get a new calendar,” she retorted. “This is not your baby.” Her voice rose in anger. “Don’t you understand? I don’t want anything from you. You’re free to walk away. So walk,” she ordered.
Instead of leaving, he pushed the door closed. The click echoed in her head. Nerves rose to the surface even as she struggled to at least look calm.
“Is this why you left?” he asked, his eyes indicating her swollen abdomen. “Because you found out you were pregnant?”
She took offense, although she didn’t even know why. Her hormones raged, playing tug-of-war with her emotions.
“No,” she retorted hotly, “I left because I found out that you were a drug dealer.”
He needed for her to be safe. Needed to watch over her. He knew that he couldn’t just post himself on her block indefinitely. This was the kind of neighborhood where an unknown car would attract attention if it was seen lingering for more than a few minutes—and that would inevitably result in a call to the police.
The last thing he wanted was to get involved with the local law enforcement agency, at least not until he could bring down the leader of this little high-class operation. Otherwise, he and a lot of other people would find themselves throwing away two years on a failed mission. And another drug lord would find himself with a free pass.
He owed it to Mona not to let that happen.
In order to do what he needed to do, he knew he needed to lie.
To Eve.
Again.
“Then you’ll be happy to know,” he told her, “that I’m not part of that world any longer.” His eyes held hers and he hated himself for what he was doing, but at the same time, he knew he had to. “I’m just a simple used book dealer.”
For just a moment, Eve’s heart leaped up in celebration. She was ready to seize the information and clutch it to her chest like an eternal promise. But he had lied to her before—who knows how many times—and once that sort of thing happened, trust was badly splintered if not shattered. Rebuilding the fragile emotion was not the easiest thing in the world.
“How do I know you’re not just lying?” she challenged, praying he had an answer that would somehow satisfy her.
“You don’t,” he admitted simply, surprising her. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
And that, Eve thought, was the problem in a nutshell. More than anything in the world, she wanted to believe him. But at the same time, she knew that she just couldn’t. Not yet. Not until he proved himself to her and gave her a concrete reason to believe him.
Just then, she thought she felt the baby begin to kick her again. Kick her harder than it had ever kicked before.
Caught off guard, immersed in this new drama, Eve gasped as tears welled up in her eyes.
Sensing both her mistress’s anxiety and her pain, Tessa began to pace nervously about before her as Eve clutched at her belly.
Adam reacted immediately. His arms closed around Eve as if he was afraid that she was about to sink down to the floor.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, concern weaving itself through his voice. His eyes searched her face. “What can I do to help?”
Just hold me, Adam, the little voice in her soul whispered to him. Just hold me and make everything all better again.
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