“They fit so perfectly on her hip, but she always had to give them back to their mothers.Not this baby. This one is mine. With David as dad.”

“But she’d spared him. She’d used all her deadly skills to save him instead. She’d spit on the memory of David and her baby to give Beckett a get-out-of-jail-free card.She surveyed her work in the Hummer’s headlights. Perfect. She’d done it so many times now it was second nature. Now I’m just a murderer, not an avenger. I’m just like him.”

“She overheard one of them shout, “This is Dr. Hartt’s daughter!”Eve had no idea why those words came back to her at night. Over and over her brain repeated, “This is Dr. Hartt’s daughter!”Not “Eve, we aren’t showing a heartbeat on the baby.”Not “David Statford was pronounced dead at the scene.”Not “We can’t stop the bleeding. She’s hemorrhaging.”Not “If the infection continues, we’re not going to have any choice. Eve, we’re recommending a hysterectomy.”Maybe it was because she’d still had hope when she heard those words. Maybe because she’d thought she’d be protected since her father was a surgeon at the hospital where the ambulance took her.”

“So David and my baby were ‘collateral damage’?” Eve took small, sharp breaths.”

“Eve hated that she had these questions, and that the only man she wanted to talk to about them was David. Have I just forsaken Beckett?”

“She watched as the dirt kicked up in a cloud. When it cleared, she couldn’t see him anymore. She stayed until she couldn’t hear him anymore.Staying.Not chasing.Not stopping him.She knew she could bring him back. She was more than capable, and yet her feet refused to move. It felt like the little arms that had encircled her neck still clung there.Was it my Anna? Was her name just a coincidence?Eve hated that she had these questions, and that the only man she wanted to talk to about them was David. Have I just forsaken Beckett?Roots continued to form. Her murderous hands remembered how satisfying clicking the seatbelt around Emily’s small body had been. It sounded just like releasing the safety on a gun. Could motherhood be even a tiny possibility?Her inaction chose her future.”

“With every step she felt herself harden. She was a walking statue by the time she hit the police station’s exit.She had a purpose again. Hate.Eve cuddled hate to her heart like a baby—like the only baby she’d ever have. Eve despised reliving the accident, but she had to do it to get harder. She needed to be angrier.”