Heart of the Raven(23)

"See? She's crazy! She got this … thing to wear, to make her look  pregnant. She could make it bigger a little bit at a time. She kept  matching me." She shuddered. "Insane."

"But this child is theirs, Eva. You had no right not to hand him over.  You had no right to deceive me, to let me think I was the father." To  let me love him, care for him, have hopes and dreams for him.

"You know what?" She flung an arm wide. "You were the only sanity in my  life during that pregnancy, that horrible, awful pregnancy. They started  in on me right away. What I ate. How much sleep I got. Where I went.  They micromanaged my life from the day the conception was verified. I  was their possession.

"And then, then when I got to be about eight months along, they expected  me to move in with them for the last month. Become their prisoner. No  way. I would've suffocated. I was doing the job they paid me to do. I  didn't have to give them more than that."

"Why didn't you cash Heath's check?" Cassie asked, coming forward.

"I took the check because I needed him to believe my story. I wasn't  ever going to cash it." She started to cry. "I didn't know what to do. I  got attached to him-the baby-right away. I hadn't planned on that. This  tiny thing inside me, moving around, scaring me when he was quiet for  too long, kicking me in the ribs, waking me up. I got attached, okay? I  meant to tell you right away, Heath. I did. I was going to tell you when  I left him with you. Let you give him to them, so I never had to see  them again," she said plaintively. "But I saw the look on your face when  you saw him and thought he was yours, and I chickened out. I didn't  mean to hurt you."

"That doesn't account for the deception throughout the pregnancy. For telling me he was mine when he wasn't."

"I know. I'm sorry. They were just driving me crazy, but to them it was  all about the baby. I was just a test tube or something. You treated me  like a person. A special person."

So he was too nice to her? "Did you never intend to tell the Torrances  that he'd been born and where he was? Were you going to disappear?"  Cassie asked.

"I told them right before I came here."

Silence whooshed in, hot and desolate.

"I called them," she said. "They're probably at your house by now."

"You could be in serious trouble for what you've done," Cassie said when Heath couldn't put a sentence together.                       
       
           



       

"She's a P.I.," Darcy said, excited. "You'd better listen to her."

Eva zeroed in on Heath. "Look, I know what I did was wrong. The  Torrances' craziness rubbed off on me. You would've gone nuts, too, I  swear you would. But my intent when I started this was good. It wasn't  about the money. Well, maybe a little, but not much. They gave me this  sob story and I bought into it. She couldn't carry to term. They were in  their forties. No time left. Yada, yada. I felt sorry for them."

Heath stood. Fury snaked through him. She could've saved everyone so  much heartache. "Cassie, may I borrow your cell phone, please?"

"What are you doing?" Eva asked in a hurry. "Who are you calling?"

"What's Brad's cell phone number?"

Eva heard the tone in his voice and didn't hesitate for long. Heath dialed the number as she gave it.

"Brad, it's Heath. I've got your son. He's fine. He's healthy."

"He's got him," Heath heard him say. "Oh, God. He's got him. Where are you?"

"Are you at my house?"

"Yes, we just got here."

"Stay put. I'll bring him to you. It might take an hour, depending on  traffic. But what I need to know now is if you want to press charges  against Eva."

Fear ravaged Eva's face, as Heath intended. She would feel a little of  what he had felt-and Cassie, and the Torrances. Tears poured from her  eyes. She shook. Just then Danny started to cry.

"Is that my son?" Brad asked in a rush.

No, it's my son, Heath wanted to say. His heart fisted painfully as he said, "Yes. That's your son."

"Just bring him. Forget Eva. We just want our baby."

"Are you sure?"

"I'd like her to rot in hell for all the grief she caused us, but we  want this kept quiet. Eva knows that. Leave her behind and come now,  please."

"Okay." He ended the call and passed the phone back to Cassie. "You got  lucky. Damn lucky. For now. And while he may not want to press charges,  Eva, I still might," he added.

She reached into her purse and took out an envelope. He saw it was addressed to him.

"What's this?" he asked when she passed it to him.

"I cashed your other checks so you wouldn't be suspicious, but I kept  the money to give back to you. It's all there. You were the best thing  that happened to me during that time. Thank you for being so kind. Most  men wouldn't have been."

The fight was starting to go out of him. "You've been hanging out with the wrong men."

"You're probably right."

He knew what he was going to do, but he didn't want to let Eva off too easily. He looked at Cassie. "Can we talk in the hall?"

She opened the door and stepped out. Heath followed with Danny, who had stopped crying.

"You're letting her go, scot-free," she said, her eyes cool.

He couldn't read her expression, but it didn't matter. He'd made his  decision. "It's not scot-free. She has to live with what she did for the  rest of her life."

"So do you."

"I'm angry, don't think I'm not. But I'm trying to think this through to  the end, not just for the moment. In some ways I should be thanking  her. She gave me the push I needed to start living again. And how much  harm came from loving Danny? He changed my life." He brought me you.

The thought nested in Heath's mind, but this wasn't the time nor place to explore that revelation.

"It's up to you, obviously," Cassie said.

Heath slipped a hand around her neck and pulled her toward him. He  kissed her hard, then he opened the door to return to the apartment.

"Since Brad is willing to let it go, I will, too," he said to Eva.

She folded into her herself and started to sob. "Thank you. Thank you, Heath. I'm so sorry. I really am."

He watched her for a minute, then he crouched in front of Danny's car  seat and unbuckled him. He lifted him out. She'd gotten attached to him,  but she'd still given him up. He gave her credit for that much. "Would  you like to hold him?"

Her face was blotchy and tearstained, her eyes wide and filled with  disbelief. Her nose was running. But she reached for Danny then tucked  him close. "Hi," she said in a little voice. "I'm Eva. You lived in me  for a while."

Darcy sprang out of her chair and threw her arms around Eva and Danny,  tears streaming down her face. Heath glanced toward Cassie, but she was  looking out the window. Her throat convulsed. His burned.                       
       
           



       

After a few minutes Eva put Danny back in Heath's arms.

"You need to apologize to Brad and his wife," Heath said.

"I know."

"Probably best to do it by letter."

She laughed, a shaky sound. "Okay."

He needed to get home, to do the next job, the harder one. He buckled  Danny into his seat. Cassie said nothing as they walked down the three  flights of stairs. When they reached the front door she said, "I'll  follow you."

"All right."

She never looked at Danny. Never talked to him or put her face close and smiled at him. She'd already broken the ties.



Cassie saw the Torrances run across the yard as Heath pulled in ahead of  her. She parked next to him. By the time she got out of her car, the  couple had flung open the passenger door and were trying to figure out  how to get Danny out of the car seat.

"Let me," Heath said gently.

Mrs. Torrance had her hands pressed to her mouth and was crying. Heath  set Danny in her arms. She cried harder. Danny joined her. Brad hugged  them both.

Heath came closer to Cassie, but she couldn't look at him. She was  filled with an emptiness so huge it echoed inside her, bouncing around,  but like shards of glass cutting her up at the same time.

"I have clothes and … other things," Heath said.

"We have everything he needs," Mrs. Torrance snapped.

"Anna," Brad said softly. "He did nothing wrong. I'm sorry, Heath. We're just … emotional. We didn't think we would ever see him."

Heath nodded. He could only imagine their terror. "He does well on the  formula you'll find in the diaper bag. If you want to know his schedule  or anything else-"

"We'll learn it on our own, thanks," Brad said as his wife shook her head.