Page 16 of Gator

With the frigid temperatures of the Atlantic and cold winds blowing, if he were exposed to the water or air for long, he could get pneumonia or worse. Placing their own masks on, they began their descent into the water while the others followed them.

With a small light, he shined it down on the plastic bubble, amazed that Joey was still sleeping soundly. Reaching the submersible, each man entered and took their seat. When the air pressure was appropriate, they opened the bubble and little Joey squirmed but never woke.

Five miles out to sea, Chipper picked them up in the Osprey, hooking the submersible to her belly. It was nearly 0500 when they returned to Belle Fleur. Stepping off the helicopter, Gator took the little boy in his arms and walked back to the cottage. Inside, Dylan was asleep on the sofa. He smiled down at her, sitting on the edge.

“Dylan? Dyl? Sweetie, it’s me, Ian. I have something you might want to see,” he smiled. She opened her eyes, staring at him for a moment, then looking at the bundle in his arms.

“Joey,” she whispered. She reached for her son, cradling him to her chest. “You rescued him. You saved my son.”

“He slept through the whole damn thing,” he grinned. “Medical will want to check him out tomorrow, but he appears to be fine.” She wrapped her arms around Ian’s neck, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you,” she cried, shaking her head. “Thank you.”

“It’s not over,” said Ian. “He’ll come for him, and you. And us. But we’ll be ready for him. I promise we will.

“I don’t care right now. I don’t care,” she said, kissing the baby over and over. “He’s safe, and you’re safe. That’s all I care about.” Ian smiled at her. He wasn’t sure if she realized what she’d said. Standing from the sofa, she headed back to the bedroom, then turned to stare at him.

“You must be exhausted. I don’t want to lay him down in his own room. Will you lay with us, and I’ll put him between us so he won’t roll off?”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

He rinsed himself off in the shower and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he lay on the other side of the bed, Dylan placing Joey between them. As the baby’s soft snores filled the room, they smiled at one another. Ian reached across the baby, kissing Dylan softly on the lips.

“Sleep well,” he said.

“I will now. Thanks to you.”

CHAPTER NINE

Dylan watched as Ian stood at the doors of the cafeteria with Riley and Suzette. Jane was talking to the group, speaking in a low, soft voice. She’d done a complete physical on Joey earlier in the day, drawing blood, ensuring he was completely healthy. Now in the nursery with the other babies, he was safe, being guarded by Alec and Tailor.

Truth was Alec and Tailor had become the guardians of all the little ones, enjoying their second stints as children themselves. When the foursome walked toward her, she felt a sense of dread come over her and wasn’t sure why.

“What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Did something come back in his bloodwork?” she asked with a panic.

“No, no, nothing is wrong,” smiled Jane. “He’s a perfectly healthy five-month-old.”

“Then why the glum faces?” she asked. Gator stared at her, but she couldn’t quite come up with what was in his expression.

“Dylan, part of the bloodwork we ran was a DNA test. We knew that somewhere down the road, Hanz might try to claim parental rights, so we wanted to be prepared.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“The thing is,” said Jane. “Well, the thing is, Joey is definitely your child, but he is not Hanz’s child.”

“Wh-what? That’s absurd! He raped me! I hadn’t been with another man in almost a year.”

“We know that, too,” said Riley. “We had DNA on Hanz because he was given a blood transfusion about ten years ago for a ruptured appendix.”

“I remember that,” she frowned. “I was away at boarding school, but his bodyguards called me to tell me.”

“Right, well, so we had his DNA, and it’s not a match for Joey. In fact, we were able to access all of his medical records. Hanz cannot father children.”

Dylan’s face was pale, and she shook her head. This was a sick, cruel joke. This couldn’t be possible.

“I-I don’t understand,” she whispered with tears in her eyes.

---