Page 67 of Edge of Danger

“I have to get as much information from Hawkins as possible. He has to admit he’s been tracking Robert because he intends to kill him. I’m telling you, I’m on it.”

“All right. Just checking. We have everything covered on our end, as well. You focus on your part, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

Sure. It would be easy.

Brax didn’t believe it for a second. Nothing about this went easy. Ever.

Then again, maybe this meant they were due a little good luck. It would certainly be welcome.

He reached the warehouse a minute earlier than the GPS had predicted. He’d beaten everybody else, which was a good thing. The car seat was in the back, and he made a big deal of unloading it and carrying it into the warehouse.

He even talked to the doll and bundle of blankets inside, just in case Robert was watching from somewhere nearby. Not that he’d give Robert credit for thinking that far ahead, but anomalies happened, and now would be the worst time to get caught in a lie.

He had barely stepped foot inside when Chance’s voice rang out in his ear. “He’s coming. Just about to reach the warehouse.”

Brax took one deep breath after another, forcing himself to relax. Telling himself he was there to give the baby to Robert—the way he was supposed to be. That he cared about his half brother and only wanted what was best for him.

A sick joke, but one he had to at least pretend to believe if he had any hope of coming off believable.

“We’re a go,” Weston announced. “You’ve got this, Brax.”

“Yeah, and now I just have to figure out what to do with it.” The fact that he could make a joke had to be a good sign. He hoped.

Robert stepped through the open door, his head sweeping from side to side. “I had half an idea you brought me here to set me up,” he giggled like a little girl once he found they were alone.

“This is too serious for anything like that.”

Robert shrugged. “So? Hand him over.”

Brax took a step back. “Not until you tell me how things turned out this way. You’re still my brother. I can’t let you walk out of my life again without knowing how you got into this situation. And what you plan on doing after this.”

“Why does it matter all of a sudden?”

“Call me sentimental. Now more than ever, since I happen to have formed an attachment to your son. I want to know what his father’s planning on doing after he leaves this warehouse.”

That greasy smile. “I’m gonna stay alive, bro. You know me. Always one step ahead of the bad guys.”

Brax withheld comment. He had to keep things moving in the right direction, ideally before Hawkins showed up. “You said Walker’s mother is dead? Is that true? Be honest with me now, please. This might be the last time we see each other for all I know. I think after you dropped your kid on my doorstep and disappeared, you owe me that much.”

Robert’s eye roll was visible from the open door and the dim light filtering through the few filthy windows lining the walls. “What do you want me to say? She was a loser. She didn’t know how to handle herself, much less our kid.”

Brax stopped short of snarling, but just barely. “It doesn’t say much about you that you were hooking up with a loser who couldn’t handle herself.”

“She was cute. What can I say? Anyway, she was no good, so I got custody.”

“You must’ve had proof of her being no good. Judges don’t up and grant custody to a professional gambler—no offense—over a baby’s mother.”

“Like her being a waitress at a casino was any better?” Robert scoffed. “Please. It took no time. My cousin, you remember. He’s a judge.”

He was making it so easy, it was hard not to laugh. “Oh, so it was like that? You got him to fix things for you?”

“Listen, Brax. Don’t get up on your moral high horse now. I did what I needed to do.”

“What does that mean? Did you steal this baby from his mother? Does she even know what’s going on with you and the Solomon family?”

“No, why would she? For all I know she’s in a hole somewhere. What does it matter? The important thing is I got Walker and that’s that.”

“Even though you had to lie to do it?”

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