Page 19 of Redemption

“You understand him best,” Evander agrees. “I’ll be here in two-and-a-half days with Finn.”

Lucas fusses on the mat, and I set my coffee on the table to pick him up. I follow Evander to the door, my son tucked against my shoulder. “You feel good about this, right?”

He takes a deep breath and gives me a wry smile. “If this didn’t feel like the best time, we wouldn’t be moving ahead. The window is here, Carys. If we’re doing this, we take it now.”

His brown eyes are full of sincerity and a touch of impatience. The ball of anxiety bouncing in my stomach slows. “Yeah, okay.” I nod. “I want him out.”

He rubs my free shoulder. “Two-and-a-half days. Don’t dwell on the plan. Dwell on what you’re doing once he’s here.”

“You’ll be the one with him?”

“Yes. I hook up with the crew as soon as they’re off US soil. I’ll bring him here.”

We’ve gone over this, but I need this last-minute reassurance. Lucas wiggles in my arms, drawing my attention from Evander.

Jay comes up behind me and shakes his hand. “Looking forward to seeing you and Finn in a few days. Thanks for your work on this.”

A hint of a smile tugs at Evander’s lips. “I’ll see you then.”

Once he’s gone, Lucas squirms and lets out a dissatisfied cry. I need to feed him and get him down for a nap, but I also have to go through the manila envelope from the police with Jay.

Just then, Lena comes in, struggling with grocery bags. Without missing a beat, Jay takes the bags from her and carries them to the kitchen. “I’ll put these away,” he says.

She scans me and Jay. “You’re stressed.”

“He needs fed and a nap, but I also need to talk to Jay.”

“I’ll take him.” Lena heads to the fridge. “He can drink his bottle, and I’ll rock him in your room.”

“You’re a star.” Relief washes over me.

Once I’ve handed him off, I grab the envelope from the table and bring it to the island while Jay puts away the groceries. Sliding the pages out, I scan the police notes and report.

“A bomb?” I frown and run my fingers over the conclusion. I squint at the partial serial number they pulled off the remnants of the device. “A remote trigger? Someone was watching us and set it off?”

“Yeah. The placement of the bomb and the timing of the trigger suggest the explosion was meant to scare rather than kill. The gas leak exacerbated the situation. Police said if there’d been windows or more of a structure, the blast probably would have killed us even though it wasn’t meant to do much damage.” He glances at the door. “Didn’t want to say that part in front of Sofia.”

“Or Lena.” Although Lena’s affair with my father was a difficult pill to swallow, she treats me more like a daughter than my actual mother. Over the years, we’ve grown very close. When Finn and I made the decision to quit the arms business and move to Cape Verde, we thought we left our perils behind. Apparently, danger intends to follow us.

“Is that serial number familiar?” Jay opens a top cupboard to put away canned goods.

I scan the number again, and recognition dawns. “Oh my God. That’s one of ours. From the warehouse in Russia.” When the theft happened, I went over the missing products constantly trying to trace any piece and recover something.

“Yep.” He stuffs the reusable bags under the sink.

“What does that mean?”

He grimaces and spreads his hands along the island across from me. “Someone was here in Cape Verde with at least one product from the warehouse. They intended for the bomb to scare us but not kill us.” He takes a deep breath. “It means you’ve got a target on your back, Carys. Leaving your father’s company hasn’t removed it. And the person doing this? They’re escalating.”

Chapter Nine

Finn

Billythekidfallsinto step beside me out in the yard. I’ve been waiting for his return, but I hoped to be out of here before Hagen came up with option number two. No such luck.

“Hagen’s not very happy with you,” he says.

I chuckle. “You think I give a flying fuck if that guy is pissed at me?” I glance at the kid. “You might not know me better, but Hagen sure as shit does.”

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