Riskier Business (Crossing the Line 0.5)(14)

“Look, I’m going to get the story out of my wife sooner or later,” Daniel tried again, ignoring Matt’s deadpan explanation. “She’s ticklish.”

Matt sipped his mug of coffee. “And hiatus over.”

Troy leaned back in his chair, massaging the bridge of his nose. “Ruby’s father wants her to play one last match against her lowlife uncle. She wins, uncle hands over her long-gone? deadbeat mother’s whereabouts.”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?”

“Exactly. He swears it’s a parting gift. An apology for not being father of the year.”

“Bullshit,” Brent said.

Matt set his mug down carefully. “But you’re pissed, so I’m assuming Ruby accepted the match.”

Troy confirmed with a nod.

“Shit,” all three men said at the same time.

A moment of silence passed, broken by Daniel clearing his throat. “Look, I’m not saying she should have accepted the risk, but I understand. Wanting to know your mother and where you came from.”

Troy absorbed that, but since he’d already spent the night mentally berating himself for not understanding Ruby’s decision, it made little difference. Daniel had been a foster child, so of course it made immediate sense to him, proving her words from last night correct. Thanks to his ideal upbringing, he wasn’t able to fully comprehend her decision.

Matt zeroed in on Daniel, picking up on the subtlest of undercurrents as usual. “The way you said that…have you looked into your birth parents?”

Daniel didn’t appear surprised at Matt’s question. They were never surprised anymore when he picked up on something they thought well-hidden. “Yeah. I mean, just preliminary stuff. Filing papers…reaching out, I guess you would say.”

“Does Story know?” Troy asked.

“Not yet,” Daniel answered, looking contrite. “I don’t want her getting her hopes up for me. You know how she is.” He shrugged. “It never mattered before…who my parents were. But I want to know everything now. Medical history, especially. We’ve got our son to think about now. Hopefully another son or daughter somewhere down the road.” Daniel cleared his throat. “Okay, now. I basically can’t get Story pregnant fast enough.”

Brent looked smug. “Someone is jealous of my twins.”

“None of you say a damn thing to her,” Daniel warned while shooting Brent the bird. “I just bought her a puppy to ease her into the idea of more kids.”

“What kind of puppy did you get?” Brent crossed his arms over his barrel-sized chest. “It better not be one of those bullshit Chihuahuas, bro. I’ll lose all respect for you.”

“Oh, did I actually have your respect at some point?”

Matt’s loud exhale quieted the pair. “Can we get back to the problem at hand? Not that this domestic detour hasn’t been riveting.”

“I’ve already explained the problem.” Troy plucked a handful of papers from his printer, laying them on the desk. “And I’ve been working on the solution. Ruby isn’t in possession of her birth certificate. But last night Jim mentioned the uncle, Robert Bell. I’m working on narrowing it down by finding him, then searching for siblings. Problem is, the name Robert Bell is so goddamn common.”

“You’re trying to find her mother before the match,” Matt deduced. “So it won’t be necessary.”

“Right.”

Daniel took one of the printouts. “Jesus. Hundreds in New York and New Jersey alone. Let’s split it up three ways. We’ll take turns putting surveillance on Jim Elliott. He could end up leading us to the guy’s doorstep.”

“No. I didn’t ask for your help.” Troy shook his head determinedly. “This isn’t an official investigation and I’m not dragging you guys into it. You’ve got your own shit going on.”

“True.” Brent snatched up his own list. “But nothing to prevent us from keeping Ruby safe. If you recall, she put her ass on the line for us once,” he reminded them, referring to the reckless move she’d made to protect Troy, placing herself at risk to locate their suspect’s whereabouts. A situation eerily similar to the last twenty-four hours. “I’d like to return the favor.”

“Don’t ever mention her ass again. Or returning the favor.”

Brent winked. “Message received, Mr. Sensitive.”

When Brent and Daniel walked away, still arguing over dog breeds, Matt nudged the remaining list in Troy’s direction. “I’ll take the first shift on Elliott. You should go see Ruby and get your head straight. Not the wisest move going searching for her father when the two of you are arguing. You could end up doing something you regret.”

“She left.” Troy pretended to be engrossed in something on his computer screen. “She hasn’t done that since our first week together.”

“She’s scared. People who are used to fear…sometimes they would rather exist inside that fear without the benefit of comfort. It’s a familiar place and it gives them an excuse to alienate the people closest to them. To rely solely on themselves.” He looked across the bustling station. “She probably feels worse than you do for leaving. Go see her.”