On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(35)

Eve felt her face flush. It was time to go. She set her wine glass down and stood up. “I think I’ll just skip the dinner, Grace. I’m feeling a bit tired.”

A frown passed over Grace’s face. “And I’m going to ask you to stay.”

That was a deeply aggressive move for someone like Grace. “Like I said, I’ve had a long day and I’m tired.”

“He’s taking Amanda with him.”

That stopped her in her tracks. She sat back down, trying to process the new information. Alex and Amanda?

Avery leaned over, whispering Grace’s way. “You didn’t have to tell her like that.”

“Yes, I did,” Grace said. “Eve doesn’t respond to subtle. She would walk out of here in a heartbeat if I let her because she’s more than willing to listen to every single one of us and help us with our problems, but she won’t have the decency of returning the favor.”

A shitty day had just turned worse. “I’m a therapist. I’m supposed to listen and help. If I’m not doing a good enough job for you, I can certainly refer you to someone else.”

Grace stood up, facing her down. “And I’m family. I’m your sister and that’s not going to ever change. And I can’t refer myself or find someone else.”

Serena stood up beside Grace. “What she said.”

Adam walked up carrying a tray of appetizers, a big smile plastered on his face. He stopped as every single female looked at him. Without a word, he backed away.

“Well at least the men won’t come in now.” Avery shook her head as the kitchen door swung behind him.

Eve had to ignore everything except what Grace had said. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“I’m going to ask you this and if you want to tell me to keep my nose out of your business, then I will, but we’re family now and I happen to care a great deal about you. You’re more than willing to help me out any time I’m in trouble. Can’t you understand that I want to do the same for you?”

“Me, too,” Serena said, reaching for her hand. She stopped as though realizing she was about to do something rude.

God, when had she made the conscious decision to shove everyone away? Maybe that decision hadn’t been conscious. Maybe it had been born from her pain and misery, but she’d done it all the same. She was surrounded by these amazing women and they were right. They were family. She grabbed Serena’s hand. “I’m worried about Alex.”

Grace sank back into her sofa, a long sigh coming from her chest. “Thank god. I hate doing the tough-chick thing.”

Avery smiled. “I advised that we should just get you drunk and have a sleepover. I always talked too much at sleepovers.”

Serena snorted a little. “Yeah, that would totally work. Avery and I would be snoring by nine and Grace would be up all night with Carys. Nope. This is better. So talk and tell us how we can help because I hate Amanda.”

“Is she the one who’s always so sweet around the Doms and then tells all the subs in the locker room that they’re fat?” Avery asked. “Yeah, I hate her, too. I told her I wasn’t fat, I was pregnant and she said ‘same difference. If it moos like a cow…’”

Grace gasped. “She called you a cow?”

Avery nodded. “Apparently she was very interested in Li before we got married. He admitted to sleeping with her a couple of times, but then he slept with most of them. Why did I get the manwhore?”

“Reformed manwhore,” Eve said, getting a little angry at the thought of Amanda trying to undermine everyone around her. “Now she’s after Alex.”

“Well, I think Ian would be her first choice, but he sees right through that kind of crap,” Grace said.

“Alex is softer than Ian. He wants to believe the best of people, so when Amanda pulls her doe-eyed routine, he buys it. Come on. It’s an age-old tale. Men are dumb. Like eighteen seasons of The Bachelor haven’t proven that,” Serena said. “They always pick the nasty one and then they’re all like, ‘What? I didn’t see that coming.’ Dumb ass.”

Amanda was awful. She got that. It didn’t explain everything. “Why would he take her? He needs backup. He pretends like this isn’t dangerous, but this guy he’s going after…”

“Is one of the worst terrorists in the world and has hurt all of us very deeply,” Grace finished.

Eve shook her head. “I don’t understand. You know Evans?”

“I know that he hurt you and that means he hurt every one of us, and we all have to pitch in.”

A deep well of emotion surged. There were things she knew intellectually, but hadn’t put into practice, holding the truths close to her heart. One of those truths was the fact that she didn’t have to be alone. She didn’t have to hide or cover up. If she were on the outside looking in on her own case, she would tell herself that talking about it, opening up and sharing the burden where she could was the only way to heal. “Can I be honest?”

“Of course,” all three said at the same time.

Eve couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t want him to go.”

“I wouldn’t either,” Serena said. “It’s scary to send them off.”

Eve shook her head. “It’s not totally about the danger. Alex is making the same mistakes all over again. He’s opening wounds that might finally be healing.”