Mine

“Your kid.”

An alarm bell rang in his head. Something about the way she said it and how stiff she held her body. He sensed he hovered one step away from danger. “Damn straight.”

“Maybe you should—”

“Don’t say it.” He couldn’t hear it. Not from her. Not from one of the people he’d come to count on to make good decisions.

“I’m just trying—”

“I raised him.” Gabe stood up because sitting made him twitchy. “I fought for him and begged Linda to keep the pregnancy. Actually begged. Paid her money, made her promises. I would literally have done anything to convince her.”

The memories rushed over him. They’d been so young, and Linda wanted out. She’d rethought not going to college and no longer liked the idea of being stuck with a guy in the military. Really didn’t want a crying baby.

She’d been moved around her whole life thanks to her father’s inability to hold on to a job. Maybe that spooked her, or the Rick issue did. Whatever the combination, it took every ounce of strength Gabe had to win the birth battle.

She’d made the choice based on his promises. He’d never broken them. Never would. Never tried to reach her or make her be involved. Raised a good son, just as he vowed he would. “Linda didn’t want to be pregnant and certainly didn’t want me. I didn’t know then about Rick, but she’d gone from having these intense feelings to not wanting to be near me.”

Natalie put the album on the table with the others. “You loved her.”

“With all the conviction of an overwrought seventeen-year-old who welcomed any way out of his house.” With Brandon’s birth, Gabe lost his father. The old man refused to be a part of what he termed a ridiculous decision.

Over diapers and through deployments and time apart, struggling through the teen years and the times Brandon tried to buck authority. Through it all, Gabe would not have changed one damn thing. Looking at Brandon’s face right after he was born sealed the deal. Nothing else mattered the way his son did.

“Now how do you feel about her?”

Gabe didn’t have any trouble following the line of Natalie’s thinking and rushed to ease her concerns. “My feelings for her faded a long time ago. Trust me, there is nothing left.”

“But you have Brandon.”

Gabe nodded. “Yes.”

“No matter what.”

He gave her credit. She’d circled back around. Sounded so reasonable. He knew he should listen, but the idea of allowing in any doubt, even for a second, had him throwing up a wall and backing away. “The DNA test isn’t happening.”

She eased back into the cushions. “It could prove Rick is wrong.”

“I don’t care what a test says.” He was desperate to make her understand that simple fact. Blood didn’t make a father. Being there, actually acting like a father, made him one.

Without Brandon, Gabe had no idea where he’d be. Dead in a desert in someone else’s war, most likely. Having a son gave him purpose and direction. Too young, sure, but he didn’t really get a choice about whether or not to be responsible.

“But if it would give you an answer, make your life easier?”

He could almost see her mind turn as she analyzed. “I don’t need tests or answers. He is my son.”

“But—”

“End of story.”

TWENTY-THREE

Natalie rarely suffered from an attack of nerves. She decided what had to be done and did it. She didn’t waver or weigh emotional concerns. Everything depended on the intended outcome. Once she determined that it was just a matter of figuring out how to get there.

Applying that logic to Gabe and this situation with Brandon proved tougher. Gabe was so strong and practical, but his commonsense approach to problem solving abandoned him when it came to his son. Understandable, she guessed. Not something she could assess from experience, but for him a very real thing. Talking about the DNA test was like touching a live wire.

So, she’d come up with this solution. Even now she stood with the envelope she borrowed from Gabe’s desk. Inside she had DNA samples in bags. All an expert would need to provide the answer.

She kept telling herself this was the right course, that Gabe eventually would understand and come to appreciate having the suspense over. She’d only known about Brandon less than two weeks and about the parentage issue for days, and it had her tied up in knots. She could not imagine how Gabe got through the day.

But handing over the evidence proved harder than she expected. About a half hour after they arrived she’d asked for a minute with Eli and Wade and dragged them outside with her. Even now they looked over the land, sca

“This is an impressive place. Even blindfolded I could make out the acreage.” Eli’s gaze skipped to the pool and what looked like a pool house right next to it.

Wade went the more practical route and pointed at the motion sensors on the fence. “And the security.”

“Knowing Gabe, no surprise there.”

While their talking gave her more time to mentally walk through her plan, with each pass she became more confused. She just needed to end this.

She turned to Eli as her fingers skimmed back and forth over the sealed top of the envelope. “I need a favor.”

Eli frowned at her. “We are not sneaking you out of here.”

“I don’t want that.” The logic jump . . . okay, to be fair she could see how he got there. The old Natalie would have shu

Then there was the part where she didn’t want to leave Gabe. The idea of walking away made her throat clog. Filled her with a bubbling anxiety that made it impossible for her to even think.

Eli’s frowned kicked up into a smile. “Is this the Natalie I know?”

Now was not the time to debate how much she’d changed and why. She still hadn’t worked that out in her own head. Ru

She jumped to the real reason for their visit. Not about her agreement or her safety. About Gabe. “I need you to get a DNA test done. Quiet. No one can know. Not Bast and not any of the MacIntosh men.”

“This is starting to sound more like the Natalie I know,” Wade mumbled under his breath.

Eli skipped right to the point. “What are you doing?”

She just didn’t know what point he was trying to make. “Meaning?”

“Gabe is a good guy,” Wade said, moving in closer as the double-team began in earnest.

She thought about stepping back but didn’t bother. They’d be on her and rapid-firing questions in a second. She’d trained Eli, and Wade had i

“Then why are you setting him up?” Bigger than most guys, tall and broad, Wade loomed over her as he asked the question.

She shot one back. “For what?”

“I have no idea.”

They’d gotten off track. Somehow they’d gone from her risky idea to something she didn’t even want to know. “This isn’t about my case or even about me. This is a personal favor.”

“Sounds like you might be in the middle of something it would be better for you to step out of,” Eli said, drilling right down to the point that pulled at her.

“I can’t.”

Wade shook his head. “Won’t.”

Time to bring out the big guns. Make this a bit more personal. She turned to Eli. “How many times have I asked you for a favor?”

His shoulders fell. “Never.”

“That should tell you how important this is.” She was calling in a favor she never expected to use. The only thing that made it tenable was that she made this choice for Gabe.

Eli blew out a long, slow breath. “Shit.”

“Okay, but be sure,” Wade said, as he stepped directly in front of her. “Because whatever this is, you can’t undo it.”