Page 13 of Gator

“The baby appears to be well. He’s attended to, fed, bathed, all the things you would want.”

“But he’s not with his mother,” she said, looking at them. “I mean, I know what you’re saying, but he’s not with me, and that’s where he belongs.”

“You’re right,” said Hex. “That is where he belongs, and we’re going to get him back to you as soon as possible. We need to know if there are cameras, guards, dogs, anything on the property that could create a problem.”

“I don’t think there are cameras,” she frowned. “I mean, if there had been, wouldn’t someone have seen me leaving that night?”

“That’s a great point,” smirked Cam. “Good thinking.”

“I know he has bodyguards, but I just thought it was because he was wealthy. There are two that live at the house and four more that come and go.”

“Does your uncle…”

“Hanz. He’s not my uncle,” she said, shaking her head. Cam nodded.

“Of course, does Hanz have a routine? A schedule that he sticks to? Working out, going into an office, something like that?” he asked.

“I honestly don’t know. I’ve been gone a while. I know that I would call him on Thursday nights, and he would always say that he was headed to the theater. It was something he enjoyed. He would go into the city and see a new play or musical.”

“That’s good,” said Cam. “That gives us a small window when he’s gone, and probably most of the bodyguards.” Dylan looked at the screen, then back at the men.

“How are you seeing this?” she asked.

“We have a drone that’s in the area. It’s high tech and can give a picture quality similar to that of an expensive television.”

“It’s very good,” she smiled. She watched as the nanny picked up Joey, carrying him to the changing table. She changed his diaper and put a clean outfit on him, then carried him back to the bed. The older woman sat in a rocker, reading a book, then reached behind her and took a drink.

“She’s drinking!” gasped Dylan. “She’s drinking while she’s watching my son!”

“This could be good for us,” said Luke. “If she drinks like that all day, she might sleep hard.”

“He’s a cute little thing,” smirked Ian. All eyes turned toward him, their brows raised. Cam tried to hold in the smile, but he couldn’t.

“Thank you,” said Dylan. She looked at the others, smiling. “His full name is Joe William, but I call him Joey. Ian said that was interesting because of his grandfather’s name.” Luke smiled, nodding at her.

“Joe William, huh? That’s quite a coincidence,” he grinned.

“Oh, Ian said there are no coincidences,” she replied.

“Ian, is it?” smirked Eric.

“Shut the fuck up. It’s my name.”

“I’m sorry. If I’m supposed to call you Gator, please tell me. I just thought it was a weird thing to call a man. I mean, Hanz had this friend named Chappo. I thought that was odd.”

“Chappo?” repeated Hex, staring at the room. “Do you know his last name?”

“I think it was Ruiz.”

The room was so quiet Dylan wondered if she’d said something wrong. Staring at the faces around her, she landed on the one that had just linked his hand with hers.

“We need to get that baby. Tonight.”

“Ian, what do you mean you’re going up there tonight?” asked Dylan, following him into the bedroom. She realized where they were and slowly took two steps back, standing in the doorway.

“We need to get Joey out of there tonight, Dylan.”

“B-but doesn’t this take planning? Aren’t you risking your lives by just going in there?” she asked.

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