by Lisa Harris
Perfect woman.
At least for him, she was.
“Wow. I haven’t been up here for years. I’d forgotten how stunning it is,” he said, walking up to her. He tried to take in the view spread out in front of them, but all he could see was her.
“Thanks for coming up here,” she said, still staring out across the city. “It’s one of my favorite places.”
“I can see why,” he said.
“Being here always makes me feel closer to God.” She sighed. “It reminds me that he sees everything that’s happening with every single one of us. And that always gives me enough hope to keep going. Something I’ve needed lately.” She turned to him, but the smile he was expecting had vanished from her lips. “Edward called me this morning.”
“And?”
“He did some more digging and has evidence that the ring they found by Luke belonged to Thomas Knight. Edward found a photo of him in his school yearbook wearing the ring.”
“Which would confirm you were the target,” Jonas said.
“Or they meant to shoot Luke in order to hurt me. It would explain the flowers at his grave, constant reminders of his death. They didn’t want me to forget. They killed Luke because they wanted me to suffer.” She blew out a sharp puff of air. “But either way, if whoever shot Luke believes we’re together, you could become a target.”
“Wait a minute.” Traffic passed behind them, and a siren whirled, but he shut out everything except for her. “You don’t know that.”
“Why not?” She threw her hands up. “They murdered my husband. They broke into my house and shot me.”
“Madison—”
“Wait.” She shook her head. “I need you to understand something. I thought I could move on with you even if I never found out who murdered Luke, but knowing I was the target . . . his death will weigh on me the rest of my life. I can’t ignore that and put your life in danger. I won’t go through that again.”
He wanted to pull her into his arms and show her exactly how he felt, but instead he shoved his hands into his pockets. “You’re missing the point. I want to do life with you. You and I can face this together. You don’t have to do it alone.”
Her lips were pressed together as if she’d been rehearsing what she was about to say. “I know, and I appreciate your being patient with me. I might seem unflappable on the outside most of the time, but this whole scenario . . .”
“I get it, and that’s okay. There’s no time frame on us moving forward, but don’t let this situation stop us from at least trying to see what might happen between us.”
She gazed up at him. “I can’t make any promises. Not now. Not until I know for certain that I’m not putting your life at risk.”
He wanted to argue with her but knew he wouldn’t be able to change her mind. “None of this changes how I feel about you, but you need to know that I didn’t come to you with expectations. My biggest fear was that having this conversation would change things between us. But I can’t let my fear of what might or might not happen keep me from saying something. That if there is a chance for something between us one day, I’m willing to wait.”
“And if I don’t know when that day will be?”
He drew in a deep breath. “I’m learning that life isn’t all black and white, and you can’t always fix everything. It’s messy, and there isn’t an answer that fits every situation. But that’s okay. I’m hoping life keeps moving us forward together. Forces us to stop hiding behind our pasts. But I won’t try to push things forward. I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. I tried to fix Felicia, but the truth was, she didn’t want to be fixed or need me to fix her. And I won’t do the same with you.”
“I want you to move forward with the Special Ops Group—”
“There will be other opportunities.”
“No.” She shook her head. “The timing will never be perfect. You need to do this. For you.”
“I don’t know—”
“Promise me, Jonas.”
He caught the determination in her eyes and nodded.
“And if we still can’t figure a way out of this jumbled mess?” she asked. “What then?”
He drew her into his arms, relieved when she nestled against his chest. “We’ll figure this out, and in the meantime, I’ll always be here for you. That will never change, no matter what happens.”
Because some things in life were worth waiting for.
Prologue
He’d lied to her again.
It was her fault for believing him in the first place. For trusting the slew of promises he never kept. He’d told her he loved her. Told her he’d leave his wife for her so they could be together. Becca played the fool and believed him. She knew now that he never intended to stay with her, and as far as she was concerned, he wasn’t capable of being faithful. Today was no different, and yet he called and she came running.
She sat in her car, trying to gather her own frayed nerves, as she stared at the gated house where he lived with her. While she’d never been inside the five-thousand-square-foot house, she knew it included a chef’s kitchen, a vaulted back porch, and a three-car garage. The apartment she shared with their son was less than a thousand square feet. Robert paid for the majority of her expenses, but it was never quite enough, so she continued to work at the café and relied on his handouts and promises that he’d leave his wife for her.
She gripped the steering wheel and frowned. The reality was that she didn’t care about the big house. She wasn’t even sure she loved him anymore. She only cared about their son.
Her son.
She drew in a deep breath as she got out of the car and headed up to the front door. It was strange that he’d asked her to come here. He’d never done that before. The closest she’d gotten to the front gate was when she’d driven by one time on her own. She’d wanted to know where he lived and spent his time when he wasn’t with her. She’d felt guilty about their arrangement since the beginning, but Robert had swept in and given her the feeling of family she never had. Saying no had been impossible until she realized that this life was nothing more than a fairy tale that could never have a happy ending.
Still, as much as she wanted to, she never found the courage to walk away.
Until now.
Today, all of that would change. No matter what he said, she was going to tell him that she was leaving him. She was tired of playing his games and always losing. Tired of the tangled web she’d found herself in as the scorned mistress that could never show her face at his office or at one of his political fundraisers. She’d seen the photos of him and Myra on the news last night, smiling into the camera as if he didn’t have a care in the world. She’d actually believed that could be her standing next to him one day. His expression told her otherwise. He would never give up his life for her.
Becca put her hand on the brass doorknob, then stopped. Was she supposed to walk in or knock?
She didn’t have to answer the question as the door swung open.
Myra stood in the doorway, a smile plastered on her face from too much Botox. “Becca Lambert, it’s nice to finally meet you in person, though I guess you weren’t expecting me to be here.”
“I don’t understand.” Becca studied the woman’s pencil skirt and button-up blouse that likely cost more than what she earned in a month. “How do you know me?”
“I’m not nearly as clueless as Robert thinks I am. I’m the one who sent you the message from his phone. I thought we could . . . talk.”
Becca took a step backward, fighting every instinct in her body that told her to run. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“It won’t take long. Just a few minutes. It’s time you and I got to know each other.”
She didn’t want to talk to Robert’s wife. Didn’t want to be in the same room with the woman.
“Where’s Robert?” Becca asked.
“At work. Or so he says. He’s always working, but you don’t really think you’re the only prett
y girl who’s caught his eye, do you?”
Becca blinked back tears as she tried to stuff down the guilt. She and Robert had met by chance at an office building in downtown Seattle. He was handsome and charismatic, and he paid attention to her. She’d grown up in foster care, and for the first time in her life, she felt loved by someone. Special.
Then she found out she was pregnant.
After that, there was nothing she could do to change their agreement. He promised to pay the bills as long as she promised to be quiet. His wife was never to find out. None of his associates could be confided in either. No one could know he was the father of her baby.
Becca shook her head. “I need to leave—”
“I wouldn’t if I were you. I know everything about you and Robert, including the fact that you had his son.”
Becca’s mouth went dry. “Robert told you that?”
Myra motioned her inside. “It didn’t take much detective work to find out where he really spends his time away from me.”
“I made mistakes,” Becca said, stepping through the imposing entryway to a boldly decorated living room that was far too gaudy for her tastes, though the red and coral theme seemed to fit Myra perfectly. “But you have to understand that I didn’t know he was married when I first started seeing him.”
By the time she found out the truth about Robert’s marital status, she’d already lost her heart. Guilt pressed against her chest. How many times had she told herself she needed to walk away? How many times had she chastised herself for not taking her own advice?
Myra’s smile disappeared as she turned around. “Don’t play innocent with me.”
“I’m not—” Becca stopped. She had no idea what this woman wanted from her, but she clearly wasn’t interested in a string of apologies.
“Here’s the bottom line,” Myra said. “I have the ability to make your life extremely miserable, but . . . I’m going to offer you a one-time deal.”
Becca’s fingers clinched her purse strap. “What do you mean?”
“I will give you enough money to leave Seattle and start over. I don’t care where or how, as long as it’s far away from here.”
Becca forced herself to relax her fingers, but she couldn’t absorb what she was hearing. “You want to pay me off?”
Myra leaned against the desktop, then crossed her ankles. “You make it sound so . . . so illicit.”
“Isn’t it?”
Myra’s gaze seemed to pierce through her. “No more illicit than sleeping with someone else’s husband.”
Becca’s gaze dropped to the expensive rug on the floor, following the dark orange squiggly pattern along the edge. Nausea swept through her, making her want to vomit. She should have known this day would come. Nothing good ever came from keeping secrets.
“The bottom line is that you don’t have a choice,” Myra continued. “You’re going to walk away and never contact Robert again. And”—she tapped her manicured fingers together—“you will sign over your parental rights to Robert.”
Becca’s head shot up. “You can’t do that.”
“You don’t seem to understand how things work. Without money and power, you’re nothing but a waitress working overtime for tips. If you try to fight me, you’ll lose.”
“No.” Becca straightened her shoulders, determined to dig up enough courage to fight back. “You can’t buy me off.”
“Then you’re more foolish than I thought,” she said, her voice cold. “Robert doesn’t love you, Becca. He never did. Not really. You’ve been nothing more than a temporary distraction.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“Then I’ll need to find something else to persuade you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you left your son with his sitter this morning,” Myra said.
Becca’s heart pounded in her chest. If Myra did anything to hurt her son . . . “What did you do?”
“It’s not what I’ve done, it’s what I will do if you don’t cooperate. You will sign the papers I’ve had drawn up, giving Robert full custody of the child, and you will walk away with the money.”
“No—”
“You seem to think you can fight this, but you can’t. I will hire the best lawyers in the city, and in the end, you will still give up the rights to your son. Now it’s just up to you to decide if you take the money or end up losing everything.”
Becca stumbled backward. “No. I’ll never give up my baby.”
She grabbed a handgun out of her purse. The one that, ironically, Robert had bought her. There wasn’t time to think through the consequences. All she knew was that she wasn’t going to lose her son.
Lisa Harris is a bestselling author, a Christy Award winner, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel from Romantic Times for her novels Blood Covenant and Vendetta. The author of more than forty books, including The Nikki Boyd Files and the Southern Crimes series, as well as Vanishing Point, A Secret to Die For, and Deadly Intentions, Harris and her family have spent over sixteen years living as missionaries in southern Africa. Learn more at www.lisaharriswrites.com.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title Page
Books by Lisa Harris
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Sneak Peek of the Epic Series Conclusion
About the Author
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