In the Arms of Danger

TWO

Taylor's legs didn't want to move right now or she'd have gone to the man who'd saved Meggie. All she wanted to do was hold her daughter tight and never let her go. Silently, she said a prayer, thanking the Lord for their safety, and the man who'd rescued Meggie.

The next half hour passed in a blur. Soon television news reporters forced themselves on the scene and tried to get interviews. Since the cops took up most of her time, the reporters moved to her rescuer who acted like he didn't have a problem talking to them.

Terror still laced Taylor's voice when she answered questions for the policemen. Confusion swam in her head from the whole ordeal. Nothing made sense.

The first policeman scratched the tip of the pen against the side of his bald head. His little notebook opened wide as he scribbled down her answers. "Ma'am, do you know why that man snatched your daughter?"

She raked her fingers through her hair. "No."

"Have you ever seen him before?"

She glanced at the attacker lying on a stretcher while a medic bandaged his leg. With the knit cap gone, she could see him better. He appeared to be in his early thirties. Thin, blond hair. Slender built. Freckles across his nose. But still, she didn't recognize him.

"No."

"Do you think he was stalking you?"

"I...I don't know."

"Have you broken up with a boyfriend recently, or had a fight with your husband?

"No. I'm single."

"So to ask if he could have been the child's father is out of the question?"

Meggie's father? How ridiculous. She wanted to laugh out loud, but instead kept her answers clipped. "No. Her father has never been involved with our lives. He left after he found out I was pregnant, and...he's deceased, anyway."

"Have you had anything like this happen before?"

"No."

"You haven't been receiving letters, phone calls, or noticed anyone following you?"

She gritted her teeth, thinking once more of the threats her father had received. "Well...I haven't, personally, but my father has."

Baldy wrote down her answer then raised his wide eyes to hers. "He has?"

"Yes. My father is Leland Mitchell."

The cop's jaw dropped open for a moment before his tongue wet his lips and he closed his mouth. "Really? Are you serious?"

"No, I'm joking because I know it's wrong to tell the truth to policemen." She rolled her eyes, getting tired of these endless questions that would eventually drive her mad. "Of course I'm serious!"

A freckled-face officer stepped into the group next to baldy. The bald man nudged the other as he pointed to Taylor. "Hess, this is Leland Mitchell's daughter."

The man called Hess gasped. "The Leland Mitchell, California's most notorious billionaire?"

Taylor blew out a frustrated breath. "Does it really matter who my father is? Can we get back to the matter at hand, please?"

She should be used to this. After all, anyone who discovered who Taylor's old man was reacted this way. Was it any wonder that while growing up, she used to introduce herself to people by using a different last name? She hadn't wanted anything to do with her father's way of life.

She glanced down at her daughter, swiping a soothing hand across Meggie's matted hair. Leland Mitchell was the major reason Taylor had wanted a normal life. She didn't want her daughter growing up as Taylor had done.

Switching her gaze to the officers, she glanced at one and then the other. "Can I ask you some questions now?"

The police officer in charge nodded.

"Instead of asking me these ridiculous questions, why don't you ask the man who tried to kidnap my daughter?"

"My partner is taking care of him, I promise you. We will get to the bottom of this."

Frustrated, she glanced once again to her rescuer. She had yet to talk to him or see him up close. There weren't enough words to express her appreciation. She wanted to throw her arms around him and cry with happiness that he had saved her daughter. Part of her wanted to offer him a reward, but she didn't want to have to ask her father for the money. Was it luck or a coincidence that this strange man had been so near and could help so quickly?

Uniformed men with badges and guns surrounded him, too. The crowd in the park doubled, all had their eyes on her, Meggie, and the attacker. Taylor wished she could return home to her safe haven, crawl in bed with her daughter, fold her sweet little baby in her arms, and sleep the rest of the day. This even sounded good for tomorrow's schedule. Never in her life had something this horrific happened to her, and now the thought of even being among strangers became even more threatening than before.

Was she safe at all? Did she need the bodyguard her father had insisted should protect her and Meggie? Had her father known something like this might happen? Taylor had never needed a bodyguard before, yet her fight for independence could have cost her daughter's life this time. The urgency to be in control and try to act like a regular person could have ruined her forever. Fear had never consumed her as it did now. She'd never wanted to disappear before. Helplessness grew inside her, which in turn made her angry. From now on, she would think of her daughter's safety first.

Her father's threat came back in full force, gripping her heart in an agonizing clench. Since his ruthless tactics helped him acquire two casinos and the magazine, Roll 'Em High, he was bound to have enemies. He seemed to think his enemies were bigger than they were, and that they needed constant protection.

What had her father done to upset someone this badly?

Through the throng of people, two familiar faces captured her attention. Her father, and his ever-present bodyguard, Zack Jacobs, rushed toward her. Reporters hurried toward her father, but Zack held them off.

Heat filled her head as fury tightened her throat. When her father reached her side, he crushed both Taylor and Meggie close to his chest. Zack followed, his gaze darting from person to person.

Taylor's father's arm tightened around her and he rubbed the side of his head against hers. "When I heard something had happened..." His voice broke.

She withdrew and narrowed her eyes. "Could this have something to do with the threats you've been receiving?"

Pain dulled his eyes and his face lost a little color. "I didn't think it would go this far." He snapped his head toward the nearest cop. "What happened here? Where's the bast—"

"Father," Taylor warned just before the cuss word could leave his tongue. She switched her gaze to Meggie to back to her father. Constantly, she had to remind him not to swear in front of her daughter.

Leland cleared his throat. "Uh...I mean the jerk who almost kidnapped my granddaughter?"

The policeman in charge squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. "They're taking him to the hospital to treat the bullet wound in his leg, before taking him downtown for more questioning." He motioned toward the ambulance pulling out of the parking lot.

Leland swiped his hand over Meggie's head. "I just want my family safe."

Taylor squeezed his arm. "We are now, thanks to that man over there." She nodded in the stranger's direction. Standing with three policemen, the man had his back to her. He'd removed his suit jacket and flung it over his shoulder. Light gray shirtsleeves on his cotton shirt were rolled up on his forearms, his shoulder harness in plain sight. From this vantage point, it was certainly clear the man was muscular.

"Dad, I think he's a cop, too. He has a gun."

Leland narrowed his eyes as he stared at the man's back, then her father's face relaxed and he sighed. "That's Ross."

"Who?"

"Ross. I hired him to protect you. Good to know he's already on the job."

She hitched a breath and glared at her father. "You hired him to protect me? Without telling me first?"

Leland c****d his head, his fingers stroking his chin. "I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen. So I hired him, anyway." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to argue with me now? Especially after the man saved Meggie's life?"

She sighed and shook her head. It had always been her first instinct to argue with her father. But perhaps this time, he'd been right. "No, but you should have told me..."

"I just did."

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the man called Ross. He turned, and she glimpsed his exceptional profile. Short, black hair. Angular jaw-line. Wide shoulders. Flat stomach. Muscled thighs that strained against his scuffed slacks.

But there was something else about him. Something very familiar. He looks so much like... She shook her head. It couldn't be him. That man was dead.

Her father bumped her arm and motioned toward Ross. "Let's go over and I'll introduce you."

Taylor nodded and wiped under her eyes. She was sure her face looked horrendous, due to all the crying she'd done. But at this moment, she didn't care much that her make-up was probably smeared all over her face. "Fine."

Leland gathered Meggie in his arms and led them toward the cluster of cops. As they drew closer, eeriness climbed up Taylor's spine. She narrowed her gaze on the man and shivered. No, it couldn't be Cory. And yet, why did he look so much like the man she thought was dead?

An image of the man she'd loved nearly five years ago flashed through her memory. She could see it so clearly as if it was yesterday... him standing on a cliff holding a gun after shooting someone.

She tried not to remember the moment he had fallen over the cliffs and into the rapid waters below, but the memory wouldn't leave her. She tried not to think about the disappointment she'd experienced when she discovered he wasn't the man she had thought, but a cold-blooded killer instead.

The resemblance between the man named Ross and her dead boyfriend was uncanny. Ross had the same square jaw, same regal brow, and dark hair. In fact, their coloring was identical. Except Cory had been a little darker, having spent the last three weeks of his life lounging beside her on the white-sandy beaches of the golden Caribbean.

Just as Taylor and her father reached the remarkable look-alike, the man threw his head back and laughed at something one of the cops had said. Familiar tingles danced over her skin, yet at the same time, her gut clenched. Only one man could laugh with that all-out sensual chuckle that made her weak in the knees.

No! He had died in Bermuda. She'd witnessed it. A bullet had torn through his flesh moments before he fell headfirst over the jagged cliff.

Her father clamped his hand on Ross' shoulder. When the man turned to face them, Taylor's heart dropped to her feet. Dizziness assailed her.

Same memorable gray eyes. Same physique. Same crooked smile.

It can't be true!

"Cory Ross, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Taylor, and my granddaughter, Megan."

The man named Ross nodded and stretched his hand in greeting. "Nice to finally meet . . ." Their gazes met and clashed. He inhaled sharply and widened his eyes.

All sounds faded except for her hammering heart. Her vision blurred. Her body swayed and fell against her father. Everything turned dark.