Page 90 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

A nurse came in. “We need to take you for some tests now.”

My father hugged me. “We’ll find Olivia, Lindsay. I promise.”

I tried to smile, but it was hard because I knew that wasn’t a promise he could make.

26

Oliver

Was I still angry at Lindsay for her decision not to tell me she was pregnant and had the girls? Yes. Absolutely. But this morning, the pain of it felt less like I was being gutted and more like a dull ache. I hated how much I had missed of the girls’ lives, but I understood that by dwelling on my pain and anger, I’d be ruining the moment. And in this moment, I was the father of three sweet four-year-old girls. From the instant I’d seen them, I was deeply in love with them and committed to doing everything I could to be a father to them. In order to do that, I was going to have to put my hurt and anger on the back burner.

Lindsay and I were going to have to figure out how to make this work, and I anticipated that it was going to be difficult. Even if I made the decision to move back to Boston, which I felt was likely to make it easier for the girls, that didn't mean Lindsay and I were going to be able to set up a custody situation that suited us both. To be honest, I wanted to bring them to live with me full time, at least for the next four years. But I knew I couldn't let my resentment toward Lindsay dictate how I handled this. I needed to do what was best for the girls.

Once I saw them off to school with Lindsay, I waited in the cold for my ride share and then had it take me back to my hotel. During the ride, I checked my messages, noting I hadn't heard from agent Marsden yet.

When I arrived back at the hotel, I retrieved Liam’s documents from the hotel safe and then headed up to my room.

Back in my hotel room, I made another cup of coffee and pulled out my laptop. I couldn’t remember the last time I did any work, and I wondered if I still had a company to run. Checking in with work would distract me as I waited to hear from Agent Marsden.

I began working my way through an inordinate amount of emails when my phone buzzed with the notification. The fact that the number was blocked told me it was that asshole who was after us. I pressed the message notification and immediately, an image of Olivia appeared. Her face was crumpled in tears. My heart stalled in my chest.

"What the fuck?"

A new message popped up.

Give me what's mine and I'll give you what’s yours.

My hands shook with equal parts terror and anger. Was this some sort of sick joke?

The first thing I needed to do was figure out if it was real, and the best way to do that was to call Lindsay. I started to dial her number when my phone rang.

I poked the answer button. "Who is this?"

"Are you playing some sort of fucked up game with us?" the man on the other end of the line said.

"Who is this?” I demanded again.

"It's Brett McKinnon, and I want to know where my granddaughter is."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. This wasn’t a sick joke. I jumped up from the chair, needing to pace as I tried to pull my thoughts together. "I don't know. I just got a text with a picture of her. Oh, Jesus."

"You don't have her?"

It occurred to me that Brett was already aware that something was up which meant he knew more than I did. "No. What the fuck is going on?"

"While taking the kids to school, someone rammed into Lindsay's vehicle. She and Georgie and Cassie are at the hospital, but Olivia is missing."

"I have to give them the papers. That's what they said.” Why hadn’t I considered something like this could happen?

"You have to do whatever you have to do to get her back. Do you hear me? You fuck this up and I'll make sure you never see those girls again."

If I fucked this up, I’d deserve to never see them again.

My phone buzzed, indicating I had another call. A quick glance at the screen told me it was Agent Marsden. "It's the FBI agent. I'll call you back." I hung up with Brett and answered the call from Agent Marsden.

“Are you at the hotel? I’m on my way over. I’ll be showing up as a courier. It will look like you’re giving me business materials to deliver for you when you give me the papers you found.”

“That motherfucker took my daughter.”

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