Page 26 of Shielding his Legacy (Shattered SEALs #7)

Eva sat in the backseat of the state police cruiser, Abby sleeping peacefully in her carrier beside her. New York City was five hours away. Any other time, she might consider that to be a long drive. Today it felt like brief jaunt.

Two state troopers sat in the front seat, a man and a woman, their demeanor telling Eva in no uncertain terms that they felt she was involved in the death of one of their own.

While the detective who’d been killed was part of the NYPD and not the state police, the brotherhood among law enforcement officers was legendary, and not even the presence of a little baby girl seemed to lighten the mood in the vehicle.

Eva did her best to ignore it, which is to say she suffered under the weight of their judgement. To keep herself busy—and because she was slightly terrified of what was to come—she ran over exactly what she needed to do and say when they arrived at police headquarters.

They’d been driving about two hours when they took an exit near Albany. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“Someone wants to talk to you,” came the cryptic reply.

Fear entered her bloodstream like an IV drip.

What if this was the killer, or one of his thugs?

He was a police detective. He probably knew she was riding in this police car right now.

He had influence within the department, possibly even in the state.

Her throat worked. “I don’t want to talk to anyone. I just want to go to headquarters.”

The male officer met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “It will only take a few minutes.”

“Am I under arrest?” she blurted, wondering if she should kick up a fuss. Surely if they were meeting someone who wanted to kill her, she should be kicking and screaming, not just fussing. But how was she supposed to know what to do?

They drove through the city, finally coming to a stop outside what looked like a courthouse.

A man in a navy-blue suit opened the back door on the opposite site from where Eva sat, and got in.

He was middle-aged, with faint wrinkles marking the places where age would one day etch itself deeply into his skin.

Eva’s heart was racing, one hand over Abby’s carrier as if it might shield her daughter from this man. At the same time, the officers in the front seat opened their doors and got out. “Wait!” she called to them.

“They’ll be back in a minute,” said the man in the suit.

“Who are you?” she demanded, fear making her bold. “What do you want with me?”

Reaching into his back pocket, he withdrew not the weapon she feared, but a wallet. He opened it and flashed a badge and ID toward her, a mildly tired expression on his face. “John Weinhauser, U.S. Marshal’s office.”

Her brows snapped together. “U.S. Marshal…”

“That’s right.” He closed the wallet and returned it to his pants pocket, his stare seeming to assess her in a way that reminded her of a parent or fairy godmother.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Miss Livingston.

Not everyone with a badge is on the wrong side of the law.

Some of us are just trying to help people. ”

“How can you help me?”

“Miss Livingston, I don’t believe you did anything wrong.”

She remained silent.

“I think you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something you weren’t supposed to see. That makes you a material witness to an internal affairs investigation that just got a whole lot more complex.”

Still, she said nothing.

He looked down at the baby, then back at Eva. “But producing the photographs you took during the murder and testifying against the perpetrator puts you in grave danger. Have you heard of WITSEC?”

“Witness protection?”

He nodded. “My office is in charge of the witness protection program. In exchange for your testimony and those photographs you took, I’d like to offer you and your daughter placement in our program.”

“Really?”

He smirked kindly. “Yes, Miss Livingston. Really.”

“Just like that? All I have to do is say yes, and you give us new identities and whole new life?”

“That might be a slight oversimplification, but that’s the gist, yes.”

She was smiling now, more relieved than she could have imagined. The nightmare that had started when she went to take a few pictures was officially over. “Where would we go?”

“You would have your choice of several different places. We have people all over the country. You’d be given a new identity, a job—”

“Can you set me up with my own photography business? Just a small one with some basic equipment.”

He nodded. “That can be arranged, sure.”

“And an apartment?”

“Of course.”

She suddenly thought of Gavin. Would he be willing to come with her? Would he be allowed? “What about my daughter’s father?”

He glanced at the baby, then back at Eva. “Is he a… boyfriend?”

“Yes.” It occurred to her that calling him this was also an oversimplification. She chose not to focus on that.

“I’m sorry, but no. Only spouses and immediate family are eligible for placement in the program.”

Eva felt like she’d been slapped. She could be assured of her and Abby’s safety, but only if she was willing to let go of Gavin forever. Things might not even work out between them, but was she prepared to exchange the possibility that they might work out, for the certainty of a never?

He folded his hands in his lap and knitted his fingers together. “I can see that complicates things for you.”

She nodded.

He sighed softly. “Look, we’re three hours away from Manhattan. Why don’t you take that time to think about it. If you decide you want to take me up on my offer, the state troopers will turn around and take you right back here. Sound like a plan?”

Thirty minutes later, Eva was leaning over Abby’s car seat, feeding the baby as tears welled up in her eyes. Sniffling, she wiped her nose on her forearm and wished for a tissue.

“Here.”

Eva lifted her head to find the female officer had tucked a tissue between the bars of the partition that separated them, and Eva took it. “Thank you.”

“It’s a good deal,” she said softly, turning ever-so-slightly in her seat to face Eva. “WITSEC can give you and your baby a fresh start.”

The corners of Eva’s mouth pulled down hard as she remembered running barefooted down the street in Manhattan, an assassin on her heels.

But she remembered other things, too. She remembered her hopes for a future with Gavin, a future that would need to be sacrificed if she took this offer.

“Two days ago, I would have jumped at it.”

“And now?” asked the officer.

“Now I want more.”

The older woman shot her a sympathetic look. “Is it a man?”

Eva nodded.

“Is he the baby’s father?”

Eva nodded again, her eyes burning with unshed tears.

The officer shook her head slowly. “We women never have it easy, do we? I guess the question is, are you willing to risk your safety and your daughter’s wellbeing on the chance that things will work out with this guy?

And is it wise to let this opportunity slip through your fingers for a maybe?

You and your child would be safe. You wouldn’t have to look over your shoulder the rest of your life.

It might not be the way you planned your future, but it could be a good life all the same. ”

Eva heard the echo of thoughts she herself had entertained, platitudes she could see now involved letting go of your dreams. For settling. Not that she was saying safety didn’t sound appealing. Nothing in the world sounded better than that.

Well, one thing sounded better. Gavin in her life and in their daughter’s life.

The chance to be with the only man she’d ever really loved.

“I want more,” she said softly, meeting the officer’s gaze with a certainty she hadn’t felt until that very moment.

She believed Gavin and HERO Force could keep them safe.

Yes, it was a leap of faith, but she believed there was a solid chance for a good outcome.

The officer shrugged and sighed her disapproval before turning back around. “Suit yourself.”