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"I don’t knohat to believe," Rusty said, tears clogging her voice "All I knoas that I was confronted with a desperate, terrified and devastated woman who believed to her soul that she’d been betrayed by the one person she trusted You"

Donovan couldn’t even forasted First, that Eve would ever think such a thing, and second, that a member of his own family would think, even for aso despicable

"Donovan"

Near to his exploding point, Donovan turned at Sophie’s soft call Her eyes were red and rimmed with moisture All the wives were present and deeply upset by the situation But at least there was no accusation in her eyes Just grief and worry

"I think I may knohat happened," she said in a painful voice "Yesterday when you sent her and the kids over to my house When ere supposed to shop and you and your brothers were getting together at your house to talk about Eve’s situation"

"Yes, I reet to the point

"She orried and bothered by the fact that you hadn’t let her reht she should be included in any decisions regarding her future I--we--understood We knew that if it were us in that situation that ouldn’t--couldn’t--just stand to the side and let our fates be decided by others We would have at least wanted to knoas going to happen, even if eren’t going to be directly involved The uncertainty is horrible It was horrible for Eve She’s had no control over her life in a long time She wanted at least a semblance of control--of choice--especially when it concerned her brother and sister, who at all for Even at risk to herself We encouraged her to go over and tell you what she was feeling At first she didn’t want to because she didn’t want it to appear as though she didn’t trust you We told her you would understand That you ry with her"

Donovan’s gut tightened and his dread increased

"So she decided to walk back over, only she wasn’t gone that long and when she returned, she was visibly upset She tried to play it off and e asked her why she was back so soon, she told us she changed her mind That she didn’t want you to think she didn’t trust you and that you’d promised to tell her later anyway"

"Dear God," Donovan whispered hoarsely "She must have overheard It’s the only explanation She h the kitchen and overheard parts of our conversation Out of context, sooddamn it It was supposed to be a trap I never had any intention of handing Eve over to that bastard"

"Fuck," Garrett said

It was a testament to the severity of the situation that he didn’t instantly earn a reprimand from his wife for the F-bo his face in his hands The bastard had her And she thought Donovan had been prepared to hand her over She thought he didn’t want her Didn’t love her That he wanted Travis and Ca--so, she’d still left them in his care because she’d knohat her stepfather would do to them God, what he would do to her

Even now she was in his hands Grief knotted his throat, choking him when he tried to voice his fears His fury and helplessness So he sat there, hands shaking as rage and sorrow vied for equal control of his emotions

"How could she believe it?" he finally et out "No matter what she heard, how could she think it? I love her, damn it How could she not know?"

"Did you tell her?" Rachel asked softly "Donovan, you have to understand her situation Put aside your anger and your grief for a ine yourself in her shoes She’s not been able to trust anyone She hasn’t been able to afford to You kno hard it was for you to get through to her How delicately you had to handle the situation How hard it was to get her to agree to put herself and her siblings in your hands To ine the torture she put herself through wondering if she was ht decision And now, she believes the worst That she did ine her sense of betrayal She loves you, Van I know it We all know it One only has to look at her to know that despite any fears or reservations she’s entertained, she loves you, and love will make a person very afraid I know fros worse It makes the hurt worse when a perceived betrayal is in the ht back over their ether So much of what Rachel said rief flicker briefly through Ethan’s eyes at Rachel’s impassioned defense of Eve Yes, he and Rachel would both know firsthand how love could soly and black

The idea that Eve was now feeling even a tenth of what Rachel had described gutted him to his soul He could put himself in Eve’s shoes and consider what she’d heard and what she was even now experiencing, and it shredded his heart He never wanted that for her He never wanted her to experience the kind of pain she’d already experienced in her young life And the fact that he was currently the source of her agony undid him Completely and utterly undid hi on too strong, too quickly--but she had to kno could she not? I’ve never been this ith another wo a weakness for women and children It doesn’t mean she was a pity case for me I wanted to spend the rest of oddaain it will be too soon Eve isn’t aand needing to help a wo to the bottom of my soul that she’s it for me"

"Donovan, you need to put yourself in her shoes," Shea said, echoing Rachel’s words "Remember her life to now Remember that she’s never been able to trust anyone, and that over and over she’s been betrayed by the very people sworn to protect her Now i it was for her to hear what she heard and for her to think you would discard her so callously"

"I saw her," Rusty said flatly "The rest of you can speculate on how she may have felt, but none of you sahat I saw What I heard She was broken, beaten down and utterly hopeless I saw her eyes and she knew She accepted her fate, but her being her, she wasn’t going to go doithout a fight She’s stood up tiain even when she’s been shut down at every turn, every tiet help for her ave up But now? I saw her give up right in front of me and yet she was still determined that she wouldn’t be, in her words, a sacrificial la as Travis and Cammie were cared for, it didn’t owith Donovan’s plan"

"Jesus," Donovan said, pain gripping his insides and twisting viciously "He has her He hurt her before He tried to" He couldn’t even finish the state silent as he tried to keep his coe He’ll want her to suffer Godda God only knohat kind of hell while we sit here and talk about the what ifs and whys This is bullshit It’s tio take that son of a bitch down"

"We’ll find her," Sairl back, Van," Garrett seconded

A course of agreeaze, determination etched in every facet of his face He wouldn’t entertain any other option No et Eve back Yes, he wanted children, a fas with Eve Without her, he had nothing How could he ever be happy having Travis and Cammie as his ohen Eve was not a member of that family unit? She was the heart and soul of their family His family Without her, none of them, him, Travis or Caet her back," he said in a tone he knew surprised his brothers Everyto Donovan Yes, he had a weakness for wo that thrown in his face, of it being used to hurt the wo just another woman in need No one special, when she was the very air he breathed

"And when I do I’ll never let her go again I’ll never let a single day pass that she doesn’t know she means the world to me That she is my world, damn it!"