Page 6 of Redemption

Rosa gets him to go through it again, and we clap. His first laugh, his first roll from front to back and now from back to front, his first tooth, his first solid food—I’ve gotten those moments thanks to Finn’s sacrifice. So every milestone is a flood of happiness followed by the bittersweet realization Finn made each possible.

“Go on.” Lena ushers Luciana from the kitchen.

She rings the bell on the island. “Lunchtime!”

Every Sunday, Luciana helps Lena make brunch. When Rosa lifts my son into her arms, I have to quell a moment of panic. She’s strong for her age and careful, but he’s a sturdy baby and not exactly light. At the highchair, I take him from her to get him buckled in. His tray is already filled with Lucas-sized bites. There isn’t a day where I’m not grateful for the village I built in this house with these people.

I slide the tray onto his highchair and smile at Lena. “Thank you.”

“Anything for that toothy little face.” She runs a finger down Lucas’s chubby cheek.

The front door opens, and Jay sheds his sandals before coming into the kitchen. “Just in time.” His voice is light, but there’s tension around his eyes.

Sofia and I exchange a glance. I brace myself for more bad news about either the hotel or the casino.

“When lunch is done, girls, why don’t we set up the sunshade on the beach and have a play?” Sofia says.

He kisses Sofia’s temple. “Thanks, babe. When Carys and I are finished talking, I’ll come join you.”

“Whenever you get a chance.” She pats his cheek. “I know there’s a lot going on.”

While Jay and I have spent significant time together over the years, Sofia and his daughters were more of a shadow than a fully-fledged part of our interactions. With them living here, I see their family dynamics up close and personal. The care they have for each other amazes me. As a kid, my house was fraught with tension. I chalked my parents’ problems up to my father’s affairs and my brother’s long illness and death. But now I wonder whether my mother’s desperation to escape her first husband hadn’t been the main problem. Had she ever loved my father? Or was he the lesser of two evils?

Chatter happens around me, but I’m lost in my own thoughts. When it’s time to clean up, Lena shoos me away. “Go put him down for his nap.” She nods at Lucas.

“Are you sure? I feel like I never help.”

Lena laughs. “You raise your miracle baby, and I’ll keep the kitchen clean.” She winks. “Least I can do for giving me a house filled with so much happiness.”

Happiness.Tears spring from my eyes, and Lena rubs my back in soothing circles.

“You’ll get your happiness.”

“That’s just it,” I say. “Iamhappy and then I feel guilty.”

“He wanted you to be happy. Seeing what you’ve built here, he’d never begrudge you a full life.” She gives me a side hug. “And soon, God willing, he’ll be here too.”

Finn doesn’t want God to have anything to do with his fate. He hasn’t lived a holy life. “I hope so.” We’re going to need more than hope to see our plan through. As Evander keeps reminding us, in an escape this complicated, there are a lot of moving pieces. If even one of them misses their slot, the whole jailbreak could fall apart. Depending on whether we’re in the planning or execution stage, Finn could be moved to the supermax prison after all. If that happens, Evander says it’ll take years before he’ll be able to maneuver Finn into a position to try for another break.Years.

After washing his face and hands, I pluck Lucas out of the highchair and head to the master bedroom at the back of the bungalow. At the moment, the master acts as our sleeping quarters and the place where I do the most worrying. When the renovations on the house went so well, I expected the same outcome with the casino and hotel. With my son tucked into the crook of my neck, I rock him to sleep. Nothing better than baby snuggles. My heart stretches in my chest. I may not have everything, but I’ve got him, and that’s a lot.

Jay clicks through his phone, a frown on his face.

“Are you going to tell me?” I ease into a high-backed chair across from the couch.

“Not much to tell. Everything is delayed. Shipment is stuck in customs. Some permits are on hold, and they’re the ones we need to move forward.”

I sigh. “Can we throw more money at it?”

Jay laughs. “’Course we can. But I’m starting to wonder if that’s part of the problem. We encounter an obstacle and out comes the checkbook. This place is small, and I’m thinking they’re putting the squeeze on us to see how much cash they can bleed out before we stop paying.”

“So, we stop gushing money?” I sit up straighter in my chair.

“I don’t know. When I ask around, I get the”—he rubs his fingers together in the universal symbol for cash—“from everyone. But they also give me a sly smile, which makes me believe we’re being hosed.” He tosses his phone onto the couch. “It’s frustrating, but if we hold off on paying anyone for a while, we send a message. We don’t pay anybody until something starts to go our way.”

“No one?” My instinct is to disagree. The ruthlessness I sometimes need doesn’t run very deep in me. What would Finn do? Probably start shooting people in the knees until we got the answers. Not my style. Money is a powerful motivator in either direction. As much as I don’t want to create bad blood here, Jay is right. We can’t keep going on as we’ve been doing.

“No one. Not a cent comes out of any account for anyone until there’s movement. We’re not a bank, and people on Boa Vista need to stop treating us like we are.”

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