“Hevrin.”
“Right, Hevrin. About this baby…”
“I’ll find someone who can help. Leave it with me.”
Alaric hung up and leaned his head against the steering wheel. Why him? He could’ve gotten a nice, easy job pushing paper around a desk, but instead, he was left to wrangle former spies and bail women out of tricky situations.
“Why didn’t you tell him to go to Social Services?” Beth asked.
“Because I don’t want this kid turning into Sky. Foster parents are a mixed bag. Do you know anybody who might have a clue how to look after a baby?”
Beth thought for a moment. “I guess I can see your point about Sky. What about you? Didn’t you help with Rune when she was little?”
“I wasn’t involved with Rune in her younger years.”
Cue the disapproving glare. Alaric had to take it. No way was he having a discussion about Rune’s origins at that particular point in time.
“What about Dan? Doesn’t she have a son?”
“Dan adopted Caleb when he was ten. And don’t even consider suggesting Emmy—kids scare her more than small-arms fire.”
“I guess I know the basics. My sister’s eight years younger than me, and I used to help the nanny with feeding her and things.”
“Call Gemma. Do what you can to assist while I drive us back.”
Judd might have been sought after as a spy and an assassin, but as a nanny? No.
Back at the house, Alaric had hoped to see Emmy or even Dan, but the only person home was Black, sitting behind his laptop at the kitchen table.
“Anything new?” he asked.
“You could say that. This case is going from bad to worse. I should’ve stayed in Thailand.”
Now Black looked up. “I’ll gladly pay for the ticket if you want to go back there.” One-way, of course. Asshole. “What happened?”
Alaric gave him a brief précis, and predictably, Black laughed.
“There’s a woman in the hospital,” Alaric snapped. “This isn’t fucking funny.”
“Yes. More absurd, I’d say. So, what do you need?”
“Do you know anyone with a baby? Gemma needs advice.”
“I thought you were the man who knew everything?” Black’s tone was mocking.
“I’ve never had to change a diaper before. Do you know anyone, or don’t you?”
Finally, Black picked up the phone. “Georgia’s got an eighteen-month-old daughter. I’ll get her to call.”
CHAPTER 18 - BETH
AFTER GEMMA’S REVELATION about Alaric, I’d been shocked, but by morning, I’d had time to think things through. Beyond the drunken fumble at my father’s birthday party, it wasn’t as though he’d shown any extracurricular interest in me apart from going out of his way to help turn my life around and being extraordinarily nice. Gemma was right. He was the good friend every girl wanted. Plus without the sexual tension constantly running through me, I’d be able to relax more. Stop worrying about what I looked like and what every little touch meant.
And another huge positive—he wasn’t Judd.
“Any update on Hevrin?” I asked Alaric as we climbed into the car. We’d both decided to skip breakfast at the house since Stéphane had promised to make pancakes today. Alaric planned to work from the ranch. He said he could do with a change of scene, but secretly, I suspected the fact that Black had taken over the kitchen table had influenced his decision. According to Dan, Black was focusing on Ridley and his buried dirt.
The hospitalised girl had a name now, at least. Judd had sent a picture, and Alaric recognised her. With some help from a friend of Black’s, Gemma had managed to change the baby and feed her, although she got slightly squicked out when the baby vomited. Totally normal, Georgia assured her. Gemma seemed pleased that she’d taken a vow of chastity.
“Hevrin’s still sleeping, but the doctors don’t seem to think there’s a cause for concern.”
On the medical front, at least.
“How do you think she found Gemma?”
“I don’t know. Judd and I both spoke to Gemma last night, and she’s adamant she never told anyone on the Bellsfield Estate apart from the dead guy where she worked.”
“What if he told Hevrin? What if they were friends? What if…?”
“When I spoke to her, she said she didn’t know him. And don’t forget, she was the one who helped give him up. Plus I never even mentioned Gemma to her—I told her I was from the council, acting on a complaint about a cat.”
“You only met her once?”
“Twice.” Alaric blew out a long breath. “But I might have sent her a care package afterwards.”
“A care package?”
“Food and some cash. She couldn’t even afford groceries.”
Why did that not surprise me? Alaric had a big heart.
“Could she have tracked us down from that?”
“Not without the investigative skills of Blackwood. I sent everything anonymously. And even if she traced the stuff to me, that still doesn’t get her to Gemma.”
It was a mystery, one we wouldn’t solve until Hevrin decided to tell us. If she decided to tell us. And nobody was going to go against the doctor’s advice and wake her prematurely.
All we could do was wait.
Stéphane and Harriet both greeted me with hugs when we arrived at Lone Oak Farm. The ranch was fast becoming my happy place, a home away from home in Chaucer’s absence. The rolling pastures were balm to my soul. And yes, there were pancakes, a great big stack of them with crispy bacon and maple syrup. Beside the platter sat a jug of fresh coffee, and next to that lay two paper files, each an inch or so thick.
“What are those?” I asked Harriet. I’d definitely become nosier since I began working for Sirius.
“Remember those cases we discussed yesterday? Kyla’s teenage horror story? Rusty’s brother’s a deputy, and I asked him to…” She put her hand over her mouth and coughed. “Borrow them. I got curious.”
“We both did,” Stéphane said. “Talk about liar, liar, pants on fire.”
“Kyla’s lyin’ ass could send a rocket ship to the moon.”
“What
