Page 68 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Tara gave another nod. “It was all supposed to be over tonight. We’d have the baby to make you confess to the murder, and the investigation would all go away. We’d be in the clear.” She shook her head. “But now they’re both dead. Shannon, too. Manny killed her when she screwed up and let your mother escape.”

So, Nathan and Manny had murdered at least two people, and they’d orchestrated a whole litany of other crimes.

“I didn’t want to do any of this,” Tara insisted. “But Nathan drew up the plan and said I’d go to jail if I didn’t do everything he told me. Manny and I were to lie and point the finger ateach other. Nathan said that way, it would mess with the investigation.”

It had done that. All the lies. All the accusations. Peppered with attacks. In hindsight, those attacks hadn’t been meant to kill her, but they could have. In fact, all of them could have been killed.

“You gave us that video of Manny,” Luca reminded Tara.

Tara lowered her head. “Because I was so angry that Manny had killed Shannon. I thought, well, I wasn’t thinking straight, but I couldn’t come and say Manny had killed her so I’d hoped you’d arrest him for Brighton’s murder. I figured Manny would accuse Nathan and me of helping him do that, but there wouldn’t be any proof. Manny would end up paying.”

“So, why’d you go through with the plan tonight?” Bree demanded.

“Because I was scared of Nathan. Of what he might do. I’m not a killer like Manny and him. I’m not. I was supposed to kill the hands when we sneaked onto the ranch,” Tara murmured. “I just couldn’t. I used a stun gun on them instead, tied them up and took their keys so we could escape in their trucks. That counts for something, right? It counts that I didn’t kill them?”

Disgusted, Bree only shook her head and stepped back. Luca was right there to take hold of her and walk with her into the dining room when Sonya and Carmen began to walk Tara out to the waiting cruiser.

“She’ll spend the rest of her life behind bars, and that doesn’t feel nearly enough,” Bree muttered.

She felt the anger taking over, and she quickly shoved it aside. The anger was justified and would maybe always be there, but she didn’t want this moment to be about that. Luca, their baby and she were all alive, and that’s what she wanted to latch on to. Later, she’d deal with her feelings for Tara, but for now, she needed Luca.

Bree pulled Luca to her and dropped her head on his shoulder. Instant relief and comfort. Everything about it felt right.

Because it was.

Luca and she were right together.

Part of her had always known that, and it was why she’d found herself going back to him time and time again. It was why she wanted to be with him now.

“You know I’m in love with you,” she admitted.

He eased back, lifted his eyebrow. “Really? You never said.”

“Well, I’m saying it now. I’m in love with you, and I don’t want to co-parent our son. I want the whole parent deal with you with us for, well, everything.”

Now, he smiled and brushed his mouth over hers. “Good.”

He kissed her. Really kissed her. And she felt the remnants of the anger and fear just vanish. The man could certainly work miracles. But he stopped the miracle kiss and stared down at her.

“You know I’m in love with you,” he said, giving her back her own words.

She mimicked his gesture of a raised eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really,” he verified, and he finished that off with exactly what she needed to hear. “And everything is exactly what I want with Gabriel and you, too.”