Page 59 of Ransom for His Secret Son

And until they found that person, all right wasn’t nearly good enough.

Violet blew out a long, weary breath on the other end of the line. “No sign of Tarrant. He got away.”

Remi’s jaw automatically clenched, but she wasn’t surprised. Tarrant was slippery, and he had plenty of motivation to disappear.

“We’re going through the cottage now,” Violet continued a heartbeat later. “Might turn up something that leads us to whoever orchestrated this.”

Remi caught Brody’s eye. He gave a slight nod but said nothing. Didn’t have to. Nothing that Violet was saying surprised him either.

“We checked out Maria,” Violet went on. “No criminal record. She was being paid through an agency, but here’s the thing. It’s just a shell company. Looked legit on the surface. But no, we don’t know who’s running it yet.”

And because it’d looked legit, that was yet another reason for Maria not to have been suspicious. The nanny basically thought she was simply doing a short-term service for babies who were about to be adopted out.

“Can Maria give a description of the man who came and took the first baby?” Brody asked.

“A description, yes,” Violet verified. “But listen to this and tell me what you think. The man had a thick beard, mustache and glasses. He stayed hunched over and mumbled when he spoke.”

“Sounds as if he was wearing a disguise,” Remi said on a groan.

“Bingo. And he also didn’t stay long,” Violet explained. “Basically, he breezed right in, handed her the papers, took one of the babies and left.” She stopped, sighed. “We showed Maria mug shots. No luck there either. She definitely can’t ID Langley, Christina, Eloise or Eloise’s man, Zeke. Maria insists she doesn’t know them.”

That checked out. If one of those three was behind this, they wouldn’t have risked dealing with the nanny directly. They would have used intermediaries, layers of protection between themselves and the crime.

“If anything new turns up, I’ll let you know right away,” Violet said, her voice firm. “In the meantime, keep your guard up.”

“Always,” Brody muttered.

The call ended, and Remi figured that Brody was doing a mental check of the security he had in place. No longer was there just Holt, who was keeping watch from the upstairs window, but two other deputies were parked out front in a cruiser. In addition, the security system had been upgraded and was fully armed. No one would be getting into the house without them knowing it.

Or without a fight.

Remi just prayed that Tarrant or the person who had set this in motion didn’t bring the fight here. Those babies had already been through enough. Brody, too. Still, it was obvious that she and Brody were on edge and still vigilant when they snapped toward the sound of approaching footsteps.

Moments later, Sandra appeared in the doorway, and Remi had to give her body the signal to stand down. There was no immediate threat.

Sandra went straight to the crib, checking the babies the way grandmothers had for, well, since the beginning of time. Satisfied at the sight of the sleeping little angels, she glanced at the clock on the wall.

“It’s only seven,” she murmured. “Feels later.”

It did. The past twenty-four hours had stretched impossibly long. Both Remi and Brody were functioning on just a couple of hours of sleep, and the adrenaline crash from the attack certainly wasn’t helping with that.

“Do you want me to stay in here with them tonight?” Sandra asked Brody. “You know I’d be glad to do it.”

Brody was quick to shake his head. “No. I’m staying.”

Sandra’s lips lifted in a small, knowing smile. She reached out, patting his arm. “I figured as much.” Her voice softened. “It’ll be hard for you to be away from them.”

Brody didn’t argue.

Sandra squeezed his arm before stepping back. “It’s a good time for the two of you to get some rest, then. They’ve both been fed and changed, and you might get a couple of hours of sleep before they wake up again. I’ll take one of the guest rooms. But if you two need a break in the night, come wake me.”

Remi nodded, watching as Sandra gave her grandsons one last glance before leaving the room, easing the door shut behind her.

“I’m staying,” Remi said before he could offer her up one of the guest rooms.

He nodded. No objection. And that caused her to release the pent-up breath she’d been holding.

The room felt smaller, quieter. The dim glow from the lamp cast soft shadows along the walls, wrapping them in the kind of hush that made everything feel more intimate.