Page 84 of Contentious

“MK said that, did she?”

Griffin gave him a perturbed look. “Yes, as the baby’s mother, she has things to say.”

“How’s it going with her?”

“Fine.”

“That’s it? Just ‘fine.’”

“That’s it. I’m too busy worrying about Carson to answer questions about my daughter’s mother.”

“Probably a complicated situation.”

“Despite how it ended between us, it hasn’t been that bad, which is frankly more than I deserve. I’m thankful to get to see the baby every day.”

“I still can’t believe you have a daughter.”

“How do you think I feel?”

Julian smiled at the face his brother made. It helped to pretend everything was normal for a second when it might never be normal again.

Chapter Seventeen

Kaidan came to talk to Julian. “I spoke to Cresley and to my contacts at the LAPD. There’s a manhunt underway for Beckett in the Hills. They’re pretty sure he’s still up there somewhere.”

“If only there weren’t a million places to hide out up there.”

“I know. They impounded his vehicle and are processing it now. Cresley said they hadn’t added recording capabilities to her security system but were planning to do it right away. The cops are talking to the neighbors, looking for video.”

Julian rubbed the back of his neck, which ached fiercely. “Have they notified the public that there’s a fugitive in their midst? He’s got nothing left to lose after trying to kill Carson.”

“Yeah, they issued an alert and BOLO.”

“That’s good.” Julian sat with Isla, holding hands, leaning into each other as two hours stretched into three and then four with no word on Carson’s condition. “What’s the deal with the guy you had watching Cresley’s place?” he asked Kaidan after a long silence.

“He’s young but good. He swears he never saw anyone approach the house.”

“Carson would want his team on this going forward.”

“That’s fine,” Kaidan said with a weary sigh.

By the time an exhausted-looking surgeon appeared after five hours, their collective nerves were frayed.

“Carson Remington’s family?”

The surgeon wasn’t expecting the huge rush of people. “Whoa, okay. There’re a lot of you. We repaired an injury to his liver and chest, and he’s in Recovery. He got really lucky with the chest wound. An inch different, and it could’ve severed his aorta. He’ll be in Recovery for the next few hours and then be moved to ICU. You can see him later this morning, but we only allow two visitors at a time in the ICU.”

“He’ll fully recover?” Kate asked tearfully.

“Yes, ma’am. It’ll take a while for him to be back to normal, but he’ll be fine eventually.”

“Thank you so much, Doc,” Corbin said. “He means the world to us.”

“Glad we were able to get him fixed up. Is there a contact person for any updates?”

Julian glanced at Cresley.

“It can be one of you,” Cresley said. “If you’ll keep me posted.”