Page 8 of Ransom for His Secret Son

Brody made a sound of agreement, and Remi saw some of the anger and indecision vanish. She knew this Brody. The tough, in-charge sheriff and not the widower who’d been stunned to the core to learn he might be a father.

“I’m contacting the lab to do a rapid DNA test on the baby,” he said while he fired off a text. “I want answers, and I want them now.”

Well, it wouldn’t be now exactly, but they could have the test results in an hour or two once the baby’s sample was collected. Since Brody’s DNA would already be on file, it should be a fast comparison. If the baby wasn’t his, then they obviously needed to find the parents. But if he was Brody’s…

His phone sounded with an incoming text, interrupting that thought, and she saw Brody’s forehead bunch up when he looked at his phone screen. “The number’s not in my contacts,” he muttered.

Which normally could mean it was spam, but considering everything that had just happened, it didn’t surprise her when Brody tapped on the text to read it.

Remi watched his face, looking for a reaction. And she soon saw one. Brody made a sound as if all the air had been punched from his lungs. She hurried to him, moving closer so she could read the message for herself.

But it wasn’t a message.

It was a photo of what appeared to be twin newborns swaddled in matching blue blankets. A blanket identical to the one wrapped around the baby they’d found. Next to the baby on the right was a newspaper showing today’s date.

“Twins,” he muttered. “Miranda and I had two stored embryos.”

Remi’s stomach clenched as if she’d been punched. She pressed a hand to her chest, but it did nothing to steady her out-of-control heartbeat.

Twins.

That single word crashed down on her. If there were two of them, then where was the second baby?

Before she could even try to mentally process that question, Brody’s phone dinged again, the sound shooting through the silence. And Remi saw the words she didn’t want to see.

Sheriff Walker, we have your other son. If you want him safe and sound and with his brother, Remi and you will do exactly as you’re told.

Chapter Three

Brody’s gaze was pinned to the picture. Two newborns, and while they weren’t exactly identical, the resemblance was close enough to see they were related. They had the same spattering of black hair. Same-shaped face.

Twins.

His grip on the phone tightened, and his pulse started hammering in his ears, so loud that it shut out any other sounds in the exam room. The baby lying in the bassinet in front of him wasn’t just some cruel trick of fate. He had a brother. And whoever had sent this message obviously planned to use the child.

Remi and you will do exactly as you’re told.

“Hell,” he muttered. His voice came out rough, barely above a whisper. His stomach churned, a sick mix of fury and fear flooding through him.

Whatever was going on, the SOB had wanted Remi involved. Of course they had. That’s why she’d been contacted and told to go to the cemetery. But why? Brody had no idea, but he had the feeling that he would soon find out.

His mother must have realized something was wrong, because she stepped closer. “Brody? What happened?”

He turned the screen toward her, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, God.” Her fingers flew to her lips. “There’s another baby. Could they be yours?”

Brody had no DNA proof, not yet anyway, but in his gut he knew the answer. And it was yes. They were his.

His sons.

Whoever had set this in motion wouldn’t have left just any baby at Miranda’s grave. The person had left Brody’s child. One of them, anyway, knowing that Brody would soon be able to get the DNA confirmation he needed.

Now he understood why this one had been left for them to find. The first baby was proof. A warning.

The second was leverage.

But leverage for what? Other than that cryptic Remi and you will do exactly as you’re told, there were no orders. No instructions for what he needed to do to get his other son. However, there was someone in the room who might know the answer to that.

His gaze snapped to Remi’s. “Why is this happening?”