Page 119 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

“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.