“As far as we can tell, you can leave tomorrow. However, Mrs. Gibson will need to stay until at least twenty-four hours for monitoring.” Hope let out a sigh and her shoulders dropped.
“Don’t worry, we’ll bring him tomorrow. Gage and Hope gave Ethan another kiss and he didn’t want to let her go. She gave him another big squeeze before Mike took the baby and said goodnight.
“Come on, little man. Say bye, bye.”
“Bye,” he babbled.” The room gasped and cheered, accidentally startling Ethan. Mike gently soothed him.
“Someone is ready to be a father.”
“Whoa, hold your horses on that one, Savage,” Mike exclaimed. “I’m cool with the temporary babysitting thing.” He was taking Denver too and they were going back to the ranch. While they were at the hospital, the rain had stopped and the power line had been fixed. All of the security systems were up and running.
****
“What are you two idiots doing here?” Judge Rivera roared as Grieg and Moran entered his garage where the judge had been working on his classic 1962 Corvette.
“Sorry, we’re in trouble and you haven’t contacted us. We need money. They didn’t die and that bitch Sparks tricked on us. They are ready to kill on sight at this point.”
“Well, who the fuck told you to run in the first place?” The judge had bigger problems if the fools had gotten caught at his home, but had no idea there were already eyes on him.
“You’re not the one who got shot. You got to sit there and act like you’re all fucking high and mighty. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll make a call and tell them that you paid to have Gage Gibson killed and even had the evidence for Cummings destroyed,” Grieg sneered.
“Are you blackmailing me again? That’s how we got here the first time.” He’d been too careless with his extracurricular activities, and the blunder left him a victim to two corrupt former cops turned equally dirty PIs.
“Well, that’s because you’re into underage girls. If only your wife knew…” Moran added.
“I’ll kill you.” Rivera clenched his teeth just as he whipped out his gun from the back of his waistband and so did Grieg and Moran.
“Try it, you old bastard. We’ll take you out before you can take your next breath,” Moran said, having been an expert shooter in the US Army.
Without them realizing it, Mrs. Rivera had called the cops.
She had heard her husband’s voicemail message from Grieg two days ago, and knew he’d betrayed her in the foulest way. This morning she had set up recording devices throughout his favorite spaces, including the garage and his office. She listened to them as they spoke about the girls and she could barely stomach it.
Grabbing one of Oscar’s guns, she moved toward the garage, ready to put a bullet in each one of them, but as she reached the door she heard the Austin SWAT team burst through the garage and side door. Voices were shouting. Not a moment passed before bullets flew. She took cover in the housefar from the garage and prayed that she didn’t become a victim of his foolishness.
Even though it felt like forever to the older woman, the confrontation was over within two minutes, and Grieg, Moran, and Judge Rivera had been killed. The officers searched the house to find a tearful Mrs. Rivera, shaking on the floor with a gun in her hand.
“Put it down. We’re not here to hurt you.” She did so without an issue. They took her to the hospital for shock.
Over the next twenty-four hours, the story evolved and exploded. Everyone learned of the judge’s corruption, which made national news. Austin and the state of Texas had a lot of damage control to deal with, and that included trying to get Gage and Hope to play ball.
Chapter Thirteen
“Happy birthday to you!” They finished the song for little Ethan’s first birthday as many guests gathered for the little birthday boy. It had been a tremendous day. With most of their troubles behind them, they wanted a nice, joyful, and uncomplicated day. All of the ranch hands even took a minute from their busy day to celebrate. Alex and his wife Willow came along with the happy grandma who was getting every bit of the birthday boy’s celebration on camera.
“Let’s cut the cake,” Gage cheered. Ethan bubbly clapped as he drooled, but Hope stood by with one hand gripping onto the edge of the dining room table.
“Ah,” Hope groaned out, her face scrunched and her other hand on her belly.
“Hope!” Gage was at her side. It was time for the baby, and from the sudden pool of water on their dining room floor, everyone else knew it as well.
“Go. Get her to the hospital. We’ll watch Ethan,” Grace said.
“I’ll drive,” Denver said, taking the prepared bag that had been in the front closet. They knew it had to be a matter of time. Her due date passed a week ago. She felt the pain start two hours ago, but she refused to not have a party for Ethan. Gage called Dr. Hart to meet them at the hospital. Everyone at the party wished them luck and promised to clean up.
Hope cried and apologized profusely as she left, feeling sad that she let everyone down.
“Sweetheart, I’d say that’s the way to throw a party,” Alex cheered. “Besides, if you’re lucky, they’ll have the same birthday, and that’s pretty cool.”