"I think the State of California is reaching." Jane tossed the file on the table and pushed her chair back to retrieve the pitcher of iced tea. Returning to the table she refilled everyone's glasses, "There isn't enough evidence in there to prove a case from ten days ago, let alone ten years."
"I thought the same thing," Tiffany leaned back in her chair, and sipped her tea. She was a slight woman with long brown hair she kept tied back with a fluffy ribbon. Her partner, Ella, was a tall, willowy woman with long hair dyed dark green, "but they wouldn't bring charges if they didn't think they could win."
"It's a cold case." Jane answered, "They will do whatever they feel will close it. Though I don't think there's a case. It looks more like suicide. I have a feeling there will be more evidence revealed once they have Monica in custody."
"According to Monica, she came home to find her mother dead." Ella explained.
"Someone else could have been in the house before she came home." Rain suggested. "There is nothing in any of this that proves Monica is the one who killed her mother."
"According to Monica," Ella sipped her tea, "the front door was locked from the inside. The deadbolt was latched. She had to go around to the back of the house and enter through the back door."
One of the babies cried out from down the hall, Jane pushed her chair back, "Excuse me a moment."
"Oh, are we finally going to meet the girls?" Tiffany clapped her hands together eagerly, "I've been waiting for them to wake up."
"They'll be hungry." Jane gave an apologetic shrug of her shoulder.
"You're breast feeding, right?" Ella asked, "We've been trying to get pregnant. So far, we've done three injections, and no joy."
"I'll be right back." The second baby cried out. Jane sighed as she hurried down the hallway.
"Can I help?" Tiffany asked, "I'd love the practice." She followed Jane into the bedroom.
"Uh, sure, how are you at changing diapers?"
"I babysat in high school." Tiffany answered, "My neighbor had a little boy." She watched Jane lift Kaylee, "Oh, my goodness, they are so tiny." Before reaching for Emily, she asked, "Do you mind?"
"No," Jane smiled, "I'm sure you know to watch her head."
Gingerly lifting the infant, Tiffany carried her over to the changing table where Jane was finishing with Kaylee. "I can't believe how tiny they are. They make me want one all the more."
"Are each of you taking the injections?" Jane asked.
"Not at the same time." Tiffany answered, "We don't want to both be pregnant at the same time. So I went first, then when it turned out I wasn't, she got the injection."
"I didn't think doctors would do that."
Tiffany shrugged, "When you pay them enough, they'll do just about anything. Ella got an injection a few weeks ago. It didn't take."
"So, how does that work? Do you know the father?"
"No, we don't."
When Emily had been changed, Jane led the way back to the dining room. Rain and Ella had cleared the table and carried the drinks into the living room. Settling in a reclining chair, Jane began nursing Kaylee while Tiffany and Ella cuddled with Emily.
"Back to this case." Rain said from the couch, "Have they arrested Monica yet?"
"No, they are giving her a chance to turn herself in. They have only sent detectives to Phoenix to talk to her. That's when she called us."
"How did she know to call you?" Rain asked.
Ella grinned, "Her cousin saw our commercial."
"She's young." Tiffany commented, rocking Emily as the baby fussed, "She went into the interview with the detectives alone."
"It wasn't until after she talked to them that she thought she should get help. A local lawyer in Phoenix told her to consult someone in California since this is where the charges are going to be filed." Ella added.
"So she's there in Phoenix? Did the detectives return here?" Rain asked.
"They have told her they want to talk to her again." Ella said, "But we suggested she wait until we can be with her."
"We've counseled her not to say anything at all." Tiffany said.
Rain pulled out his phone, "I'll call Keith at my office, he can stay with her until she gets here." He made the call, then turned back to the women, "He'll stop in at Monica's apartment and talk to her."
"This case is going to be huge when it finally takes off." Ella glanced at her partner, "It's going to take a lot of time and research."
Rain nodded, "To give her a good defense. Yes."
"We're still a relatively small firm. There are only the two of us, plus our paralegal. That commercial she found was meant to bring in a few clients so we could grow, but if we take Monica's case..." Ella paused.
"Monica doesn't have the money to pay for a lawyer. So we have to do the case either Pro Bono, or wait for payment until she can." Tiffany added.
"There's no telling when that will be, and we have to be able to pay our own bills." Ella continued.
Jane finished nursing Kaylee and handed her to her father before reaching for Emily. "Heavy lifting, huh?" She joked with Rain.
"I want to talk to Monica." Rain said, "Then we will decide how much help we can give."
"Is that as amazing as it looks?" Ella asked Jane.
Looking up to find the couple watching her, Jane smiled, "It is the most incredible thing I have ever experienced in my life."
Tiffany nodded to Rain patting his daughters back, "I can't get over this. In college, I would have bet money you would never have kids, and now look at you. You're a daddy."
"And from the looks of it," Ella commented, "you're enjoying every second of it."
Rain dropped a kiss on his daughters head, "I most definitely am enjoying my girls."
When both babies were fed, and back asleep in their beds, Jane joined Rain at the door to bid their guests farewell.
"When do you think you will be able to talk to Monica?" Tiffany asked.
"I am not planning on going back to Phoenix for a while," Rain answered, "it'll have to be a video call. We can do it in the next day or so."
"I don't know if the police are going to give her that much time." Ella answered. "They are putting pressure on her."
"We need to know what they have on her." Jane said, "There has to be more than what they have told you so far."
"There probably is, but they won't tell us until they have to." Tiffany answered.
"Once Keith makes contact with her, I'll have him bring her to the office so the have use the equipment there. We'll discuss it then." Once the couple had left, Rain closed the door.
Jane returned to the living room to begin straightening up, "Well, that was not what I expected."
"The women or the case?" Rain pushed a button on the stereo, the light strains of classical music filled the room.
"Both."
Taking the glasses she collecting from her hands, Rain put them on the table, and pulled Jane into his arms, "Dance with me."
Without resistance, she stepped closer with one hand on his shoulder and the other tucked into his against his chest, they swayed slowly to the music.
Humming softly in her ear, he nuzzled her neck, "Hasn't it been six weeks?"
With a giggle, she dropped her head back to look up at him, "It hasn't even been one."
"Damn." He grinned, "You are torturing me."
She met his gaze, returning his smile, "Thank you, for today, it really means a lot that you wanted me to be here."
"I meant what I said, Jane, I will not do this alone. I'm not going to do that anymore. We do it together or not at all." He said with a kiss pressed against her fingers as he held her hand close to his chest.
Stepping up on tiptoe, she pressed a kiss to his lips. Before she could pull away, his hand caught her behind the neck, holding her to him while he deepened the kiss.
"I'm back." Judy said from the front door, "Oh, sorry."
Jerking away from Rain, Jane glanced behind her to her mother and Richard who stood in the doorway. They had taken Nicole to the airport and stopped for dinner on the way back. "Hey, did she get off okay?"
Judy grinned, "Yes, she did." She turned to the stairs, "I'm going to bed, night."
Richard stepped outside, "See you two tomorrow."
"Well, that was awkward." Jane stepped away from Rain and reached for the dishes. "I've got to get this cleaned up."
"No," He gently pulled her away from the mess, "You are going to go to bed. The girls are going to be awake before you know it."
"Yeah, but this mess..."
"I'll take care of this mess."
"You are going to take care of the mess? How, throw everything in the kitchen so someone else can wash the dishes?"
Pushing her towards the hallway, he said, "Don't forget who my mother was. I know how to do dishes."
With a shrug of her shoulder, Jane headed for the bedroom. She changed her clothes and climbed beneath the covers. The blinking light on her cellphone, which she had left on the night stand, told her she had messages. She'd missed a call from Nicole.
As she pressed the button to return the call, she snuggled against the pillow.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Nik, sorry I missed your call. I left the phone in the bedroom. Did you get home okay?"
"Yeah, I'm home. I forgot how short a flight that is. An hour and a half and I'm home."
Something in her friends tone caught her attention, Jane sat up, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I just got off the phone with Janice. She's in her usual bitchy mood. Tomorrow is going to be a bear."
Jane sighed with relief, accepting Nicole's explanation. "Thanks for coming and helping."
"No problem."
"When are you coming back?"
"Rain said he would fly me over next weekend. He thinks Randall will be back then."
Jane paused, "Nik, are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Have you heard from Jamison?"
It was Nicole's turn to pause, "Yes, and no. I can't really talk about it right now."
"Oh, my God. Is he there?"
"No. I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."
When her friend hung up, Jane dropped the phone back on the side table, and laid back on the pillow. She knew she should at least Brian about what Nicole was doing. Someone had to know.
*****
"Randall came home last night." Rain said as he entered Jane's bedroom, "He's having a party with his team and their families. He's invited us over."
"Great." Jane finished nursing Emily, and patted the babies back before handing her over to Rain so he could settle the baby back in her bed.
Rain snuggled his daughter against his chest, "My sweet little girl." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"I just wish they would sleep through the night." Jane said, "I really need more than a few hours of sleep at a time."
"There's enough milk for your mother and I to give each of them a bottle for a feeding. You could sleep through one. We could take them out to the living room and let you sleep."
Jane sighed, "I know, I just feel selfish for sleeping while they are awake."
"The entire purpose for your mother to be here is to help you with the babies. She isn't feeling very helpful right now. She has to go back next week, and she told me she feels like you don't want her here."
"Of course I want her here. I feel bad that she's leaving already and I've slept the whole time she's been here."
"She's busy cooking something to take over to Randall's. She says you never go to someone's house without taking something. I think she's baking something."
Jane laughed, "That sounds like my mother."
"Brian got back this morning. He brought a friend he thought you might like to see." Rain reached out and opened the door.
"Oh, my goodness." Jane grinned as Max raced into the room to jump joyously on the bed. "Max, what are you doing here?" Another dog, identical to Max, jumped up next to him. "Who's this?"
"Brian thought you would feel more at ease with him here. That's Molly, she's Brian's second best dog."
Jane rubbed the dogs head, and fluffed their fur. "I do feel better with them here. He won't let anything happen to our girls."
"No, he won't." Rain snapped his fingers again, the dogs jumped off the bed to run down the hallway. "What do you think? Feel up to getting dressed?"
Jane nodded, "When are we supposed to be there?"
"You can already smell the barbecue." Rain answered, "Your mother has been baking pies for over an hour. Come on."
Jane groaned but climbed out of bed. She dressed in a simple sundress. She filled a diaper bag with essentials and with Rain's help transferred the babies to their carriers.
"We could just hold them." Rain suggested, "Instead of taking the carriers."
"I'd rather have a free hand." Jane slung the diaper bag over her shoulder, "This way they can sleep."
Carrying a car seat in each hand, Rain led the way down the hall. "Are you ready, Judy?"
"Yes, Jane, grab those." Judy nodded towards two large pies sitting on the counter as she picked up two others, "Be careful they're still warm."
Jane laughed, "I have a bit of experience with this, Mom." She picked up the pies, and followed Rain and her mother out the door. "Rain, you've known Randall for a while, right?"
"Since high school." Rain led the way across the back deck, and down the stairs. Max and Molly pranced around in the sand while the two guards stationed themselves nearby. "He was two years ahead, but we were all pretty good friends."
"So you trust him?" Jane asked as they paused at the bottom of the stairs to allow Judy to proceed them.
"I trust him with my life," He answered, "But more importantly, "Jane, I trust him with everything. Randall Miles is the most trustworthy man I know. He would do anything to keep others safe. I know he will do what needs to be done to catch Jamison, and keep Emily and Kaylee safe."
Jane sniffled as tears threatened, "Okay.I believe you. I'll trust him too." She began climbing the stairs. Max and Molly rushed past nearly causing her to drop the pies.
A man at the top of the stairs knelt to greet the dogs. It was glaringly obvious to Jane who the man was. He was a slightly more rugged image of his younger brother. This was Randall Miles.
He stepped a few steps down, and took the pies from her, "These look delicious."
"Thank you. Mother made them a little while ago, so they are fresh." Jane felt awkward rambling on, so she bit her lip, and turned to the other occupants of the deck. four other men, two women, and a few children ran around.
"You must be Jane," Randall reached out to shake her hand, "Good to meet you." Releasing her hand, he grinned over his shoulder, "I never thought I'd see the day when Rain Wolf carries a baby carrier."
"Come meet my girls." Rain sat the seats down at the top of the steps. Unbuckling one baby, he lifted her out, "This is Kaylee." He handed the infant over to Randall before unbuckling the other seat, "and this is Emily."
"Damn, Rain." The entire group crowded around to admire the babies.
"I would say that is a very proud papa." Judy leaned over Jane's shoulder.
Jane nodded, "Yeah, I'd say so."
"We should probably introduce your girl to the guys." Randall said turning towards Jane. He waved his free hand towards his teams, "That's Bronx, Phoenix, Gord, and Tyler. Guys this is Jane."
Each man stepped forward to shake her hand. Gord and Bronx introduced her to their wives.
Randall waved a hand to a bench under an umbrella, "Have a seat. Want a beer?"
"You know better, Ran." Rain admonished.
"Sorry, how about a cola?"
"Sure, thanks." Jane settled in an available plastic lounge chair, and took the offered soda can.
"The meat's almost ready." Randall announced as he handed Kaylee over to one of the guys.
"Where's Richard?" Jane asked, watching anxiously as the men passed the babies around. They were careful but she was nervous where her children were concerned.
"He had to run an errand for Janice. He'll be here in a few." Randall answered, he finished checking the grill then dropped in a chair next to her, "Don't worry about the kids. We've got a lot of experience thanks to Gord and Bronx, they're always churning out offspring."
Jane couldn't help but grin as her tiny babies were held by big beefy military guys who looked as though they would be awkward holding a tiny baby, but were completely at ease.
"So, Jamie boy has finally surfaced." Randall finally said bringing the conversation around to the matter at hand.
"We knew it was going to happen sooner or later." Phoenix, a shorter man with huge biceps, said. "It was just a matter of time."
"And it's just a matter of time before he shows his hand." Gord added. "We'll find him." He grinned at Jane, "don't you worry about that."
Jane wished she felt as calm, and as sure as these men. They knew Jamison Rivers, but it didn't make the last few months of running and hiding from the man any easier. She still felt trapped.