Eve draped a shirt over the hand holding the gun and then motioned for Rusty to walk out of the house and back to her Jeep.
When they got outside, Eve directed Rusty into the front while she climbed in back and reclined on the seat so no one would see her head. But she angled the gun so it was pointed at the side of Rusty’s head. Rusty would have to be extra careful going over any bumps because she sure as hell didn’t want the gun accidentally discharging.
“Make sure you don’t do anything to alert anyone when we leave the gate,” Eve said in a low voice that was filled with purpose. “I know retinal scans are performed upon entering but that all you have to do to get out is punch in your key code from your vehicle, so there’s no need to roll down your window or even pause. If you do, I shoot. It’s that simple.”
That simple? Jesus. Rusty was beginning to wonder if the reports had been right and Eve was mentally unstable. Because normal people didn’t wield a gun and make threats.
But a desperate person did.
And whatever had driven Eve to her current level of desperation had to be bad. Rusty wasn’t a fool. She knew Eve had strong feelings for Donovan. But she also knew that she wasn’t as confident about her acceptance in the Kelly family yet. And who could blame her? Her life had been shit. Cammie’s and Travis’s lives had been shit. Rusty had been quick to condemn Eve for deserting her siblings, but it was in fact a selfless gesture on Eve’s part. Rusty had seen the pain that had swamped Eve’s eyes at the mention of leaving them behind. That kind of grief couldn’t be faked. And yet she was leaving them. With Donovan. Donovan, who she was convinced would protect them from her stepfather.
The question was, why didn’t Eve trust Donovan to protect her as well? What was it she’d said? That Donovan had betrayed her?
There were so many questions Rusty wanted answers to that her head was spinning. And she had no idea how to get those answers from a desperate woman pointing a gun at Rusty’s head.
This was one time when she wished Sean were actually pulling his hover routine and were around. Rusty might not be sure of the cop or his intentions. And that kiss had certainly put a different spin on things. But she did know Sean was a damn good cop with a very caring heart. How many times had he gone to the wall for the Kellys? How many times had he done things that could well jeopardize his reputation and career in law enforcement in order to do the right thing?
Yeah, she could use Sean about now. He had a level head and he was loyal to his bones. He could talk Eve around. She was sure of it. He’d certainly talked down Rachel on more than one occasion when Rachel was at her most vulnerable and precariously close to a nervous breakdown.
Eve’s break from reality certainly qualified in this instance. Rusty didn’t believe for a moment the woman was crazy or mentally unstable. Emotionally unstable at the moment? Hell yeah. She’d apparently been thrown one hell of a curveball. Rusty just wished she knew what the hell had gone on in that house to make Eve resort to such desperate measures.
Rusty did as Eve had demanded. She’d keyed in the code and accelerated through the gates so the cameras would only pick up on Rusty in the Jeep. She’d even murmured a caution to Eve to get as low as she could. Hell, she was practically aiding and abetting the woman. Maybe she was the one losing her damn mind.
But she wanted to help, damn it. And she wanted to buy time to figure out what the hell was going on in Eve’s head.
The drive to the hardware store was short. It wouldn’t be opened yet, a fact that might work in her favor because one, she was supposed to be with Eve at Donovan’s house, and two, someone noticing her in this early might question it. One of the perks of living in a small town. Everyone was up in your grill and in your business, and it wouldn’t surprise her one bit if a concerned citizen called Sean or one of the Kellys to let them know someone was at the hardware store before opening.