Page 99 of Paternal Instincts
I considered but shook my head. “No… I don’t know. I have a feeling Imogen tried to get Crowley back before his parentage was outed. She knew it was coming and didn’t want Nixon to find out.”
“But she couldn’t locate him?” Aslan asked.
“I don’t think so.” I spun and paced, staring at the mountain of disconnected information we’d gathered over the past few days, trying to make sense of everything. The money. The nanny. The hostility between family members. If Imogen was the one who had confronted Clementine, why? What did the nanny know? How was she involved? Why was she fired?
“I think Imogen told Nixon about her affair, and Nixon left to face off with the man involved, which means…”
“The father isn’t present,” Costa said.
“Exactly. Nixon went after him.”
A momentary silence settled over us before we all spoke at once. “Jude.”
As a unit, we turned and raced down the hall to the elevators, but Costa spun and held his hands up, blocking the way. “Whoa, hold on. You two stay here.” He motioned to Aslan and me. Before I could protest, my phone rang, and Costa pointed at my pocket where the sound had emerged. “And that’s exactly why.”
Confusion turned to realization, and I froze, glancing at Aslan as a shot of adrenaline flooded my system. “But… I talked to her less than ten minutes ago. It can’t be… Her contractions were still more than six minutes—”
“Answer it, Quaid,” Aslan and Costa said at the same time.
I dug my phone from my pocket and was greeted with Bryn’s name on the screen. My hand shook so badly that I struggled to connect the call. “H-hello?”
“Hi again. We’re going to the hospital. My water broke.”
My vision blurred, the floor tilted, and emotions clogged my throat as I turned to my husband.
Aslan snagged my elbow, stabilizing me on my feet as he removed the phone from my hand. “Hey, Bryn. Are you headed in?” He smiled and tugged me against his side, kissing the top of my head. “We’re already here… Okay. See you soon.”
Another hand landed on my back and rubbed comforting circles. I didn’t register who it belonged to until Costa said, “See. Stay here. We’ve got this.”
“Plus, you can keep a half-eye on the family for us,” Jordyn said.
“Not his job anymore.” Costa bumped Jordyn’s arm. “We’ll be fine.” He pressed the call button for the elevator and added, “Go have a baby, Quaid. I’ll check in soon.”
A haze surrounded me as I watched Jordyn and Costa enter the car when it arrived. Before the elevator doors shut, I locked gazes with my best friend. He winked and mouthed, “You’ve got this.”
Then they were gone.
Aslan cradled me in his arms and rocked us gently from side to side. “Are you all right?”
“No. We can’t have a baby yet. We don’t have a name.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“And I didn’t get those clothes rewashed.”
“Not a big deal.”
“Az, I’m dizzy.”
“Breathe, hot stuff. You’re not breathing.”
Chapter 22
Aslan
Ipulled Quaid into an alcove, where a few plastic chairs were lined up under a window, and sat him down, allowing the news to absorb. We’d been racing all morning, our baby’s imminent arrival hanging over our heads and eclipsing the case.
“I have to call Dad.” He fumbled his phone, dropping it into his lap twice before getting a firm hold of it and finding his contact list.
