Page 47 of Ransom for His Secret Son

Held nothing back.

And he had to hold back. He couldn’t give in to this. It had nothing to do with the past. Facing life and death with Remi had soothed that over some. Some. But this kind of kiss, this kind of need was a distraction. It took down too many walls. Too fast. Leaving him feeling frustrated. Confused.

Vulnerable.

Brody forced himself to stop, then made himself move away from her. He opened his mouth to apologize, to explain himself, but just as the words began to form, there was a knock at the door. Brody’s muscles tensed as it swung open.

A tall woman with dark hair stepped in, and she hesitated for a moment, no doubt picking up on the vibe that was in the room. Thankfully, she didn’t say something like, Am I interrupting anything? No, she just came in, her gaze pinned to Remi.

Brody immediately saw the familiarity between Remi and this stranger. He also heard Remi take what he thought was a breath of relief. Maybe relief over the kiss ending? Or she could be glad there’d been no questions about why both of them were flushed and breathing hard.

The woman stepped forward and gave Remi a quick hug. “Remi,” she said, as she eased back from the embrace. “It’s been too long.”

“Violet,” Remi replied, her smile genuine. “It has.” She lifted her hand to Brody. “This is Sheriff Brody Walker. Brody, this is San Antonio PD homicide detective Violet Hollister. We worked on some cases together, and the clinic where we found the body is in her jurisdiction.”

Brody shook her hand briefly, giving her a nod. “Good to meet you.”

Remi turned slightly, her voice a little tighter now. “Brody and I are desperate for news. We’re hoping you might have something for us.”

“Oh, I have plenty for you,” Violet assured her. “Not sure if it’s the answers you want, but here it is. The dead nurse you found at the clinic, her name was Lila Montgomery.”

Brody repeated the name to see if it rang any bells. It didn’t.

“She was a nurse midwife,” Violet continued, “but she lost her credentials three years ago after a drug arrest. Pills. She had a habit of stealing from the hospitals she worked at.”

Brody’s stomach twisted. A woman like that had been around his sons.

“The medical examiner confirmed that she’s been dead for at least a week,” Violet went on. “That lines up with what your surrogate, Allie Harper, told us about delivering the babies eight days ago. It looks like she really did kill Montgomery in self-defense.”

That eased some of the tension inside him. “And Allie?” Brody asked. “Is she in the clear?”

Violet nodded. “We’ve taken her statement. As of right now, there will be no charges filed against her. Considering the circumstances, it’s pretty damn clear she was fighting for her life.”

Good. Allie had already been through way too much to be in hot water with the cops.

“We’ve got Allie working with a sketch artist to try to come up with images of the doctor and the woman who hired her for the surrogacy,” Violet went on. “If we get something solid, we can run them through facial recognition.”

Brody hoped that would turn up something, but the odds were both of those people had used convincing disguises when they’d met with Allie.

Violet blew out a quick breath. “I got permission to share this with you,” she continued. “SAPD has had their eye on Lila Montgomery for a while now.”

Brody’s jaw tightened. “Clearly not close enough.”

Violet didn’t argue. “Fair point,” she admitted. “But she was on our radar.”

“Why?” he demanded.

Violet looked him straight in the eye. “Because of Tarrant Eddington.”

Brody went still. Remi shifted beside him, just as tense.

“They used to be lovers,” Violet explained. “And we have reason to believe she was helping him stay off-the-grid.”

Brody stared at her. That didn’t track, not with what he knew about Tarrant. “Tarrant goes for rich socialites. Women with money and status.”

Violet shrugged. “Lila might’ve been different. Maybe she got him drugs. But, of course, there’s a bigger reason Tarrant would have gotten involved with her.”

They made quick sounds of agreement, and it was Remi who spelled it out. “Lila probably helped deliver Tarrant’s baby. The baby he planned on using to coerce his wife into destroying evidence against him.”