The Perfect Liar (Last Stand #5)(45)
Author: Brenda Novak

"What do you want?" Ignoring his sudden tension, he thought of the sack in his trunk. He’d purchased a recorder this morning, but it wouldn’t do any good to stop and get it because the store he’d got it from had been out of AA batteries. He’d planned to pick some up from another store, but he’d taken Ava to dinner instead, and now he had Kalyna on the phone again and no way to prove that she’d called or what she said.

Except for the possibility of a witness. Swerving around, he headed back to Ava’s. Maybe he could get there before she went to bed and before Kalyna hung up….

"I have something to tell you, something important," she said.

He went right through an intersection that had a stop sign. Thank God for the absence of other traffic. "You’re dropping the case?"

"That depends on how you react."

Perhaps Luke should’ve felt hope, but he didn’t. He could tell this wouldn’t be good. Kalyna’s voice was too smug, too excited. Dread sat in the pit of his stomach. "What is it?"

"I’m pregnant."

"No." Suddenly incapable of driving, he slammed on the brakes. "I don’t believe it. You’re lying."

"I’l send you proof if you want."

"Shit. Tell me it’s not true. Tell me this is one of your vindictive games." No wonder she’d dared to call him back. She had an excuse, a very sympathetic excuse.

"Are you that unhappy?"

Now he knew she was insane. How could she even dream he might be anything other than completely distraught?

"Because…I’m thinking maybe we should make the most of it," she went on.

He sat in the middle of the road at a dead standstil . "Make the most of it?" He could barely get the words out. He knew that if he raised his voice, he’d be yelling his head off.

"Right. You know, for the sake of the baby."

He’d been so relieved to enlist Ava’s help, so sure she’d be able to make a difference. But no one could save him from this. So what did he do now? His worst fears had been realized, what he’d been worried about ever since he’d learned of the se**n they’d found at the hospital. Until this moment, he’d thought there might be a chance the condom had simply failed. But he knew better. Kalyna had sabotaged it. She’d tried to talk him out of using it in the first place, and when that didn’t work, she took other steps. She’d obviously hoped for this outcome all along. "You told me you were on the pil ."

"I must’ve forgotten to take it that day."

"One day probably wouldn’t matter."

"It could. That means this is God’s wil . Every baby’s a miracle, Luke.

Every single one. Even a rape baby."

"I didn’t rape you!" And this baby was no miracle. This was worse than any nightmare he could imagine. He’d rather be caught behind enemy lines, alone and unarmed with his plane in ashes, than facing a lifetime of dealing with Kalyna as his child’s mother. "You did this to me on purpose!"

"That’s not true."

"Yes, it is. You targeted me."

"How can you blame me for this?" she said. "You’re the one who forced me, Luke."

"Quit saying that! It’s a lie."

"I’m just trying to accept it. In my mind, a baby changes everything. A baby means we should set our conflicts aside and try to get along."

He wasn’t sure it would do him any good to reach Ava. Kalyna wasn’t telling the truth. What she was saying was crazier than hell. But he continued driving to the houseboat because he had no better plan. "That’s impossible."

"No, it’s not. You could love me if you’d give me a chance."

"Why me?" he asked. "There are other guys out there. You can’t want to be with me that badly. You know me in a professional sense, but not personally. Not really."

"I know how you touch a woman when you want to bring her pleasure," she said, talking in a seductive whisper. "I know the expression that comes over your face when–"

Eager to stop her before she could conjure up any more bad memories, he broke in. "Because we slept together once. That’s it. That’s not knowing me!" He pushed the accelerator to the floor. It wasn’t safe to go so fast on these dark narrow roads. He wasn’t familiar with them and didn’t want to hit a possum or a deer. But making sure Ava heard Kalyna suddenly became all-important. She had to understand how grasping and desperate the woman was.

Kalyna’s voice grew more strident, almost challenging. "I know lots more than that. I know you always buy your gas at the Chevron station near the base. I know you buy a pack of sunflower seeds and an energy drink before you go to the park to play ball on Monday nights. I know you’re a great catcher because I’ve watched you behind the plate."

Shocked by the details she’d been able to provide, he racked his brain, trying to remember when he might have mentioned the Chevrom station or sunflower seeds or baseball. "When? It’s not as if I’ve ever invited you to the park, or even told you I was playing."

She didn’t answer. She was stil rattling off various facts about him. "I know you love egg burritos from Del Taco, that you carry sports equipment in the trunk of your car and that the girl in your wallet is your little sister. I know your parents live in San Diego and would be thril ed to hear they’re going to be grandparents–"

"Stop it!" He couldn’t listen anymore. He was about to be sick.

"I have your watch," she whispered. "It’s in my panties."

He grimaced. "That doesn’t excite me. Just…throw it away."

"You’re not making this any easier."

Come on, come on. He had to get to Ava’s. Gravel flew as he skidded around a turn and almost landed in a canal. "I’m trying to be clear about this. I’m not interested, Kalyna."

"You won’t even give me a chance!"

She couldn’t really expect him to–not after everything she’d done.

She had to be after something else. "I’l pay you," he said.

This seemed to bring her up short. "For what?"

He could see the light of Ava’s houseboat. He was almost there. "To get an abortion." He knew his parents would die at the thought. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it himself, but he was desperate. He couldn’t bring a child into the world under these circumstances, with this woman.

"An abortion?" she echoed. "You want me to get an abortion?" She broke into tears. "How can you ask me to kil our child on top of everything else you’ve done to me?"

It didn’t even feel like a child, didn’t feel real. "Okay." He was stil reeling as he skidded to a stop at the end of Ava’s pier. But now that they were talking about the baby, he didn’t want to get out of the car. Ava couldn’t solve this; this was something he’d have to solve himself. "You’re right, I don’t want that. I don’t think I could live with that, but…I’l take the baby. I-I’l raise it myself." Yes, that was the only option that would work.