Page 18 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Luca moved to go with her, but before they made it to the door, Duncan’s phone rang. “It’s Woodrow,” he relayed, taking the call. He didn’t put it on Speaker, but after just a couple of seconds, Luca knew Duncan was getting bad news.

“What?” Duncan asked the caller. “You’re sure?” He paused and a moment later muttered, “Hell.” Duncan scrubbed his hand over his face and repeated the single word of profanity when he ended the call.

“The local cops went to the cabin,” Duncan explained, “but it was on fire. The fire department’s on the way, but they won’t get there in time.”

Luca groaned, and it blended with the other negative reactions in the room. With the cabin gone, they’d lose any critical evidence that might have been inside.

“There’s more,” Duncan added a moment later. “Woodrow checked, and the cabin was on a two-year lease to someone local.” His gaze met Bree’s. “Dr. Nathan Bagley.”

Chapter Six

Bree watched from the back seat of the cruiser as the house came into view. She’d never thought of her childhood home as cramped quarters, but it certainly felt like that now. Still, she knew this was their best chance at keeping everyone safe.

Well, hopefully it was.

Until they had answers about her mother’s kidnapper and the shooter, they’d never actually be safe. And some of those answers might come from Nathan.

It twisted at her to think of her former boyfriend having a part in this. Or rathermaybehaving a part in it. Woodrow had verified that Nathan’s name was indeed on the lease for the cabin, but so far, they hadn’t been able to question Nathan about that since he was tied up with a patient in the ICU. Once that was finished though, he’d be given the message to contact Duncan right away.

Rather than wait at the sheriff’s office for Nathan’s response, Duncan had proceeded with the move to the ranch. No easy feat with plenty of moving parts. Literally. She watched as Duncan’s cruiser stopped in front of the house, and Joelle, Slater, their mother and Duncan all got out. Izzie’s nanny, Beatrice Walker, opened the door for them.

Luca pulled up behind Duncan’s cruiser, and as Ruston and he had both done on the drive over, they glanced around, looking for threats. Bree did as well, but she didn’t see anyone other than some ranch hands milling about.

Luca’s gaze met hers in the rearview mirror, and she saw the concern in his eyes. She was no doubt sporting plenty of concernof her own, but somehow they had to make this situation work. They had to do whatever it took to keep Gabriel safe.

Even share a bedroom.

Yes, that was the plan. The house had five bedrooms, but one was being used as a nursery and another had been converted to the live-in nanny’s quarters. Joelle and Duncan had the main bedroom attached to the nursery. That left two rooms, and since her mother would need one of them, Luca and Bree would be roommates along with Gabriel.

That way, they wouldn’t have to be far from Gabriel.

Thankfully, Luca and she wouldn’t actually have to share a bed. Ruston had come ahead of them to set up a cot for Luca and a portable crib for Gabriel. Since Ruston was recently married and had an adopted daughter, he wouldn’t be staying at the ranch but rather at his own house on the outskirts of San Antonio. Slater, however, would and had claimed the sofa in the family room. Coral had offered to use a cot or sofa as well, but since the nanny hadn’t actually been threatened, Bree had decided to give her some time off.

“Go ahead and get Gabriel out of the car seat,” Luca instructed while they were still in the cruiser, and Bree understood why he wanted that. It would minimize their time outside.

She unbuckled a sleeping Gabriel who stirred when she picked him up. It was at least another hour before he would normally want another bottle, but with his schedule thrown off, Bree wasn’t counting on much of anything being normal today.

Ruston and Luca gathered up the diaper bag and baby supplies they’d brought with them and got out of the cruiser. Bree steeled herself for the punch of grief from seeing the spot where her father had died. And it came. It came with a vengeance and momentarily robbed her of her breath. She didn’t give in to it, though. Couldn’t. Because even a slighthesitation could turn out to be a deadly mistake. Gathering Gabriel close to her, she hurried inside.

Joelle and Duncan had kept the furniture. In this part of the house anyway. But for the time being, they’d turned the large formal living and dining areas into a makeshift squad room. Someone had moved in small tables that were serving as desks, and there was even an incident board, and Slater was in the process of pinning up three photos.

Brighton’s, Sandra’s and Bree’s.

There’d no doubt soon be other photos and notes, and the visuals might help them better connect all of this. Duncan was already in work mode, too. He was talking on the phone while he gathered up papers that were churning out from a printer. Luca set down the diaper bag to go help him with that while Ruston carried their things upstairs.

“I’ve put Luca, Gabriel and you in your old bedroom,” Joelle explained to Bree. She was holding her infant daughter who was fussing and clearly ready to eat because she kept turning her mouth to Joelle’s breast. “And Mom will be in Ruston’s old room. Beatrice is up there now, getting everything ready.”

Her mother actually seemed relieved about that. Maybe because Sandra had thought she might end up having to sleep in the room she’d shared with her husband.

“You holding up okay?” Joelle asked their mother.

Sandra’s nod was shaky and not very convincing. “So much happening,” she muttered.

Yes, and Bree figured this was just the start of it. There were five veteran cops in the house, and she knew Duncan was thorough. This would be aleave no stones unturnedkind of investigation.

“I could cook if anyone’s hungry,” her mother volunteered.

“Food is on the way from the diner. Lots of it,” Joelle clarified. She studied her mom’s face for a moment. “But if you could putout paper plates and cups in the kitchen, that’d be great. Also, maybe make a fresh pot of coffee.”

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