"So you two pretended to be a couple so you could come here as well?"
"Exactly. Two birds, one stone."
"Okay." I blink a few times, processing. "So, Mabel…?"
"Is Evie's daughter." He inhales sharply, wincing. "But I'm not her father."
"Then who is?"
"Davi Morawski."
My blood freezes. I know who that is. But before I can say anything, Vaughn continues. "Evie met him one night when she was out for drinks with her work colleagues. I immediately had a bad feeling about him, about the whole situation, but what could I do? She was a grown woman capable of making her own life choices."
"What happened?"
"At first, nothing. Davi was smart, biding his time, showering her with expensive gifts and lavish weekends away.The perfect gentleman, Evie would say to reassure me. For a while, I guess it did. I assumed I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, pre-judged the guy unfairly."
"But you didn't." I say it as a statement, but Vaughn hears it as a question.
"I most certainly didn't. I started noticing signs in Evie."
"Like what?"
"She's always been… I don't know if this is correct to say, but… a boss bitch? I mean that in a good way."
I smile. "I understand what you mean."
"She was a force to deal with. I loved it. Always my protector, and when I needed a boost of self-confidence, she was my cheerleader and coach rolled into one. The absolute best, most loving, giving, loyal person I've ever met." His wistful smile fades. "Until he ruined her."
Vaughn explains all the little, at first, ways Evie began changing, dimming her light. Things he noticed because he was so finely attuned to her after a whole lifetime of friendship. I listen but quietly pick up my phone and send a text.
"She practically moved in with Davi, but one day, when she was at our place, I accidentally walked into her bedroom while she was getting changed. I saw her back, covered in bruises. That bastard was beating her, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it."
"Fuck."
"I felt like someone had pinned my hands behind my back. The one time I tried bringing it up, Evie shut it down so fast I was scared to do it again, fearing it would create distance between us at a time when we needed to be strong and rally together." He sighs. "I learned the hard way that even the best best friend in the world is no match for the worst boyfriend. And then…"
"She got pregnant?" I guess.
Vaughn nods. "That was a turning point. I think knowing she was bringing a new life into what I'm sure she knew deep down was a toxic, unhealthy situation clicked something into place for her. She started backing away from Davi. Unfortunately, Davi isn't a man who takes no for an answer. She hid the pregnancy from him for as long as she could, even making up a three-month work trip to America when we really hired a small cabin in the Blue Mountains, waiting for the clock to tick down until she gave birth so that Davi wouldn't find out. But he somehow tracked us down anyway. Personally showed up on our doorstep. In a moment of what I thought was genius at the time, but I was sadly proved very wrong, Evie told him the baby was mine."
"Shit."
"Yeah, shit. He left that day, but the next, when Evie was in town getting groceries, she noticed three men following her. She was only saved by approaching a policeman and begging him for help. I knew then we had a bounty on our heads, so I got us the hell out of there. We stayed in hiding until Mabel was born in a tiny dot of a town in the outback. I'm listed as the father on the birth certificate, and I paid someone all my life savings to forge DNA test results in case that was ever challenged."
"Oh, man." I sink back into the seat and scrub a hand down my face. "You've been through so much."
He shakes his head. "Not as much as Evie. Davi's men found her, killed her, and dumped her body by the side of the road. Theywantedthe police to find her so that it would send a clear message to me—Mabel and I were next. I kept running, making it up this far north. Rove and Leo are my guardian angels, I honestly believe that. I told them a vague outline of what happened, and they gave me a job, and Mabel and I have a small, safe life here. Or so I thought until I saw Davi's men in town earlier."
My phone buzzes on the coffee table. A one-word message flicks up on my screen.Done.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
"I wanted to, but I—I also wanted to ignore it for a little while. What you and I have is the first good thing that's happened to me since Evie was murdered. I didn't want to contaminate it with this awful, awful truth, if that makes sense?"
"It absolutely does." I'm doing the exact same thing myself, actively avoiding properly dissecting the autopsy of my last relationship. "But I can help you."
"You already have. You've done so much. You saved Mabel. And me."
