Page 87 of Forged in Steele

“Says he will if he gets a deal. Adair’s talking to the DA now, and I’ll let you know if we get an ID.” Reed ended the call.

Jared shared the details with Bristol.

“You think she could be the woman who took Luna?” Bristol asked.

“Could be.” Jared locked gazes with Bristol. “We just have to hope Adair can persuade the DA to give this creep a deal. And then live with the fact that a man who aided in abducting a baby will get a lighter sentence.”

Bristol’s heart warmed as Jared pulled into her grandparents’ long driveway leading to their two-story white farmhouse with a neatly painted red barn located down the hill. She needed this good feeling after Reed’s call to tell them Holloway had cleaned out his house as well. She was losing hope fast, and it was taking everything she was made of to hide it and try to keep Jared’s flagging spirits up.

He glanced at her. “You told me so many stories of growing up on a farm that I have to believe you did. But I honestly can’t see you out here with the animals and crops.”

“Look across the field, and you’ll see it.” She grinned at him.

He chuckled, and she loved the sound of it. They hadn’t had many opportunities to lighten up since they reconnected. And why should they? A baby was missing. That was serious business and getting more serious with every passing hour. She’d been missing for over thirty-two hours now, and Bristol could feel every one of them in her heart.

Again, she wouldn’t show it. Better to keep the conversation light. “I can smell my grandad’s grill. Means they’ll likely be out on the patio. Just follow the drive, and it’ll take you around the back of the house.”

He circled slowly down the gravel drive, leaning forward to take everything in. “You really did grow up this way, didn’t you?”

“Yep.”

“So different from my life.”

“I have to say it was a great place to be raised. Running around with my sisters and Thomas and my cousins all day long. Even if I was the youngest and couldn’t keep up. One of them looked out for me.” She smiled. “But I’m not sure if I would want to live out here now. Maybe if I had kids I would.”

He rounded the building where Bristol’s grandparents sat with the three women at a long table, mason jars in front of them. If Bristol knew her gran, the jars contained iced tea with lemons.

Jared shifted into park. “Even from a distance, the women look far more relaxed. I hate to ruin that.”

Bristol released her seat belt and the buckle slid into the holder with awhooshandclunk. “Me too, but finding Luna is all that matters.”

She scooted out and jogged up the incline. Her grandad came to his feet and drew her into a hug.

“This is a surprise,” he whispered against her ear. “A very nice surprise.”

She melted into his hug, and for a second, forgot the reason she was there. Took in the familiar scent of his Old Spice aftershave and let go of the pressure to find a missing baby. Tears fought to release, so she backed away and straightened her duty belt.

“You’ll both stay for dinner.” Her gran cast a practiced eye over Jared.

Jared smiled, but it was tight and reserved. “Thank you, but we don’t mean to intrude.”

“You’d be doing me a favor.” Her gran smiled. “Artie’s grilling enough fish for the whole county to eat. You’ll save us from having leftovers for days on end.”

“In that case.” Jared smiled. “It smells great.”

“Trout I caught on a recent trip.” Her grandad fixed his gaze on Jared. “You fish, son?”

Bristol groaned. “He hasn’t even sat down, Grandad. Give him a chance to have some tea before pouncing.”

“Pouncing?” Her grandad clutched his shirt. “I only asked a simple question.”

“Feel free to ignore him and take a seat,” her gran said. “I’ll grab some tea.”

“This isn’t exactly a social call,” Bristol said. “We have some questions for your guests.”

“Ah.” Her gran’s eyes narrowed. “You want us to disappear for a while.”

“Would you mind?” Bristol asked.

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