Here was a weakness Rusty could possibly exploit.
“You’d just leave them behind?” she asked incredulously. “If you do, you aren’t the person I thought you were, Eve.”
Pain drifted into Eve’s eyes. And grief. Honest-to-goodness devastation. It was as plain as if Eve wore a sign on her forehead.
“I can help you,” Rusty said in a low voice, one she hoped was soothing and convincing. “Just tell me what’s going on. You have to know I’ll do anything I can to help. I can call Donovan. He’ll sort this out. Whatever it is, Eve. It can be solved. It’s what my brothers do.”
“Don’t lie!” Eve demanded, fury lacing the explosive outburst. “Don’t lie like everyone else has. At least be honest. That would be a novelty for sure.”
Rusty sent her a look of genuine confusion. She had no idea what had prompted this craziness but whatever it was, it was not good. One only had to look at Eve to know this was a woman nearing her breaking point. It was only a matter of time until she snapped. Unless Rusty was able to come up with something fast, this was all going downhill in very short order. Hell, it already was.
“You’d really leave Cammie and Travis?” Rusty asked again, purposely making her tone soft and unaccusing.
Pain splintered through Eve’s eyes. Hell, it made Rusty hurt to see the very real agony in Eve’s expression.
“Of the two, their father or Donovan, who would you prefer for Cammie and Travis to be with? I know Walt will hurt them. No matter that Donovan betrayed me, I don’t think him truly capable of hurting those children. He cares for them deeply. Me, not so much, since he plans to turn me over to my stepfather. The sacrificial lamb, so to speak, so he can protect Cammie and Travis.”
Rusty couldn’t have been more shocked if Eve had pulled the trigger and shot her where she stood. Her mouth gaped open as she stared back at Eve. It was then she realized that Eve believed every word that had come out of her mouth. Somehow, she’d gained the belief that Donovan had betrayed her—or would. How the hell was Rusty supposed to convince her differently? For that matter, what did she really know of the situation?
Donovan hadn’t shared much about Eve, or his feelings for that matter. He’d been extremely possessive of Cammie and Travis and, Rusty had thought, of Eve as well. Had she been so horribly wrong about a man she called brother?
No fucking way. Which meant Eve had some fucked-up intel. The question was, how had she arrived at such a ridiculous conclusion?
Eve took a step forward, her eyes once more gleaming with resolve. She lifted the gun higher so it was aimed directly at Rusty’s chest. A cold chill snaked down Rusty’s spine. She was good at reading people. It was a skill that had served her well and had saved her ass on more than one occasion.
And right now she absolutely believed that Eve meant every single word of what she was saying. This was a desperate woman, making desperate choices. She had the gun to prove it.
Shit, shit, shit. What the hell was Rusty supposed to do?
She had no choice. She had to do as Eve asked, or rather demanded. It was too risky. What if Eve squeezed that trigger a little too hard in her effort to convince Rusty she meant business? Even if Eve had no intention of shooting Rusty, she could well do it by accident.
“Where do you want me to take you?” Rusty asked in defeat.
There was no triumph in Eve’s gaze. No sense of victory. She just looked . . . sad.
“To the hardware store. I’ll leave you there, but I’ll need your Jeep. Sorry. I don’t have a choice,” Eve said in a low voice.
Jesus God, she was standing there pointing a gun at Rusty and threatening to shoot unless Rusty cooperated, and in the next breath she was apologizing for the fact that she planned to steal Rusty’s ride.