease her pain.
“We’ll get him back,” Frank said.
Burrowing against him, her head on his shoulder, she clung to him. And after several minutes, she lifted her head just enough to gaze into his eyes. He hadn’t realized he’d gotten emotional until she reached up, caressed the side of his face and then wiped away a lone tear from his cheek.
Chapter Six
Making love should always be this wonderful, this intense. Every fiber of her being felt Frank’s touch. What had begun with soft gentleness quickly progressed to ravaging hunger. She needed him—wanted him—as a woman wants only that one special man. For her, Frank Latimer was that man.
His mouth was hot and demanding. His tongue probed, then plunged. The kiss consumed her, possessed her. Her body surrendered to the pleasure, reveling in the luscious abandonment. How long had she waited to be with him again? It seemed like forever. Frank was special, different from any other man she’d ever known. They fit together so perfectly and had from the first time they’d made love, as if they were old lovers who had long ago memorized every inch of each other’s bodies. He had touched her physically and emotionally on a level she’d never experienced.
He rose up and over her, his big naked body magnificent, his erection projecting outward boldly. As he settled between her thighs, she caressed his sex. He shuddered. She smiled, loving the power she possessed to arouse him unbearably. He allowed her to pet him for a few moments, then eased out of her grasp and probed her body, seeking entrance. Opening herself up to his invasion, she cried out when he entered her, the sensation so satisfying. She loved the feel of him inside her. Big. Hard. Hot.
She looked up at him. He tossed back his head and closed his eyes. Instinctively she lifted herself and wrapped her legs around his hips, bringing him deeper inside her, increasing his pleasure and hers. He groaned. She sighed.
“I can’t get enough of you, Slim.” He whispered the words as he nuzzled her ear.
“I know the feeling.” She kissed his neck.
He withdrew, then plunged deep and hard, burying himself completely inside her. He alternated deep thrusts with heated kisses and damp, demanding forays to her breasts. She tingled from inside out, on fire for him. The tension inside her built gradually, increasing with each
