Page 50 of Ransom for His Secret Son

Again, no reaction. No denial. Just a carefully guarded silence.

Brody clenched his jaw. “You want to tell me what happened next?”

“I already told you,” Eloise fired back. “Neither Zeke nor I arranged for your sons to be born as leverage. We did not do this.”

Brody wasn’t sure if he believed her. Maybe she hadn’t orchestrated it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t taking advantage of the situation.

“If you want to know more about Lila,” Eloise said, smoothing a hand down her expensive blouse, “then you should talk to Christina.”

Remi frowned. “Why her?”

Eloise’s lips curled slightly, looking smug, like she was enjoying holding this over them. “Because I wasn’t the only person Lila contacted eight days ago.”

Brody’s stomach tightened. “Explain that.”

Eloise leaned back against the sofa, crossing one leg over the other. “When I told Lila I wasn’t going to pay her a cent, she said I should rethink that and pay up. Or she’d take the deal to Christina.”

Brody’s pulse kicked up a notch. “She tried to play the two of you against each other,” he said.

Eloise’s expression remained amused, but there was an edge to it. “And I have a strong suspicion that Christina did bite. If you want to know what went on at that clinic eight days ago, then you need to talk to Christina.”

Before the woman even finished speaking, Brody and Remi were heading for the door.

Chapter Fourteen

Remi clenched her jaw as Brody drove them toward Christina’s, and she hoped this wouldn’t turn out to be another dead end. She could feel the tension radiating off him, coiled tight, ready to snap. She understood it. The pressure, the frustration, the helplessness of chasing ghosts while his son was still missing.

She figured that’s what the kiss had been about. Well, maybe part of it. There had been heat there, too. A pulse of something sharp and deep that neither of them had expected. But frustration ruled right now. Desperation, too. They had to have answers soon, or time was going to run out.

As Brody sped toward the entrance to Christina’s neighborhood, Remi had to push aside her thoughts when her attention landed on a familiar figure.

Dr. Langley.

He was out of his car, standing at the security gate, his hands moving in frantic gestures as he spoke to the guard, who looked completely unimpressed.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Brody muttered, slowing the cruiser.

Langley’s frustration was evident in the stiff set of his shoulders, and as they pulled up beside him, she caught the tail end of his argument with the guard.

“I told you,” Langley was saying, exasperation clear in his voice. “I need to speak with Ms. Turner. It’s important.”

The guard didn’t budge. “And as I told you, Ms. Turner isn’t accepting visitors.”

Langley let out a quick breath, his eyes flicking toward them. His mouth pressed into a thin line before he charged toward them. Both Brody and she slid their hands over their weapons.

“Christina needs to talk to me,” Langley said, obviously taking up the plea with them. “I can help her. We can all have what we want…” He stopped, his eyes widening as if something had just occurred to him. “You can help me.”

Remi figured Brody wanted to dismiss that, but Langley could be wrapped up in this ordeal with his sons. He might have answers. Whether or not he’d be willing to spill those answers, though, was a different matter.

“Look, Tarrant is after me,” Langley went on, shooting nervous glances around him. “I can’t pay him what he wants this month, so he says I’m a dead man. Protect me, keep him from getting to me, and I can help you set a trap to catch him.”

Brody huffed and lowered the window just a fraction. “While I very much want to catch Tarrant, right now he’s not my priority. And neither are you.”

Langley bobbed his head in agreement while he continued to keep watch. He looked ready to jump out of his skin. Maybe an act. But Remi didn’t think so. The fear didn’t mean Langley hadn’t had a part in this plan to use the twins, but it was possible the plan had backfired and now Tarrant truly was gunning for him.

“You can use me,” Langley blurted, the words rushing out. “As bait. As long as I’m protected, and you swear to me on your sons’ lives that I’ll be safe, you can use me to draw Tarrant out. Then, in turn, you can use him to get back your baby boy.”

Brody stayed quiet a moment. “While that’s a tempting offer,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm, “there’s a problem. I don’t trust you, Langley, and everything coming out of your mouth right now could be a lie. A lie that could get Remi and me killed.”