Deliver (Deliver 1)

Carolyn tucked her hands behind her elbows. “He told me his son chose the name.” She shrugged stiffly. “I guess my husband named her after you.” She blinked away.

Van named her. She was sure of it. A bloom of warmth curled through her chest, and her lungs filled with a deep, content breath. “Can I see her? Is she here?” Hope bottled up inside of her, quickening her pulse.

“Yes, of course.” Carolyn rose and left the room.

She clutched her chest. “Oh my God, Josh. OhmyGodOhmyGod. Pinch me.” She swallowed rapidly, light-headed and giddy, gulping deep breaths. Her hands shook over the front of her cotton dress, straightening it. She combed fingers through her hair. Should she brush the strands over her scar?

He hooked an arm around her, touched his lips to her cheek, and chuckled softly. “Stop fidgeting. You’re breathtaking. Livana will adore you.”

She leaned her forehead against his. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

The door opened, and she stopped breathing.

CHAPTER 45

Liv’s heartbeat boomed through her body. She leaned forward in the chair, her Hello strangled.

Huge brown eyes scanned the room and collided with hers. Livana blinked, tilted her head. A dimple appeared in her pink cheek and a beautiful, shy smile stretched across her face.

She’d waited six years for that moment, imagined it every day, and never expected one smile to connect her to life so completely. It was a floating sensation, as if all her past and future failures were lifted. Her soul had everything it needed right there in that room. She tightened her fingers around Josh’s hand.

Livana entered before Carolyn, her dark hair swishing around her shoulders in long waves. Ladybugs embroidered her t-shirt, and her tiny hand clutched a mini-tablet, which connected to the ear buds poking from her ears.

“Livana?” Carolyn closed the door and regarded Liv. “I’m sorry. She’s got this thing with music. Always singing.”

Josh’s thumb brushed over her fingers, and a sense of unity drifted through her, balancing her pulse into a slow, happy beat.

Livana approached, her mouth moving silently, her knees bouncing to some unknown melody. She paused a hug away, and her delicate chin raised. Her lips parted as she stared into Liv’s eyes.

Carolyn tugged an ear bud from Livana’s ear and sat two chairs away. “Livana, this is Liv and Josh.”

A tentative hand reached toward Liv’s face with starts and stops until tiny fingers brushed her scar. Too soon, the gentle touch fell away.

She couldn’t breathe, her throat too thick. She gathered her voice. “Have you seen a mark like this before?” She tapped her scar. Carolyn wouldn’t know why she was asking.

Livana shook her head. “Nah uh.”

It was a sad confirmation. Livana had never met her father. Liv hunched down to peer at her dainty features. “What are you listening to?”

Those brown eyes widened, fringed with Van’s thick lashes. “Katy Perry. She’s really pretty. Like you.”

Oh God, that sweet voice. A tingle burned her nose. “May I?” She gestured at the dangling ear bud.

Livana nodded enthusiastically and shifted to sit in her lap. Carolyn watched with tense shoulders, but a small smile touched her lips.

Liv’s pulse thrummed in her throat as she released Josh’s hand. She lifted the beautiful girl, hugging her close and adjusting the ear buds. One in her ear, the other in Livana’s. A tiny finger swiped through Katy Perry songs on the tablet and selected “Unconditionally.”

The tune clapped through the ear buds. When Livana’s vocals launched, strong and perfectly pitched, a shiver crept over Liv’s skin, raising the hairs on her nape. She sought Josh’s eyes and found him watching her, his arm propped on the table, a knuckle resting against his lips. Behind his hand, the corners of his mouth curved, his gaze warm with affection.

The chorus kicked in, and she joined Livana’s voice in a higher octave, their tones harmonizing as if they’d sung together for years. They watched each other, smiling, laughing when Liv stumbled over the words.

When the song finished, Livana flashed a toothy grin. “You sing good. Let’s do another one.” She swiped the screen on her tablet.

Carolyn pressed her fingers to her lips, her eyes watery. “Well.” She smoothed her skirt and gave a shaky smile. “That explains Livana’s beautiful voice.”

Liv felt taller, stronger. She’d passed on something of herself, something that was considered beautiful. And she’d done it without meeting her or touching her. Her heart froze then pounded with overwhelming wonderment.

A dozen Katy Perry songs later, Livana said goodbye with her arms wrapped around Liv’s neck.

“Would you like to see Liv and Josh again?” Carolyn asked.

Liv’s heartbeat thrummed heavily, sluggishly. Ripping Livana from the only mother she’d ever known would be so damned selfish. As badly as Liv wanted to demand custody, no one would benefit but herself.

A tingling sensation fluttered in her belly. She wasn’t a self-serving monster. Not anymore.

Livana grinned, looking up at Carolyn with love and trust. “I’ll bring the music.”

Carolyn clasped her hand. “I bet they’ll come see you whenever you want.”

“Thank you,” Liv mouthed to Carolyn.

Two hours later—and after a stop behind a deserted building where she thanked Josh passionately for coming with her—they walked into his parents’ house. Actually, she danced. She wiggled her hips, bumping into his as he walked. Her heartbeat drummed in her chest. A light-hearted feeling dispersed through her body, loosening her muscles. She was high on laughter, and his beautiful smile and playful shoves spurred her elation as she spun around him, rejuvenated by the best day of her life.

As they flitted around one another through the sitting room, his hands tackled her ribs, wrenching a laughing scream from her lungs. She pivoted away from him and collided with the hard, narrowed stare of Mr. Carter.

He stood in the kitchen doorway, his distaste evident in the pressed line of his lips. “This was in the mailbox.” He handed her a confidential envelope, addressed to Liv Reed in typed font. No postage stamp. No return address. Her stomach tumbled.

Josh led her to his room and closed the door. His hard jawline sawed side-to-side. “I don’t think I can handle any more surprises.” He paced the small room, pivoting between the spartan furnishings. A twin bed with a handmade quilt. A dresser with a bottle of aftershave. Shelves lined the walls displaying years of football trophies. He stopped in front of her, crossed his arms, and waited.

Adrenaline flared through her veins, firing her brain to act. She sat on the bed, tore the seal, and slid out a single letter. The name, address, and phone number of an international bank in the Cayman Islands printed across the top. The body of the letter included three lines.

Liv Reed

Account number 00145481720

Balance $6,000,000

CHAPTER 46

A flush of dizziness swam through Liv’s head.

The mattress shifted. Josh sat beside her, his hand curling around her wrist, angling the paper. “Am I reading this right?”

“Hand me the phone.” Her voice trembled.

She called the toll-free number, confirmed the account, and disconnected.

He rose from the bed and resumed pacing. “Why would Mr. E put his money in your name?”

She stared at the letter, the words blurry. He’d put the house and everything else in her fake name. He and Van had been ghosts in the slave business. She was the face and the name connected to the entire operation. “So I could take the fall?” Her chest pinched. “But someone personally delivered this to your parents’ mailbox.”

His mouth slackened, voicing her assumption. “Van.”

/>   Van. He’d spent seven years trying to break her, and it had only taken him a few minutes of near-death honesty to make amends. She’d forgiven him then. She didn’t need the money to mend things between them. “There were seven transactions, at least a million each. He probably kept a portion.” She sucked in a breath. “Regardless, I can’t accept it.”

He stared down at her, his fists on his hips. “Why the hell not?”

“Eight lives, including yours—” she ground her teeth, her voice rising “—were torn apart for this money.”

He crouched between her legs, tugged the letter from her fist, and set it on the bed. “Nine people, Liv. You’re one of us. And you know our lives are better for it.” He placed his palm beneath her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek. “My life is so much more damned meaningful. Because of you.”

Her head ached and her chest squeezed. She rubbed the middle of her forehead. What were her options? She couldn’t send the money back. She could donate it to charity. Or… “I can divide it among the eight of you.”

He searched her eyes, his hand lowering to tap his fingers on her thigh. “You’ll divide it between the nine of us, and I’ll give my portion to my parents.”

She smoothed a wayward lock of hair from his forehead, mesmerized by the iridescent glow of his eyes. He wouldn’t need his own money if she kept a portion of the account. Neither of them knew what the future held for them, but one thing was certain. They would be together. She wrinkled her nose to thwart the sudden burn of emotion. She had a future to look forward to. With him.

“Joshua?” Emily’s voice muffled through the walls. The door opened, and her gray eyes darted between them. “Son, I’m not comfortable with the door shut when there’s a girl in your room.”

Liv bit her lip. Good God, they treated him like a child.

He flattened his hands on her thighs and drew a deep breath. “Sorry to hear that, Mom. And the girl has a name.”