“Where are we going, daddy?” Brylee asked.
“We’re going to meet someone.”
“Who?”
Gage smirked at her over his shoulder. “You’ll find out.” His grin grew when Brylee pouted and tried to look mad.
“Give it up, baby girl.”
Brylee nudged Larkin in the side with her elbow when her friend giggled.
Eve stared out the window and watched the buildings and people go by. They pulled up to a humungous glass building, and the men got out and opened their doors.
“This way, girls,” Darian said.
Eve stiffened when she noticed the two bodyguards park behind them, get out of the car, and hurry toward them.
The seven of them took the elevator up to the top floor and down a long hallway.
Eve gripped Larkin’s hand, getting more nervous as the seconds passed.
Gage opened a door and ushered the group in. Eve caught sight of Patrick and a few other people across the room. Her stomach knotted when he glanced at her and scowled before turning back to the people.
Darian sat Larkin and Brylee by the window at a small table and told them to stay seated before he and Gage went over to Patrick.
Eve stayed by the door. She heard them talking but could tell they didn’t want her to hear. She looked at the girls and then the door. Her need to flee was gaining strength. She took a few sliding steps toward it but froze when it opened and her mother walked in.
The two women stared at each other in shock.
Eve studied her mother. Although she had aged, she was still beautiful, and her eyes still held the gentle, caring emotions.
“Eve…” Trisha reached out.
Eve stepped back and then stopped. Tears filled her mother’s eyes. Eve looked around, desperately needing Patrick to be with her, but he stayed across the room with his arms crossed and a hard look on his face.
She inhaled sharply and turned back to her mother. “Hi, Mama.”
“May I … can, I hug you, sweetheart? It’s been so long.”
Eve nodded and then flinched when her mother wrapped her arms around her. She lifted her own arms but just set them on her mother’s back. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t more excited. She’d dreamed of seeing her for years, and she stood in front of her that moment. Now that she had her mother, she was terrified for some reason.
Trisha moved back and wiped her eyes. “I know we have a lot to talk about.”
“I … yes, I suppose.”
“The men have been wonderful to me. I have a place to live and a new job. Both secure enough to keep me safe from your father.”
“Did he harm you?” Eve asked, concerned.
“He tried, but a man intervened and then brought me here.”
Eve nodded. She looked around again and saw that Gage and Darian had taken the girls out of the room, and she, her mother, and Patrick were the only ones left.
“There’s an extra bedroom if you’d like to stay with me.”
Eve bit her lip. She wanted to yell no, but with the way Patrick was acting, it might be her only option. “I…”
“She’ll be with me,” Patrick said gruffly.