Page 7

Every avenue, he came up empty-handed. It wasn’t possible.

Not unless she wanted it that way. Not unless she knew how to disappear.

He knew the signs. He’d done it himself more times than he could count.

Scrubbed records. Buried digital footprints.

Created walls so high not even the government’s best could scale them.

That was what she’d done. Either she had paid someone to do the job for her, or she had performed a hell of a lot of research and managed to pull it off herself.

Either way, Rhae had covered her tracks, and she’d done it damn well.

His chest ached at the realization. She’d erased herself…and Navy.

Or had she?

He launched forward and set his fingers to the keys, furiously tapping out the searches and pathways that would—hopefully—end in a birth certificate.

During their time together, they avoided real talk that would reveal anything about themselves. He couldn’t be compromised, and she was afraid she’d lose her job for being with a patient, even if she was no longer treating him.

But he knew her hometown where she grew up. He remembered it because he remembered everything she ever said. But the location stuck out for how ironically close it was to the Blackout Charlie base.

It made sense that a single woman who was pregnant would go home where she felt safe to have her baby. But he couldn’t recall her ever speaking of her family. Neither of them did.

When he located a hospital in her hometown, he worked on hacking the system. This wasn’t a skill he used often. In fact, he was happy to teach his fellow brother-in-arms in Blackout all that he knew and hand off the baton.

Within minutes, he had a screen full of births in the hospital records. After a swift scan, he landed on four babies born with the last name of Rivers, but nothing on Rhae or Navy.

If that’s even the baby’s last name.

Again, that dark stab of jealousy struck, making his fingers twitch into fists.

Feeling like it was time to move on, he located a second smaller hospital outside the city limits. Nothing there either.

He shoved back in the chair, glaring at the screen. The baby could have been born in any city in any part of the world. It was like trying to locate that proverbial needle in the haystack.

“Dammit!” He was no quitter.

Maybe he didn’t do a deep enough dive in the system. Knowing that Rhae managed to wipe herself out of the public eye led him to believe she did the same with her child.

Fuck, she has a child.

He ground his molars until his jaw popped and barreled on in his search. When he came up against a firewall, he paused only long enough to ensure his activity couldn’t be traced before pushing on.

Suddenly, he was staring at sealed files. Then…

He was staring at Navy’s birth certificate.

An animalistic noise rumbled in his chest.

And there was no father’s name.

A light rap on the door made him jerk his gaze away from the screen. Without waiting for him to answer, Willow walked in. She moved straight to the desk and leaned one hip against it, staring at him unwaveringly.

His eyes slipped shut. “Do you know?”

“Know what?”

He looked at her. “Who the father of Rhae’s baby is?”

She tipped her head, studying him. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

He let out another growl and stabbed the keyboard, closing out all the windows and eliminating all trace that he had hacked those systems.

“You can’t tell your own brother? Where’s the loyalty?”

“My word matters.” Her comment fell between them like a lead weight, one that anchored to his feet and dragged him under the dark waters.

He dashed his hand over his face. “Great. So why are you here?”

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out some paper items. “When you were gone, I went through some of the family pictures. You know, the ones just stuffed in boxes.”

He stared at her blankly. “Who knew you had a masochistic streak.”

She set the photos on the desk in front of him. “Here’s a few of yours. Thought you might want them.”

“Sure, I’ll look through them,” he said offhandedly, mind already moving away from the conversation.

She planted a hand on the desk in front of him, demanding his attention. “You should look at them now.”

He snagged the photos and stared at the first one. “Wonderful.” Him in only a diaper. He flipped to the next. “Great.” Him wearing little cowboy boots—and a diaper. Then the next. “Fucking fantastic. Me in the bathtub with a washcloth over my wiener. Though I was a handsome little devil.”

“ Yup . That’s you at nine months.”

He opened his mouth to speak…and snapped it shut again.

The date on Navy’s birth certificate wavered in his mind’s eye. The baby was also around nine months old.

Willow whipped out her phone. “And check out these pictures.” She tapped the screen with a fingertip. “This is my Navy album.”

“I don’t really feel like—” He started to wave her off, then jerked his stare back to hers. “You have a whole Navy album?”

She nodded, dark braid sliding over her shoulder.

“Uh-huh. She’s really damn cute.” Her thumb flicked over the screen, and she enlarged one of the photos of the baby sitting on the sun-drenched grass, her chubby fist filled with a tuft she’d just ripped out by the roots.

Navy’s cheeks were flushed, her little mouth parted in a toothless grin as if the act of destruction was the most delightful thing in the world.

Denver’s throat went dry. Christ, he could barely stand to look at the child. Yet he couldn’t tear his gaze away either. His chest felt like it was collapsing inward, every breath a jagged, impossible feat.

Navy. Rhae’s daughter. His mind snarled around the idea, clawing for purchase but sliding off, unable to fully grasp it. She was real. Right there in pixels and sunlight and tiny clenched fists.

A bad taste hit the back of his throat, bitter, unrelenting.

“Will you look at those gray eyes ?” Willow’s voice was reverent and entirely too knowing.

Denver’s hand shot out, snatching the phone from her grasp before he could think twice. He brought it closer, staring at Navy’s face until the world blurred around the edges.

Gray eyes. Not just gray—stormy, like slate washed clean by rain. Every Malone had eyes like that.

He swallowed, pulse thrumming in his ears.

Fingers shaking, he flicked through the images on Willow’s phone, pausing at each one.

Navy laughing, Navy curled up in Rhae’s arms, Navy swaddled in a blanket with a ridiculous bow stuck to her head.

His gaze snagged on one of her clutching a tiny stuffed lion, her expression so damn serious it almost broke him.

Everything clicked into place like tumblers on a lock. His knees felt unsteady, and he was glad he was sitting down.

His mind replayed every second he’d spent with Rhae, every kiss, every whispered promise. The ache in his gut expanded, gnawing through him until he thought he might shatter from the inside out.

“Denver.” Willow’s voice was mild now, like she was speaking to a wounded animal. He couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t tear his gaze from the little girl on the screen.

His little girl.

He dragged his eyes away from the phone just long enough to glance up at the photo of himself as a baby.

Gray eyes stared back at him. Same damn tilt of the chin.

He snapped his gaze back to the phone, to Navy’s face, and everything fell away—all the silence, questions and dead ends.

It was right there in front of him, staring back with his own eyes.

“Oh my god.” The words fell from his lips, jagged and raw.

Willow patted him on the arm, her touch featherlight. “Let the record show…I said nothing. See you at the bonfire.” She turned for the door, footsteps whispering over the floorboards.

His head shot up, voice coming out in a rough, broken rasp. “I need to speak to Rhae.” His hands were still clenched around the phone, knuckles white with strain.

Willow paused at the doorway, her long braid swinging like a pendulum along her spine.

When she glanced back, her eyes shimmered with unspoken things, her mouth tipping in a sad sort of smile.

“I know.” Her gaze softened, lingering just a moment longer.

“See you at the bonfire. Bring my phone with you.”

And then she was gone, and Denver was left with nothing but the echo of her footsteps and the image of his daughter burned into his mind.