“He kept trophies from all his victims – clothing items, mostly – and there was a whole plethora of evidence in that basement. You were right that the missing persons case you were working on was connected. Nico Sanchez was one of the Hooker Hunter’s victims. You should know that his parents were very concerned about you when they found out what happened, and very thankful.”

Micah flushed at the praise.

“We’re still not sure why Normandy falsely confessed to the crimes. Or why McCormick targeted you. Everyone else he kidnapped was involved in sex work somehow. We think it might have just been a mix of escalation and opportunity, considering your, uh… emotional state at the time-”

Micah could tell his father was trying to be sensitive, but he shook his head, cutting him off by quickly scribbling a message on the board and holding it up.

He saw me when I was undercover. Thought I was a prostitute.

“But that was over a month ago,” Abram said in disbelief.

Micah shrugged.

Abram shook his head. “You’re never allowed to go undercover again – especially not as a sex worker. Jesus Christ,” he muttered, mostly to himself, “you encourage your son to wear a skirt one time, and suddenly all the creeps come crawling out of the woodwork.”

Micah glowered. Damon is not a creep.

“I’m sorry, violent mobster with unlimited resources and unfiltered access to weapons manufacturers. Is that better?”

Micah winced.

Thankfully, he was saved from having to listen to his father disparage Damon further by the door to his room suddenly bursting open. Tessa marched in. Her eyes immediately found Micah’s. “You absolute ass,” she accused. Then she was practically leaping into his arms, her hug much less careful than Micah’s father’s had been, the whiteboard trapped between them and digging painfully into his sternum.

The woman was a force of nature, and it took Micah a moment to process the dramatic entrance before realizing she was dressed in a hospital gown – the same pale green, paper-thin garment he was donning. And her stomach was noticeably smaller.

“Babies-” he blurted, flinching immediately at the mistake.

“Don’t speak, you imbecile,” Tessa snapped, finally releasing him from her embrace. She took a step back, but kept her hands on his face, squeezing his cheeks. Her eyes were red-rimmed and watery, but instead of seeming sad, she just looked pissed – like she wanted to slap him, and she was only holding herself back due to his pathetic physical state. “The babies are fine. Jasper’s rolling them in behind me.”

Sure enough, Jasper was plodding through the door next, pushing an infant cart in front of him. There were two babies inside, both swaddled in blue blankets with matching caps on their heads. They were tiny.