nodded and pressed the towels to her head. “I didn’t break in, by the way. The door was unlocked, but you should know that I would have broken in if necessary. I needed a place to hide.” She staggered, caught the back of the chair.
Drury cursed and went to her, holstering his gun so he could help her get seated and have a look at the wound that was causing her to bleed all over his kitchen floor. His stomach knotted when he saw the wound close-up.
“Did someone club you on the head?” he asked.
Caitlyn nodded, lightly touched the wound and grimaced when she saw the blood on her fingertips. “I’m not certain who did it. I didn’t get a look at his face. But it could have been the same man who shot at you.”
And if so, the thug had come to finish what he’d started, and Drury had gotten caught in the middle. Caught only because she’d come here. But why?
“You’re sure you don’t know who he is?” Drury pressed.
Even though he didn’t spell it out, she obviously got what he meant. Was this connected to her late husband, Grant Denson? Grant had been dead for nearly two years now, but he’d been involved in some nasty illegal stuff when he was alive that might now have come back to haunt Caitlyn.
Of course, when you sleep with snakes, you should expect to get bitten.
Was that what had happened now?
“I honestly don’t know the man’s name,” she explained. “But I know why he’s after me.” Her voice broke, and a hoarse sob tore from her mouth. “God, Drury, I’m so sorry. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and I didn’t think he’d come here.”
All right. That got his interest. Because she had a mother-in-law, Helen, who was loaded, not just money-wise but with all sorts of resources, including but not limited to thugs who could take care of the person who’d clubbed Caitlyn on the head.
“Start from the beginning,” he demanded.
Caitlyn didn’t exactly jump to do that, but she did nod again and then took a couple of seconds to gather her breath. “The year before Grant was killed, we were trying to have a baby, and we went to the Conceptions Fertility Clinic in San Antonio.”
Everything inside him went still. He was well aware of the clinic because of the shady things that’d happened there just a month earlier. Specifically, embryos had been stolen and implanted in surrogates so that the former clinic manager could then “sell” the babies to the biological parents.
Ransom, extortion and black-market babies all rolled into one. Nasty business.
“All the babies were recovered and given to their parents,” Drury reminded her.
Caitlyn paused a heartbeat. “Not all.”
“Are you saying...?” But he stopped. “What the hell are you saying?”
“Day before yesterday I got a call from a man who said a surrogate had given birth to mine and Grant’s daughter and that if I wanted the child, then I’d have to pay him a million dollars. He sent me a swab with the baby’s DNA, and I had it analyzed. The man was telling the truth.”
DNA could be faked. So could test results.
“And?” Drury questioned. “How did you get Grant’s DNA to do a comparison?”
“From a comb I found in his things that I’d boxed up.”
Drury made a circling motion for her to continue.
“I arranged payment, draining nearly every penny from Grant’s estate, but when I went to get the baby, she wasn’t there. Instead, the man demanded even more money.”
Drury groaned. “Let me guess. They told you not to go to the cops or that you’d never see her again?” He waited for her to confirm that with a nod. “That’s what criminals tell marks like you. Hell, they might not even have the baby. Or there might not be a baby at all. Even if the DNA appears to prove it’s your child, they could have gotten the DNA from an embryo sample stored at the clinic.”
Other than a soft moan, she didn’t get a chance to respond because Drury’s phone rang. “It’s Grayson,” he said, glancing at the screen.
That got her back on her feet, and Caitlyn shook her head. “Please don’t tell him I’m here. Not yet. I’m not sure who I can trust.”
“Well, you can’t trust me,” he snapped.
But that was a lie. He was a lawman and would do whatever it took to protect her or any other bleeding woman who showed up at his house.
“Please,” she repeated, sounding just as desperate as she looked.
Drury wasn’t going to let that please or desperation sway him. He intended to tell Grayson everything because while she might not trust his cousin, Drury darn sure did.
“We found the shooter,” Grayson said the moment Drury answered the call. “He’d crashed his SUV into a tree about three miles from the ranch. He’s hurt but alive.”
“Who is he?” Drury asked.
“No ID, and the vehicle is registered to a woman in Austin.”
Maybe that meant the SUV was stolen. Of course, Drury already knew this guy was a criminal capable of murder. “Did he happen to say why he fired shots at me or what he was doing at my place?” Drury pressed.
Caitlyn moved closer. Too close. No doubt trying to hear the conversation.
“He’s not saying much of anything. He’s groggy, slipping in and out of consciousness,” Grayson added. “We’ll get him to the hospital, but I did find something in the SUV that was, well, disturbing. Some rope, a ski mask, duct tape and rubber gloves.”
No baby. Though Drury hadn’t expected there would be. Caitlyn had likely been the victim of a scam, and now that they couldn’t milk any more money from her, this thug had been sent to get rid of her.
“I’ll head to the sheriff’s office now,” Drury insisted.
“You need a ride? When I drove by earlier, I saw your truck was messed up.”
“Yeah. That thug shot the radiator. But I have a car in the garage. I’ll also have someone with me who can shed some light on this.”
Caitlyn was shaking her head before he even finished.
“Who?” Grayson asked, but he continued before Drury could respond. “Gotta go. Ambulance is here. You can tell me when you get to the office. See you in a few.”
“No,” Caitlyn said, still shaking her head when Drury ended the call. “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have told Grayson you were bringing someone in.”
And she took off. Not toward the door but rather into the living room.
“What the heck do you think you’re doing?” Drury asked.
She didn’t answer that. Caitlyn hurried to the side of the sofa,
