He was here.
In my arms.
I ruined everything.
O, Madonna mia…what had I done?
Before I could decide whether to rip the woman a new hole, or perhaps show her a bit of empathy, the air shifted.
Energy crackled along my back.
The room grew tense as the living storm approached. A beastly shadow stretched across the floor, ready to swallow mine. Panic surged through me, shooting to my throat. I clutched Luca tightly. This might be it. The only time I was able to hold him.
My secret was exposed.
I’d played my hand too soon, exposed myself to the beast.
The only option was to fall to my knees and beg for mercy.
And if Liam gave it, there were still the facts of the case before me. It was entirely possible I was going to go to jail for this outburst. It was supposed to be a closed adoption, and yet, here I was breaking and entering, holding the boy I planned to kidnap.
Those thoughts raced through my head, but the deep, masculine rumble that shook the room brought a chilling calm. “What will it cost to take the boy?”
The poor civilian mother screamed. She clutched her throat and fumbled with her fingers on the phone.
Cavolo! She was going to call the police.
It was all over!
It never had a chance to begin.
Pain cracked through my ribs, and I couldn’t breathe past the sob building inside me.
Liam brushed past me, taking quick steps, and plucked the device from Linda’s hands.
“The boy doesn’t belong to you,” he said. “Especially if what my wife witnessed was true, and you put him in danger.”
The woman burst into tears and sank into the armchair—a creamy, hand-crafted, expensively designed chair.
“I’m going to ask again,” Liam said, squatting in front of her, hands folded around her phone, elbows resting on his knees. “What will it cost to take the boy and bring him back to his birth mother?”
My breath hitched in my throat. Liam had heard the truth.
He…wasn’t angry. No! He was suggesting that Luca come back to me. There was no way I heard him correctly!
I took a step forward.
“I don’t know,” the woman said. “I never wanted to be a mom, but it was on my husband’s five-year plan. When we couldn’t conceive—which wasn’t a problem with me, although he refused to get tested—we settled for adoption. I’ve done the best I could. I swear I’m not a bad mom.”
Linda was hysterical. She was rambling. She was miserable.
“No,” I agreed. “You’re not a bad mom. I’ve seen you take good care of him.”But you don’t love him.
“My lawyer will be here any minute,” Liam said, rising. “She’ll walk us through the situation.”
The woman nodded numbly, staring into space.
This wasn’t real. Any moment I would wake and find it was just a dream.
