Also by Stacy Claflin
An Alex Mercer Thriller
Girl in Trouble
Turn Back Time
Little Lies
Against All Odds
Don't Forget me
Tainted Love
Take On Me
Curse of the Moon
Lost Wolf
Chosen Wolf
Hunted Wolf
Broken Wolf
Cursed Wolf
Fall Into Romance
Lost in Romance
Gone
Gone
Held
Over
The Gone Trilogy
Dean's List
Indigo Bay Second Chance Romances
Sweet Complications
Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series
Sweet Dreams
Sweet Reunion
The Hunters
Seaside Surprises
Seaside Heartbeats
Seaside Dances
Seaside Kisses
Seaside Christmas
Bayside Wishes
Bayside Evenings
Bayside Promises
The Hunters: A Collection
The Transformed
Deception
Betrayal
Forgotten
Ascension
Duplicity
Sacrifice
Destroyed
Transcend
Entangled
Dauntless
Obscured
Partition
Fallen (The Transformed Prequel)
Silent Bite: A Transformed Christmas
Hidden Intentions
Saved by a Vampire
Sweet Desire
Valhalla's Curse
Renegade Valkyrie
Pursued Valkyrie
Silenced Valkyrie
Vengeful Valkyrie
Unleashed Valkyrie
Standalone
The Transformed Series - Four Books
The Transformed Box Set
Tiny Bites
Haunted
Dex
When Tomorrow Starts Without me
The Only Things You Can Take
Lies Never Sleep
Watch for more at Stacy Claflin’s site.
Tainted Love
Stacy Claflin
TAINTED LOVE
AN ALEX MERCER THRILLER #6
by Stacy Claflin
http://www.stacyclaflin.com
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Copyright ©2019 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.
©Cover Design: Didi Wahyudi
Edited by Staci Troilo
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental or used fictitiously. The author has taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.
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Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. Do not upload or distribute anywhere.
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This e-book is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others, please either purchase it for them or direct them to StacyClaflin.com for purchase links. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
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Contents
1. Grab
2. Normal
3. Clue
4. Life
5. Texts
6. Researching
7. Deflect
8. Doubts
9. Interrupted
10. Late
11. Decision
12. Obsessed
13. Post
14. Argue
15. Question
16. Suspicious
17. Blocking
18. Hashtag
19. Fight
20. Blindsided
21. Trending
22. Wreck
23. Near
24. Changes
25. Unbending
26. Guilt
27. Stress
28. Plotting
29. Threat
30. Vent
31. Meeting
32. Search
33. Visit
34. Confrontation
35. Attempt
36. Worry
37. Trap
38. Discovery
39. Consequences
40. Trapped
41. Stakeout
42. Shock
43. Flee
44. Trail
45. Strange
46. Close
47. Race
48. Fire
49. Decision
Take On Me
Other Books by Stacy Claflin
Author’s Note
About the Author
Grab
The woman’s heart raced. Her mouth went dry. She took a deep breath and paced the park. Nerves always got the best of her at this point in the game.
But it wasn’t a game. Not really.
Well, maybe.
She rubbed her rounded belly. It felt awful, like every other time. Itchy. Heavy. Awkward. Somewhat stiff. Not like the real thing would be.
The fake pregnant belly was the closest she would ever come to actually having a child grow inside her. But she would be the only one to know that.
She continued rubbing as she walked the perimeter of the playground. Looking. Waiting.
Still no security cameras—that was why she’d chosen this one. And because a lot of young moms frequented it. She’d done her due diligence. Trees blocked the view of the street. Nothing to get in the way. Moms with baby strollers came as early as the sun lit the sky to get out of the house, away from their husbands. Not that she blamed them.
The woman adjusted her floppy hat on the brown wig. The fake hair was even itchier than the belly. She hated the whole getup, but it was part of the process.
How else would she get—and be able to keep—her next baby? Nature wouldn’t help her out. The most advanced medical technology hadn’t done squat.
And best of all, this way she didn’t need a man to get what she wanted. Dealing with her exes had been the worst part of the ordeal, other than the heartbreak of not being able to pass on her DNA. She couldn’t push a kid out between her legs and she couldn’t adopt because of… Well, she didn’t want to think about that.
None of that mattered anymore. The only thing that did was getting a baby, and this was her day. She could feel it. Something good was in the air.
Her heart sped up again at the thought.
If anyone would get to the park. She glanced around, not seeing a single soul.
Where were the new moms? The other mornings, they straggled in one at a time before things got busy after breakfast.
At this rate, there wouldn’t be any stragglers. She’d have to wait for nap time when things thinned out.
She took a deep breath. It would be fine. One way or another, she’d return home with a baby to put in the empty crib. A baby to dress in the clothes already hanging in the closet.
It wa
s all a matter of patience. She’d done this before and she’d do it again.
A crow flew down near her, cawing loudly.
She jumped and walked over near the trees. The sun was already getting warm. Between that and the fake belly and wig, she would overheat before too long.
Crunch, crunch!
A car in the parking lot.
Squeal! Crunch!
Brakes.
Her heart nearly jumped into her throat.
This was it! The first opportunity of the day. She pulled a mirror from her purse and practiced her sweetest smile. It was perfect. She looked innocent and trustworthy.
The chestnut wig even made her resemble an actress who was famous for being kind-hearted and generous. It gave others a sense of familiarity, made them feel like they already knew her. Like they could trust her.
A wicked smile slowly spread across her mouth, but she quickly covered it up.
Footsteps sounded.
Her pulse drummed in her ears, making it hard to hear anything else for a moment. She pressed a palm against a tree and pretended to stretch. So freaking awkward with the belly and the hair getting in the way.
No matter. It would all soon pay off.
Assuming the person walking her way had a baby.
Squeals and the patter of feet sounded.
The woman turned around. Relief washed through her.
A baby stroller and a mom with dark circles under her eyes. Two little kids ran ahead of her, heading straight for the toddler playground. She called to them to be careful.
A tired, distracted mom. Could this get any better?
The woman glanced back at the trees to the path she’d take to her car. She hadn’t parked in the lot, so nobody would be able to describe her vehicle to the cops, but she was close enough that no one on the road would notice her racing away from the park.
She continued pretending to stretch before jogging delicately over to the bench where the mom sat, yawning.
“Long night?” She gave her rehearsed sweet smile.
The mom nodded and rubbed her eyes. “I always forget how much newborns wake up at night. Your first?” She glanced at the fake pregnant belly.
“Yeah. We’re so excited.”
“Congratulations.”
She sat and held out her hand. “Thanks. I’m Jessica.”
“Lauren.”
They shook hands and made small talk while she peeked at the sleeping baby. Couldn’t be more than a month old.
“How old?”
“He’s nineteen days. No, twenty. Is it Wednesday?”
Jessica gave the mom her most sympathetic smile. “Thursday.”
Lauren’s eyes widened. “Really? The days really do run together. I better order groceries before the weekend.”
“It’ll be here before you know it.”
Crying sounded near the slide. Lauren jumped up, keeping a hand on the stroller, and looked in that direction. “Are you okay, Brooklynn?”
The toddler wailed. “I bleeding!”
Lauren leaped over to the slide and knelt over the fussing girl.
Jessica looked back and forth between the baby and Lauren, who was now dealing with two crying tots.
It didn’t get any better than this.
Jessica leaned over toward the infant while watching Lauren from the corner of her eye.
Still distracted.
Hands shaking, Jessica undid the buckles. They were the same as those on the car seat in her backseat. She scooped the baby into her arms. Shot a glance at Lauren, who still had her back to them.
“Stay quiet, Sammy,” she whispered to the baby.
Then she ran.
Normal
Alex Mercer clocked out then headed for the captain’s office. Through the blinds, he could see his best friend typing on his laptop.
Knock, knock!
Nick glanced over and waved Alex in.
Holding back a yawn, Alex pushed the door open and entered. “Morning.”
“I have good news.”
“Yeah?” Alex sat across from his friend.
“Chang is moving and—”
“That is good news.” Alex rested his hands behind his neck and grinned. Captain Nick Fleshman and Officer Chang had been at odds for over a year.
Nick snickered. “I didn’t mean it like that. His absence leaves room for another officer to work the day shift.”
Alex arched a brow. “There are others with more seniority than me. I don’t want to take advantage of our friendship.”
“You’re not.” Nick glanced at his computer screen. “Nobody else is interested in days.”
“Really?”
“It’s true. What do you say? Interested?”
Alex thought about it. Night shift was working pretty well for him and Zoey, but days probably would be better.
“You’d be able to see Ariana more. Make it to more of her softball games.”
He couldn’t deny that would be a benefit. Alex stopped by the middle school ball field when he could, but it wasn’t the same as being able to watch his daughter’s full games.
“What do you say?” Nick arched a brow.
“When do I start?”
“I knew you’d say yes.” Nick clacked away on the keyboard. “Two weeks.”
“Perfect. Ari will be thrilled.”
“So will Zoey.” Nick glanced at him. “How are you two doing? The newlywed period is going well?”
“Newlywed? We’re coming up on our first anniversary.”
“The newlywed period is the first two years.”
“Really? Well, it’s as great as it can be with three kids. We’re a little overwhelmed with the newborns.”
“Newborns? Laney and Zander are three months old now.”
“True.” Alex yawned. “But they still wake up all the time. It’s twice the work with two of them. Twice as exhausting. Zo and I barely have time to feed ourselves, much less time to plan anything for our anniversary.”
“You’d better get home and let her get some sleep, then.”
“And some sleep for myself.” Alex rose and stretched, trying to hold back another yawn. “We still getting the kids together for a movie night?”
Nick nodded. “Let me double-check my schedule for the exact date. You two don’t have to stay. Just drop off Ari.”
“We want to hang out. It’s been too long since we’ve hung out with you and Genevieve. Speaking of marriage…” Alex let his voice trail off.
Nick cleared his throat. “I picked out a ring.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, now it’s a matter of getting five minutes alone with her to pop the question.”
“Good luck with that.” Alex snickered. Between Nick and Genevieve, they had four kids. Nick had his three and Genevieve had just adopted Tinsley, who she’d been fostering. “Once you get married, can she work here again? Or is that still a conflict of interest or whatever?”
He shrugged. “Not sure entirely. One thing at a time. She’s really happy there, so I’m not going to push it.”
Alex reached for the doorknob. “If you need us to take the kids for an evening, just say the word. Preferably on one of my nights off.”
“Will do. Thanks.”
They said goodbye, then Alex headed for the parking lot to his new-to-him sedan. Actually, it wasn’t even new to him anymore. He’d had it about a year already, but it was such a step up from the beater he’d driven for so long, he still thought of it as new.
He picked up a mint mocha on the way home, knowing he’d be up with the babies for a while to let Zoey sleep. Lately, the twins had been on opposite schedules, meaning that someone needed to be awake at all times.
It was exhausting, but totally worth it. He was married to the woman of his dreams and they were an actual family. An unusual family, but it was th
eirs, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Alex parked on the curb between his parents’ house and Zoey’s parents’ house, where they lived. His in-laws had converted their three-car garage into a living space for Zoey and him. It was the best situation since the Nakanos had adopted and raised Ariana, Zoey and Alex’s oldest. She was born when Alex had been only fourteen and Zoey, sixteen. Since they all wanted a hand in raising her, it was the least intrusive way to make it work.
Once inside, Ariana nearly crashed into Alex. He steadied his coffee cup.
“Sorry, Dad!” The thirteen-year-old flashed him an apologetic smile. “I’m running late. About to miss my bus!”
“Want me to drive you?”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up as she slid on her jacket. “Mom and the babies are sleeping, so she won’t even miss you.”
Alex gave her a double-take. “They’re all three sleeping?”
“Crazy, right?” She stuffed some textbooks into her schoolbag.
“Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Ari froze. “You’re not driving a cruiser today, are you? It’s always so embarrassing when you drive in that.”
He snickered. “I want all those boys to know your dad is to be feared.”
She groaned. “Dad.”
Alex put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. “I’m just teasing. Kind of. But no, I’m not driving a cruiser today.”
Ariana breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Let’s go.”