Page 46 of Ransom for His Secret Son

The back door was slightly ajar. She and Brody exchanged a glance, readied their weapons and slipped inside. As they moved, the sound of their footsteps thudded on the worn tiles, but Remi couldn’t hear anything else.

They maneuvered through an empty supply room, the musty air thick with the scent of old cleaning supplies. Brody led the way, checking each corner before he opened the door to the next room.

The stench hit Remi like a punch to the gut.

Remi cupped her left hand over her nose, and her heart beat faster as she took in the sterile setting. Everything was exactly as Allie had described it. This was a makeshift delivery room.

But then, she saw it.

A figure lay motionless on the floor in front of them. A woman in a nurse’s uniform.

And she was very much dead.

Chapter Thirteen

Brody’s boots thudded against the tile floor as he paced across the interview room at San Antonio PD. The walls seemed to be closing in on him, and he couldn’t tamp down the worst-case scenarios that were repeating in his head.

He and Remi had been here for over an hour now, first giving their statements about finding the dead nurse and now waiting for someone up the SAPD chain of command to release them. If that didn’t happen soon, then Brody would be breaking the law and charging out of there.

He hadn’t found his son. And he was still no closer to knowing where he was. He didn’t know who had him, and that gnawing fear had taken root deep within his chest. Hell, within his bones.

Every minute spent here, waiting for the next lead, felt like wasted time. Every second was another moment his son could be in danger. It was the one thing he couldn’t stand, that helplessness of not knowing where the hell his boy was.

“Maybe we should have held back on what we told the cops,” Brody said, clearly second-guessing, well, everything.

Remi sighed. “They needed to have all the details,” she assured him. And in this case, all the details meant literally all. They hadn’t held back on anything when they’d given their statements.

“And the cops know we’re not involved in murdering that nurse,” Remi added.

True. They weren’t suspected of doing anything criminal, but SAPD might also be reluctant to let them just walk out if they knew Brody might indeed kill Tarrant in exchange for his son.

And he would do that.

Brody knew that now. If it came down to Tarrant and his baby, then Tarrant would die.

He stopped in front of the window and stared out, not really seeing anything. He was just…thinking. Thinking about the doctor who had been involved in this nightmare. Where was the doctor who had delivered the twins? Why hadn’t they been able to find him?

Brody felt the edges of his control slipping away. A soft touch on his arm brought him back to the present. Remi was there, standing in front of him, her hand on the knotted muscles in his arm.

“Brody,” she murmured, “you need to take a slow, easy breath.”

He shook his head, his frustration evident. “I’m not doing anything slow or easy, Remi. Not until I find him.”

Remi sighed and moved toward him, her arms open. In one fluid motion, she pulled him into her embrace.

At first, he stood stiff in her arms, resisting, but then the weight of everything—the guilt, the frustration, the fear—broke through. He didn’t resist. He let her hold him, her warmth seeping through him. He didn’t have to say a word. She didn’t need him to. She just held him, and that was enough.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Brody allowed himself to let go, if only for a moment.

And that was clearly a mistake.

Brody didn’t think. He just leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers. Not a full-blown kiss. But it had a full-blown impact, all right. The heat slammed through him. Too much, too fast, and it brought a firestorm of emotions along with it.

Man, he shouldn’t be feeling this.

But he was. The need was building, and it didn’t seem to matter that he didn’t want this.

Brody went back in. For a real kiss this time. And he took her mouth as if he had a right to do just that. He didn’t. That didn’t stop him, though, and she didn’t push him away. He deepened the kiss, poured every bit of himself into it.