Page 27 of One Breath After Another

Penny, too.

“Well,” he finally said quietly, “that’s the beauty of it. You can do whatever you want.”

But could she?

Could she really?

“I don’t ... know what I want,” she admitted.

Naz gave her another look from the side. “Yeah, I imagine that’s a big part of the problem, huh?”

More than he knew.

Penny didn’t understand her purpose.

Why was she even alive?

“And you didn’t answer me—where is Roz?”

“Getting a massage right about now. She worries all the time. About the baby, me ... you. She rarely even takes time to play the piano lately. So, I set up a day for her to relax, and nothing more. Which is why I am here right now, and she is not.”

“Are we going to tell her I skipped again?”

Naz scowled. “Probably not.”

“I’ll try to do better.”

She expected a but will you?

Instead, he smiled. “The best you can do is all we ask for, Penny.”

Yeah, she knew.

It’s why she was still here.

That, and ... “Did you guys pick a name yet?”

“We were thinking Cross, for my father.”

“I like it.”

“Roz is going to ask you to be a godmother.”

Well, then.

Penny just blinked.

Naz said nothing as he pushed up from the couch until he came to stand in front of her. “And I thought you would like to know, before someone calls and tells you.”

“Know what?”

“Yesterday, your father was found murdered in the prison kitchen. Apparently, he washed dishes to earn privileges. They’re not really sure what happened ... but dental records confirmed the identity this morning.”

Penny stilled.

Naz let her have the moment.

She almost wanted to ask if he did it. But how? He’d said he could make it happen, after all.