Page 31 of Exhale
“I’ve been thinking for a while that Ginny saw something that she shouldn’t have and ran for it,” Jordan said.
Knoll cocked his head and slowly nodded.
“That’sifGinny was here when this Billy shot Gumball,” Preston pointed out.
“It is a possibility, but we have no way of truly knowing,” Jordan agreed.
“Where is Danner now?” Owen asked Knoll.
“No idea, we have an APB out on him and his second-in-command.”
“Who’s his second-in-command?”
“Cody Lowe, a small-time petty thief.”
“So, the same thing Gumball was into,” Jordan said.
“Yeah,” Owen agreed. “It seems like this crowd ran together, and Ginny was right in the thick of it.”
“Let me check something,” Jordan said and slid off his ever-present backpack that carried his work laptop. Perched on a bar stool at the kitchen counter, Jordan tapped at the keyboard.
The database Jordan was in was the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Office of Vital Records.
Jordan had started the behind-the-scenes hacking looking for information on Ginny’s kids way before they even left the hotel room. Whatever Jordan had set in motion, Owen had no doubts it wouldn’t be long before the techie got what he was after.
And even though the computer had a privacy screen, Jordan made sure that the screen was blocked from Knoll and Preston. Owen helped by putting his big body directly behind Jordan to block any accidental views.
An alert came up on the screen, and Jordan bypassed it in seconds. When another one came up, it took a few minutes. After that, Jordan was in and flying through the search criteria.
Seconds later, two documents flashed on the screen with big bold letters that displayed birth certificate in an arc across the top of both.
Jordan zoomed with a tap of his fingers and sat back after a moment so Owen could get a look.
Owen’s breath caught, his heart punched into his chest.
The name under both father sections stated: Owen Marshal Gray.
He was a father.
The twins were his.
Excitement mixed with horror. He couldn’t wrap his head around it and now had more questions than ever. Why hadn’t Ginny told him? He would have been there for his sons.
“Send those to my phone,” he told Jordan gruffly.
“On it.” Jordan made a few clicks on the computer, and Owen’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out, gazing at the birth certificates.
“What’s that?” Knoll asked suspiciously, and Owen held out his phone for the guy.
Taking the phone, Knoll pinched the screen to zoom in on the photos. Preston crowded up behind to get a look at the phone over Knoll’s shoulder.
“Shit, are those your kids?” Preston’s mouth hung slightly open.
“Yeah.” Owen rubbed both hands over his face and raked his fingers through his hair back.
“Now what?” Knoll said, handing back his phone.
“Where the fuck are my sons?” He didn’t even recognize his own voice.
