How was your first day at nursing school, lubimaya?” Irina asked, settling into the lawn chair next to Liza’s.
Liza thought this might have been the first time Irina had sat down in days. The Sokolovs were hosting a barbecue and Irina had been in overdrive. The kitchen was filled with food, the house filled with people, and, because no one was shooting at them, the backyard was crowded as well.
The day was a scorcher, well over a hundred degrees, but awnings shaded and fans blew and children ran through the sprinklers. So many children, including a few from Chicago.
Karl and Irina had invited Liza and Tom’s family to join them, and they had. It had been a huge surprise—for both Liza and Tom. Apparently Irina, Tom’s mother Caroline, and Liza’s adopted big sister Dana had been burning up the phone lines, setting all this up.
It was heaven.
“Surreal,” Liza answered. “I mean, I’d wished so long to get there. I’d served my tour and gotten my undergrad degree, all while hoping to be accepted at UC Davis. I was seriously just happy to be there. But then I went to orientation last week and everyone knew my name.”
“You are a hero,” Irina commented with a smile. “Again.”
Liza rolled her eyes, still embarrassed. The news had been saturated with their discovery of Eden and the defeat of DJ Belmont and Pastor. Gideon, Mercy, and Amos had become the poster children of cult survivors, and Hayley and her baby had been showered with Internet affection and real-life gifts.
Baby Liza Tiffany was the most pampered infant in the city. And grown-up Liza still got a lump in her throat every time she thought of Hayley naming the baby after her.
“I did what anyone would,” Liza murmured. It was her stock answer and she held to that belief with both hands.
“Anyone with a good heart and a healthy amount of courage,” Irina said.
“I had good role models.”
“Here one of them comes,” Irina commented as Dana Dupinsky Buchanan approached, a tray of cold drinks in her hands.
“Absolutely.” Liza squeezed Irina’s hand. “And another one is sitting right here.”
“Ach.” Irina fanned her face with her free hand. “You make me cry.”
“Liza.” Dana took the chair on her other side, passing them the drinks. “Why are you making this nice lady cry?”
Liza began to defend herself until she saw that Dana was teasing. “You’re terrible.”
“So I’ve been told. Regularly.” She reached across Liza to tap her glass to Irina’s. “To all the terrible people who love you.”
“Hear, hear.” Irina sighed happily. “Everyone is having a good time, yes?”
Liza smiled, completely content. “A very good time. I think Tom’s sister has adopted Abigail.” Nine-year-old Grace had taken the younger girl under her wing, and Abigail had followed her all afternoon like an imprinted duckling. They’d tasked themselves with making sure the “little kids” were staying out of trouble. “And Karl is on a cloud talking basketball with two ex-pros.” Tom and his stepfather Max had indulged Karl’s excitement, telling him stories about players they’d known. “He is too cute.”
“He is,” Irina said fondly, watching her husband talk animatedly while flipping burgers on the grill. “I think I’ll keep him.”
“And that kid from Eden—Graham?” Dana chuckled. “He’s been following Ethan around ever since he learned that Tom was a hacker and Ethan taught him everything he knows.”
“Hopefully Graham will keep using his brain for good and not evil,” Liza said wryly. “He’d gotten in with a bad crowd before their mother took them to Eden.”
“But he’s in a better home environment now?” Dana asked, concerned. She was always concerned about kids in abusive homes.
Liza nodded. “His mother lost custody of Graham, and Hayley’s nearly eighteen. The two of them moved in with Cameron Cook’s family, and it seems to be good for all of them.”
“And I got to hold that precious baby,” Irina said, then grinned. “And when she needed a diaper change, I got to give her back.”
“That’s the best part of grandparenting, right?” Dana eyed Liza. “Or aunting? I mean, I am an amazing aunt.”
“Not for a while,” Liza said. “Tom and I talked about it. No kids until I’m done with nursing school.”
“Time will fly,” Irina said wisely. “Which reminds me, I have a cake in the oven and it’s almost done.” She started to rise, then changed her mind. “I meant to ask. How is Brooklyn? The little girl Liza met at Sunnyside Oaks,” Irina explained to Dana.
“Keepin’ on.” Liza had so much respect for this tiny little girl, whose mother had rushed home as soon as she heard the news, transferring her to UC Davis’s pediatric cancer ward as Sunnyside had been shut down while under criminal investigation. All of its patients had been transferred to hospitals all over the area. “Her mother is spending more time with her now because she’s finished shooting her film. She’s an actress, a single mother who had no one to help her with Brooklyn. She didn’t want her daughter harassed by photographers, so she put her in Sunnyside based on the recommendation of a friend. Tom, Abigail, and I visited her at the hospital this morning.” Abigail and Brooklyn had become fast friends. “She’s got another round of chemo, but the doctors are hopeful it’ll be her last. She said thank you for the cookies, Irina.”
Irina smiled. “The least I can do. I missed my visit this past week because of all of this.” She gestured to the people filling the yard. “But I’ll see her in a few days.” She stood up. “I have to pull that cake from the oven. If it burns, I will have revolution.”
Dana chuckled as Irina hurried away. “I like her.”
“I knew you would.” Liza looked around, grinning at Tom, who was sneaking up behind his mother with a Super Soaker. Caroline would not be pleased. “He’s just a big kid.”
“And happier than I’ve seen him in a while. Which makes Caroline and me happy, too. We always wondered if anything would happen between you two.”
“They had a betting pool here,” Liza grumbled. “Karl won two hundred bucks.”
Dana clapped her hands, a delighted expression on her face. “We had one, too!”
“Who won?”
Dana preened. “I did. And everyone said I cheated because I told you to keep your heart open if he changed his mind, but I took the cash anyway. The girls at the shelter had an ice cream party. They said to thank you.”
Liza laughed. “Karl donated his to Tom’s charity here in town. It’s a sports program for kids from abusive homes.”
Dana leaned into Liza’s shoulder companionably. “It’s like we came full circle, you know?”
Shrieks from across the yard had them looking up. Caroline was dripping wet and had wrested the Super Soaker from Tom because he was laughing too hard to stop her.
“He’s gonna pay for that,” Dana said fondly.
And he did. He didn’t even run, taking his punishment like a man.
“I feel like . . .” Liza sighed. “Is it stupid to worry that things are too good?”
“No. It’s normal. I struggled with that for years. Still do.” Dana met her eyes, serious now. “You’ve earned every bit of happiness. If another shoe falls, you’ll deal. You’re not alone.”
“I know.” And she wasn’t, the object of her affection striding across the lawn, dripping wet and looking like every fantasy she’d ever had. Every carved muscle was on display. “Wow.”
Dana snorted. “Stop it. I knew him when he was seven.”
“He’s sure as hell not seven anymore.”
Dana shook her head. “I’m going to leave you to your drool. I’ll see you later.”
Tom tried to hug Dana as they passed, but she shoved him, still shaking her head.
Tom dropped into the chair she’d vacated. “You okay?”
“More than.” Liza gave him a peck on the lips. “How are your lips cold? It’s hotter than hell out here.”
“I filled the Super Soaker with ice water.”
“Oh, your mom is gonna get you back. I mean, this”—she gestured to his wet T-shirt—“was just the first wave of attack. Although I do like the outcome.”
He grinned wickedly, sending her libido on a roller coaster. “Really?”
“You know it. How long before we can go home?”
“Too long. My mom told me not to even think about sneaking off for ‘private time.’ ”
“They did come an awful long way to see us.”
His grin softened to a sweet smile. “They did. We’re pretty lucky, you know that?”
“We are.” She linked their fingers together. Kissed his knuckles. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Her head resting on his shoulder, they enjoyed the little bubble of quiet.
Which was promptly popped by the clearing of a throat.
Liza looked up with a smile of welcome. “Hello, Tara.”
Tom made a strangled sound in his throat, his reaction every time she called his boss by her first name. She’d done so for the first time the day they were in Eden, and she said it didn’t make sense to go back to formalities. Tom disagreed.
“Ma’am,” he said, standing at attention. Liza wanted to hug him hard and drag him to bed.
Molina’s lips twitched. “Agent Hunter. I wanted to thank you for inviting me and let you know that I’m headed out. I had a nice time talking with your mother.”
Tom made another strangled sound. “I’m glad, ma’am.”
“Now you’re just being mean, Tara,” Liza said with a chuckle. “I’m glad you could come. I might not see you again for a while with school taking off. Thank you for the commendation, by the way.” The special agent in charge had written a letter praising Liza for delivering Hayley’s baby under conditions that were less than ideal. “My advisor put it in my file.”
“You deserved it. Now I have to get back to the office. We’re preparing for preliminary hearings on Joshua and his wife.”
The two had been charged with kidnapping, along with several Edenites who’d engaged in the sexual assault of minors. Liza had already been given permission to miss class for the hearing. She’d promised Hayley and Tiffany that she’d be in the courtroom to lend moral support as they testified.
“I talked to Tiffany a few days ago,” Liza said. “She’s doing well. Cameron Cook’s family is renting her the apartment over their garage. She starts training to be a nursing assistant in a few weeks. For now, she’s reconnecting with her little boy.” Prompt DNA testing had proven that the child was hers. It was one more nail in Joshua and Rebecca’s coffin.
More serious charges were pending the results of autopsies of the women who’d died in childbirth, their bodies exhumed from the graveyard at one of the previous Eden sites. Their families believed that Rebecca had killed them after the babies were born so that she could claim the children, but the families had had no power to accuse her back in Eden.
They were accusing her now.
“Give Tiffany my best regards,” Molina said. “Make sure she knows to send me any address updates. The money recovered from Eden’s accounts is going to be awarded to the members who aren’t guilty of any crimes. It might take a while, but she should get a sizable sum to live on while she attends school.”
“I will,” Liza promised. “She’ll be so grateful.”
Tom sank back into the chair once Molina was gone. “She and my mom were talking? Why is this my life?”
Liza laughed. “You just said how lucky we are.”
“And I am. I have you. And you’ll protect me when my mom and my boss join forces.”
She kissed his mouth, no longer cold. His lips were warm and pliable and made her want to forsake their visitors and head for home. “Pebbles needs to be walked.”
“She does. We could go home, walk her, have time for a quickie, and come back here later.”
She grinned against his lips. “They wouldn’t even know we were gone.” Which was total bullshit, but she didn’t care. They wouldn’t be gone long.
He lurched to his feet, tugging her to hers. “Let’s go.”
