After the Storm (KGI #8)(124)

CHAPTER 44

EVE struggled from the heavy fog that enveloped her like a blanket. It was odd. She didn’t feel as . . . She struggled with what word to describe it. But she felt lighter somehow. Her veins didn’t feel as though mud sludged through them, weighting her down and making her senseless and unaware. Where was she?

She grappled with her memory, trying to piece together anything that made . . . sense.

Bits and pieces came back to her like random photos flashing on a video monitor. Walt. His threats. And then nothing. She remembered staring sightlessly from a small window to a garden that badly needed tending. The sun hurting her eyes and her shutting them, only wanting to escape her reality.

But now? She opened her eyes, puzzled by how difficult a task it was, and when she did all she saw was white. It took her a moment to realize she was lying flat on her back and she was staring up at the ceiling. Then she became aware of the low murmur of voices.

Was it them? Were they coming back to put her back into the fog? She tried to summon a protest, not wanting the numbness any longer. At first it had been welcome. But why? She couldn’t remember why she preferred the sense of nothingness.

“Evie? Evie, are you awake?”

Cammie! Dear God, had they taken Cammie too?

And then it all came crashing back, exploding into her mind. Everything. Donovan’s betrayal. Walt forcing her vehicle off the road. The plane trip and Walt taking her to his cabin. His demands. His threats. His promise that no matter what, he’d have Travis and Cammie back with or without her cooperation. She’d left Travis and Cammie with Donovan, fully believing that no matter his feelings for her—that she didn’t matter—that he at least cared for her siblings and that he would protect them. Had she been wrong about that just as she’d been wrong about so much else?

She had to break away from the hold of the fog slowly trying to envelop her once more. She had to protect Cammie. She’d do it. Whatever Walt wanted. If he’d only promise to let Cammie go.

She let out a moan of anguish and she licked her lips, trying to speak, puzzled over the raspy sound that came out in its stead.

“I’ll do it,” she finally managed to get out. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll do it. But you have to promise to give Cammie back. I’ll be whatever you want.”

Tears choked her words and she realized they were sliding endlessly down her cheeks. Everything she had done had been for nothing. All the running, the endless worry, the sacrifices she’d made and been prepared to make. It didn’t matter because in the end Walt had won after all.

And then to her utter shock, Donovan appeared, his face just over hers, and even more bewildering were the tears sliding down his cheeks, grief and sorrow swamping his eyes.

He touched her face, trying to wipe the tears that ran in a never-ending river. She had no control over them. She’d lost everything that mattered. But how? Why was he here? Where was she?

“Darling Eve,” he choked out. “My God, Eve. Honey, you’re safe. Cammie is safe. Travis is safe. They’re both here and very anxious to see you. Would you like that? They’ve been very worried about you. I’ve been worried about you.”

She nodded eagerly, her ability to speak around the flood of tears knotting her throat utterly gone.

Cammie crawled cautiously onto the bed and then Travis pushed past Donovan, who stood back to allow Travis access to her. She stared up at her brother and sister and she wept.

Cammie hugged her on one side and Travis hugged her on the other. Her arms felt encased in lead, but she managed to lift them and wrap them solidly around her siblings, reveling in the feel of them so warm and alive. Safe. Donovan had said they were safe. They were all safe.

“Don’t cry, Evie,” Travis said in a tortured voice that betrayed his own tears. “Everything is okay now. You’re back. You’re going to be all right. Please don’t cry. We’re okay. All of us. Walt is dead. He can’t hurt us anymore. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

She clung desperately to her brother and sister, not wanting to let go in case this was a product of the drugs that had been forced on her. Was it all just a bizarre manifestation of her heart’s desire? Had she conjured them up and it was all just a hallucination? A trick of the medication?

“You’re real,” she choked out. “You’re here. Oh my God, I was so worried. I thought . . . I thought he had you,” she said tearfully.

Cammie patted her cheek and then wiped away more of the tears that Eve couldn’t manage to stop.

“Don’t cry, Evie,” Cammie said, echoing Travis’s plea. “We can be a family now. A real family. Van said so. Though he said I can call him Daddy and I want to. Can I, Evie? Can I call him Daddy and you Mama?”

“Oh, darling,” Eve whispered. “I love you so very much. But . . .”

She closed her eyes unable to voice what was uppermost on her mind. She couldn’t destroy Cammie’s illusions. It would be cruel.

“Cammie, Travis, can you give me a moment with Eve? There’s a lot I need to explain to her. Go into the living room with Rachel and Sophie. You can come back in just a bit. I promise.”

Cammie kissed Eve’s cheek and then smiled her sweet smile. “Van will make it all better. He promised.”

And then she bounced off the bed and Travis took her hand to lead her out of what Eve now realized was Donovan’s bedroom. They were in his home. In Tennessee. Miles away from where she’d been . . . She didn’t even realize how long she’d been there, or how long she’d been here, for that matter.