Sasha’s chest tightened. Harper would never know a father’s love. Mike was gone forever, and Sasha couldn’t imagine a future in which she met another man she’d choose to share her life—or her daughter—with.
“She’s hungry,” she murmured to the pretty blonde with the big, winking diamond on her ring finger.
“Yep. Some things a mother just knows.” London paused. “Listen, I realize the choice in front of you is gut-wrenching. In your shoes, I’d be falling apart. I love my husbands more than life…but the love a woman feels for her child is something else altogether, pure and unbreakable.”
Sasha nodded, too close to tears to speak. She’d been turning this dilemma over in her head for hours. She felt tied up in knots.
London laid a hand over hers. “Your daughter will be safe with us. I’ll be with her. Javier and Xander are protectors, and I guarantee their first call once we leave here will be to Xander’s bestie, Logan. He’s a former Navy SEAL with twin daughters of his own. Logan will fix us up with the best damn bodyguards in the state. No one will let anything happen to Harper.”
Though that eased her mind some, Sasha still hesitated, biting her lip. “All that would turn your life upside down. And the expense?—”
“Sasha, Nick once helped my husbands and me in desperate times. I wouldn’t be alive today if that man hadn’t stepped in. We can never repay him. This is the one and only favor he’s ever asked of us. You and Harper are important to him, so you’re important to us. Besides, your daughter is absolutely precious. It will be a privilege to keep her safe while she recovers.”
Sasha was running out of reasons to refuse except the thought of being separated from her baby wrenched her heart. But refusing the Santiagos’ offer wouldn’t be best for her daughter, just easier for her own peace of mind. “You’re not worried about Dulce getting sick?”
“I can keep the girls apart until Harper is better. Frankly, that’s one of the perks of having two husbands.”
A smile flitted across London’s glowing face as if she paused to remember some of the other undoubtedly pleasurable perks of being married to two handsome, rich men.
Sasha cast a glance at Nick. He watched her intently. At times, he seemed ruthless, like the hardened criminal she’d expected. And sometimes, he didn’t seem like a bad guy at all. He was definitely dangerous; Mike hadn’t been wrong about that. But even with Nick’s audacious sexual demands, he didn’t seem dangerous to her. And if she was honest, the memory of him on top of her, pinning her down, gaze penetrating hers, made her breath catch.
God, she was in way over her head. The situation—Clifford, the danger, Harper’s illness, Nick’s demands, her own crazy attraction to him—was spinning beyond her control. She had to start making some decisions now. Dithering could get everyone killed.
“Let us watch Harper for you,” London implored, then cast a sidelong glance across the room. “You and Nick are up to your eyeballs in trouble. Harper needs rest, and we owe Nick. You’re the only other thing I’ve ever seen him care about. You need him…and I think he needs you.”
Sasha resisted that notion. “I don’t have anything to give him.”
Except the one thing he’d demanded.
“You do.” London didn’t spell it out, just looked as if she knew the truth and thought Sasha was being a coward for not facing it.
“I’m helping him take Clifford down. That’s all he needs.”
“Don’t you want revenge, too? That crooked bastard killed your husband.”
Of course Sasha wanted vengeance for Mike, but she owed her daughter a normal childhood. So far, all Harper had known was being homeless, dirt poor, and afraid. Maybe…if she and Nick managed the seemingly impossible, her baby could someday have a home and toys and a safe school in a lovely neighborhood. Maybe Harper would forget all about this terrible time in their lives.
“All right. I’ll go.” Sasha’s voice shook. “Harper can stay with you.”
With a sigh of relief, London laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Thank goodness. I know that was a tough decision. I promise, we’ll do everything in our power to protect her.”
“I believe you.” And Sasha did. Something about London’s demeanor told her the woman had overcome devastation. Because London understood pain and suffering, she would never heap them on anyone else.
The blonde hugged her. Then Sasha heard London’s soft voice in her ear. “Nick needs you in other ways. Don’t be afraid of whatever’s between you. He’s a good guy with a crappy past who got framed for a vicious crime. What he needs most isn’t your help, but your caring.”
Before Sasha could reply, London backed away and cozied up next to Harper on the floor. Blinking, Sasha stared. What could she say? The only thing between her and Nick right now was Mike’s missing evidence and her agreement to be his mistress for the month.
She lifted her gaze to the man. A tingling wave of awareness spread through her. Hunger darkened his face. Her heart careened wildly. Would he want the first installment of his payment tonight?
“Sasha?” he asked, glancing at London playing with Harper on the blanket.
“She’s not coming with us.” Sasha knew she would fall apart when the time came to leave her baby—her most important reason for living—behind. But it might save her daughter’s life.
“Good.” He nodded her way, then glanced out the window. “It will be dark in thirty minutes. We’ll leave then.”
That meant she had to pack up the clothes Nick had washed for Harper, along with the pretty new things the Santiagos had apparently brought and her new medicine. In less than five minutes, she was handing a bag to London, then pulling Harper into her lap.
God, she ached at the thought of leaving her baby. Again, Sasha asked herself what kind of mother would leave her daughter, but the answer was simple: the sort who wanted her child to live.
