“That’s not going to happen,” Shepherd answered with a certainty that caused a shiver to ripple down her spine.
“What he means…” Asher hurriedly stepped in. “Is that if, at any point, Adrian appears to accept that proposal, you canalways fall back on paying him off instead. There’s not ever going to be a scenario where we hand him over.”
Evie paced across the living room. Her hands were shaking, and she stopped and pressed them against her thighs, but it didn't help. The trembling was coming from somewhere deeper, somewhere that couldn't be steadied by force of will alone.
She swung around and confronted her parents. “And you agree with this?”
Sally's eyes were red-rimmed, and she twisted a tissue between her fingers. "Sweetheart, we just want what's best for you and Ollie."
That wasn't an answer. Evie felt the floor tilt beneath her feet. "So, you do agree with them."
Her father cleared his throat. "We think... We think Asher might have a point. Adrian's always been about money and appearances. He never showed much interest in being a real father when you were together."
The words landed like physical blows. Evie's chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. They were supposed to be on her side. They were supposed to tell these men they were being ridiculous, that she should never, ever risk losing Ollie, not even for a second.
Instead, they were nodding along like this all made perfect sense.
"I can't believe this." Her voice came out strangled. "You're all acting like Ollie is some... some chess piece we can move around the board to see what Adrian does. He's my son!"
"We know that sugarplum, we really do. We’re just trying to beat Adrian at his own game and stop him once and for all," Asher said gently, but Evie didn't want gentle right now. She wanted someone to understand that this wasn't a calculated risk she could take. This was terror, raw and primal, the kind thatmade her want to grab Ollie and run until they hit an ocean. Then sail across it until he was absolutely safe.
"I need air." She turned toward the hallway, but Gabe stepped into her path.
"Evie, please…"
"Move." The word came out flat and hard, so unlike her usual tone that Gabe actually flinched. Good. Let him feel a fraction of what she was feeling.
He stepped aside, and she rushed past him, through the foyer to the front door. Heaving it open, Evie sucked in the bracing fresh air that slapped her in the face.
She shut the door and leaned against it, her breath coming in short, painful gasps. The world spun slightly, or maybe it was just tilting off its axis again.
She shook her head, closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. She was hyperventilating. The solidity behind her gave way, and for a moment, Evie thought she was falling, but then the cold wood was replaced with a solid heat. Leather and coffee. Shepherd.
His presence wrapped around her and made her feel safe for the first time in twenty-four hours. Evie wanted to lean on him, depend on him, but she couldn’t, because after never being able to choose between her three men, now she was being forced to choose between them and her son. It felt like a part of her was being ripped away, and Evie didn’t know how she ‘d ever be whole again without them.
“Adrian will not take Ollie. Not ever,” Shepherd promised, his gruff voice a lethal assurance. “I will spirit the two of you away before I ever let that bastard ruin you or that child.”
Had he read her mind?
“I will cause so much chaos for him that Ollie will be the very last thing he’s thinking of. Hell, I might just do that anyway, for the pain he’s caused you.”
Evie's throat tightened. The promise in Shepherd's voice was terrifying in an entirely different way. She twisted in his arms to face him, and what she saw in his expression made her blood run cold. This wasn't the grumpy coffee shop owner who grumbled about peppermint lattes. This was someone capable of things she didn't want to imagine.
"Shepherd, no." Her hands pressed against his chest. "You can't... whatever you're thinking, you can't."
It wasn’t a smile that lifted the corners of his mouth, and it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Oh, I won’t have to, sweetheart. Adrian owes money to the wrong people. He’s already sealed his fate. Another reason why I’ll never let him near Ollie… but I have no compunction to helping him on his way.”
She shouldn’t let his words sway her. Evie knew she shouldn’t. But the fact he was so passionate about protecting her son - yes, okay, and her - that he was prepared to go to such lengths… Well, she was only human. Having someone committed to supporting and defending her was a heady feeling.
“Do you promise?” she whispered, hardly daring to believe.
Shepherd crooked his finger under her chin and raised her face to his. The passion and sincerity Evie saw there took her breath away. “I promise you, to my last breath, Adrian will never get full custody of Ollie.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, stripped away the last of her fears with a kiss which was both a demand that she trust him as well as a pledge.
And Evie believed him.
