Page 66 of Ransom for His Secret Son

Brody didn’t disagree. He gave her the same instructions he’d given Christina—head to the Lost Canyon PD station as soon as she could.

“I’ll be there,” Eloise simply said, and she hung up.

Brody let out a slow breath, barely able to shake the tension from his shoulders before one of the babies stirred. He turned just as Remi moved toward the bassinet and scooped up the little boy. The baby nestled against her, tiny fingers gripping the fabric of her shirt.

Brody’s chest tightened. Seeing her with his son was a gut punch. A reminder of what was at stake. His boys would never be safe as long as Tarrant was still out there.

This had to end.

And the final piece to this was Langley.

Brody made the call to the doctor and then gritted his teeth when the phone rang and rang before going to voice mail. He didn’t have time for the man’s cowardice. Brody kept his voice cold, clipped.

“If you don’t call me back in the next five minutes, Langley, officers will be dispatched to arrest you for conspiracy to commit murder.” He ended the call, knowing the bluff would work.

Sure enough, his phone rang less than a minute later.

“I didn’t do anything!” Langley blurted before Brody could even speak. “You can’t seriously think I had anything to do with this—”

“Shut up and listen,” Brody snapped, his patience gone. “Tarrant has a hostage. He’s calling for a meeting. You, Christina, Eloise, Remi and me. No other cops. No backup. Just the five of us and the man who wants you dead.”

Langley sputtered, something between a protest and outright fear. “It’s a trap. Tarrant will try to kill us.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Brody bit out. “But here’s what’s going to happen. You will get in your car, drive straight to the Lost Canyon police station, and if you’re not there in forty-five minutes, I’ll send a full team to drag you out of whatever hole you’re hiding in. Then I’ll make damn sure you’re charged and convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.”

Langley breathed heavily into the phone, probably weighing his options. Brody didn’t care what the man was thinking.

“Forty-five minutes,” Brody repeated. “No excuses.” Then he hung up.

He silently cursed and scrubbed his hand over his face. Remi was still cradling the baby, her expression just as troubled as his, no doubt, was.

“Did he agree?” she asked softly.

He nodded and hoped what he was about to say was the truth. “He’ll be there. He’s more afraid of me than he is Tarrant.”

Brody let out a breath and stepped toward Remi, brushing a kiss against his son’s forehead. His chest tightened. His heart filled with love. He’d nearly lost this little boy before he’d even known he existed. He wasn’t going to fail him now.

He turned to Remi, cupping her face as he kissed her, slow and deep. A moment to ground him before the storm ahead.

When he pulled back, her gaze stayed locked on his. “That feels a little like a goodbye kiss,” she murmured.

Brody held her stare. “You know that I don’t want you coming with me.”

“Yes, but you also know I’m going,” she answered.

He huffed. “If I could talk you out of it, I would. Since I can’t, I need to focus on the precautions we have to take.”

He picked up his phone again, already running through the logistics in his head.

“I want another team of deputies at the ranch,” he said, texting Jolene so she could start the arrangements. “This could be a ploy to get to the babies. Tarrant might think he can use them to force me into clearing his name.”

Remi’s nod was quick, letting him know she had already reached the same conclusion. “We also need backup close to wherever this meeting is going down. A team that can move in fast.”

“I’m on it.” Brody added that to the text to Jolene.

Within minutes, he had a pair of deputies on the way to the ranch and two more on standby, ready to deploy as soon as they had a location. At least the easier parts were taken care of.

Now came a harder part.