No. This woman wasn’t getting to know her son. Raven felt jealous enough. If Fox found out that Sonya was Senyea, he’d worship her. She needed to get a copy of Aidan’s graphic novels and see for herself what they were about.
And how much of a role Sonya or Senyea played in Aidan’s life.
Aidan woke feeling like he’d been hit by a snowplow, dragged fifty miles, and dumped into a snow bank. Whatever had been in Eva’s syringe had packed a wallop. He had no idea how long he’d been out, just wished it had been longer as he remembered vividly all that had transpired between him and Raven. The room was dark with darker shadows outside the window. He couldn’t tell if it was day or night and didn’t care. Time lay before him long and lonely. He heard rustling off to his right—Raven—and turned his head.
“You’re awake?” an achingly familiar voice asked from the direction of the rocking chair.
“Sonya?” he croaked.
“Yeah, it’s me. Okay, if I turn on a light?”
He nodded and then realized she couldn’t see him. He wasn’t sure if he was up to seeing her. She’d been another woman who’d broken his heart. “Yeah.”
The light on the bedside table clicked on, and he turned his head, shutting his eyes as the light sliced through his head.
“Crap, Aidan, you look like shit. How do you feel?”
“Like I look.” He blinked his eyes until they adjusted to the change in light, though he still had to narrow his gaze in order to see her. She looked…good, better. Happy. She’d never looked this good when she’d been with him, which meant Garrett was probably responsible for that glow in her cheeks, twinkle in her warm brown eyes. Her rich, dark hair was loose and soft around her shoulders, the strong bones in her face softened, more rounder. That was the word. She looked softer…more womanly. His eyes widened. “You’re pregnant?”
She blushed and caressed her swollen belly. “Uh, yeah. About five months along.”
He did the math. “Looks as if you caught more than fish last summer. Knocked up by a fish cop? You’re going to have a tough time living that down.”
“Don’t I know it.” She grimaced and then smiled secretly, as though she really didn’t mind. “So…tell me about Raven?”
He shut his eyes as pain vibrated through him at the sound of her name.
“She’s the one, isn’t she?” she asked softly. “The one you wanted me to be. Want to talk about it?”
“I can’t. Not with you.”
“Who better than me?” She stood and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “Aidan, I’ve known you a long time, but being here, talking with the Maiskis, I finally feel like I understand you.” She brushed the hair away from his forehead. “Let me help.”
“With what? I have more help from your family than I want.”
“What about Raven?”
He looked away into the darkened room. “There’s nothing to help. She can’t get past my family. And I don’t blame her. I’ve been trying to change my DNA all my life.”
“You really love her, don’t you?”
He sat up in the bed, relishing the soreness of his joints and the ache of the cuts Eva had stitched back together. He wished it were enough to dull the slicing pain of Raven’s rejection. But it didn’t even come close. “It doesn’t matter what I feel. Whatever was between us is over.”
“What about your son?”
He froze in the process of getting out of the bed and turned to her. “Drop it or you’re going to piss me off.”
She gave him a small smile. “Better than feeling sorry for yourself.”
“Were you always this bitchy?”
She laughed. “And here I’ve been taking it easy on you.”
“Butt out, Sonya.” He stood, his legs wobbly like a gangly newborn moose. He found his clothes, freshly washed—bless Fiona—folded on the top of the dresser and struggled into them.
“Answer me this, Aidan. When I called it quits between us, you fought hard to get me back. Why aren’t you fighting for Raven?”
He stared at her as he buttoned up his shirt. She stared right back. There was no intimidating Sonya. The woman could oxidize rust off a ship’s hull with that look. “Why’d you come? I understand why Garrett’s here. He wants his man. But you—” he indicated her pregnant state “—making Roland pay for his part in last summer’s crimes isn’t a major concern for you now, is it? So, why are you here?”
She stood and moved around the bed to stand in front of him. “I’m worried about you. I want you to be happy.”