“Yeah. He’s O positive. Non diabetic. He’s not our guy, and he had no clue Melissa had even been hurt. But his version of events only confirmed what I was already thinking.”
“Which is?” she asks. “What?”
“That she was on a mission to find a man. Not because she wanted to settle down and be in a relationship, but she definitely wanted her baby to have the best father she could find.”
“So you’re… you’re saying she was purposely trying to get pregnant?”
“Nope. I’m saying I think she was already pregnant, but she wasn’t content with who the biological father was. So she went shopping and hoped to pull a fast one on the winner.”
“Shit,” she breathes out. “So, Stanley… Is he the father, or the winner?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
My phone vibrates against the side of my face, so I pull it away for a moment and check the screen. Bringing it back, I rush out, “I have to go, babe. But I need you to be safe, okay? Turn on your location tracker so I can find you easier.”
“Mildly stalkerish,” she grumbles. “But fine. So long as you do the same in return.”
“You wanted to stalk me all along,” I tease. “You were just too insecure to admit it. Is Aubree with you?”
“Nope. She wasn’t needed on this case, so she asked for an hour of personal time. She wanted to drop in and make amends with Tim. Ya know, for the whole trashing his apartment and saddling him with twelve cats, thing.”
“Not her finest moment,” I snicker. “I’ll check in later. But in the meantime, I expect a notification telling me you’re sending me your location.”
“Alright. Talk to you later, Malone.”
“Hey.” Before she hangs up, I demand her attention once more. “You there?”
“Yeah.” She knows it’s coming, so she’s turns quieter. Shier. “What’s up?”
“I love you.”
Silence hangs for a beat. Then two. My phone continues to vibrate, and my pulse races at the thought of not taking this call. But still, I wait.
“Minka?”
“I love you too,” she huffs out. “There. I said it.”
Laughing, I shake my head and kill the call. Then I accept the next and bring it back to my ear. “Talk to me, Officer Clay.”
“I’ve got Mathouson driving along Ninth. He’s alone in his car, heading south. Traffic is moderate, and I switched the cruiser out for my personal ride, so he’s not gonna pick me out.”
“Good work. We’re gonna come that way too.” I point for Fletch. “Circle around and see if we can find Stan on Ninth. If we get ahead of him, we’ll cross paths and see what we find.”
While he does that, I bring my attention back to Clay. “I doubt he’s rolling alone. Check for other cars on the road. See who else is heading the same way. My bet is he has a buddy or two as backup, which means you’ll have to work harder to stay invisible. If they see you, they might mistake you as the enemy. If they mistake you for the enemy, then shit might get unnecessarily messy.”
“I’ll stay alert,” he assures me. “If he’s taking us to the infant, then do I approach and follow him in?”
“I’ll do it.” The gun on my leg warms. The blood in my veins runs faster. “We’re not far behind you, so I just need you to get us there. Detective Fletcher and I will breach.”
“Copy that. I’ll stay in contact and see you soon.”
“Good.”
Killing the call, I pull the phone from my ear and look down as yet another notification demands my attention. But this one is welcome. This is Minka doing exactly as I asked.
She’s arriving on-scene right now, exactly where she said she’d be. And soon, I’ll get another message to let me know she’s headed back to the George Stanley, locked behind security guards, surveillance cameras, and raised nine floors into the sky.
“She safe?” Fletch asks gently. “She good?”