Page 37 of Montana Justice

Piper

Twenty-four hours. That’s all that separated me from either getting Sadie back or losing her forever.

My legs trembled from exhaustion, but I couldn’t make myself move. Couldn’t risk missing a single breath, a single twitch of his tiny fingers. What if this was the last night I got to watch him sleep? What if tomorrow everything went wrong and I never?—

“Can’t sleep either?”

Lachlan’s voice came from the doorway, soft enough not to wake Caleb. I didn’t turn around. Didn’t trust my face not to betray the spiral of terror that had been building since dinner.

“I keep thinking about all the ways this could go wrong.” The words came out raw, scraped from a throat tight with suppressed tears. “What if Ray figures it out? What if he runs with her before your team can stop him? What if?—”

“Hey.” His hand settled on my shoulder, warm and solid. “Look at me.”

I shook my head. If I looked at him, if I saw the determination in his eyes, I might actually believe this could work. And hope was dangerous. Hope was what got you killed in my world.

“Piper.” His other hand found my waist, gently turning me to face him. “We’ve gone over the plan a dozen times. Travis has Ray’s location narrowed down. Hunter’s team is ready. We know where Ray will be tomorrow night, and we know Sadie won’t be with him.”

“You don’t know him like I do.” My voice cracked. “He’s paranoid. Smart. He’s survived this long because he always has a backup plan. What if he takes her with him to the warehouse? What if he has someone watching her who’ll hurt her if he doesn’t check in?”

The possibilities had been eating at me all day, each scenario worse than the last. Ray with a gun to Sadie’s head. Ray’s car careening off a mountain road rather than be taken alive. Ray disappearing into the night with my daughter, and me never knowing if she was alive or dead or?—

“Stop.” Lachlan cupped my face, thumbs brushing away tears I hadn’t realized were falling. “You’re torturing yourself with what-ifs.”

“I can’t help it. She’s so little, Lachlan. She won’t understand what’s happening. She’ll be scared and crying and—” A sob tore from my chest, loud enough that we both froze, watching Caleb for signs of stirring.

He slept on, one tiny fist pressed against his cheek.

Lachlan moved to the crib, lifting our son with practiced ease. Caleb made a soft sound of protest before settling against his father’s chest, still deeply asleep. Then Lachlan took my hand, leading me to the rocking chair in the corner.

“Hold him for a second,” he said quietly.

Lachlan carefully transferred Caleb to my arms, then before I knew what he had planned, scooped both of us into his own arms and sat the three of us into the rocking chair. He pulled me against his chest, creating a nest of warmth with Caleb secure between us.

“Better?” His breath stirred my hair.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Caleb’s weight, his baby-powder scent, the solid presence of Lachlan behind me—it grounded me in a way nothing else could.

“I need to tell you something,” Lachlan said after a long moment. “I understand now. Why you did what you did.”

My whole body went rigid. “Lachlan?—”

“No, let me finish.” His arms tightened around us.

“When I first found out about the watch, about you feeding information to Ray, I was so angry. Felt betrayed in a way I couldn’t even articulate.

But since I’ve found out Sadie is out there…

” He paused, and I felt him swallow hard.

“If someone had Caleb, if the price of his safety was betraying everyone and everything, I’d do it. Without hesitation. Without apology.”

“Even if people died because of it?” The question slipped out before I could stop it—the guilt that had been eating me alive given voice.

“I’d hate myself for it. It would destroy something in me. But yes.” His honesty was brutal, unflinching. “That’s what parents do. We protect our children, even when the cost is our souls.”

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks, landing on Caleb’s sleeper. “I tried to minimize the damage. Tried to give Ray just enough to keep him satisfied without… But people still got hurt. Kids overdosed because I couldn’t stop the drugs from getting through.”

“That’s on Ray, not you.” His voice held conviction I couldn’t feel. “You were an unwilling participant, forced into an impossible situation. The guilt belongs to the man who threatened a baby to get compliance.”

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to accept the absolution he was offering. But I’d lived with Ray’s evilness too long to think in such clear lines of victim and perpetrator.

“What happens after?” The question I’d been afraid to ask tumbled out. “After we get Sadie back, after Ray’s arrested—what happens to me?”

He was quiet long enough that I knew he’d been thinking about it too.

“I’ll talk to the district attorney. Explain the situation.

The duress you were under. The circumstances are extreme.

Kidnapping, threat of violence against an infant, sustained psychological torture—any decent defense attorney can make a strong case. ”

I hugged Caleb tighter.

“That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get there.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Right now, focus on tomorrow. On getting Sadie back.”

“Will you—” My voice broke. “If I have to go away, will you keep them together? Promise me they’ll grow up together.”

“Piper—”

“Promise me.” I twisted to look at him, needing to see his face. “Whatever happens to me, promise they’ll have each other. And you. Promise they’ll be okay.”

His jaw worked, emotion flickering across his features in the dim light. “I promise. But we’re going to fight like hell to keep you with them too.”

I wanted to argue, to make him understand that my freedom was the least important part of this equation. But exhaustion was pulling at me, made worse by the warmth of his body and Caleb’s comforting weight.

“Emma and Evelyn are going to watch Caleb tomorrow,” he said, returning to practicalities. “He’ll be at the ranch, completely safe. Lucas will have security there too, just in case.”

In case Ray demanded to speak to me. In case he got suspicious. In case everything went sideways and they needed me to try talking him down. I nodded, trying to swallow past the lump in my throat.

“It’s just a precaution. The plan is solid.”

The plan. I’d memorized every detail. While Ray was at the warehouse supervising his shipment, one team—Beckett and Lucas—would extract Sadie from wherever Ray was keeping her.

Once she was safe—only once she was confirmed safe—the second team would move on the warehouse. Clean. Precise. No room for error.

“What if she doesn’t remember me?” The fear slipped out, small and painful. “It’s been three months. That’s forever in baby time.”

“Then you’ll remind her.” His hand found mine where it rested on Caleb’s back. “Every day, every minute, until she knows again that you’re her mama and you love her more than life itself.”

The rocking chair creaked softly as he set us in motion, the familiar rhythm soothing. Outside, the world was still dark, but I could feel the approaching dawn like a countdown timer in my chest.

“Try to sleep,” he murmured. “Tomorrow’s going to be long.”

“I can’t. My brain won’t stop.”

“Then just rest. Just be here with us.”

So I did. Closed my eyes and focused on the immediate—Caleb’s breathing, Lachlan’s heartbeat against my back, the gentle sway of the chair.

Tomorrow would come with all its dangers and possibilities.

But right now, in this moment, I had one of my children safe in my arms and their father holding us both.

It wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough until Sadie was here too. But it was something to hold on to throughout the terrifying hours ahead.

The room lightened incrementally, black fading to gray fading to the pale gold of dawn. Neither of us moved. Neither of us spoke. We just held our son and each other while the last night became the day that would change everything.

“It’s time,” Lachlan finally said as full sunlight painted the nursery walls.

I nodded, pressing one last kiss to Caleb’s head. Time to hand him over to Emma’s and Evelyn’s care. Time to feed false information to Ray one last time. Time to pretend everything was normal while teams of highly trained men prepared to steal back what Ray had taken from me. From us.

Lachlan stood, helping me to my feet while I kept Caleb cradled against my chest. My legs had gone numb from sitting so long, pins and needles shooting through my feet. But I welcomed the pain. It meant I could still feel something besides the paralyzing terror that threatened to consume me.

“Whatever happens,” I said, meeting his eyes in the morning light, “thank you. For believing me. For helping me get her back.”

He touched my cheek, the gesture achingly gentle. “We’re going to bring her home, Piper. Both of our children are going to sleep under this roof tomorrow night. I promise you that.”

I wanted to believe him. Wanted it with every fiber of my being. But I’d learned long ago that promises were just words, and words couldn’t stop bullets or change a desperate man’s actions.

Still, I nodded. Because what else could I do? Everything was in motion now. All the lies, all the betrayal, all the impossible choices—they’d all led to this day.

I prayed it would be enough.