The Billionaire Bachelor's Surprise Baby: A Billionaire Romance (14 page)

As
I sped out of the driveway, I had Paulie on speaker.

“You better fuckin’ find her,” I yelled. “I told you to tail her.”

“I will.”

“You haven’t been very successful this far.”

Jenna took my hand in hers, trying to calm me, but not even she could settle me down.

“Kyler,” Paulie said. “I have to go and focus on finding Mason. I’ll call you when I know something.”

“Keep me in the loop.” I ended the call from the button on the steering wheel.

“Ky,” Jenna started but I couldn’t deal with it.

“Don’t!” I warned. “This is my fault. I left the damn garage door open when I came back from my parents’ house. That’s how she must have gotten in.” How could I be so fucking stupid? “She was there when I got home. Waiting for me on the porch. I didn’t go in through the garage.” I slammed my fist on the steering wheel. “Fuck!”

“Why don’t you pull over and let me drive?”

“No, I need to be in control. I have to be.”

“Okay.” She rested her hand in my lap.

“Where would she have taken him? Paulie said she’s not at the address she gave me. Where else could she be?”

“We’ll find him. The police are on it. She couldn't have gotten that far. You know her license plate and car model. You took every precaution.”

“I shouldn’t have left him. I pissed Aimee off. I said things that pushed her over the edge. I threatened to keep him from her.” I gripped the wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. “I shouldn't have left him.”

“That was my fault.”

“No.”

“You were coming after me.” The sorrow in her voice made my stomach churn. She had always put Mason above all else. The thought that she left because of the way Aimee taunted her infuriated me. When I found her I was going to...

“She fuckin’ set us up.”

“How?”

“I don’t know but she was there when you were and then she was waiting for me knowing you had already left. She waited for an opportunity and she took it. Now she has Mason. I should have shut her down when she came back. I never should have given her access to him.”

“That’s my fault too.” She gazed out the window. “I was trying to help when I suggested you let her around him, but I should have let you do things your way.”

“Placing blame isn’t going to get Mason back.” I turned into my driveway as my parents’ were getting out of their car. Caden was already outside talking to the police officers.

“Dude,” my brother greeted me as I got out of the car. “I’m so sorry. I thought he was upstairs.”

“It’s not your fault.” I met the two cops standing on my lawn. “What do we know?”

“Not much at the moment, but because you had her car and license plate that’s a huge help.” He glanced at his notepad. “We just issued an Amber Alert based on your description of her.”

My parents stood next to me as Jenna took my hand. I couldn’t stand there helpless while my son was out there. I couldn’t think of him being afraid. Did he miss me and Jenna?  Did he have his pacifier or his favorite blanket? Would she know what to feed him? Was he hungry? “What can I do now?”

“You have to let us do our job,” one of the officers said but I couldn’t focus on them. They stood on my front lawn while some lunatic had my kid. Not just any lunatic. The kid’s mother. Fuck! What was I thinking?

My phone buzzed. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw that it was Paulie. Just as I was about to take it, the officers radios made a commotion.

“Paulie.”

“We found her.”

“Where?” My legs buckled but I forced myself to stand steady. “Is he okay?”

“I have Mason,” he informed me. “She was at a gas station just outside of the city.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at Jenna. “Paulie has him.”

“Oh, thank God,” my mother cried, hugging my dad and Caden.

I wrapped my arm around Jenna, kissing the top of her head as my P.I. continued to talk.

“Mr. Barton,” one of the officers said. “We have a location.”

“I’ll be right there, Paulie. Thank you. Don’t let him out of your sight.” I ended the call and spoke to the officers. “Get me to my son.” Taking Jenna’s hand, I followed the officers to their car. “Caden.” I tossed the keys to him. “You follow so we have his car seat.”

“Sure thing.”

“We’ll come too,” my mother said as she and my dad climbed into my SUV.

“I knew he’d be okay.” Jenna hugged me. “He had to be.”

“I’ll feel better when I have him in my arms.” I held her tight. “When the three of us are together.”
And you’re both in my arms.

***

A few days later things were slowly returning to normal. Mason was fine. As far as he knew he went for a little ride with Aimee. Once we arrived on the scene, the police had her in custody. She was distraught and spewing profanities at me about how I left her pregnant and alone. I didn’t know if it was an act or if she was having a breakdown, but either way she proved she wasn’t stable enough to care for our son.

As Mason bounced in his activity chair, I tried to focus on the latest DVD prospect Caden sent me. This one was worse than Trixie. Where did he find them? Jenna came into the room handing Mason a new teething toy.

“You’re spoiling him.”

“I don’t care.” She kissed his chubby cheeks. “You deserve it, don’t you?” She smiled and nodded at Mason. “Yes, you do.”

Mason cooed and laughed at her.

“I love you too.” She giggled. “Sweet angel baby.”

“Hey?” I curled my finger and motioned for her to join me on the sofa.

“I love you too.” She launched herself into my lap. “More today than yesterday.”

“Then I’m a lucky man.”

“Your mom called.” She cuddled into my side. “She wants–”

“Did you tell her no?”

“I told her I didn’t think you’d want Mason to leave us this weekend and that maybe next week would be better.”

“I might not be ready next weekend either.” I couldn’t think about letting him out of my sight. My mother wanted him to spend the night, but I wasn’t there. It was too soon.

“I know.”

“I’ve decided not to press any charges.”

“Your mom told me.”

“Aimee needs to get herself together and grow up. My mother is getting her into counseling. If she chooses to see Mason in the future her visits will have to be supervised.” It may have been wrong but I hoped she stayed away from us for a while. “She was acting out to get my attention. She’s not ready to be his mother.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Thank you.”

“You have to let what happened go. He’s home and he’s with us where he belongs.”

My phone dinged, alerting me to a text. Jenna picked my cell up from the coffee table and handed it to me.

“If this is my mother...” I checked to see who it was from. “It’s Paulie.”

Check ur email. I set you footage of your security system

I grabbed my tablet and got into my email. I had this elaborate security system that came with the house but I didn’t give it much thought.

“What is it?” Jenna asked.

“I don’t know.” I clicked the link Paulie sent me and waited for it to load. “It’s footage of my house. I have video surveillance but I never check it.” It had been useful when the police needed to verify when and how Aimee took Mason, but I never needed it for anything else. “What the hell?”

The first link showed Aimee coming in to the house from a room in the back of the basement. I never used that door. I wondered how long it had been unlocked.

“That’s how she must have gotten in.” Jenna rested her head on me. “Not through the garage.”

“This isn’t even the day she took him.” I noted the date and time on the video. I clicked the second link. Paulie had zoomed in on Jenna in various places in the house. Mainly by the entrances where I had the cameras set up. How stupid of me to have a system and never check it.

“Is that your study?” Jenna pointed to the footage where Aimee was standing by the patio doors in my office. “What’s she doing?”

Aimee looked to be reading something. I zoomed in and saw what it was. “Fuck!”

“Is that?”

“Your medical file. That’s how she found out.” I slammed the tablet shut not ready to view the four or five other pieces of footage Paulie had sent me. I didn’t want to know how many times she had invaded my privacy. I replied to his text.

We have a fuckin’ problem

His response was immediate.

Working on upgrading ur system and I’ll handle the monitoring from now on

Tonight I’d be checking all the doors and windows. Before Mason I really didn’t care about security. I’d never thought about it. The house had an alarm system but I was also so lax with it. That was going to change. I shot Paulie a quick text.

We’ll touch base tomorrow. I want top of the line

I tossed my phone on the table. “I can’t believe she was roaming around here going through my shit.”

“We should use that fancy alarm system.”

“We will,” I said. “Paulie will be over tomorrow to install something better. I’ll have Conrad come over tonight and help me make sure everything is secure. I’m not taking any more chances.” 

“What happened with Aimee was unusual.”

“Still with the way my whole life ends up on the Internet I should be more careful. There are too many nuts out there.”

“I agree.” She stretched out on the couch and placed her feet in my lap. “Work your magic, please.”

“A foot rub? What will I get in return?”

“I’ll work my magic later.” She licked her lips. “Just the way you like.”

“Deal.” I took her foot between my hands and massaged her arch. She sank into my touch when I pressed firmly against her foot.

“I talked to my dad today.”

“Did you thank him again for being so awesome with Mason the other day?” When we got him back from dealing with the Aimee ordeal, Dr. Cranford came right over and did a full examination for my peace of mind.

“He was happy to do it.” She closed her eyes and enjoyed the massage. “I told him something today that he’s wanted to hear for a long time.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to go back to medical school.” She opened her eyes and stared at me. “It’s a huge commitment and it will take lots of dedication and hard work.”

“I was wondering when you were going to make that decision.” I’d seen her at her father’s practice. How much she loved the children there. Anyplace we went with kids she seemed to thrive. Being a pediatrician was what she was meant to do. I had planned to speak to her about it, but then Aimee came back and our lives hadn’t been normal since. Now maybe we could focus on our future. “It’s a great idea.”

“Really?”

“Why wouldn’t I think that?” I released her foot and moved to where she was, lying on my side so we were face to face. “It’s your calling, princess.”

“My calling is being Mason’s nanny. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Oh.” The frown on her face would have been adorable if I hadn’t hurt her feelings. “I just thought...”

“That you would be his nanny forever?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “It’s been the best job I’ve ever had.”

“When I hired you, I never expected we’d end up together. You’re so much more than his nanny.”

“But if I go back to school who will take care of him?”

“Do you plan to leave us?”

“Never.”

“We’ll hire someone to help us.”  I gently kissed her lips. “I’ll support whatever you want. You were there for me when I really needed you. I want to be there for you.”

“We’ll be there for each other.” She traced my lips with her fingers. “Always.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Mason squealed in excitement as he bounced enthusiastically in his chair. In that moment I knew my life was complete.