Jennie strode between Beth and Eric, out to the hallway, though it wasn’t any less crowded than it had been in Nate’s bay. She could hardly believe he was still sleeping. But that was due to whatever the doctor had given him.
“Jennie.”
She lifted her arms as though they could hide her face from the world and paced away from where Patrick stood. More attempts at avoidance? No. Jennie was going to face her problems head-on. She’d survived so much in the last day and a half. She wasn’t giving up now.
She took a couple of deep breaths and then lowered her arms.
“You know who it is.” Not a question.
“My brother.”
She sank into a chair and covered her face again. Patrick tugged her hands down and she saw him crouched in front of her. Tucker got up and sniffed at his face. Patrick nudged him away and said, “The man on the surveillance video, the one who approached Nate’s room, was your brother?”
She nodded.
“How can you know that? It’s been years since you’ve seen Martin.”
So she was either lying or she was guessing? Jennie didn’t know which was worse. “It’s him. I know it is.”
“The image is grainy.” He glanced at the photo on the phone. “I guess it might resemble him.”
She sat back in the chair and tugged her hands from his. It didn’t matter that Patrick didn’t believe her. The picture was of her brother. And now that she thought about it, the whole thing made sense. Not hurting them. Wanting to see Nate.
But Martin was in the army. This had been going on for weeks. Longer than any leave he’d have, right? She hadn’t seen her brother since he’d left and didn’t know much about army life. But she figured he couldn’t just leave his job—or posting—or whatever, and come home for weeks at a time.
“Maybe he’s done with the army.”
“But he hasn’t tried to contact you.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea why. If he has, I didn’t know it was him.”
“What is it about that picture that makes you think it’s Martin?”
“The fact I know my brother?”
“Is that a question?” When she didn’t answer him, Patrick said, “I knew your brother in high school. He was three years older, but I remember what he looked like then. But this guy?” He shook his head. “I can’t say for sure.”
“My dad had pictures of him in uniform. I think Martin sent them to him. I have them in a drawer somewhere, so I could show Nate. But I never have.”
“And you think that man is Martin?”
“Yes, I do.”
He didn’t believe her, though, did he? And that hurt a lot. Jennie had been getting used to having Patrick here, supporting her. Helping. It had been a matter of hours, but that was evidently enough time to become dependent on another person. Not just because they’d been in danger, but because she hadn’t been alone as a parent anymore.
Now Martin was back?
Instead of coming to the house and ringing the doorbell like anyone else, Martin was involved in something that included trespassing on her land. Then he’d had them kidnapped, and now he was threatening Nate’s life?
“I don’t want him coming anywhere near me.” She stood, lifting her chin as Patrick stood, as well.
Beth had gone back to Nate’s bedside, something Jennie would be forever grateful for. Eric stayed at the curtain, another man determined to protect them. But there was nothing in her appreciation for him that even came close to how she felt about Patrick.
That just meant this man in front of her, Jennie’s son’s father, had the ultimate power over her. Him doubting her identification of that man showed he had the ability to hurt her.
It had crushed her the day she had realized he’d completely cleared out and left her alone—and pregnant—still living in her father’s house. Even now, he had the ability to destroy her.
And if she continued to let him into her life, and her heart, that would only get worse.
Until the day he wrecked her all over again. When he inevitably fought her for custody of Nate. He was a cop, while her family was nothing but criminals. There was no way she would win.
Patrick frowned. He looked about to say something when Eric broke in. “It’s Martin Wilson?”
Patrick turned to his partner. Jennie exhaled, glad to be relieved from his scrutiny.
“That’s what we believe.”
Now he believed her? Jennie chose to just be grateful he no longer had that knowing stare aimed at her. The one she figured could see past what she was saying to her deeper feelings. Desperation. Fear.
Both totally attractive things. Not.
She wasn’t interested in attraction. She didn’t need any of that—especially not from a man who had hurt her so deeply in the past. Sure, he would no doubt be a good father to Nate. But that didn’t mean he would stick around for Jennie. Literally or figuratively.
There was just too much pain in their history. Miscommunication or not, it would always be between them.
“Let’s find out what we can from the army.”
Eric nodded.
“Once we have that, we’ll be a step closer to figuring out what’s going on here.”
“Ms. Wilson?”
She turned to find the doctor standing there. “When is Nate able to be released?”
Ready to get back to her normal life, she wanted to take him somewhere they could both rest.
“We’ll have to see how he’s doing when he wakes up, but it’s possible he can go home later today.”
Jennie crossed her arms in front of her, trying not to be cynical about doctors or hospitals. She needed to let him do his job. Her fingers grazed across the bandage on her elbow and she winced. “Thank you, Doctor.”
Patrick stepped around her and questioned the doctor about things to watch out for with Nate and when he might need to be brought back in.
She turned away, trying to tamp down the frustration. He’s being a good dad, remember? Plus he was new at this, and cops tended to take charge of situations. She had to repeat the question in her mind four times.
Jennie strode past Nate, glancing over to make sure he was all right. Still sleeping. Beth had her gaze on the other police officer—the one down the hallway. Eric paced, the phone clutched to his ear. She assumed he was asking the army about her brother or talking to his boss.
“Hey.” Patrick touched her shoulder. “It’s good news that Nate might be released. Right? Are you okay?”
Jennie didn’t have the mental energy for a deep conversation. “I’m going to stay by Nate. Please let me know when we’re leaving.” She went to sit with her son.
She’d done everything she could to have a different life than the one she’d had growing up. Her father had never included her in his “business,” but she’d seen enough. That kind of stain spread, and she’d felt its cloying stickiness on her too many times.
That life wasn’t something she wanted anywhere near Nate. Not when he’d been born, not now and not ever.
No matter what her brother tried to do.
Fear for his son clouded out everything. Patrick knew exactly how Jennie had felt when she walked out of the bay where Nate slept. That need for space, emotional and physical. A much-needed second in the middle of all that was going on to just take a moment and process.
He had a son.
That son was in danger.
Tucker whined, leaning his body against the side of Patrick’s leg. He reached down and patted the dog’s head.
Now they knew it was Martin Wilson. But did they? Sure, Jennie’s brother might be the man who had come onto this hospital floor to see his nephew. A child he’d never met.
That didn’t mean he was the person behind their kidnapping, or whatever was going on with the trespassers on her land.
Patrick didn’t think it was a coincidence. The son of a man who’d been the local drug dealer—kingpin, maybe—for years, strong-arming locals out of their money.
Preying on people. Ruining more lives than just Jennie’s and Patrick’s. Martin had learned how to be a man from his father. He’d run off to the army, but even that kind of structure didn’t change who a person was at their core.
Was Martin his father’s son, or had he done what most people struggled to do and broken the cycle of how he’d been raised?
Eric wandered over. Patrick met him halfway with Tucker so Jennie didn’t have to listen to whatever was said. He’d figure out how to tell her later. Though, from the look on her face, he imagined she knew a lot of it.
“I spoke with an MP at the base where Martin Wilson is supposed to be.”
Patrick stilled. “What?”
“Fourteen months ago, he went AWOL. Came back from a deployment, went on leave. At the end of the two weeks, he never reported in. He’d left his phone—everything—behind on base, only had one bag of clothes. They haven’t been able to find him since.”
“He’s here.”
Eric grinned. “It was very satisfying to inform them of that fact. Even though it’s not like we were looking for the guy.” He folded his arms. “They’re sending over a couple of MPs. Boots on the ground.”
“Assistance?”
“They’re interested in Martin Wilson being put in cuffs. Evidently he needs to answer some questions about an incident that happened in Afghanistan.”
But they weren’t going to help with whatever Martin had been up to for the fourteen months since anyone had last seen him.
Eric nodded at the expression on Patrick’s face. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
He shook his head.
“Don’t need their help anyway, right?” Eric said. “Only there’s really no way to actually say that without sounding whiny and then making people wonder if you think maybe you could use their help.”
“We don’t need it.”
Eric nodded. “Exactly.”
“Did you figure out accommodations?”
“You really should check your email. I got you a local short-term rental I booked under an alias I used for the last undercover job.”
That had been over toward Arizona, and everyone involved was in jail now. There wouldn’t be any blowback or a risk of anyone showing up for revenge.
Patrick let out a huge exhale. “Thanks.”
“All the information is in your in-box. Address, door code. Everything.”
“And you?”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” Eric scratched at his chin. “If her brother was here, and he’s trying to make contact with Nate for whatever reason...” Before Patrick could argue with him, Eric continued, “Means he could be watching.”
“Waiting for us to leave, so he can make an approach,” Patrick said. “What are you thinking?”
“It involves you giving me your car keys.”
“You think pretending to be me will fly?” Patrick grinned.
At least Eric hadn’t offered to take Tucker, to complete the ruse. Eric and Tucker had a somewhat antagonistic relationship. They were like two kids, or siblings, each one intent on annoying the other until one or the other had the upper hand.
Patrick said, “You want to pretend to be me, and draw him out. It’ll only work if there’s someone on the other end to catch him.”
“Or it’ll be enough to draw him away, give you guys time to get to the house.”
“A distraction.”
Eric shrugged one shoulder.
His partner was willing to put himself in harm’s way so Patrick could get Jennie and Nate to a safe place?
“I looked into the father.”
Patrick said, “Yeah?”
Eric nodded. “He used the land, and neighboring lands he...acquired, to transport drugs.”
“Including the land he got from my mother.”
“Never legally. It’s not like Jennie inherited everything he had and is now some kind of land mogul. She doesn’t own your old house. She got the house she grew up in and the land around it. That’s all in her name now, because it was left to her by her mother.”
“So her father strong-armed the town into getting what he wanted, but never on paper. You think the sheriff was in his pocket?”
“If he was,” Eric said, “Martin could be up to the same thing. Took over Dad’s business after he died. Kept it running through a middle man. When things got heated in the army, he split and came home to run it in person.”
“Sounds like some mob boss still giving orders from prison.”
“Only he was in the military.”
“It’s a pretty good cover,” Patrick said. “No one would think he was behind it, given he’s either across the country or deployed.”
Even Jennie hadn’t given her brother a second thought. Until he was brought up.
“The MP I spoke to told me they tried to contact Jennie to find out if she’d seen him, but she totally ghosted them,” Eric said. “Never returned any calls. He said they spoke with the sheriff, who told them to leave her alone. That she was done with her family.”
Patrick felt his eyebrows rise for about the hundredth time. Yet more surprises. “Maybe I was wrong to doubt him.”
“Are you going to trust him with this now?”
Patrick shook his head. “No way.”
“Okay, good. I was worried for a second.”
“If I thought we needed a task force, I’d make a call. But Jennie was right to contact the DEA. They’ll want the case if a Wilson is operating in this county again, transporting drugs.”
Eric nodded. “We keep her and Nate safe. The army picks up Martin, and the DEA can mop up the rest of them. The sheriff will probably take credit for the whole thing, when we all know who the real hero is.” He tried to pet Tucker, but the dog only sniffed at his hand.
“As long as Jennie and Nate are safe.”
Eric glanced in their direction. “Mmm. I can see why you might feel that way.”
Patrick nudged his partner’s shoulder. “Focus. You already let Martin get away once.”
“But they are safe. Right?”
Patrick nodded. “Yeah.”
Eric pretended he didn’t care about the slight. “Let’s figure out how we’re going to keep them that way.”
Patrick grabbed his phone. “Let me call Johns first. See if he has anything from the house and make sure it’s been secured.”
He figured the men on dirt bikes had cleared out, but he called anyway. There was no answer. Patrick couldn’t go check on what was happening. He and Tucker needed to stay with Jennie and Nate.
“Give me your keys.” Eric motioned with his fingers. “I’ll do double duty, lead Martin away and check on the sheriff.”
Patrick dug his keys out. “Please be careful.”
“You just don’t want to do the paperwork if something happens to me.”
“I’m more worried about Tucker. You give him more treats than I do.”
Eric laughed as he walked away. But Patrick couldn’t join in. Not when instinct told him even one second of a slipup might end in the worst way.
Right now, distraction could cost someone their life.