Page 53 of Shielding his Legacy
“Oh God.” Snapping out of her shock-induced trance, her face crumpled. “Oh, no.”
Gavin pulled mother and child tightly into his embrace as the first uniformed officers appeared at the end of the corridor. “Shh…” he soothed her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
28
The first daffodil was clawing its way through the dirt by the front steps of Gavin’s cabin, a defiant little thing with a solid green stem, prepared to battle snow if it needed to.
Gavin watched it from the porch, one foot propped on the rail, baby monitor hissing faint static beside him. The mountains were still frosted with snow in the distance, but the air smelled like wet soil and thawing pine. Spring was near.
Inside, Eva was singing something soft and tuneless, her voice low and husky with sleep. Abby had cut a new tooth this week—God help them all—and had decided 5 a.m. was the best time to let the world know about it.
He smiled, remembering the gummy grin the baby gave him even in mid-wail. She looked at him like he invented sunlight. Every coo, every shriek, every eager crawl across the cabin floor—she lit up when he entered the room, arms flailing and eyes shining with pure, undiluted joy.
He’d never earned something so good in his whole damn life.
The crunch of tires on gravel made him turn. A battered black SUV pulled into the drive, sun flashing across the windshield. Razorback.
Gavin stood as the door opened and the big man unfolded himself from the driver’s seat, surprised but not unhappy when Marina emerged from the passenger’s side. They’d been meeting twice a week for virtual appointments online, and while he wasn’t one to count his chickens before they hatched, he had to admit he was feeling more in control of his life than he had in years.
Eva stepped out behind Gavin, baby monitor in one hand, burp cloth draped over her shoulder. “Ian,” she greeted him with a smile, crossing to give him a kiss on the cheek. She opened her arms wide to Marina, and the two of them embraced. They’d become fast friends after the injury Marina sustained while pretending to be Eva.
“Hope you don’t mind us showing up unannounced,” Razorback said, the deference he showed Eva at complete odds with his hulking form.
Shaking his hand, Gavin said, “Not at all. What can we do for you two?”
Razorback handed over a thick folder. “NYPD wrapped up the internal investigation. They say Jacoby and the dead detective were acting alone. No systemic corruption. No mob connections. No one pulling strings above their heads.”
“I just came along for the ride,” said Marina. “I wanted to see this place for myself.”
Gavin had told her much about his cabin and his new life with Eva. He took the file, flipping it open to scan the top few pages. “How sure are we?”
Razorback nodded. “Video testimony, email trails. With Eva’s positive ID of the detective as the man who chased herfrom the safehouse, it looks airtight. They’re calling it case closed.”
“And you're calling it...?”
“Good. Moto double-checked their work. I don’t believe there’s any remaining threat to you two over the Jacoby incident.”
With a nod, Gavin said, “That’s good enough for me.”
Razorback and Marina refused Gavin’s offer to stay for supper and headed back to civilization. Eva didn’t say anything until the engine noise faded down the hill. Then she sighed, deep and low, and leaned her shoulder against Gavin’s.
“It’s weird,” she said. “I’ve been here so long I can’t tell if this is real life or some long, blurry dream.”
He kissed the top of her head. “It’s real.”
She looked down at the baby monitor, then up at him. “So, I guess I should think about getting my own place. I mean… we don’t need to stay together anymore.”
He didn’t move.
“Unless you want to,” she added, quieter now.
The wind rustled the trees. Inside, the baby started babbling—nonsense syllables that sounded suspiciously like “Dada.”
Gavin turned to her fully. “Want to? Eva, I bought a damn crib.”
“You did,” she whispered, smiling now.
“I bought diapers in bulk. I sang a song to Abby about poop this morning. I’m not letting you go find some one-bedroom walkup just because we’re no longer on the run.”
