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"I don’t dislike you," he said softly
She snorted
"Just be careful," he warned "I’ this to piss you off But damn it, Rusty Be careful What do you even know about hi alone with him in the store What if he tried to rob you? Or hurt you?"
She laughed "The day I can’t defend rave I’ up the way I did The last few years with the Kellys may have softened me, but I’m still on my own at school, and believe me when I say that school is not a cakewalk I take self-defense classes I can take care of myself"
Sean’s eyes narrowed "What the fuck does that mean? What happened at school? Did someoneI can’t take care of h his short hair and blew out his breath "Damn it, Rusty Would it kill you to ever ask for help? Just once?"
She blinked in surprise "And ould happen if I were to ever ask you for help?"
"I’d give it," he said quietly "You think I hate you, but that’s not true, Rusty, and if you ever actually lowered your hackles around me you’d realize that I only want to make sure you’re safe"
She had no idea what to say to that
"I’ll go," Sean said "But I’ an eye on the kid If you have any trouble at all, you call me If you even think there will be trouble, you call , let me know If the kid is into any trouble, let me know There may be a way to help him"
She was so surprised that she couldn’t do anything more than nod
As Sean stalked away, she stared in bewilderment after him
He actually acted like hecared
CHAPTER 2
EVE looked up fro, sprawled across Eve’s lap when Travis walked in the door of the dilapidated one-bedroom trailer they rented
"Is she any better?" Travis asked anxiously as he walked over to the couch
Eve ran a hand over Cammie’s forehead, a motion she’d repeated several times over the last hours
"Her fever is down a little," Eve said in a low voice "I’m so worried We can’t take her to the hospital or even a doctor It’s too risky But I can’t get her fever to break no matter what I do"
Travis’s expression darkened with the saue Eve felt herself Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out three twenty-dollar bills
"I know it’s notfor a few hours too The lady who hired hther eyelids She sed hard, deter and not allow Travis to see how scared and worried she was But he knew
"I hate that you have to work," she said fiercely "As soon as Cammie is better, I’ll find work I promise"
Travis’s nostrils flared "No Caet in enough hours at the hardware store, I’ll find so else I don’t want you to worry, Evie I’ll take care of us I swear it"
Eve patted the space on the couch beside her and then wrapped an arer brother when he sat
"I love you We’ll get through this, Trav I proether and be safe"
He hugged her back, holding and squeezing, offering her the comfort she offered hio back to that bastard I’ll protect you and Caain"
Eve cupped his cheek, feeling the slight bristle of the first growth of beard on his jaw He was so young Far too young to be saddled with socare of Travis and Cammie She should have never left theret for the rest of her life, even though she’d had no other choice But thank God, she’d gotten thee could act on his sick fantasies
It had been bad enough that he’d put the moves on Eve after her mother died, but when he’d turned his attention on Ca four-year-old Ca in her sto to molest her
She wished she had killed hione to jail for the rest of her life if it meant Cammie and Travis were safe They’d been lucky to escape with their own lives But Eve wasn’t a fool Walt wouldn’t give up so easily
Already she was a wanted woes and had painted Eve as an emotionally unstable person who needed constant supervision and psychiatric care No one would believe Eve Because Walt ealthy He wielded a lot of power and influence He had far-reaching connections that ensured he could get aith otten aith murder
Dover, Tennessee, seemed a lifetime away from where they’d fled from the West Coast It was a small, quiet town nestled close to Kentucky Lake It was here she’d sought refuge after running for the last several , but Cao next What to do How to survive
She couldn’t afford to let her guard down even for a minute No matter how safe it seemed here, how secluded and out of the way, she couldn’t depend on not being found here Which
It was no way to live It wasn’t the life she wanted for her siblings She wanted better for thes a normal four-year-old should And TravisHe needed to be in school He excelled Made good grades Was a natural-born athlete He could easily get an academic or athletic scholarship But that was now impossible She couldn’t put hie to homeschool him