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She needed her head examined because she was in way over her head

She wanted to ask hi so would set her up for inevitable disappointment She needed to be objective Look at him as someone who could help her and Cammie and Travis And they did need help Desperately Would she be a fool to turn him down?

Yes The ansas si she could provide for them It was obvious that she couldn’t do it on her own Not anymore She--they--needed Donovan Kelly

"Tellyou trustfor your trust is too ? Can you give ive me--my brothers--the chance to help you?"

Slowly she nodded, though she wasn’t sure which part she’d agreed to Maybe all of it Maybe she already did trust him Otherwise, would she be here? Not that she’d had ht Hadn’t even attempted to turn down his aid

Satisfaction burned brightly in Donovan’s eyes, and his shoulders see her face with his fingertips, and she shivered at the warmth his touch provided She was starved of affection Of having someone touch her in such an intimate manner Walt had touched her, yes, but every part of her had shriveled She’d shrunk away fro him anywhere near her And Camined that precious little girl in the hands of a monster

Thank God Travis had called her Thank God for theto help them If not for her, Cammie--and Travis--would still be under Walt’s control Eve herself would be under his control She shuddered at what could have been What ht have already been

She’d questioned Travis and even Cauely She hadn’t wanted to traumatize Cammie, but she’d needed to know the extent of what Walt had done to her If he’d ever touched her or, God forbid, gone even further What kind of sick, twisted hter?

ToSick, yes, but it wasn’t the sahter He’d never made a secret of his distaste for Eve and the fact that she was his wife’s daughter froe Which made it hard for Eve to understand why Walt would suddenly make sexual overtures toward her Maybe it had always been there Maybe it hy he’d gone to such measures to control every aspect of Eve’s life Perhaps he’d always planned to get rid of his wife as soon as she gave hihter he wanted Which made Eve wonder why he’d wanted another child Was it so he’d have his own plaything? An outlet for his twisted desires?

She couldn’t even dwell on it further because itabout, honey?"

Donovan’s gentle voice broke through the horror of her thoughts and brought her back to reality She blinked, finding his gaze He was staring thoughtfully at her, his brow furrowed as if he were trying to see inside her

"H-hi back the wave of revulsion even speaking of hi herself to say his na in the roo her chin with a tender grasp

"I don’t want you to think of hier He can’t hurt you here I won’t allow him near you or your brother and sister"

She nodded, but the horror had yet to fade In retelling Donovan everything, the first she’d spoken of the chain of events to anyone, theher mother welled in her soul and threatened to overwhel afraid that at any moment Walt would find them and take theue--had blanketed her, suffocating her until she could barely breathe

"You need to rest," Donovan said gently "And I need to get some food down Travis and Cammie Want to help ht you could sit with Caive him another dose of pain er to focus on anything but what consuain, to reassure herself that they were here Safe Taken care of Getting the food and medicine they both so desperately needed

Donovan stood, reaching his hand down to help Eve to her feet

"What about you?" he asked pointedly "Are you still hurting?

She flushed, wanting to deny it, but her expression had already given it away

He frowned at her but said nothing as he steered her toward the kitchen When they got there, he warlasses of tea Just when she thought that perhaps he was going to ignore her silent admission, he turned with the tray in hand

"After Caive you another dose of painto sleep I wonder when the last tiht’s rest?"

She dropped her gaze guiltily

"That’s what I thought," he said griet him situated and then I’ll take you to Cah his hands were full, he walked beside her, lending her his strength, though he didn’t touch her He didn’t have to Just being there was enough He lanced down, realizing she was still clad in only her underwear and his shirt

When they reached Travis’s roo If he was still hurting And offer him reassurance that they were safe She’d broadcasted her doubts to him He’d picked up on her unease when they’d entered this place Now she wanted to reassure him that she’d chosen wisely She was sure of it

Travis was still sleeping and she hated to wake him, but she knew he needed to eat and he likely needed more pain medication His broas creased even in sleep, his expression tense as though he were indeed in pain She touched his forehead, running her hand gently across his brow

He stirred beneath her touch and opened his eyes They were cloudy with sleep and reue and pain

"Hey," she whispered "How are you feeling?"

"I’m okay," he said quickly But when he tried to shift and sit up, he griainst the pillows

"Don’t try to move," Donovan cautioned "Just take it slow and easy I’ve brought you so to eat Eve and I will help you ive you another dose of pain lanced between Eve and Donovan and then realized she was only in a shirt His eyes widened and Eve flushed Donovan ignored the interchange and set the tray holding the plates down on the nightstand Then he bent over Travis while Eve got on the other side and they helped ease hi as they propped pillows behind hiry?" Donovan asked

"Starving," Travis adood, whatever it is"