Dani threw up on his shoes.
Eli moved in front of her when Blessed Son raised his hand. She was sure BS meant to hit her.
“The plane ride upset her stomach, Papa Herbert. She didn’t mean to do it and she’s sorry.”
No, she wasn’t, but she kept that thought to herself. The world around her swayed, colors fading to gray. She leaned toward the one she trusted the most—though that wasn’t saying much—and crumbled against him.
A cool cloth brushed over her forehead. “Logan?” She reached for him. He would keep her safe.
Silence.
Dani opened her eyes to see Eli sitting in a chair, staring at her with a hurt expression. Where was Logan? She wanted him. Her gaze darted around the room, the bars on the one window confirming she wasn’t safe at home. She lay on a small bed, a thin blanket over her. When she was little, if she got scared, she would pull her covers over her head. The urge to do so now was strong.
“What happened? Why am I here?”
“You fainted.”
Something else she’d never done before, but between her nerves and BS creeping her out, it didn’t come as a big surprise. Oh God, had she really barfed on BS? Grabbing the edge of the blanket, she held it tight under her chin.
“Please,” she begged her husband’s twin. “Please take me home. Evan wouldn’t want you to do this.”
“He didn’t like you calling out another man’s name.”
Not only was it weird he spoke of Evan as if he were alive, but there was no good answer to his declaration. It was highly doubtful Eli would take it well if she told him the truth. There was no one more than Logan that Evan would have chosen for her if something ever happened to him. He would be happy to know she loved his closest friend and SEAL brother.
Whoa, love? Crap. Now the realization hits? Why couldn’t she have had this insight the night before instead of just thinking she should give them a chance? She didn’t give a damn what Logan did for a living. Today had proven that even she, a stay-at-home mom and writer, had no guarantees all was safe in her little world. She desperately wanted to live through this so she could tell him how stupid she’d been.
Time to find out what was going on. “What do you people want from me?”
The hurt look returned. “I thought you would be pleased, Danielle. Didn’t you miss him at all? Aren’t you happy to be back with him, or has the soldier corrupted you?”
Soldier? He had to mean Logan. Probably not a good idea to talk about him. “Evan died. I wish to God he hadn’t, but he did. He’s not here, Eli. That is who you are, right?”
Exploding from the chair, he strode to the end of the bed and then came back, standing over her. “Evan’s a part of me,” he said, pounding on his chest. “Papa Herbert said so, and he knows things like that.”
Definitely time to pull the covers over her head. But it wouldn’t make all this go away. Feeling vulnerable flat on her back, she pushed the blanket aside and stood on the opposite side from Eli. Until Logan came for her, she was alone and had no one to depend on but herself.
She needed to get Eli to talk, maybe get his sympathy. “Of course he’s a part of you. He’s your brother, shares a birthday with you, shared a womb with you.”
“And when he died, his spirit came to live inside of me. Now he is me and I am him and you are ours.”
All righty then, she’d fallen into the rabbit hole, and a damned scary one at that. There was something odd, though. It sounded as if he were repeating a mantra, words he’d been told. She was a writer and good with words herself, so using the only weapon at her disposal, she set about befriending him. She had a strong, uneasy feeling that she might need him to stand between her and BS.
“I wish Evan had known about you, Eli. He would’ve loved knowing he had a twin brother, but his father never told him. Somewhere deep inside him, I think the memory was there. Sometimes he dreamed about another little boy. The dreams were always the same. He and the boy were playing with a brown dog, a boxer, he thought.”
“Thumper,” Eli said through a rush of breath.
Hell if she knew. Evan had never said the dog had a name. “Yes, Thumper. He didn’t know about you, Eli. If he had, he would have searched for you.”
“Didn’t he see my face in the dreams? Didn’t he see I looked just like him?”
Lord, between Logan and Eli, she really should have majored in psychology. The man who had Evan’s face had his eyes trained on her, his expression heartbreakingly and boyishly hopeful. Although she knew nothing about him, she thought it possible someone had done a superb job of stunting his mental growth. If she had to point an accusing finger, she would aim it right at Mr. BS.