Page 75 of Guarded from Treachery

Isla turns to face me. “Okay?”

“She was approached by a man asking her to provide medical records for specific patients. He claimed it was for research purposes and wouldn’t harm anyone. And he offered her a lot of money. A hundred grand to start.”

“Were they just my records? Or…”

“Some of the other missing women, too.” My molars grind painfully as I grit out, “Obviously, the man lied. And this Williams woman didn’t care about anything but the money.”

After a pause, she says, “Okay. Where do we go from there?”

“Well, I found some more information. Williams mentioned where she used to meet this guy. And I was able to find a security camera in the vicinity. After studying the footage, I got a partial shot of his face. Enough to run it through facial recognition. So we have a name.”

“Do you think it’s the man behind all this?” There’s a little quiver in Isla’s voice. “Could this be the end of it?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “We need to talk to him. His name is Milton Oaks, and he works for a fertility clinic in Austin. Dante and I are going to go there this afternoon to confront him.”

Now that Oaks has been identified, the lab results that came back after we ran all of Isla’s medications make more sense. When we had her birth control tested, it turned out to be Clomid instead. Someone must have broken into Isla’s house and swapped her birth control for a fertility drug, which explains how they were able to get her pregnant.

“Matt.” Pancake batter forgotten, Isla grabs both my hands. “I don’t want you doing anything dangerous. What if this guy?—”

“Isles. Remember who I am. I know I talk about computers all the time, but I’m trained. This Oaks guy isn’t going to hurt me.”

Pink touches her cheeks. “I know you are. I saw you do that crazy martial arts stuff in the parking lot. And I’ve watched you spar with your teammates. It’s not that I don’t think you’re capable. It’s just… I worry.”

My chest warms. “Is it bad that I like you worrying about me?”

“No.” A sweet smile lifts her lips. “But I still want you to be careful. People can be unpredictable when they feel cornered.”

I’m not worried in the least, but I humor Isla as I reply, “I’ll be really careful. And Dante will be there, too. Besides, we’re not going to hurt the guy. We’re just going to convince him that it would be in his best interests to talk.”

And if I happen to trip and punch him in the face accidentally, can I really be blamed for that?

Isla draws in a breath. “Is that everything?”

“It is. For now.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” I was expecting more of a reaction. Tears, maybe. Anger. Disappointment that this isn’t solved already.

“Okay,” she confirms. “Does it feel icky to hear about the people who were involved in this? Yes. Am I mad about it? Also, yes. But like you said, this is progress.”

Tugging her around the other side of the kitchen island, I lift Isla onto a stool and step between her legs. “So you’re really okay with this?”

“It’s like I said, Matt. I could be upset about everything. Spend all my time thinking about how screwed up it is. And it’s not that I’m not upset or mad about it. But I need to keep perspective. Focus on being strong for the baby.”

Blinking, Isla’s eyes glisten with moisture. “Some people might think I’m crazy. Falling in love with this baby under these circumstances. But they can’t understand how it feels having this little life inside me. Relying on me. At the end of this, it’ll be me and little Dove or Eagle. And… you.”

My throat goes thick. “Definitely me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Emotion tightens her features. “And I’m not going any—” She stops. Heat floods her cheeks. “Well. We’ll figure things out, I guess.”

Shit. Part of me wants to boldly invite her to move in with me. Turn the guest room into a nursery. But I’m terrified of moving too quickly. Of messing things up.

But what I can safely say is, “Whatever it takes to make this work between us, I’ll do it. If you want to move closer; to San Antonio or Seguin, I’ll help you. Or if you want to stay in Dallas, that’s okay. I just want to be with you.”

“I just want to be with you, too.” Pausing, her teeth dig into her lip. “I… I don’t know if I should say this. If it’ll make things weird.”

My heart leaps. “Just say it.”

---