Page 27 of Fighting His Fate
“I’m on it,” said Moto.
“What did the husband do?” she asked Champion.
“He was a cop who got injured in the line of duty. She got him a job running security for Joni’s company before they got married.”
Mac nodded. “I’ll look for anyone he may have angered on the force.” He gestured to Champion. “You check out the place she worked.”
He nodded. “Joni and Luke’s place, too. The boys are being discharged from the hospital today. We can leave after that and get on the road. Moto, get me an address for Joni and Luke.”
“On it,” said Moto. “And I found the next of kin.” He handed Champion a printout.
Mac saw Champion’s face fall. If he didn’t know better, he’d say Champ wasn’t looking forward to handing those babies over to anyone. He’d gotten attached, maybe when the boys were sick. His eyes shot to Grace. Along with getting attached to that pretty little helper he’d enlisted by his side. The side of Mac’s mouth hitched up. Maybe there was hope for Champion after all.
Good for him.
Champion shook his head. “We can’t just give them to the next of kin. Until we catch the guy who tried to kill Toby and Theo, they aren’t going to be safe anywhere.” He turned to Grace. “Can you stand hanging out with me a little longer? I need to keep the twins with me.”
Moto rattled off an address in Upstate New York, a four-hour drive from where they stood in New York City.
Grace’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. She nodded.
Mac clucked his tongue. “Just because there was only one guy in that van doesn’t mean there’s only one guy after those twins. You want backup on this one, Champ?”
“Hell yes.”
Mac nodded. “Take Razorback’s Jeep. You need wheels. I’ll come up with Razorback and Trace in the chopper by 0800 hours.” The intercom buzzed, a male voice announcing, “Sorry to interrupt. I have John Wexler-Brown here to see Grace Bryant.”
Her mouth dropped open and Champion looked guilty as hell. Mac narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know the name, but any fool could see this was the boyfriend or husband or some shit, come to collect his woman, and this was about to get interesting as hell.
15
Grace’s stomachwas lodged in her throat. The conference room had a wide window that overlooked Central Park, patchy clouds stretching over the cityscape and obscuring a deep orange sunset. She paced as she explained her promise to help Brett with the children, their subsequent illness, and exactly where she’d been the past few days.
“I don’t understand what’s happening here, Grace.” John stood several feet away from her in a jacket and tie, his brow drawn low. It was a good face, one she’d long since determined to love, but in this moment she would have done anything to make him stop looking at her.
“I should have called you back. I texted. I’m sorry you were concerned, but we needed to have a conversation and I wanted to have it in person.”
“You took off with your neighbor without even letting me know. I was worried sick, especially after what happened in the lounge. Do you know how concerned I’ve been?”
She was in the wrong. She knew it, yet the ease with which he forgot the extenuating circumstances of her departure stuck in her craw. “I told you at the hospital I didn’t want those kids to go to Brett, but you shrugged me off. I wanted your help. I didn’t want to argue with you.”
“They’re babies. Champion’s custody was only temporary.”
“You wouldn’t listen.”
“You were being unreasonable.”
“I was being honest. I told you it was important to me, important enough for me to take matters into my own hands to make sure he’d be able to care for their needs.”
“Just because you had a bad experience in foster care does not mean a few days with Brett Champion would do these children eternal harm. You know better than that. It’s just a gut emotional reaction.”
“Yes, but it was my reaction! You claim to love me, but you didn’t care that it was important to me. That I was upset.”
“I’m not always going to agree with you. That’s a fact of life.”
“But you didn’t respect my feelings.”
He crossed to her, his face calm despite his words. “And what about my feelings? I love you, Grace. I was going to ask you to marry me that night.” He reached into his pocket. “But you missed dinner.”
