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.