Page 86 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

We continued to talk and play the game, and before long, Olivia was over on my side of the table, sitting next to me.

The sweet moment was broken when Lindsay walked back into the room. "We'll be having dinner soon. Will you be staying?"

All three girls jumped up. "Please, Daddy, please, Daddy, stay."

I glanced at Lindsay, wondering what she thought of the fact that I had won the girls over. She had a soft smile and tears in her eyes, and for a moment, I felt guilty about wishing that the girls’ affection for me would hurt her.

The sound of a phone notification went off and Lindsay reached into her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the screen. Her entire body tensed, and I went on alert. Just then, my phone beeped as well. I pulled it out and looked at the screen.

I want what Liam had.Your time is running out.

I looked up at Lindsay.

Her father walked into the room, clapping his hands. "Spaghetti's on."

"Yay! Come on, Daddy." Georgie grabbed my hand and tried to pull me toward the kitchen.

"I'll be right there,” I said, knowing I needed to check with Lindsay about the text.

"Yes, you girls go in and get seated. Gran-Mira and Grayson are already there."

Brett frowned. "What's going on?" He looked at Lindsay. "You get another text?"

She nodded and looked up at me. "He says time is running out to give them what Liam had."

"That's it. You and the kids are coming back to the house with me and Miranda and Grayson. There's no way I'm leaving you here with that maniac still out there."

"The girls and I can't continue to live like that. We need to go back to our routine. I have to go back to work tomorrow. They need to go to school."

"You're willing to risk all your lives on that? You're not safe here."

"I'll stay."

The two of them looked at me almost as if they'd forgotten I was there.

"I'm pretty certain that’s a bad idea, given the way you feel about my daughter," Brett said.

"I'm hurt and then pissed off. But that doesn't mean that I don't want her and the kids to be safe. I'll stay here, and tomorrow, I’ll hand over the papers to Agent Marsden."

"Papers? You mean you found the thing that Liam had?"

Lindsay closed her eyes, and I realized she hadn't told her father the extent of everything. Considering the papers were found here at Lindsay’s home, I thought I should invite them all to stay in the hotel with me. They'd all be safer there.

But Lindsay had said she wanted to bring normalcy back to the kids’ lives.

"Yes, we found it, and we're giving it to the FBI,” she told her father.

"Maybe you should give it to this fucker who wants it. It's better than risking your lives."

For a moment, I wondered if he was right.

"We can't do that. We have to put an end to this," Lindsay said. “Detective Donovan has people watching the house to protect us. If Oliver wants to stay, we have his protection as well. We’ll be fine."

Brett stared at her hard, clearly not liking her stance but apparently deciding there was nothing he could do about it. "It's time to eat." He left us, heading toward the kitchen.

She looked up at me. "I know that you're angry with me, but I'm going to trust you to keep the girls safe, that we’re doing the right thing by giving the papers to agent Marsden." She turned and left me standing in the living room wondering if I really knew what the hell I was doing.

A little head popped out from the kitchen, looking toward me. "Are you coming, Daddy? I saved you a seat next to me," Olivia said.

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