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That kind of reassurance was priceless

"You aren’t eating," Swanny said, gentle reproach in his voice

Eve glanced guiltily up to see the quiet ot the impression he didn’t say a whole lot He was soh he looked like a total badass The scar only added to that appearance What or who had put that mark there? She shuddered to think of the violence he’d endured in the past It could be the result of an accident But so told her that wasn’t the case These hters Ex-military, as Donovan had explained And now they protected people? What exactly did that mean? It was a question she desperately wanted the answer to, but she wouldn’t ask now Not in front of the others That question was reserved for when she and Donovan were alone

"I don’t have much of an appetite," she admitted

"And it’s equally clear that you’ve missed far toowill hurt you here You have to stay strong for yourself and your brother and sister"

Knowing he was right, she made an effort to eat more of the food Swanny had prepared And it was delicious It didn’t taste like so out of a can It was rich and flavorful and it warmed her from the inside out She savored each bite and checked occasionally to see that Travis and Ca They were Muchin to catch up It was ith, because as soon as they were able, they had to leave They’d already been here too long and it wasducks They couldn’t run forever She acknowledged this Knew it for the truth it was But she could at least buy theure out what to do How to confront Walt and the future

The doorbell rang and Eve immediately froze Travis dropped his half-eaten sandwich--his third--on his plate and looked uneasily in Eve’s direction Ca the nearly finished sandwich Donovan had been feeding her, her eyes wide and fearful

Their reactions didn’t go unnoticed by the others Swanny’s lips turned down into a grim frown and Joe lookedpissed Not at thery over their fear Of what they had to fear

"Get the door, Joe," Donovan said cal roo, Maren can exah it was said to Joe, Eve knew the last was directed at her and her siblings A co and reassurance that there was nothing to fear If only it were that siot up and returned a lasses perched on her nose, her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail On her heels was a tall, co ababy Soruous, but then Donovan had told her that Maren had recently had a child and had been cutting back on her patient load while she was on maternity leave This must be her husband The man Donovan had said was his friend But now she realized that this man must ith Donovan--and the others--because he screamed badass from head to toe

Donovan didn’ther best to burrow underneath hi, Maren We could use you," Donovan said by way of greeting

"Hello," Maren said in a warm voice as she took in the occupants of the roo the baby "I’hter, Olivia"

Joe gestured toward Eve "This is Eve and this is her brother, Travis, and her little sister, Caed to stammer around the knot in her throat

"S the children!"

Steele rolled his eyes but offered a sincere shted on Caenuine coood hands," he said gruffly "Van will take good care of you and ht as rain in no ti at her husband’s praise But then her expression turned serious "Who Ca to deposit her on Swanny’s lap Cammie didn’t look thrilled, but neither did she protest But she didn’t wrap herself around Swanny as she had with Donovan She stared up at hi him cautiously She seemed fascinated with the scar on his face, and then to Eve’s surprise she reached up to touch the puckered skin

"Did a badhis eyes "Yes, sweetheart But you knohat? Donovan and KGI took care of it Those bad ain"

"My daddy hurt Evie," Caain?"

"Cammie!" Eve chastened, shocked at the child’s outburst

But no one in the roorew fierce, and anger surged in Joe’s and Steele’s eyes Even Swanny was scowling now, but as if realizing he would scare Ca his reaction

"No one will hurt Eve Or you and Travis," Swanny softly auarantee, little bit"

"’Kay," Ca in a little closer to Swanny’s chest Swanny see to hi her e to her--and to Eve and Travis--that he was entirely serious in his commitment to see them safe

"You need to start with Travis," Donovan said "You’ll need the X-ray equipment in the infirmary I’m concerned he has broken ribs We can ride over I don’t want any of theh I don’t want to risk injuring theree with here? Do you know? Have you made an assessment?"

Eve appreciated Maren’s brisk, no-nonsense, all-business approach She was clearly in doctor leaentleorders

"No," Donovan said "We haven’t had ti them here so they could be evaluated Travis and Caht in the stor to save Travis and we found her trapped underneath a mattress"

"The mattress probably saved her life," Maren murmured

Eve felt the blood drain from her face She hadn’t considered it She’d been too swept up in the terror of the moment and had been relieved to survive such a deadly storht If the mattress hadn’t knocked her flat and kept her trapped underneath, she probably would have been killed