Chapter Two

CLENCHING his jaw, Tyler stared at Delaney. Clearly, the woman had lost her mind if she thought for an instant that he was going to stay behind and babysit while she threw herself headlong into danger. The bad shit was his department; she’d never faced it, and he’d be damned if he let her do it alone.

But he also knew Delaney. If he argued, she’d only dig in her heels. Tyler weighed his words carefully. “I’ll be very glad for any time you give me to get to know Seth.”

She released the pent-up breath she’d been holding and closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

“But before I agree to anything, we’re going to do a little bargaining, angel.”

He intentionally sent her his most dazzling smile, the one that had been melting hearts and panties since he was thirteen.

Delaney knew him too well. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you want? Spit it out.”

If anything, his smile widened. “Who says I’m going to ask for much?”

She snorted. “Oh my God . . . Do you forget how many times I’ve seen that expression? You’re going to ask for the moon, then act like it’s nothing. Then you’ll ask for the stars, and smooth talk me until I either (a) think it was my idea or (b) thank you for the suggestion—or both. Not this time, buster. I’m not listening. This is one request I know you won’t refuse me. Regardless of what happened between us in the past, I know you don’t want to see your son die.”

“Absolutely true. But I’m also not willing to let you walk out the door again without some assurances that, from here on out, I have some parental rights.” Which was true, but not his primary concern at the moment.

Surprised crossed her face. “You want visitation?”

At the very least, but they’d do details later. “Something like that. But I also want you to think about what you’re doing. What happens to Seth’s emotional stability if his mama leaves him with a stranger, then comes back in a pine box?”

She closed her eyes. “I’ll have to figure out how to not die, I guess. I’d walk away from this, if I could. But Carlson is going to come after me no matter what. He’s not going to leave a loose end like me hanging.”

No, he wouldn’t.

“I can’t take Seth with me. Carlson won’t care if he becomes collateral damage. My baby is too young . . .” She sobbed, sniffed, then tried to find her fortitude to press on. “I’m his mother, and I’m choosing life and safety for him.”

Over her own. Damn. Tyler respected the hell out of her for this, but he also wanted to throttle her. He stroked his chin absently, hashing out a plan. It wasn’t perfect and it forced him to prioritize objectives, but he could roll with it. If he achieved his primary goal—keeping Delaney safe and eliminating Carlson—then the rest of his wants might take care of themselves.

“Del, you need someone to watch your back while you clear up this mess.”

“I need someone to watch Seth’s back more.”

For some reason, he found it incredibly sexy that Delaney was such a devoted mother. He wasn’t equating her mothering skills with his desire to fuck her . . . Rather, it was seeing her fierce side, her determination, that started his blood pumping south of his belt buckle again.

“Understood. We’ll work it out.” He’d have to move carefully or his plan would backfire. “You look exhausted. Sit down. When did you last eat? Sleep?”

“It’s not relevant.” Delaney shook her head, sinking into the recliner beside her. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“We’ll get there. Before now, how hard did you try to find me?”

She heaved an exhausted sigh. “We’re going to play this game, huh? Okay, if you want me to be honest, not very hard.” She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “As soon as Eric found out I was pregnant, we separated for good. I was dealing with a lot—a new place to live, morning sickness, being served divorce papers . . . you being gone.”

“You told me to leave.” And goddamn it, if she hadn’t meant that, he was going to string himself up for listening.

“I did. Eric couldn’t handle what happened between us. I thought giving us all some time and space would help.”

Her request had damn near destroyed Tyler, but he had lived with it because he’d thought it would help Del and Eric. He’d thought he was giving her what she needed. But clearly not.

Still, in the long run, Del was better off without her ex-husband.

Delaney’s breath trembled. “Then Eric told me that you’d moved out of state and left for good.”

Tyler froze. “Did he lead you to believe that I didn’t want to come back? That I wasn’t dying to call you twenty times a day and find out if you were okay? Because that’s complete bullshit.”

Those blue eyes of hers turned up to him, wide, teary. “He didn’t say anything, and I didn’t know what to think. Your reputation with women . . .”

The same one Alyssa and the other girls had been nagging him about fifteen minutes ago, before Delaney had knocked his world upside down—for the second time in his life. Ironic that his long string of conquests had come back to haunt him with a vengeance. His own Karma boomeranging him in the ass. And every friend he’d made in Lafayette would know it in the next few minutes.

“Is that really why you didn’t try harder to reach me? I would have helped. I would have done whatever the hell you wanted.”

Yes, he’d been best buddies with Eric since shortly after becoming his partner in Vice. But in some ways, he’d been closer to Delaney, connected more with her sense of humor, her intelligence. Something about her . . . He hadn’t really tuned into what that was until he’d been balls deep inside her and falling for her fast. Until it was too late.

She shook her head. “I needed a father for Seth, and we both know you’re short on commitment. At first, I was angry that you’d left without another word. I was tired and pissed and hormonal. I told myself it would serve you right to not know about your child.” Tyler opened his mouth to object, and Delaney waved him off. “It lasted ten minutes. Then I felt . . . abandoned. I figured you’d gone on a case. But then your PI business closed and you didn’t come back. I knew you must be using an assumed name, and it would take me time to find you. Eric certainly wasn’t going to help me.”

Mentally, Tyler added that to the list of Eric’s infractions and planned to gleefully beat the shit out of him for being a raving douche.

“And I guess . . . there was a part of me that wanted this child to be mine. Everyone else in my life had left me—my parents died, Eric divorced me, you walked away—but this baby . . . I could raise him with love and get back unconditional love in return. I didn’t mean to be selfish. I think”—she blew out a noisy breath—“I was just hurting. I know it was lousy. I’m sorry.”

Fuck, she’d always had a way of diffusing his anger, and today was no different. In her place, he’d have been so angry, he’d have done serious damage.

She sobbed once, then clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold it in. Tyler crouched down next to her, settled a quizzical Seth into her lap, then wrapped his arm around her. She clutched her son, then stiffened, retreating into the back of the chair—away from him. Tyler sighed, all kinds of pissed off at the disappointment gnawing in his gut, then gave Del some space.

“You need to eat, angel. And rest.” He stared down at his son, now patting his mother’s hand as if he understood that she needed consoling. “How about you, Seth? Want a peanut butter sandwich?”

Delaney’s head whipped up. “He’s allergic to peanut butter. I’ll make a list of his allergies and write out his routine.”

Great. That would come in handy—for someone else.

“What can he eat?”

She wiped away her tears impatiently, then sent a wobbly smile to Seth. “We like eggs, don’t we? We eat lots of eggs.”

“Egg!” Seth gave her a snaggletooth smile.

Tyler grinned. Well, hot damn. Eggs had always been one of his favorite foods, too.

“Eggs it is.”

“Thanks.” As if she realized that she’d smiled at him, too, Delaney blinked and looked away. “Can I use your bathroom? I need to change Seth.”

Tyler pointed down the hall, and she grabbed a diaper bag from the stroller. “Take your time. Scrambled with cheese?”

“You remember how I like eggs?” She bit her lip, as if trying to conceal the fact that it pleased her.

Fuck that. He was going to find out exactly how she felt. The whole shitty house of cards may have toppled once, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to find a way to rebuild it at least enough to be on good terms with his son’s mother.

But he was beginning to suspect that wouldn’t be enough for him. Despite looking ragged and tired, Delaney was still one of the sexiest women to him. So sharp in some ways, innocent in others. Determined, brave . . . stubborn. Yeah, he was going to have to get past the walls she’d erected if he wanted to play a role in her life beyond Seth’s father.

“Of course, I remember.”

“But you don’t like cheese in eggs.” She frowned.

Ah, and she remembered, too. He shrugged. “I can adjust.”

After a cock of her head, like she was trying to figure out exactly what he meant, she lifted Seth and carted him down the hall. The second the door shut and locked, Tyler sent out a quick text, then darted toward the patio. All the instigators of his “intervention” still sat there, drinking and clearly trying to decide how best to direct his life. He was about to give them one great big heaping dose of help.

Sticking his head out the back door, he glanced at the ladies. “Come inside. Have I got a surprise for you . . .”

***

DELANEY thanked God for the long countertop in the bathroom and laid Seth out. No doubt, he had to be wet by now.

“Da da da,” her son babbled.

Yeah, that’s your daddy. Tyler had seen it immediately. It was obvious and probably better than having to prove Seth’s parentage to him. But it hadn’t escaped Del that Tyler hadn’t yet committed to staying here and protecting Seth. And if she knew that man, he had something up his sleeve. Whatever ran around in Tyler’s half-crazy head, she couldn’t let him derail her. He had all kinds of incentive to keep Seth safe that no one else would. She was sticking to her guns. If she didn’t make it out of this alive . . . at least she knew Seth would be safe. And loved. Tyler, for all his seemingly carefree ways, had tremendous capacity for caring.

After a quick tug of Seth’s clothes, the wet diaper came off. A fresh one replaced it, then Del righted his shorts. She looked longingly at the shower. How she’d love to bathe with Seth, hold his little body close to her and revel in the skin-to-skin contact. She’d only stopped breast-feeding a few months ago, and she missed having him that close. Showers were like gold to her now.

But this wasn’t the time.

Quickly, she set Seth on his feet, used the toilet, then washed her hands. “Ready?”

In response, Seth blew air out of his lax lips, making noises like a car engine. She smiled softly, sniffing back fresh tears. He was little boy, through and through. She’d miss him desperately while she tried to nail Carlson to a wall and did everything in her power to make it back to her son alive.

Suddenly, a knock interrupted her thoughts. “You okay in there?”

“Be right out, Tyler.”

Gathering her things and taping up Seth’s wet diaper, she drew in a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom, down the hall, and into the kitchen—with the five other women from the patio. She stopped short.

They didn’t make any bones about staring at her with rampant curiosity.

Then the gorgeous platinum blonde stared at Seth and gasped. “Oh my God, Tyler. He looks just like you. Is he . . .”

“Yep. Mine.” Tyler’s expression was unreadable, but Del sensed a smile somewhere in there. Her mind racing, she tossed away Seth’s diaper. What the hell was this about?

“You’re just now telling us about him?” the pregnant redhead challenged.

The athletic, auburn-haired beauty tapped her foot. “Of course. He gets in the middle of all our shit, but notice that he doesn’t fess up about his own.”

The curvy Latina frowned. “True, but I don’t think that’s the issue this time. See how he looks at the boy, with curiosity and wonder. How long have you known?”

“Ten minutes.”

The women collectively gasped.

Del held Seth tighter. “Look, I didn’t know exactly how to find Tyler. And . . . what’s going on here?”

“Ladies, this an old . . . friend, Delaney Catalano. And my son, Seth.”

“Nice to meet you. He’s precious,” the other redhead, this one with the dancing dark eyes, said. “Tyler made him eggs. Can I feed him?”