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Sean’s gaze narrowed "You sound awfully worried about a woun on you while she robbed the store of all its cash"

"It’s coh

"Then uncoave hi hen she walked into Donovan’s house and found Eve pointing a gun at her But when she got to the last, she paused and grabbed Sean’s arm

"She thinks he betrayed her, Sean I have no idea how in the hell she got that idea, but you didn’t see her You didn’t hear her And she kept apologizing, for fuck’s sake For takingmoney from a man she hadn’t even met"

"Whoa, wait Back up ato turn her in to her stepfather?"

He sounded as aghast as Rusty had felt when she’d listened to Eve’s accusations

"She believes it," Rusty said quietly "God, Sean I hurt for her She was devastated Completely defeated She loves him and yet she thinks--she knows--he betrayed her"

"That’s crazy," Sean refuted

"To you and me, yes But Sean, she absolutely believes it I don’t knohat happened to make her think it, but I saw the conviction in her eyes I heard it in her voice She was destroyed, and evenTravis and Cammie behind And yet she trusted that Donovan would protect the what he really wanted Kids A fa you, Sean If you could have seen and heard her, you wouldn’t be pissed over what she did I knew she had no intention of shooting me I was more worried that she would do it accidentally I offered to help her I wanted to help her Because I couldn’t stand to look into her eyes and see so much pain that it took my breath away And you knohat she said?"

"What?" Sean asked gently

Rusty hadn’t even been aware that he’d pulled her closer to hi up and down her back in a gesture of coht that she’d like it if he pulled her into his arms But she shook off that moment of insanity and refocused on the matter at hand

"She said that she couldn’t, that she wouldn’t involveto happen toher brother and sister, she said that of the two, her stepfather or Donovan, ould I prefer they be with? That she knew her stepfather would hurt them, but she didn’t believe for abut love and protect them even if she wasn’t included in the picture Daoing to work a trade Eve for the kids, and she was just collateral dae She believes that with all her heart And it breaks mine"

This tiently She could feel his breath against her hair and she closed her eyes, savoring the war to destroy Donovan," Sean said in a grio did she leave, Rusty? How much of a head start does she have?"

"I hit the alarot here in about five minutes, I’d say, so she hasn’t had that much of a head start"

"Okay, then here’s what I want you to do You get in touch with Donovan Figure out how to tell hiet everyone I can on the case so we locate her as soon as possible"

"Thanks, Sean," she said softly

His brorinkled in confusion as she pulled away

"What for? For doingto conclusions when you learned what Eve had done and for looking for her instead of swearing out a warrant for her arrest"

His eyes narrowed "Do you think so little of me, Rusty?"

She shook her head even more adamantly "No But you’re a cop, Sean Your duty would be to arrest her for a cri Ares that I’ Someone else wouldn’t have listened to me and they wouldn’t have just accepted what I said as fact And they would have adhered to the letter of the law and arrested her as soon as she was located You won’t do that Not until you have all the facts"

CHAPTER 35

"I don’t like it," Donovan said grie drive away He turned to his brothers, seeking their assessment They didn’t look any happier than he was

It had been too fucking easy And Walt had worn this shing at thee et home This worries me I want to make damn sure that Eve and Ca that hen I left her, and I’d hoped to bring her good news today so she wouldn’t have cause to worry, and now I don’t knohat the hell to tell her"

"We’ll get him," Garrett vowed "He’ll fuck up and we’ll nail his ass to the wall"

"And until then we have to keep careful watch on Eve and her siblings because I don’t trust the bastard not to ant He’s far too self-assured He thinks he’s untouchable By us The law Anyone And the asshole probably does have at least a few policeuess It’s why Eve never got anywhere when she went to the police for help"