Page 67 of Ready or Not

“She either ran, or she was taken out by the younger Andretti brothers because of the situation with Sparrow Cavanaugh.” I reference Ranger’s little sister, who is still missing to this day. “But apparently, the older Andretti has reasons to think she might still be alive. All of his shitbag teams have her picture and information. If they run across her, they’re supposed to bring her in right away.”

“Do you have a name?” Mercy asks with wide eyes.

“Fallon Pierce.”

“She had a relationship with one of the Andretti brothers…” Mercy hums. “She could have valuable intel on their compound.”

“Yup,” I agree. “Anyway, I’m exhausted. I’m going to call it a night.”

“I’ll be up shortly.”

We spend the next several days around the house. Vale nests an exorbitant amount of time, and she likes to keep one of us with her at all times. It’s not an impossible feat, considering there are four of us. And yeah, I am coming around to thinking of Garza that way.

He and I used to hit the gym together every morning, back before he left to work with Ranger. Holt prefers afternoon and evening workouts, so it’s just me and Garza.

He’s on the treadmill while I’m doing pull-ups.

I fucking hate pull-ups, but my shoulder wound is finally to the point where I’m not ripping it open at every turn. Healing is a slow process, which is probably why Garza is running instead of lifting weights or rowing, like he prefers.

He grabs his phone from the holder and starts pacing down the machine.

“Bishop,” he calls, jumping off the treadmill. “Patrick said to call him. The results are in.”

The paternity test has crossed my mind frequently, but it’s been a waiting game. Dropping from the pull-up bar, I grab my towel and head over.

“Call him.”

Garza nods, clicking away on his phone. The way his hands shake betrays his anxiety. The echoing ring of the call on speakerphone fills the air.

“The results are in,” Patrick says, answering the call.

“Okay,” Garza growls. “You couldn’t have just texted it to me?”

“The baby is biologically yours. Congratulations,” Patrick says.

“Holy fucking shit,” Garza says. “Thank God.”

My head falls back as it shakes. Thank God, indeed. It’s something I couldn’t even fathom having to tell her, and I’m grateful we didn’t worry Vale with the alternate possibility.

“We’ve got her down tomorrow for an appointment with Sylvia, but it’s my day at the hospital. I thought, if you want to have a tour…” Patrick chuckles. “Don’t worry, I already cleared it with the L&D tour coordinator. She’s free around eleven. So, if you want to come over right after Vale’s checkup, she can check out the birthing rooms, and one of the nurses will briefly go over what to expect.”

Garza’s eyes fly to mine.

I nod. “Yeah, she mentioned needing to take a tour of the hospital.”

“Bring your credit cards, gentlemen. The delivery cost without insurance is exorbitant.” Patrick laughs. “I’m glad it was good news. I know I said a prayer before checking the results.”

“Thanks, Pat,” Garza says, hanging up. His gray eyes meet mine. “That’s a huge relief.”

“What is?” Mercy asks from the doorway.

“The results came back, and the baby is mine,” Garza says, smiling as his head shakes. “Not that it really mattered, but it’s?—”

“Thank God.” Mercy strides over, pulling Garza in for a hug. “Congratulations.”

He’s dressed in his normal clothes, not for a workout.

“Did you come in here for a reason?” I ask.

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