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“You don’t think you may be jumping the gun here? I mean, that’s a big leap, isn’t it? Just because the child is adopted doesn’t make him the child of the man you knew.”
“They look exactly alike, Vince.” She paused. “He has the same birthmark. The one on his chin. Kevin used to rub it when he was thinking—or angry.” She paused. “Most birthmarksaren’t inherited, but some are. I think the one on Michael’s chin was inherited from his birth father.”
Vince went quiet.
“Anyone who saw that footage—national news footage—and knows Kevin will bring it to his attention. It’s unmistakable. I’m telling you that child is Kevin’s son, and Kevin is a monster who will hurt him and his family.” Her fingers tightened around the phone at the thought of her attacker going after the boy. “And the one person who might be able to help me find them is ghosting me. Which is why I’m calling you.” More silence. “And that sounded really bad. Like you’re second choice. It’s not like that, I promise. I just thought that this other guy could—”
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not feeling slighted. I’m just thinking.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” A pause. “Thinking what?”
“Well, for one, what makes you think Kevin doesn’t know about him? Just because he’s adopted doesn’t mean his biological father doesn’t know of his existence.”
Raina closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. “That’s a valid point. However, IknowKevin, and if he knew he had a child, he would not let another family raise him. He used to talk about having kids and being a father and...” She pressed fingers to her eyes, thinking. “Trust me. He doesn’t know about Michael. Or didn’t before that broadcast.”
“Okay.” He fell silent and Raina waited.
And waited.
“Vince?”
“Just thinking again. But I’ll think out loud so you can follow along. We know his name and who his parents are, so it probably won’t be hard to find them. I can contact the station that did the interview and get the information.”
“Exactly. If you can do it, so can Kevin. Or whatever his name is.” She paused. “I don’t know this guy’s real name, Vince, but Iknowhim. Iknowthat he’s obsessive, possessive, and violent.If he thinks that kid is his—and he will—he’ll go after him. And he won’t let anyone stand in his way.”
????
Vince caught the quiet desperation behind her words. “Hold on a sec.” He glanced at Charlie, who was busy tapping on his laptop and ignoring Vince, but he still wanted a bit of privacy so he stood and walked out onto the balcony, staying in the shadows and keeping his back against the brick. She was truly scared that the man from her past would see the broadcast and make the connection. Even while his heart was dipping into his toes, Vince had no trouble believing her—or believing that the situation was dire. The only thing he could be glad about was that he’d just learned more about Raina in five minutes than he’d been able to pull from her in over a year. At the same time, he had to shut down flashes from his past. Memories of another woman in an abusive situation. Only she hadn’t escaped.
His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. A text from his mother.
Are you coming to dinner this week?
“Vince?”
Raina. He pressed the phone back to his ear. “I’m here. You’re sure Kevin Anderson isn’t his real name?”
“It’s not.” Another sigh and the sound of a car door shutting. “I’m scared for Michael and his family, Vince.”
Vince rubbed a hand over his eyes. “All right.” If she said he’d go after the kid, he would, and Vince couldn’t take the chance that he wouldn’t. “I’ll find him.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have a picture of Kevin?”
“No. He never allowed them.”
And that spoke volumes right there. He frowned. There was something in her voice. “What are you thinking?”
“I ... Just a feeling we don’t have a lot of time. The guy I knew—Kevin—was very into snowboarding. He loved it. I think that part of him is real. If there was something about it on television or in the paper or whatever, he was all over it. If he hasn’t seen the footage of the interview for himself, like I said before, someone will bring it to his attention.”
“I’m on it, I promise.”
“I hate to ask, but ... thank you.”
He paused, not wanting to bring up the next thing but knew he had to. “You know what this means, right?”
“No. What?”
