Page 17 of Gator

“Hear them out, Dyl,” said Gator.

“His bodyguards aren’t exactly squeaky clean,” said Suzette. “One of them, Britton Marks, is a former Marine. He was court-martialed for a number of infractions, but that allowed us to obtain his DNA. He’s the father of Joey.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. She stood, staring at them all. “No. That’s not possible. I know Britton, and I never so much as glanced his way. He creeped me out. I mean, he must be twenty years older than I am.”

“Honey, you’re not following,” said Riley. “We think you ate or drank something that put you out. Britton probably came in and impregnated you. When you woke, Hanz raped you to make it look like Joey was his child.”

“The tea,” she whispered. They all stared at her. “The night I was raped, there was a hot cup of tea on my bedside table. It was a ritual for me that helped me sleep. I just thought the maid or cook put it there for me. I remember drinking it and feeling relaxed. I was thinking about leaving immediately, but I was just so tired, I put it off until morning.”

“That’s probably when it happened,” said Riley. “I’m guessing they gave you something to put you to sleep, and Britton came in and had sex with you. He left, and then Hanz came in. Did he wake you?”

“Y-yes,” she said, nodding. “I didn’t hear him come in. I just felt him touching my thigh. That’s what woke me. God, my panties. When he raped me, I thought it was odd that I didn’t have my panties on. Britton must have taken them off. I don’t understand. Why do this? Why pretend the child is yours and hold him hostage?”

“For us,” said Cam, joining the conversation.

“But I didn’t know you,” she said. “I had no idea I would ever work here.”

“No, but your friend Mike did.” Dylan’s eyes grew wide, and she shook her head, pacing back and forth.

“Mike would never do that to me. Never. He knew I was running from Hanz. We’d spoken about it a million times while attending culinary school. Mike was a year ahead of me, but he talked about his family’s restaurant in New Orleans and how well it did. He was the one who convinced me to come to New Orleans,” she said.

“Dylan, we’ve been able to obtain the phone and bank records for Mike and his partner. They spoke to Hanz at least six times prior to you coming to New Orleans. When the baby was born, they actually sent a text message to him. And when we were looking for a chef, Mike contacted George and gave you a referral. He didn’t have a lot of information on who or where we were, but he knew enough.”

“Oh, God,” she muttered, grabbing her stomach. “I think I’m going to puke.”

“Don’t puke,” said Gator with a smirk. “I’ll have to clean it up. It’s not your fault, Dylan. Mike was paid ten grand to send information to Hanz. That’s how he knew you were working for us. Mike knew. He didn’t know where we were located, but he knew who we were. We’ve had interactions with his parents at their restaurant. We’ve never met him, but he obviously knew enough.”

“Where is he?” They all looked at her with a funny expression. “Where is Mike? I want to beat the shit out of him. He put you in danger, and me and my child. I’m going to kill him.”

“Slow down, tiger,” smiled Gator. “We’re looking for him, but we think he’s left the area. I’m sure he knows he’s fucked up. What we know now is that the child doesn’t belong to Hanz. He has no claim whatsoever. Whatever he thought he’d get by claiming that he was is gone.”

Feeling the vibration of her phone, she held it up, and Luke nodded at her.

“Answer it but put it on speaker. We’ve blocked any tracking software, and we’re recording the call.” She nodded, taking a deep breath. Her hands were shaking, and she hit the answer button.

“How the fuck did you do it, Dylan? Are you fucking one of those pieces of shit? Is that how? Did you give him some of that pussy and beg him to rescue your baby? My son!”

“Shut up!” she screamed. “He’s not your son. He never was. Thankfully, your DNA has not poisoned my child. He is my son. Mine alone.” There was a deathly silence on the other end of the line, but to Dylan’s credit, she waited patiently for him to speak.

“Well, it appears you’ve made very good friends with them,” he said calmly. “I never thought you’d be quite that smart.”

“Surprises happen every day,” she said calmly.

“Yes, I suppose they do. I’ve never been able to have children. Oh, I could get hard, obviously. You remember that, right?” She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. Gator tried to reach for the phone, but Luke gripped his arm, shaking his head. “I needed an heir, preferably with you, and I needed to get to them.”

“So, you used Mike?” He laughed as she spoke.

“You really have made friends, haven’t you? Yes, I used Mike and his little fuck buddy, Toban. Seems Mike was stealing from his parents’ restaurant and was in quite a bit of trouble. I gave him enough to put it back in the till, then another ten grand to disappear. In fairness, he did whine about betraying you.”

“I’m sure he did,” she said.

“Where are they?”

“You honestly believe that I would ever tell you anything about them? They are more family to me than you ever were. You may not have fathered my child, but you raped me. You raped the girl that was like your own daughter!”

“Please,” he scoffed. “I gave you a good life. If your damn father hadn’t been such a choir boy, he’d still be alive, and you’d be oblivious to it all.” Dylan stilled, staring at the others in disbelief.

“You killed my parents?”

---