Page 6 of Waiting For A Girl Like You (Haven House #4)

Dr. Cohen and Liam had quietly been tossing theories back and forth between them. Rowan had overheard a few, and all held a similar theme—a woman. Babies and families tended to fall into the female’s line of thinking, while males were merely the tools to acquire what they wanted.

Goosebumps skated down Rowan’s forearms, and he double-checked his system to ensure they were recording without issues. The Cohens would likely watch this footage on repeat for days.

“Here we go,” Liam whispered to the screen. “Give us something, you piece of shit.”

Already versed on how to continue if Toby revealed anything, Ben and Simone showed no outward reaction.

“Who?” Ben asked gently. “Who promised?”

Dropping his head to the prison table, Toby slammed his forehead repeatedly on the hard surface.

The prison laptop he was using jostled from the impact, causing the video to flicker, but Rowan wasn’t worried.

The feed would hold. His days of thinking Zanmi was a threat of the highest level to a home or business were gone.

Thinking like that wasn’t good enough. Since the night the women came, he had begun implementing security measures capable of protecting a small country.

Humans weren’t to be trusted. Outside flows of information were never permitted past his defenses.

He had become paranoid, and he wasn’t about to stop until they took every last one of them out.

“No! No! No!” With every scream of denial, Toby slammed his face against the table. Red sprayed across the linoleum, and when he lifted his head again, blood trickled from his nose in a heavy flow, covering his mouth and teeth as he screamed. “Say you’re lying. She promised. Say you’re lying!”

Behind him, the dining room door opened, and Rowan didn’t need to turn to see who was silently slipping into the room. It had taken some pleading from Liam, but Samuel finally relented, agreeing to this scheme.

“Who promised?” Simone tried again, taking on a motherly tone. “Talk to us, boy. You know you can talk to us.”

Toby wiped his nose, blood smearing across his face as he heaved. They were losing him, and this interview wouldn’t last much longer. The guards stayed where they were, not offering Toby help. They were following their orders perfectly, but only because Fairweather money was lining their pockets.

“She hates Evie as much as I love her. Say you’re lying.” Toby rocked in the metal chair. “Say you’re lying. Please. Say you’re lying!”

With his unnatural rage building again, Ben turned the laptop to face only him, and Simone used the moment to sneak away, unable to watch any longer. She went to stand in the room’s corner, keeping her back to them as her shoulders shook with silent tears.

“You keep saying she .” Ben filled the screen, making himself the only thing Toby could see. “Are you talking about Kristina? Michael’s sister? Is that who we’re talking about?”

Michael Sinclair’s sister and nephew had been captured during a raid executed directly before Zanmi sent their women.

As Haven and Samuel’s home had been surrounded, Sinclair had used the distraction to free his nephew, but had been unable to get to his sister.

Kristina Scherer continued to sit in an undisclosed location, a place so secure even Liam and Dr. Cohen weren’t privy to the information.

“Who is she , Toby?” Ben asked again, his tone one Rowan had heard a million times in boardrooms and negotiations. “Is it Kristina?”

“I don’t know who that is,” Toby whimpered. “Why do you keep asking me that?”

“We’re losing him,” Liam aimed the quiet assessment at his father. “It’s time.”

“Kristina is Michael Sinclair’s sister,” Ben explained to Toby while Liam went to speak quietly to Samuel. “She was arrested for—”

“What the fuck does Mike have to do with this?” Toby screamed, reaching a frantic state where the demon inside stood ready and prepared to decimate the enemy. Saliva and blood sputtered from his lips while his coloring seeped into an unnatural shade of purple. “Tell me what that bastard has done.”

“How do you know Michael Sinclair?” Ben held his hand up, refusing to let anyone else over until he had his answer. “You want me to tell you about Evie? Tell me about Sinclair.”

All at once, Toby quieted. Like a switch had been flipped, his head tilted to the side as he absorbed every angle and weakness, a predator preparing to strike. “You’re a fucking liar.”

Ben didn’t bother to deny anything. “How do you know Michael Sinclair?”

“I already told you.” Tobias Miller lunged forward, half lying on the table to hiss directly at the camera. “He’s my family.”

“No, he’s not. I’m your family.”

Maniacal laughter spilled out of Toby. Mouth wide and eyes wild, he roared with deranged glee.

“Well, sometimes the family God gives you isn’t the one you’re meant to keep.

Isn’t that what we say?” Toby shouted as he tried to see past Ben.

“Isn’t that what Devon said, Mama SiSi? That we were your family?

That you would always protect us and take care of us? ”

In the corner, Simone covered her ears, tears streaming down her face. Jamison hurried over to wrap her in her arms, holding the woman who raised her as a sob tore loose.

“I was your family, Mama SiSi.” Toby’s smile only grew when he heard Simone’s pain. Giving his bloody lips an exaggerated lick, he winked at Ben. “CeCe was your family.”

“Samuel,” Dr. Cohen whispered. “We need to get this back on track.”

Remaining quiet the entire time, Samuel watched Rowan’s screen. “This doesn’t feel right.”

Firmly pressed back against her husband’s chest, Evie turned in his embrace to rest a hand on Samuel’s cheek. Her pregnant belly hindered her from getting too close, and she teetered up on her tiptoes to look him in the eye. “I can do this. Trust me.”

“Every ounce of trust I have is in you,” Samuel whispered his reply, although a little louder than before. “But this is insane. ”

“Samuel, you know she can do it.” Liam came over to lead Evie to the table, but Samuel refused to let go of his wife. Rowan couldn’t blame him. He was a hair’s breadth away from losing his shit entirely, and he couldn’t imagine what Samuel was going through. “It’s time.”

Ben stood abruptly, which only made Toby laugh. Samuel’s father was about as happy with this next part as Samuel was, yet understood it had to be done.

“Give me a fucking minute,” Samuel snarled when Liam tried to take Evie by the hand again. He spoke at full volume, and the mic picked up his words. “This is probably a waste of time.”

Hearing Samuel’s voice, Toby’s sadistic smile widened until it consumed his face. “Sammy?”

No one spoke, and the room waited to see what Samuel would do.

“Come on, Sammy,” Toby taunted in a singsong voice. “Come talk to me.”

Evie turned around, and with a calming breath, she tried to take a step, but Samuel stopped her. “No,” she whispered. “This is for me to do.”

“Sammy, Sammy, bo-bammy. Banana-fana fo-fammy.” Toby slouched in his chair, dropping his head back as if bored. “Fee-fi-mo-mammy. Sammy.”

With her brave face on, Evangeline Fairweather silently made her way to the seat across from the laptop. Toby remained oblivious to her arrival, his gaze locked on the ceiling. Once in front of the camera, she said nothing, allowing him to finish.

Laughing still when his head dropped, Toby nearly fell out of his chair when he saw the woman he loved. There was an immediate shift in his demeanor, and he straightened himself, trying to look presentable.

“Hey.” Toby snuck in closer to get a better view, fixing his hair as best he could, even with the shackles limiting his movements. “Hey, Evie.”

“Hello, Toby.”

Liam moved to stand in front of Samuel, giving him his back in case he needed to block his friend from running over to his wife. Samuel couldn’t handle having Evie upset or scared, and since the attack on their home and family, the paranoid state he lived in had only been amplified.

Surprising them all, Evie didn’t show an ounce of fear. Rowan wasn’t sure what he expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t Evie being the brave one. With an icy stare in place, the only hint of emotion coming off her was annoyance.

And the entire day was working out in their favor.

None of them could have asked for a better setup.

Behind Evie, the dining hall’s high windows allowed the fall skies to roll past and serve as a backdrop to the oaks and floral gardens waving in the cool autumn breeze.

It had been Liam’s idea to position the interview here, with the grand finale being Evie.

He had wanted Toby’s last look at the outside world to be everything the man would never have again—the woman and home he’d left behind so many years ago.

“I knew they were lying,” Toby spoke softly as if only he and Evie were in the room. “I would know if something happened to you. I would feel it.”

Evie folded her hands on the table. “Women came to my home, Toby. They broke in with knives and had to be chased away by police.”

“They would never hurt you.”

“Scaring me is as good as hurting me.”

“No. It’s just sometimes…” Toby scooted forward, sinking into a childlike state. “Her selfishness gets in the way. These episodes never last long, and she’ll snap out of it soon.”

“Who is she?” Evie didn’t falter, holding strong. “Are you talking about Michael Sinclair’s sister?”

“What? No. I didn’t even know Mike had a sister. And why does everyone keep asking about him?” Toby snickered as if she’d told him a joke. “I mean, he’s a good guy and all that, but I hear he’s become a little unhinged since I got put in here.”

It was Evie’s turn to snicker. “A little unhinged? Toby, he blows people up for fun and came here to hurt us.”

Toby went so pale that the secondary laptop running a thermal scan registered the drop in body temperature. It was something Dr. Cohen wanted to do during the interview, but Rowan didn’t know what good the data would be in a situation like this.

“Is this another lie?” Toby demanded, his eyes searching Evie’s. “I didn’t think he would go there without us.”

“Oh, he came here.” Evie’s bottom lip trembled with outrage, her nose scrunching tight as she fought not to cry. “He came here, and he beat Simone and Annabeth. Then he tried to kidnap Jamison. ”

“Mike wouldn’t do that.”

“And then he sent women here to die, and more to my home to kill me and my little girls.” A single tear fell, rolling down Evie’s freckled cheeks. “They wanted my baby.”

Toby’s gaze dropped, finally landing on her pregnant belly peeking over the top of the table. He leaned back, all the excitement over seeing her dissolving into an empty stare. “Congratulations,” he deadpanned. “Are you having a boy or a girl?”

Evie smiled at Samuel standing behind the laptop, looking dazzling and radiant in her maternal happiness. It was all an act, and after this was over, Rowan hoped someone had an Oscar to present to her.

“A boy or a girl? Hmm, I don’t know yet.” Evie sat up straight to speak in a condescending tone. “But what I can tell you is, I’m having my husband’s child.”

Toby’s nostrils flared, and Evie smirked. “In our perfect home, where we live happily,” she continued, packing each word with malice. “And where Samuel has me whenever he wants.”

Ben lowered himself into a chair next to Dr. Cohen. “What the hell is she doing?”

Dr. Cohen glanced over the top of his glasses at Samuel and Liam. “I’m going to assume she’s engaging in a plan those two concocted and didn’t bother to let anyone else in on.”

Rowan remained silent, also in on the plan, but not about to let Dr. Cohen know.

The idea was to enrage Toby enough that he would slip and reveal details that would help them determine where to head next.

The deadest of ends had been reached, with wall after wall rising to greet them at every turn.

Nothing was panning out. None of their theories.

None of the leads they gained from the raid.

It was driving them insane, but none more so than Liam.

And the trail for Sinclair had grown cold, the man slipping off into silence after freeing his nephew.

Claudia and her family were also missing.

In the aftermath of the women coming to Haven, Claudia’s home was found empty, with no one knowing where she and her partner would have gone with their daughter.

Before the raids, Damon had been enraged over Parker’s lack of concern and threatened to snatch his older sister and niece to keep them safe.

They could only hope that was the case, and that Damon had taken Claudia and Madison to hide with him and Emily at an undisclosed location.

“Stop it,” Toby snarled in disgust. “Samuel can’t love you. He’s not capable of the emotion.”

Evie laid a hand on her belly, and Samuel tried to shove Liam aside. She had already been ordered to rest before all this bullshit with Sinclair, and from what Rowan had heard, things had gone from bad to worse in the baby department.

“He’s very capable of it.” Rubbing circles on her abdomen, Rowan could tell Evie was fighting the urge to wince. He recalibrated the feed, letting it freeze briefly so Toby wouldn’t see her masking the pain. “I mean, at least I’m not just another woman in a harem.”

She sounded disappointed and a tad jealous, which is exactly what Liam wanted.

By the time Rowan unfroze the feed, Toby was buying into it. Locked away for five years, his instincts had dulled, and while it was sick to watch this murderer dissolve into a puddle at the smallest hint of affection from Evie, it was playing into their plans perfectly.

“Don’t say that.” Toby licked his lips, thoughts of an impossible future with Evie likely rolling through his head. “I would have given her up. I would have given them all up. They were nothing.”

“Her?” Evie’s upper lip curled in jealous disgust. “Who are you talking about?”

Toby’s eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but Evie. “No one.”

“Oh, so you’re going to lie to me?” She slid her chair back, the legs scraping on the hardwood floors, giving the move just enough impact.

“You know what? I don’t have time for this.

I will not sit here and listen to more lies.

This whole time, you’ve said that you loved me.

How can you love me if there’s a her ? And don’t try to make excuses.

Love—real love—doesn’t require excuses.”

Frantic over the idea of Evie leaving, Toby panicked. “Brandy!” he rushed out. “Oh, God, please don’t hate me, but her name is Brandy.”

Hitting the jackpot, Evie lowered herself into the chair again. “Tell me about this,” she wrinkled her nose, “Brandy person.”

“She’s my wife.”