Page 58 of Juan

“Sabina and the others are downstairs. I think Dottie even made coffee cake,” she said, nuzzling Spencer’s neck.

His hands tightened on her hips. When she escaped Anthony, she never thought she’d want a man to touch her ever again. Now, though, Spencer’s hold on her made her feel cherished, worthy of love, strong. Strong enough that this remarkable man wanted her and only her.

He sighed, his lips brushing her temple. “I suppose we need to head downstairs then,” he said, stepping away, his grumbly tone making her smile. “Who else is here?” he asked, taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs.

“Mantis, of course. Dulcie, Scipio, Philly, Callie, and Leo. I heard Viper and Lina may stop by, but not sure. They were headed out on a ride this morning, and we all know how distracted they get when they do that.” She didn’t get the whole motorcycle thing, but thought it was sweet how the couple shared that love. More than once, they’d gone for a ride that ended up lasting two or three days.

“Good,” he said. “Fewer people means more cake for me. Want any coffee or tea?” he asked as they hit the bottom step.

“Coffee would be good,” she replied.

He waved to the others in the room and made the same offer. Philly rose to help him bring all the requests from the kitchen.

“How’d it go with the lawyer this morning?” Sabina asked, dragging her attention from her keyboard.

Amber grinned. “I want this all to be settled, but I have to admit, I’m kind of looking forward to watching it unfold.”

Sabina grinned back. “What’s his plan?”

“He’s packaging up the statements from Clara, Adrian, and the nurse who helped me, along with the DNA test, and the doctor’s records Clara and Adrian have of her visits to the clinic for Zoe’s well-checks and vaccines, and filing to have a birth certificate issued.”

“Will he list Anthony as the biological father?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t so sure about that, but he convinced me. Said it’s better not to look like we’re hiding anything.”

Sabina inclined her head. “Makes sense. Still kind of gross, but at least she’s in good company when it comes to knowing that bio parents don’t necessarily make someone a parent, if you know what I mean.”

She did. Every one of the Falcons had at least one biological parent who didn’t deserve the name. She thought Sabina might as well, but she didn’t know the woman’s story well enough to say for certain.

“Juan will be the dad she knows, and you couldn’t ask for better for her,” Sabina said before turning her attention back to her computer. As if she hadn’t just dropped a bit of a bomb in the room. Sure, she and Spencer had talked about it, but they hadn’t shared anything with anyone else.

“Is he going to adopt her once custody is settled?” Mantis asked.

“I think you have to petition for a termination of parental rights first,” Leo countered.

“When Anthony goes to jail for all this, I’m sure there’s a court procedure that can take any rights he has away,” Callie added.

“Juan will want to adopt her, of course,” Mantis said. “No way is he going to let his daughter be raised without giving her the assurances that he’ll always be there for her.”

Amber sank into a chair as the conversation swirled around her. She didn’t disagree with anything being said, and she should have known better than to think the Falcons weren’t already considering all this. Still, it was one thing for her and Spencer to whisper about it in the cocoon of her room and another for it to be talked about in the broad light of day. She didn’t know why. It wasn’t particularly rational, but it was what it was.

“What are you all talking about?” Spencer asked, entering the room with a tray of mugs, Philly following with a coffee urn.

“Whether you’re going to adopt Zoe,” Dulcie said with a grin.

Spencer’s eyes dropped to her as he set the tray down. She knew the look she cast him was a bit wild. His gaze softened. “I will be her father, and I’d like it to be legal, but Amber and I haven’t discussed that part yet. We have enough to get through before that’s even an option.”

She exhaled. “When you all jump in, you really jump in,” she said. Both Mantis and Stone had fallen for their partners at first sight. Philly and Callie had gone to Utah for a short undercover job for a few days and come back married. Viper and Lina teamed up to find her father’s killer and ended up living together. Lovell and Daphne were a little slower, taking them two whole months to shack up together. And Monk, well, he’d fallen for Helia as a teenager and stayed in love with her for years. Never let it be said that the Falcons hesitated when they wanted something. Or someone.

Spencer grinned. “Life taught us to hold on to things, and people, who matter,” he said. “Now, how about we get started? The sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can all move on to the fun stuff.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Sabina said. “I spoke to the lab just before coming here,” she continued. “They’ve tested the samples they collected and all of them had high levels of scopolamine. They are running additional tests to see if they can determine if they can identify if the drug originated from the same facility.”

“They can track that?” Amber asked.

Sabina wagged her head from side to side. “It’s easier with illicit or controlled drugs, but they think it’s worth a shot.”

“If they can track it to the lab Johanna works at, then that’s one piece of the puzzle tied up, right?” Spencer asked.