Chapter 13

Stephanie's POV

I was reluctant to leave Kye, even though I knew Hector was there for him and would do all he could. It had been Kye and me for so long that it was hard entrusting his care to someone else. I settled back on the sofa and planned to stay for just a bit longer, but at some point I must have fallen asleep, because the sound of muted voices was the first thing I heard as my eyes fluttered open. I looked up to see that Kye was looking down at me. I quickly sat up, asking, "Are you all right?"

He nodded. "I will be. To tell the truth, I think I knew there was something really wrong, but I just put it out of my mind."

I reached up to touch his cheek. "I guess there's truth in the old saying if it's too good to be true, it probably is."

He smiled sadly. "So…what are we going to do about this?"

"Like I said before, I started a search before I came down."

"Maybe we could check to see if anything has come through."

I frowned, but before I could say anything, Kye went on to say, "I meant what I said about wanting you to tell me, no matter what. I have to know, Steph."

Letting out a deep sigh, I stood up and hugged him tight. "All right, big brother. Let's go and find out if anything came through."

I held out my hand, which he took as he followed me toward the door. We headed out to the kitchen to find Ranger and Hector sitting at the table drinking coffee.

Hector's gaze went to Kye, and he must have been reassured at what he found there because he gave a brisk nod and motioned to a chair.

Kye sat down beside Hector, and I moved to the other side of Ranger to take the seat there.

Placing my hand into the one that Ranger held out to me, I asked, "Is Julie with Ella?"

"Yes. We had time to talk through what had happened, and she's feeling better."

Kye frowned. "What happened to Julie?"

I turned to him and said, "She was a bit scared at Casey's reaction."

Kye's elbows were on the table, and he bowed his head slightly before running his hands through his hair. "I need to know." He turned to Hector. "Did you get the chance to fix my laptop?"

Without a word, Hector stood and left the table, returning in a moment with the laptop in question.

Kye took it from him and turned the thing on before scooting it across the table to me.

I pulled it closer and logged in so that I could call up the search that was running. An image flashed on the screen, and I sat back in stunned disbelief. After several tense seconds, I turned the screen so that Kye would be able to see what was there.

I could only imagine that he was feeling just as confused as I felt. How could he do something like this to his own brother? How much of that time that he'd been in our lives was even real?

Kye shook his head and voiced what I'd just been thinking. "How could Critter do that to his own brother?"

"I know firsthand that just because you're family doesn't mean there is a bond there. Now that I look back at their actions, it does seem a lot like sibling rivalry. Critter would have been a good five years older, and I could see him being upset at the arrival of a baby brother."

Kye nodded. "It explains why he never introduced us to any of his family as well."

Hector placed his hand over Kye's. "So what do we do now?"

Kye's face hardened. "We find him and make sure that he can't hurt anyone else."

I nodded. A sudden thought came to me. "We need to warn Tina."

Kye's eyes widened. "You're right. She trusts Bear, so if she were to come up to him, her defenses would be down because she'd consider him a friend." His head whipped toward Hector. "Didn't you tell them at the front desk that if Bear came asking for me to let him in?"

Several things happened all at once.

Hector and Kye took off out of the apartment.

I'd no more than gotten my phone out to call Tina when an alarm sounded through the building and Ranger's phone started ringing.

Tina's POV

I hated when Lester had to work the afternoon and evening shift. Of course, I hated it when he had to work the overnight shift as well. I had a terrible time sleeping when he wasn't in the bed beside me, and that was made worse by the fact I was tired all the time right now and ended up taking naps.

If by some miracle I did get to sleep, I totally freaked out on waking up if Les wasn't where I could see him. Just like now. I felt the panic getting worse. Damn it! This made me so mad. It was all because of those bastards.

Scrambling up the best I could, I started pacing. I'd talked to Jess about this, and it was the one thing we hadn't been able to work through yet. At this point, it was possible we'd never work through it.

I ran through all of my coping methods until I got to the "go for a drive." It was then that I remembered I'd promised Les I wouldn't go out without him. A low growl escaped, and I looked around for an alternative. That's when the idea came to me that I could still get a workout, I just needed to either go to the gym or use the stairs.

After changing into a pair of black yoga pants and a T-shirt, I headed for the gym. On leaving the apartment, I noticed one of the guys standing with his back to me as he waited for the elevator. I shivered and wrapped my arms around my waist as I turned and decided to take the stairs.

The sound of a door closing above me had me turning to glance back, and I noticed that the man who'd been waiting for the elevator was now looking right at me. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was because the man was wearing a mask. My eyes widened as I turned around. I didn't want whoever it was to see the panic I couldn't keep from my face. Stepping up my pace just a bit I made it to the next landing and looked up at the security camera. I put my hand to my throat and allowed whoever was on monitors to see just how freaked out I was.

I'd just started down the next flight when an alarm sounded through the building. My heart started racing because I wasn't sure if there was a fire or what kind of emergency was the cause for the alarm. I glanced back to see where the man was behind me, and on seeing that he was nearing to where I was, I turned back around and started racing down the steps as I prayed for my babies to stay safe. The only thoughts racing through my mind were of Lester and how much I needed him to save me and the babies.

Just as I got to the next landing, the door opened, and there was Lester, his weapon drawn and pointed in the direction of the man following me.

Once Lester's free arm went around me, I turned back the way I'd come only to see that the man had disappeared. This couldn't be good. I turned back to Lester and asked, "What's going on? Who was that?"

Lester wrapped me in his arms as he led me out onto the third floor and down the hall to Bobby's office. Both Bobby and Jess were there, and I felt marginally better.

Bobby started checking me over as Jess talked to me in a soothing voice.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I was suddenly unable to say a word. Instead, I burst into tears.

Lester took me in his arms and held me close as I sobbed all over him.

Bear's POV

I'd almost had her until that damn alarm had sounded. It had spooked her enough that she was able to gain enough distance that I couldn't catch up before the door opened and he was there.

I scowled. This had been my best chance of grabbing her, and now it was shot to hell. Looking around, I made my way back the way I'd come. I had to get out of here before someone caught me.

Just then, a door opened and I heard footsteps closing in. Taking out my gun, I readied myself to take out whoever was coming my way. That's when I heard his voice.

"They went this way. Let's spread out and find him."

My jaw clenched as I thought about the last time I'd seen him. My eyes narrowed, and I moved away from the men as fast as I dared. There was no use sulking about not getting what I came after. I needed to get out of here so that I'd have the opportunity to plan something else.

Alex's POV

I read through the information that I had on Tina and made some notes. I was excited about working with her. This would be my third case with multiple births, and I wanted to make sure that I had everything in order so that I could make sure the births went as smoothly as possible.

The buzzing of the phone interrupted my concentration. Closing the file, I lifted the receiver and said, "Alexandria Marshall."

"Alex, this is Cam. The reason I'm calling is…well…uhm…I was wondering if you might like to have dinner with me."

I smiled as I remembered my newest patient's brother. He was one yummy dish and I'd have loved nothing more than to go out with him, but I didn't want to come off as too anxious. I placed the receiver next to my calendar and noisily flipped the pages, as if I was looking though my appointment book. After several seconds of this, I replaced the phone to my ear and said, "I'm free on Thursday evening."

I crossed my fingers as I waited for his response and then couldn't help but feel disappointed when he said, "Uhm, actually, I have to work that night. I was hoping that maybe we could have dinner tonight."

Biting my lip, I forced myself to wait a full minute before I said, "Well…uhm, sure. I could work that out."

"That's great. Can I pick you up at six?"

I silently pumped my fist and then took a deep breath before answering, "Sure. That would be fine. I'll just be getting off at that time. Do you mind picking me up from work?"

"I'll see you then."

There was a dial tone, and I sat there holding the receiver for several seconds before replacing it. My gaze went to the clock, and I sighed as I realized I still had to get through the next three hours before I could see him again.

Just then, Melinda's voice came over the intercom as she said, "Alex, your next appointment is here."

Pressing the button, I replied, "Okay, thank you. I'll be right there."

I stood and made my way toward the exam room. As I was getting ready to open the door, I shuddered as Dr. Ripley stopped beside me.

He gave me a leering look as he said, "I've heard that your specialty is pregnant women over fifty."

I nodded, not trusting my voice not to waiver if I answered him.

"I have a patient who could benefit from your expertise."

I dug my fingernails into my palm to keep myself from showing him any hint of fear. "I'm sorry, but I'm totally booked right now."

His gaze sharpened as he looked at me for several seconds, and then he hooded his eyes before saying. "Too bad. I'll have to look for an alternate, then."

The back door opened, and a man walked in. It was impossible to see his face because of the black hooded sweatshirt that he was wearing, but Dr. Ripley's face took on a scowl as he brushed by me and moved toward the man. He took him by the arm and hurried him toward his office.

I shuddered once more at having been so close to the man and then turned again to the exam room.