“We could have paid her.”
“And she would have asked for money until we had nothing left to give.”
“What if she did something to him?” My voice was barely audible. “What if she hurt him?”
Knox didn’t answer. Probably because those same questions were in his mind.
So we drove in silence, speeding along the road, until a small, U-shaped motel came into view along the highway, tucked into a grove of evergreens.
I gasped. Three sheriff cars were in the parking lot, each with their lights flashing.
“Winn must have called it in.”
I refused to blink as we got closer and closer, until Knox slowed to ease off the highway.
An officer in a tan shirt and matching pants walked out of a room. Behind him, escorted by another cop in uniform, came a woman.
A blond woman about my height. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back.
“I know her.” I shook my head, hardly believing my own eyes. “That’s the FBI agent who came to talk to me.”
“What?” Knox said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” What the hell?
Knox parked beside a car with New York plates. The moment the tires were stopped, I was out my door. The sound that greeted me when my foot hit the pavement was the best sound I’d heard all day.
A cry. From a little boy.
My little boy.
I took off running. So did Knox.
“Hold up.” An officer held up his hands to stop us but we pushed past him anyway just as Winn came striding out of the hotel room with Drake in her arms.
“Thank God.” I hauled him to my chest and burrowed my nose in his neck, peppering him with kisses. Then I felt over every inch of his body, making sure he was whole. “You’re okay.”
“He’s okay.” Knox wrapped his arms around us both, his cheek on Drake’s hair. “We found him.”
We found him.
“You’re never leaving my sight again,” I said, holding Drake tighter.
Knox and I clung to him, even as he wiggled and squirmed to be set free, only pulling away when a familiar voice carried from the hallway.
“I wouldn’t have let anything happen to him.” Jill, handcuffed and being pushed out of the room by an officer, had tears streaming down her face. The moment she spotted us, she froze. Her mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water gasping for air. But before she could speak or make some bullshit excuse, I spun with my son and strode toward the Volvo.
Knox wasn’t far behind.
Neither was Winn.
“Is there any reason we need to stay?” I asked her.
“No. Go home. We’re taking them both into custody and I’ll question them myself.”
“Thank you.”
She stepped closer, running a finger over Drake’s cheek. “Drive safely. I’ll see you soon.”
Knox put his hand on her shoulder, then he took Drake and buckled him in his seat.
I slid into the backseat, waiting for Knox to get behind the wheel.
He met my gaze in the rearview.
Then drove us home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MEMPHIS
Christmas Eve. It was Drake’s first Christmas and there wasn’t a shred of holiday spirit in the house. The events from two days ago were still too raw. Instead of trimming a tree or wrapping gifts, I’d spent my waking hours waiting for answers and hovering close to my son.
Drake cooed on the bed, picking up his feet with his hands, while I folded the last load of laundry.
Knox and I had both taken time off from the hotel. When his staff had learned what had happened with Drake, they’d all insisted he stick close to home. They’d handled the wedding and were making the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts at Knuckles.
Mateo and Anne had volunteered to cover my shifts, cleaning rooms and bustling around the hotel until I was ready to come back.
I wouldn’t stay away for long. I wouldn’t put that burden on them. But for the moment, I wasn’t comfortable being under a different roof than my son. And Knox seemed to feel the same. While I’d kept my mind occupied by cleaning the house and doing laundry, he’d been on his feet in the kitchen, prepping for the Christmas dinner we’d have at the ranch tomorrow.
Maybe I didn’t have any Christmas cheer, but there wasn’t a place I’d rather spend my holiday than with his family.
I’d lost all faith in my own.
My mother had tried to call once. I’d declined it, opting for a text to let her know that Drake was okay and home. She’d called four times since. If they continued, maybe next week I’d answer. Maybe not.
It was a strange feeling to lose your family. It would have been heartbreaking had Knox’s not already claimed me as their own.
Anne had been over three times since Friday, Harrison and Griffin twice. Eloise had come on Friday night after we’d returned from that motel. Talia had been right behind her, insisting on doing a quick checkup to make sure Drake was fine. And then Lyla and Mateo had shown with dinner.
The only family member we hadn’t seen was Winn.
And she was the one we’d been aching to see.
“Memphis,” Knox called from the living room. “Winn’s here.”
“Finally,” I breathed. The T-shirt I’d been folding plopped into the basket. I swept Drake into my arms and carried him down the hallway.
Knox opened the door for Winn, kissing her cheek as she came inside. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She smiled at us both. “Sorry to do this today. But I figured you guys were probably anxious to know what was happening and it would be better now than tomorrow with everyone around.”
“Please.” My heart was in my throat.
It was early still, just ten in the morning. Only yesterday Winn had told us they were still questioning Averie and Jill. But time had ticked by slowly and every hour spent waiting had felt like a week.
“Can we get you anything?” Knox asked, escorting her to the living room. “Water?”
“No, I’m good.” She pressed a hand to her belly that was just barely beginning to show, then took a seat in the chair so Knox and I could sit side by side on the couch.
He lifted Drake from my arms and laid him on the play mat beside our feet. Then he leaned forward, elbows to knees, and gave Winn the nod to start.
“Averie and Jill both requested lawyers, which has slowed the process down. But Jill has finally started cooperating. And we’ve got some evidence to help fill in the gaps with Averie’s side of the story.”
“Was she an FBI agent, Averie?”
Winn shook her head. “No.”
“But she showed me a badge.” It had been in a black wallet that she’d flipped open when I’d seen her outside my townhouse.
“We did find a badge on her person. It was a fake. A good fake. There was no way you’d know.”
“So she tricked me.” My heart sank. “She was just trying to get information on Oliver. Why?”
“From what we were able to find on her phone, she’s got a lot of video footage of Oliver. When I say a lot, it’s the sort I would expect to see from a stalker.”
“When I talked to Oliver, he sounded like he’d already dismissed her,” I said. “If he was being stalked, wouldn’t he know?”