Page 74 of Forged in Steele

Teagan replied. Will head right up there.

Bristol stowed her phone, hoping they would know if Olive was the woman Nurse Raney talked to before Olive left. If she was at all suspicious of them, she could go underground.

At this point, she seemed more bored than anything, but if a person wanted to work for Holloway they had to be good at hiding their emotions.

Bristol caught up to Olive and Jared in the third bedroom. A small room that Piper had decorated as a nursery with a white crib and rocket ships.

Olive turned to look at Jared. “How many children are you hoping for?”

“At least three.” Jared circled an arm around Bristol and drew her close.

She fit perfectly at his side as she had back at camp, and the love she’d once felt for him overwhelmed her common sense. She forgot about Olive. About the undercover sting and smiled up at him, lost in his gaze.

“I’ve always wanted little Christines running around.” Jared’s use of the fake name burst Bristol’s love bubble. “But I’ll be happy to give a good home to as many children as the love of my life here wants.”

Bristol expected Olive might gag at the sentiment, but she sighed. Bristol didn’t blame her. If it were an honest comment, she would respond the same way. Jared was a dreamy guy, and if Olive was unmarried, she might be more susceptible to the romance in his tone. After all, Bristol was. Completely. Sweep-her-off-her-feet susceptible even when she knew he was playing a part.

“Well, I’m done here.” Olive flipped the pages on her form closed. “You passed, but you’ll need to do the childproofing before your baby arrives.”

What?Olive didn’t want to ask more questions?

Bristol was sure this inspection was a much more superficial review than the ones done in legal adoptions. Olive was more likely tasked with checking to see if Jared and Bristol seemed legit and appeared to have the means to pay for this baby. Because after all, it was all about money to Holloway. Not qualifications—just money.

The woman started down the stairs. At the bottom, she turned to hold out the clipboard. “I’ll need you both to sign.”

Jared took the form and scribbled his fake name. When it came to Bristol’s turn, she had to go slower to get it right, but Olive didn’t seem to notice. She ripped off pink copies of her forms and handed them to Bristol. The pages had Everett Holloway Attorney at Law on the top and all the little boxes had bright blue checks in the yes column. She’d added a few minor notes about childproofing the house, but that was all.

“What happens now?” Bristol asked.

“I give my report to Mr. Holloway, and he’ll be in touch.”

“Can you get it to him right away?” Jared took Bristol’s hand and kissed it. “I’ve wanted to make my wife’s dreams come true for years and don’t want to wait another minute more.”

She looked Jared in the eye, that wistful look back on her face. “Of course I can.”

“Thank you.” Jared tugged on the knot of his tie, which Bristol took as a signal that this meeting was indeed over.

Olive opened the door and looked back. “Good luck on the adoption. If the love you show for each other is lavished on a child, you’ll make great parents.”

She marched down the walkway.

Jared closed the door, got out his phone, and dialed. Gone was the fake love. Evaporated with the close of the door. And so was the fake desire to do whatever he could for Bristol.

“She’s leaving now,” he said into his phone and went to the window. “Tail her anddo notlose her.”

Right.Back to the real world where Bristol and Jared were coworkers.

Forget about him holding your hand. Giving you the same look he’d once shared at camp. This is reality.

He turned to face her, all business now. “We need to find out if Olive’s who she says she is or if she had a fake ID. By the way, nice follow-up on insisting on getting a closeup of her credentials. Looked real to me, but Holloway has the means to buy a forged ID, and I’m sure none of his clients would make any waves and look into her. They wouldn’t do anything to threaten their chances at adoption.”

“I have a contact at Multnomah County who can confirm her employment,” Bristol said. “I also texted Olive’s photo to Teagan and asked her to show it to Nurse Raney. Olive’s height is wrong for the woman on the video, but Olive could be the woman who questioned Raney outside the birthing center.”

“I thought the same thing.” He grabbed a pad of paper and pen and jotted down a license plate number. “Can you run Olive’s plates through DMV too? See if the car she’s driving comes back registered to her?”

He handed the pad to Bristol, and she stepped in the other room to search for a better connection to make the call to dispatch.

“Vehicle is registered to one Everett Holloway,” the dispatcher said. “Did you need his address?”

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