Chapter Sixteen
The nursery lamp cast a soft glow over the room, making the two babies in the crib look impossibly small. Remi let out a slow breath, only now realizing how tightly wound she’d been. They had him.
Both of them.
She glanced at Brody, standing beside her, his gaze fixed on his sons. Relief radiated off him, though his posture remained stiff, as if he was afraid to believe they were finally safe.
Dr. Patel was at the crib, carrying out an exam on baby number two. The doctor had already done a DNA test and was now making sure he was okay. Remi was thankful she’d been willing to make a house call and so quickly. No way had they wanted to risk taking the baby to the hospital.
Not with Tarrant and the person responsible for this nightmare still at large.
The doctor had readily agreed and had been able to meet them at the ranch once SAPD had cleared them to leave the cottage. Later, there would be a mountain of reports to write. Statements to make. But for now, the focus was on Brody’s newly found son.
During the time that Brody and Remi had been away from the ranch, Sandra had made a few changes to the nursery, including the crib that had been fully assembled.
Someone, Holt probably, had moved in a comfortable recliner and a rocking chair.
There was also a rollaway bed against the wall, and it’d already been made up for the night.
Obviously, Sandra had planned on sleeping in here if Remi and Brody hadn’t gotten back before bedtime.
Now that they had, Remi figured Brody would be staying.
And she hoped he didn’t object if she did, too.
They weren’t her precious babies, but she loved them anyway. No doubts about that. Those feelings weren’t solely because they were Brody’s either. Though, that played into it. She cared deeply for Brody and Miranda and their sons, and Remi wanted to see this through to the end.
After that, well, she didn’t want to think about that yet, but she could already feel it crushing her heart to walk away from Brody.
That kiss, those hugs. Those life-and-death moments together.
All of that had broken down the barriers from the past. Brody might very well want those barriers back up, but for now Remi was going to savor these moments she had with him and the boys.
Remi’s attention shifted back to Dr. Patel, who was finishing her examination, adjusting the stethoscope around her neck.
“He’s healthy,” the doctor confirmed, glancing at both boys.
“Well taken care of. No signs of malnourishment or neglect. Like this other little guy,” she added as she touched Joe’s toes, “he’s been well cared for. ”
Remi heard Brody let out a breath, one hand braced on the edge of the crib. His knuckles were tight, his gaze locked on his sons as if he still couldn’t believe they were both here.
Sandra stood near the dresser, her arms folded tightly over her chest. “Thank God,” she whispered.
Dr. Patel muttered an agreement and began to gather her things. “Who’s been taking care of him?”
Brody finally tore his eyes away from the baby. “A nanny named Maria Alvarez. She had both babies for six days, and then someone, a man, came and took one.” A muscle tightened in his jaw. “Maria says he claimed to be from the adoption agency, and he showed her papers that looked real.”
Sandra frowned. “And she doesn’t know who hired her, who arranged for the babies’ births?”
Brody had already given his mom a brief explanation, but obviously Sandra was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. Remi was, too.
“Maria says she doesn’t know,” Brody said. “And I believe her.”
Remi agreed. Nothing that the woman had said or done made Remi believe she had known she was caring for what were essentially black-market babies.
Dr. Patel finished packing up her bag and gave them a final glance. “Call me if you have any questions. And keep feeding them the preemie formula I brought. It’ll help ensure they continue gaining weight.”
Brody nodded. “We appreciate it.”
She gave a small smile before heading out. Sandra went with her, the door clicking shut behind them.
Remi barely had a second to catch her breath before her phone rang. She pulled it out, seeing the name she’d expected on the screen. This call was overdue, and it was a conversation she had to have.
Brody caught her glance and arched a brow. “Violet?”
She nodded and answered the call, putting it on Speaker.
“I’m still not happy you two didn’t wait for backup,” Violet said, instead of a greeting. “But I get it,” she reluctantly added.
Good. Because there’d been no other option. Not for Brody. Not for Remi.
A beat of silence followed, then Violet sighed. “How are the babies?”
Remi turned her head, her eyes settling on Brody. He was standing over the crib, his gaze locked on his sons.
A smile tugged at her lips. “They’re all right,” she said, meaning it.
But the moment the words left her mouth, something heavy settled in her chest. Because all right might not last. Not when someone was still out there. Someone who had set all of this in motion.
And until they found that person, all right wasn’t nearly good enough.
Violet blew out a long, weary breath on the other end of the line. “No sign of Tarrant. He got away.”
Remi’s jaw automatically clenched, but she wasn’t surprised. Tarrant was slippery, and he had plenty of motivation to disappear.
“We’re going through the cottage now,” Violet continued a heartbeat later. “Might turn up something that leads us to whoever orchestrated this.”
Remi caught Brody’s eye. He gave a slight nod but said nothing. Didn’t have to. Nothing that Violet was saying surprised him either.
“We checked out Maria,” Violet went on. “No criminal record. She was being paid through an agency, but here’s the thing. It’s just a shell company. Looked legit on the surface. But no, we don’t know who’s running it yet.”
And because it’d looked legit, that was yet another reason for Maria not to have been suspicious. The nanny basically thought she was simply doing a short-term service for babies who were about to be adopted out.
“Can Maria give a description of the man who came and took the first baby?” Brody asked.
“A description, yes,” Violet verified. “But listen to this and tell me what you think. The man had a thick beard, mustache and glasses. He stayed hunched over and mumbled when he spoke.”
“Sounds as if he was wearing a disguise,” Remi said on a groan.
“Bingo. And he also didn’t stay long,” Violet explained.
“Basically, he breezed right in, handed her the papers, took one of the babies and left.” She stopped, sighed.
“We showed Maria mug shots. No luck there either. She definitely can’t ID Langley, Christina, Eloise or Eloise’s man, Zeke. Maria insists she doesn’t know them.”
That checked out. If one of those three was behind this, they wouldn’t have risked dealing with the nanny directly. They would have used intermediaries, layers of protection between themselves and the crime.
“If anything new turns up, I’ll let you know right away,” Violet said, her voice firm. “In the meantime, keep your guard up.”
“Always,” Brody muttered.
The call ended, and Remi figured that Brody was doing a mental check of the security he had in place.
No longer was there just Holt, who was keeping watch from the upstairs window, but two other deputies were parked out front in a cruiser.
In addition, the security system had been upgraded and was fully armed.
No one would be getting into the house without them knowing it.
Or without a fight.
Remi just prayed that Tarrant or the person who had set this in motion didn’t bring the fight here. Those babies had already been through enough. Brody, too. Still, it was obvious that she and Brody were on edge and still vigilant when they snapped toward the sound of approaching footsteps.
Moments later, Sandra appeared in the doorway, and Remi had to give her body the signal to stand down. There was no immediate threat.
Sandra went straight to the crib, checking the babies the way grandmothers had for, well, since the beginning of time. Satisfied at the sight of the sleeping little angels, she glanced at the clock on the wall.
“It’s only seven,” she murmured. “Feels later.”
It did. The past twenty-four hours had stretched impossibly long. Both Remi and Brody were functioning on just a couple of hours of sleep, and the adrenaline crash from the attack certainly wasn’t helping with that.
“Do you want me to stay in here with them tonight?” Sandra asked Brody. “You know I’d be glad to do it.”
Brody was quick to shake his head. “No. I’m staying.”
Sandra’s lips lifted in a small, knowing smile. She reached out, patting his arm. “I figured as much.” Her voice softened. “It’ll be hard for you to be away from them.”
Brody didn’t argue.
Sandra squeezed his arm before stepping back.
“It’s a good time for the two of you to get some rest, then.
They’ve both been fed and changed, and you might get a couple of hours of sleep before they wake up again.
I’ll take one of the guest rooms. But if you two need a break in the night, come wake me. ”
Remi nodded, watching as Sandra gave her grandsons one last glance before leaving the room, easing the door shut behind her.
“I’m staying,” Remi said before he could offer her up one of the guest rooms.
He nodded. No objection. And that caused her to release the pent-up breath she’d been holding.
The room felt smaller, quieter. The dim glow from the lamp cast soft shadows along the walls, wrapping them in the kind of hush that made everything feel more intimate.
Remi expected Brody to turn back to the crib, to keep up that watchful stance. But instead, he turned to her, his jaw tight, his eyes darker than before.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice low, rough at the edges. “For what you did today. For putting your life on the line to get my son.”