Page 5 of Engaging his Enemy
She stood, her attention catching on the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. The dog took off, barking furiously as adrenaline doused Davina’s bloodstream. She hastily threw the cutting board into the sink and wiped her hands on her jeans, looking around the kitchen to see what he would see.
It hadn’t changed much since he’d lived here—a fresh coat of paint, new countertops. It was the house where Zach was raised, and she suddenly felt every bit the interloper. She headed for the door, hoping the barking dog wouldn’t wake up Wyatt. “Stop it, Piggy. It’s okay.”
She saw the red sports car before she saw him, standing out against a threatening purple sky and as out of place in this neighborhood as a vehicle could be. She picked up the dog and opened the door, a wave of vertigo washing over her as Zach got out of the car and stood.
She held her breath. Calling him had been an act of desperation, a necessary evil to help his brother. But she didn’t want this man here any more than she wanted the devil himself to roll up to the curb, and she certainly didn’t want him anywhere near her child.
Even still, she was aware of the traitorous rush of blood down low in her abdomen, the heat in her cheeks. At least her mind knew not to trust this man, her body’s reaction be damned, and she cursed the desperation that had made her bring up Wyatt on the phone.
But shewasdesperate. Ben’s freedom hung in the balance, and whatever his faults, he was certainly not a murderer. He’d been an integral part of her life and Wyatt’s since before the boy was even born, and for that she was grateful. If she could repay even a fraction of what he’d done for them, she owed him that.
She was hyperaware of Wyatt upstairs in his room. The sudden arrival of his father was bound to be confusing for the boy on the best of days, and with the charges against Ben, this was drastically far from being the best of anything.
Zach walked up to the house, removing his sunglasses as he went. Damn, he looked good, his black hair tousled and thick, those eyes that had once seen into her soul now narrowed at her in scrutiny. He didn’t want to be here. That was perfectly clear from his body language alone.
She hated the way his presence made her feel, like a piece of garbage he couldn’t even bother to pick up and throw away. A lifetime ago, she’d lit up whenever he was near. Now, she could barely keep her chin in the air.
She forced it a notch higher as he climbed the steps, and she found her voice. “You came.”
“You told me I have a child. What did you think I was going to do? Ask you to email pictures?”
She was struck by his height, an inch or two taller than the last time she’d seen him, though he’d already fathered the child in her womb. That was how Wyatt’s life had begun, and while she couldn’t be sorry for the existence of her son, the older and wiser Davina could see just how young they’d been. A part of her ached for them both, and what life would bring.
She opened the screen door and held it. “Come in.” Piggy growled in her arms, and she loved that dog more in that moment than in all the ones before. Davina led the way to the living room and gestured for him to sit down. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Was it your idea to call me?”
“It was Ben’s. He says without your help, it’s an open-and-shut case.”
He crossed his arms, the corded muscles standing out against his tan skin. “How could you not tell me, Davina?”
He was angry. She couldn’t blame him for that. Long ago she’d made a decision to keep her son’s existence a secret from his father, and it was time to pay the price for the choice she’d made. She moved to the well-worn corner of a leather sofa and sat. “I was going to tell you at basic training. That was why I went.”
So much was tied up in this story. So many thoughts, so much angst.Shame.That’s what she was feeling. God, this was even harder than she’d feared it would be. “Can you sit down, please? You’re making me nervous.” He sat in the matching leather chair, which was so rarely used, it looked brand new. She took a deep breath. “I went there to tell you about the baby. You were angry with me, do you remember?”
“Of course I do.”
She winced at the disdain in his voice. The dog hopped off her lap. “It was all I could do to get you to listen to me.”
“We went to lunch.”
She nodded, remembering the scene. She’d been nauseated, the smell of Zach’s burger doing nothing to quell her stomach. “You thanked me.” Her eyes stung sharply, surprising her. Damned if she would let him see her cry. “You said you’d been ready to give up everything for me—the Navy, your dreams of becoming a SEAL—and that you were glad you’d caught me with your brother, so you could be free.”
His gaze was steely, reflecting no emotion, just as it had been that day. She could remember the pain of her plans slipping away, her hopes for a reconciliation, that maybe they could be a family. He hated her, and nothing she could possibly say would change that.
“You said there was nothing for you in this town,” she continued. “That you would have become a used car salesman like your father. That you’d have been a loser, just like Ben.” She shook her head at that. “Your words, not mine.”
“Sorry if I badmouthed your future husband.”
So he knew. A weight slipped off her shoulders. At least she wouldn’t have to confess that, too. “He’d asked me just before I went to see you. He knew about the baby.” She stared, unseeing. “I had a choice. I could tell you I was pregnant, taking away everything you ever wanted and tying us together forever, or I could let you go and marry Ben. I could have a chance at a happy life with a man who loved me.”
“So you lied.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Fuck you, Davina.” He stood and began to pace. “It wasn’t your choice to make. You had no right to take my child away from me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “To be raised by my brother, of all people!”
“Ben has been a tremendous help.” She hated to hear him talk about Ben like he was worthless. “But he didn’t raise Wyatt. We didn’t get married after all.”
