“There has been a small development. One of the traffic cameras near the gas station your daughter was taken from captured a photo of a black van speeding through a red light.”

“And you think it was the people who took her?”

“Same time. Same place. The van didn’t have any plates for us to track so it could be a while before we have something concrete.”

“And while you’re here, who is out looking for her?”

“We have our best men as well as the state and local police force combing the city for her.”

“And what if they aren’t in the city?” I pressed, letting my aggravation show.

His gaze turned scrutinizing as we stared each other down. “We would search the nearest areas first to rule out a possible family abduction.”

“Such as?”

“A disgruntled parent who decided to take the law into their own hands and remove the child from her legal home because they were unhappy with their parental rights.”

“Oh, yeah?” I knew what he was implying. “And what if they simply wanted to punish the other parent? That’s why I would do it.”

Sheldon’s indrawn breath filled the room. I watched her from the corner of my eye while keeping the detectives under my hard gaze.

“Keenan?”

“Are you confessing?”

“Are you an idiot? I only found out about my daughter twenty minutes ago.”

“We have to cover all angles. It’s our job to be thorough.”

“Your job is to find my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” Sheldon snapped. “She’s not your daughter. You may have contributed to her biological makeup, but she doesn’t belong to you.”

The detectives left wearing smirks on their faces. I waited until the door was completely shut before following behind to lock the door.

“Would you like to repeat that?” I kept my tone even and spoke slowly, giving myself time to rethink my next move.

“You cannot just come back and lay claim to my daughter as if you have any rights.”

I finally turned away from the door, and with only one look, she began to back against the pillows as I stalked her. Self-consciously, she wrapped her hands around her middle, but I wouldn’t let her hide. Not this time. I swiftly wrapped my hand around her chin and lifted her face so I could look into her eyes. “So are you saying it wasn’t my cock that filled your pussy with come? It wasn’t my seed that grew inside you? It wasn’t me you saw each time you looked in her eyes?”

“No. I’m not saying that at all. What I am saying is that it wasn’t you who watched her grow inside me. It wasn’t you who watched her come into this world. It wasn’t you who helped teach her the first words she spoke. I’m her mother, but I’m also the only father she’s ever known. She doesn’t need you. We don’t need you.”

“That may be, but I’m here now, bitch, and I’m not going anywhere.” I may have walked away from her before, but there was no way I could or would do it again. It was the threat—no the promise—I made to her the night I left her tied to her bed for her parents to find her.

Lake burst through the door with a look filled with dread just as Sheldon was ready to retort. Her chest heaved up and down as if she’d just run a mile rather than come from the waiting just outside the door.

“They’re arresting him!”

* * * * *

Everything erupted in chaos at once, and for the umpteenth time in my life, I watched my brother as he was led away in handcuffs.

Everyone in the vicinity stopped to the watch the scene unfold. Doctors, nurses, and patients all seemed to forget what they were doing as the town’s bad boy was read his rights. Keiran went peacefully, and even more surprisingly, it was Lake and John who yelled endless obscenities and insults. Never mind that Keiran had likely put a man in the hospital because of his violent rage.

The Chambers were in the far corner and already Sheldon’s father was on his phone, no doubt calling his lawyer to bail Keiran out. I watched him make eye contact with John, the man I believed for eighteen years was my father. Some unspoken communication passed between them, and then they were heading for the elevator behind the officers with Keiran in tow.

Lake stepped forward to lay a comforting hand on Keiran’s arm.

“Stay the fuck away from me,” he growled at her. Hatred and anger flashed in his eyes, and I could tell it surprised and hurt her the way she stepped back.

I smiled when I realized that everything wasn’t perfect in happily ever after land. I always wondered.