I zipped my lips with my fingers. “That’s wonderful news. Congratulations!”
“Thanks. We get to meet him in two months!” Excitement glowed on his face.
“So close. What’s your name?”
“Shawn.” He unlocked the door. “And you? I haven’t seen you around.”
“I’m Eva. Tony brought me in to help with the greenhouse. I was at another location.”
“Yeah, he’s obsessed with the bleeding heart flowers.”
When Shawn opened the door, I stepped inside, heard chanting, walked closer to the window, and glanced down into a room full of people dressed in black with their backs facing me.
“Can they see us?” I asked.
“Nah.” Shawn stood and watched them, sighing. “If I didn’t need the money, I wouldn’t be here.”
He shouldn’t say things like that out loud. The wrong person could report him.
I heard the guilt in his voice and hoped he’d share it with me. “Me too. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to in order to survive.”
He looked at me for a moment and nodded. “You’re right.”
“Do you have a picture of your baby boy?”
“Yes. Hold on.” He swiped and gave his phone to me. “Here.”
“Look at those hands and feet!” I looked at the black-and-white ultrasound photo. “How precious!”
Shawn beamed, and a part of me wondered what had made him join Hawthorne’s group. Did he want his innocent child to grow up so close to danger?
An idea formed in my head. “I want to buy your baby a gift. Is that okay?”
“That’s so thoughtful. Sure! Megyn would love that. We’ve been saving up for a new place, and babies cost money.”
“Does she have a baby registry?”
“Yes, you can look, but you can’t get anything. The connection is erratic. Most of the time it doesn’t work.”
“It doesn’t hurt to try, right? May I see your phone?” When he gave it to me, I pointed to the screen. “It has one bar of connection.”
“I think it’s this room.” He shrugged. “Maybe they have something turned on for the ceremony.”
“That’s okay. I’ll take a look.” Nerves churned in my stomach as I browsed the baby registry and copied five links, sending them to Kain’s cell phone number with the text message:to get the nice repairman Shawn for his new baby boy. “I’m sending the links to myself so I don’t forget what to get him. I’ll buy the stuff tonight when I get home.” I returned the phone to him.
He looked at the five items. “Wow. That’s so generous of you.”
“A baby is a new beginning. I hope he has a healthy, happy, andsafelife.”
Shawn looked at me. “Thank you.”
When he returned to his repairs, I prayed the text message to Kain would go through as soon as Shawn got to an area with reliable reception. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try.
I stared into the glass, looking at the audience below. The chanting increased about heaven, God, and what sacrifices must be made to satisfy God. I wasn’t sure what God they were referring to because the one I believed in didn’t hurt people. Tony entered the room, and a tall man wearing a dark cloak walked to the front. When he turned to face my direction, I recognized Senator Falcone.
What was he doing here?
Someone knocked on the door and startled me. I turned to see Avery.
