Chapter Six
If someone had told Lauren two days ago that she’d be back at Gabriel’s, she wouldn’t have believed them. Yet, here she was. And not only was she dealing with the old memories of the murders, but she also had some new nightmares to add to the mix.
How was she going to keep the babies safe?
Gabriel had certainly done his part to make sure that happened. They’d moved both boys, the nannies, Cameron and her to his place. He’d assured her that he had a solid security system and that the hands would be patrolling the grounds. But Lauren wasn’t sure that would be enough.
Especially with Evelyn out of jail.
Even though one of the hands had seen her near the ranch, she hadn’t come to Cameron’s or Gabriel’s. Maybe because there had been cops and CSIs to scare her off. If she’d been the one behind the attack, she might not have realized all her hired guns had been killed, and she had possibly come with the hopes of snatching Isaac. Thankfully, that hadn’t happened, but before Gabriel could get out to the road, the woman hadn’t been there, either.
In fact, they didn’t know where Evelyn was.
And that only added to Lauren’s nightmarish thoughts.
She heard the footsteps outside the makeshift nursery that Gabriel and his wife, Jodi, had set up, and she reached for her gun. Which she no longer had. She’d put it on the top of the fridge because she didn’t like the idea of having it on her when she was around the babies. But there was no reason for a gun anyway.
Because it was Cameron.
Like her, he’d spent most of the past two hours in the nursery, only stepping out to take calls. Lauren figured she should be making calls, as well, but she hadn’t been able to tear herself away.
“They’re still sleeping,” Cameron whispered when his attention landed on the quilt where both boys were sacked out.
Hopefully, Dara was getting some rest in one of the guest rooms, as well. Merilee certainly was. She was napping on the daybed not far from the boys. With the high-stress day that they’d all had, Lauren figured the women were having a serious adrenaline crash. She certainly was and felt dead on her feet.
Cameron looked as exhausted as she did, and like her, he was probably having some pain. They’d declined the meds the medics had left for them, though. No way did she want her mind clouded any more than it already was.
“Anything on Evelyn?” She, too, kept her voice at a whisper even though the boys hadn’t stirred even when there’d been other noises in the house.
He kept his attention fixed on the boys but shook his head. “But she’s definitely out of jail. She was released on parole two days ago, and the board didn’t bother to contact me to let me know.”
Two days. Enough time to orchestrate all of this. But something about that wasn’t right.
“If Evelyn was behind this, why come after Patrick and me?” Lauren asked.
“Maybe because she found out about the baby switch.” Cameron answered so quickly that it meant he’d given this some thought. “If she knew Patrick was her grandson, she’d do anything to get him.”
Yes. But Lauren was still having trouble thinking of Patrick as anything but her child. He wasn’t. He was Gilly’s biological son, and that meant Evelyn could have some kind of legal claim to him.
That thought nearly brought her to her knees.
Lauren staggered a little, catching on to the door frame to steady herself. Cameron also caught on to her by slipping his arm around her.
“You can’t let this get to you,” he said, maybe figuring out what she’d just realized. “Evelyn has a police record. No judge is going to give her custody.”
“No clean judge. But Evelyn certainly has the money to pay one off. And hire as many fake cops and thugs as she wants.”
The woman was a millionaire many times over, and that was probably why she hadn’t spent much time in jail for pulling a gun on a cop. Still...
“If Evelyn wants her grandson so much, then why would she have put Patrick in danger like that?” she pressed.
He lifted his shoulder, and because he still had hold of her, it meant his arm slid against the side of her breast. He noticed, too, mumbled an apology and then eased away from her.
Lauren immediately felt the loss of no longer having him to support her. But it was a loss she shouldn’t be feeling. She couldn’t take that kind of comfort from Cameron. Not with this fire still simmering between them. A fire he was feeling, as well, she realized when their gazes connected.
He looked away from her, mumbled some profanity and then scrubbed his hand over his face. “Did you ever meet Evelyn?”
It was a good question, but she suspected he was asking to make sure they got their minds off that fire and back where it belonged—on figuring out who was behind the attacks.
“I met her once,” Lauren answered. “It was at Gilly’s apartment. I was there visiting your sister, and Evelyn showed up. Gilly wasn’t pleased, and it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. She wanted Gilly to have an amniocentesis done to prove the baby was her grandchild. Gilly refused. The test has risks, and there was no doubt in Gilly’s mind that the baby was Trace’s.”
That gave her another jolt. Because the baby Gilly had been carrying had been Patrick.
“How did Gilly and you reconnect after you left Blue River?” he asked.
Lauren didn’t have to think hard to remember that. “Gilly just rang my doorbell one day. She said she’d found me through an internet search and that she was moving to Dallas. We were both pregnant at the time, and she’d heard about my husband dying.” Lauren paused. “Did Gilly tell you she’d moved near me?”
“No.” His jaw tightened a little. “In fact, she didn’t mention you at all. I knew you were in Dallas. That came up once when Gabriel was trying to get in touch with you.”
Yes, Gabriel had tried many times. And early on after she’d left, Gabriel had come to see her every other month or so. There’d been nothing recent, though. Maybe he’d given up on ever bringing her back to the ranch. Ironic that it was danger and not family that had caused her to return.
“You knew Gilly was afraid of Trace?” Cameron continued a moment later.
She nodded. “I think Gilly might have moved to Dallas because it was far away from Trace but close to me. I don’t believe she wanted to go through the pregnancy alone, and before my parents’ murders, Gilly and I had been close.”
Not that she needed to tell Cameron about that. He knew she’d been best friends with his sister because Lauren had spent plenty of time at their house. His folks were no longer around, though. His mom had died when Cameron was only six, and his dad had left shortly after Cameron became a deputy. It hadn’t been a huge loss for Cameron or Gilly since their father had spent more time drinking than being a dad. Lauren supposed his father felt Gilly would be in good hands so Cameron had ended up raising his sister.
And now he was raising her son.
Or so Cameron had thought.
Lauren took a deep breath, ready to bring up the subject of what they were going to do, but from the corner of her eye, she spotted Jameson making his way toward them. He was sporting the same serious expression that he’d had since her arrival.
“You have a visitor,” Jameson said, motioning toward the front of the house. “Duane Tully. He says it’s important.”
Cameron groaned. “He’s not inside, is he?”
Jameson lifted his eyebrow in a “no-way” expression. “He’s parked in the driveway with two hands watching him to make sure he stays put. I told him if it’s really that important, he should head straight to the sheriff’s office. He’s still one of our suspects, right?”
“He has motive to kill me,” Lauren verified. “Why does he want to see me?”
“He won’t say. That makes me want to arrest him and haul him to jail.”
Lauren wouldn’t mind the man being in jail, but right now Duane seemed the “safest” of their suspects. As far as she knew, he’d never been in jail, never pulled a gun on a cop and wasn’t brimming with venom the way Julia was.
“Gabriel was going to question Duane anyway,” Cameron pointed out. “And I’d want to listen to what he has to say. I’d rather not have to leave Lauren and the boys right now to do that. So maybe Gabriel can question him here? After Duane is searched for weapons, that is.”
Lauren didn’t like the idea of being under the same roof as the man, but it was better than the alternative. Plus, they needed to ask him about the so-called cops that’d come to his house.
“Merilee,” Cameron said the moment Jameson gave them the go-ahead nod.
The nanny’s eyes immediately flew open, and she sprang to a sitting position. “What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing,” Cameron assured her. “I just need you to watch the babies while Lauren and I have a chat with someone.”
Cameron waited until Merilee had gotten to her feet before he shut the door. Good. Isaac would probably nap for at least another half hour, and he would be cranky if he didn’t get those extra minutes.
They went downstairs where Gabriel was waiting in the foyer. “You’re seeing him?” he asked right off.
Lauren nodded.
Gabriel huffed. The kind of huff to indicate he wasn’t sure this was the right thing to do. Lauren wasn’t sure of that, either. But she did want to hear what Duane had to say. Besides, the house was as safe as the sheriff’s office would be. Lauren could see armed ranch hands outside, and Jodi was at the front window—her gun drawn. She would no doubt watch to make sure Duane hadn’t brought any hired guns with him, and since Jodi was a security specialist, she had nearly as much training as Gabriel.
“I’ll frisk him,” Gabriel grumbled. He glanced at his wife, a stay-safe warning passing between them, before he headed out.
When Gabriel opened the door, Cameron automatically pulled Lauren behind him, and Jameson stepped in front of her, as well. Again, they were risking their lives for her, and she hated that it’d come down to that. However, despite their quick maneuvering, she still managed to get a glimpse of Duane.
And he got a glimpse of her, too. Duane looked weary and not at all there to do battle with her. That was something, at least. Considering he’d filed a lawsuit against her for Alden’s estate, she didn’t expect him to be friendly, but maybe he could give them something to help with the investigation.
“Ivy called a little while ago,” Jameson told her as they waited for Gabriel.
Ivy, her sister. Like plenty of other things about being at the ranch, her sister’s name brought back more of those old memories. Mostly good. Once, Ivy and she had been close. But like Lauren, Ivy hadn’t stayed in Blue River, either. She’d left shortly after the murders and had only recently come home.
“Ivy wants to see you,” Jameson went on. “Theo and she are down in Houston clearing out her place there, but I told them that for now they should stay put.”
Good. Lauren wanted to see her sister, as well, but it was too risky for Ivy to be here since she also had a son. There were already enough people in danger at the ranch.
“I’m sure you remember Theo,” Jameson added. “Well, Ivy and he are engaged now.”
That created some sudden tension in the foyer. Not because Ivy and Theo were back together. That didn’t surprise Lauren. The two had always been in love. But Theo’s father, Travis, was in jail for murdering Lauren’s parents. Obviously, her sister had gotten past that if she was planning to marry Theo.
Lauren hadn’t quite managed to do that, though. And that lack of getting over it involved Cameron. He didn’t say anything—he didn’t need to—but it was always there. Because he was the lone person who’d had the chance to stop Travis that horrible night, and he hadn’t done it. One day Lauren would ask her sister how she’d put that all behind her, and then maybe she could do the same.
Jameson adjusted his stance again, and both Cameron and he slid their hands over their guns as Gabriel approached the house. He had his hand clamped around Duane’s arm as if arresting the man.
“Lauren,” Duane greeted. The moment he was inside, Gabriel shut the door and armed the security alarm.
Yes, the stress was definitely there, etched around Duane’s eyes, and he wasn’t the polished businessman that he usually was. He was wearing jeans and a casual shirt rather than the pricey suits that he favored.
“I heard about the attack from Julia,” Duane said to her. “I came as soon as I could.”
Lauren shook her head. “How’d you get here so fast?” His house was hours away in Dallas.
“I was already on my way. I wanted to talk to you after those cops showed up at my house last night. Julia said you sent them to harass me, but I figured there was more to it than that.”
“I didn’t send them,” Lauren insisted. “And I have reason to believe they could have been hired killers.”
“Yes, the sheriff mentioned that to me. You really think someone would want me dead?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I also don’t know who hired the men or why they came after me. But you should take precautions just in case.”
Duane looked at all three lawmen, maybe to see if they agreed with that, and even though Cameron, Gabriel and Jameson didn’t speak, Duane must have seen something on their faces to make him nod.
“I’ll look into hiring a bodyguard.” He took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Gabriel. “That’s the code to access the online storage for the footage from my security system. Maybe you can compare the faces of the men who came to my door to the ones who were killed here at the ranch.”
Lauren hoped she was wrong, but the way Duane had said that last part almost made it seem as if he was sympathetic about the thugs who’d attacked them and been shot in the process.
“What about Julia?” Cameron asked Gabriel. “Has she turned over her footage?”
“Not yet.” Gabriel looked at the paper and then went into the adjoining living room to use a laptop that was on the coffee table. Jodi stayed at the window, keeping watch.
“Don’t expect Julia to just cooperate,” Duane muttered. He made a sound of frustration. “Julia’s the reason I wanted to come and talk to you face-to-face,” he added to Lauren. But he didn’t say anything else. He just stood there, glancing around as if trying to figure out what to do.
“Did Julia do something I should know about?” Lauren came out and asked. “Did she hire those men?”
“I honestly don’t have any idea about that.” Duane paused again. “But I do know she’s getting desperate. Did you know she’s practically broke?”
Lauren hadn’t thought Duane could say anything that would surprise her, but she’d obviously been wrong. “No. And that doesn’t sound right. Both Alden and Julia inherited huge trust funds—”
“Julia drained hers to pay off some bad investments,” Duane interrupted. “She doesn’t want anyone to know,” he quickly added, “but a PI I hired learned about it when I had him looking into some background stuff for the lawsuit.”
Since Duane had filed that lawsuit against Lauren, she very much wanted to hear this—and especially why he’d included Julia in it.
“How and what did the PI learn?” Cameron asked, taking the words right out of Lauren’s mouth.
Duane glanced away from her again. Not a good sign.
“I was looking for something to prove you cheated on Alden,” the man finally said. “Yes, I know it’s a stretch, but I can’t just hand over the company that I helped build.”
“You’re not handing it over. You still own twenty-five percent. As does Julia.”
“And Patrick owns the rest, the majority share,” Duane spelled out for her. “You know that Alden wanted me to run the company.”
“I know no such thing,” Lauren argued. “In fact, at the time of Alden’s death, you two were at odds with each other. He didn’t approve of some of the investments you’d made. Were they bad investments like Julia’s?”
“No,” Duane snapped, and he repeated it. “It was just a difference of opinion, something Alden and I would have worked out if he’d lived.”
He stared at her as if waiting for her to say something. Maybe something about giving in to him and handing over Patrick’s shares. But they weren’t hers to give.
Heck, they weren’t even Patrick’s.
They were Isaac’s.
If Duane knew that, he might be trying to get rid of the baby so he’d have a better shot at getting the company. Of course, Julia had an equal motive since she wanted her hands on the money from Alden’s estate.
“Alden was my best friend,” Duane went on, “and while you and I never really got along, I don’t want to see his son harmed.”
Lauren pulled back her shoulders so fast that it caused her stitches to pull, and the pain rippled through her. Cameron noticed, too, because he leaned in and made brief eye contact with her before his attention slashed to Duane.
“Explain that,” Cameron demanded. “Who would want to harm his son?”
“Julia.” This time Duane didn’t hesitate. “The PI I hired not only learned she was nearly broke, but he also found out she’s in debt to a loan shark. I think she’s past being desperate and would do anything to get her hands on her brother’s money.
“And the only way Julia could do that would be to kill Patrick and her. If Julia knew there was a possibility of a baby swap, then that could send her after Isaac, too.
“I know about the DNA test you had done on your son,” Duane added. “Yes, I know it’s snooping, but I’m desperate, too. Not like Julia, but I want to hang on to my company.”
Cameron glanced at her, no doubt to see if she was aware that Duane knew about the test, and she wasn’t.
“What DNA test?” Lauren asked. Yes, it was a lie for her to pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about, but she didn’t intend to confirm anything to Duane.
“The PI had someone follow you,” Duane admitted. “He saw you go to the lab. He went in after you when the receptionist was logging in the information.”
Sweet heaven. If the PI had found out about that, then Julia could have, too. In fact, it was possible that Julia had had someone watching her, as well.
“The DNA test was for me,” Lauren said. Again, it was a lie. “There were rumors my mother had had an affair, and I wanted to be sure that Sherman Beckett was really my father.”
Duane couldn’t have possibly looked more skeptical. Probably because Jameson and she were side by side, and the resemblance was definitely there. However, Duane hadn’t known her folks so maybe he would think they resembled their mother.
“I’ll have to send the footage to the crime lab for confirmation,” Gabriel said, coming back into the foyer. “But I’m pretty sure the men who paid you a visit are the same ones who tried to kill us.”
Some of the color drained from Duane’s face. “Julia,” he said through clenched teeth. “You have to stop her. Arrest her. Get her to confess.”
“Give us everything your PI found out about her,” Cameron fired back, “and maybe that’ll be enough to get a warrant.”
Maybe. Without proof, it would be just hearsay, but it was possible the PI had found something else.
Duane turned as if to leave, but he stopped and made eye contact with Lauren again. “The best way to stop Julia might be to settle the lawsuit with her. That could give her the money to pay the loan shark, and she might back off.”
That was true if Julia was the one behind this. But Alden hadn’t wanted his sister to have the money, and again, it wasn’t Lauren’s to give away. Still, it was something to consider if it would keep the babies out of danger.
“I suppose you want Lauren to settle the lawsuit with you, too,” Cameron commented to Duane.
Duane shrugged, the answer obvious. “All I’m asking for is enough of the shares so I’ll be majority holder. Her son can keep the rest. And it’s only fair since it’s my company.”
That set her teeth on edge because it wasn’t only his. And again, she didn’t want to barter off Isaac’s birthright. One day he might want to run his father’s company. It would be easier for Lauren to give up the money since she had plenty of her own that she could pass onto her children, but if she gave Duane the company, she would never be able to get it back.
“I’ll think about that and let you know what I decide,” she settled for saying.
She expected Duane to look at least slightly optimistic about that. He didn’t. He studied her expression as if trying to figure out if she would truly consider it, and then he mumbled something she didn’t catch. Lauren didn’t believe it was a compliment, though.
With a scowl on his face, Duane motioned for Gabriel to disarm the security system. Her brother did, and he closed the door behind the man. Gabriel also stood at the side windows, no doubt to make sure Duane left.
“Lawsuits?” Jameson repeated.
Lauren nodded. “Both Julia and Duane are suing me. Well, suing Patrick anyway.” She paused. “If I can prove a baby swap, then the lawsuits will have to be refiled. That’ll cause delays that neither Duane nor Julia will like.”
“No,” Cameron agreed.
Cameron didn’t spell it out, but Lauren figured they were thinking the same thing. That it would be easier for Julia or Duane to eliminate Isaac. Or maybe even both boys.
“You believe what Duane said about Julia owing money to a loan shark?” Gabriel asked.
Lauren had to shrug. “I suppose it could be true. Alden always claimed Julia was irresponsible with money. That’s one of the main reasons he didn’t want to turn over any part of his estate to her. That, and he wanted Patrick...his son...to have it.”
But if it was true about Julia’s debts, then that made her even more dangerous.
“I’ll get Julia in for questioning,” Gabriel assured her.
She was about to tell Cameron and her brothers that they needed to do more to beef up security and they had to make sure neither Duane nor Julia got anywhere near the babies, but Cameron’s phone rang before she could speak.
“It’s Jace Morrelli,” Cameron relayed when he looked at the screen.
Since Jace was another of Gabriel’s deputies, that immediately snagged her attention. He could have updates on the investigation, and thankfully Cameron put the call on speaker so she could listen.
“Evelyn Waters just showed up here at the sheriff’s office,” Jace said without a greeting. “She’s demanding to see Lauren and you.”
“Is she armed?” Gabriel asked right off. “If she is, arrest her because it’ll be a violation of her parole.”
“I searched her. No weapons. But she’s talking crazy. That’s why I called you.” It sounded as if Jace blew out a long breath. “She’s claiming that Lauren swapped her baby with Gilly’s, and Evelyn insists she can prove it.”