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"I know."
"Good. Back to the plan. Ro and I each have our copy of your dress." Tugging at her hair, Teagan frowned. "I tried it on the other day. It shows a lot of skin. Won't people notice the bruising?"
"I have a cape," Evelyn explained, only to be met with twin looks of confusion from her sisters.
"A cape? Like Superman?" Ro laughed. "Won't the red and yellow clash with your gown?"
"Not like Superman." Rolling her eyes, Evelyn pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up a picture of the floor-length, white dress cape she'd purchased. "Like this."
"Oh. That's… fancy," Ro decided with a giggle.
"More importantly, it hides the damage until we're ready." Teagan looked impressed, despite herself. "Nice work."
"I'm not just a pretty face, you know," Evelyn snapped, tossing the phone in her purse. "I have a brain and I do occasionally use it for something more than my vanity."
"Whoa." Teagan held up both hands in the time-honored gesture of surrender. "I never said you weren't smart."
"You don't have to say it. You've made it clear you think I'm silly and ridiculous." Heat flooded her cheeks. She hated confrontation. Especially with people she actually cared for.
"Evie, nobody thinks you're ridiculous," Ro offered quietly.
"Well, you should!" The words burst out of her. Unable to bear sitting still another minute, she shoved out of the chair and paced the small space. "How ridiculous is it to be so swept up in a man that I let things get this bad? How stupid does someone have to be to let this happen?"
"Stop it." The gruff order was accompanied by Teagan grabbing her arms and jerking her around. Evelyn wasn't quick enough to hide the wince when her sister unknowingly pressed on a fresh bruise.
"Goddammit." Still holding her captive, Teagan jerked the sleeve of her sweater up to reveal the dark purple fingerprints wrapped around Evelyn's upper arm. "How bad?"
Evelyn tried to pull her arm from Teagan's grasp, but her sister was stronger than she looked. "Not too bad. Just the arm, mostly."
Another hand rested on Teagan's, gently prying her fingers from Evelyn's arm. Ro. "Tell us what happened, love."
"The same thing as always." Freed from Teagan's grasp, Evelyn rubbed at her arm. "I said the wrong thing, embarrassed him at a dinner party. He couldn't very well beat the shit out of me in front of the people who funded his campaign, could he?"
"Oh, Evie." For once, when Ro pulled her in close, Evelyn went willingly into her sister's arms.
"I don't know if I'm strong enough for this," she admitted, clinging to Ro.
Teagan joined them, wrapping her arms around the pair of them. "Then let us be your strength. Lean on us, Evie. We'll get you out. I swear."
Chapter 1
The inaugural ball…
Everything was perfect.
Every detail, from the lighting down to the tiny quiches currently being distributed to the first flood of guests, had been painstakingly chosen for this exact moment. Evelyn Berkshire closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose then slowly out through her mouth. Exactly six deep breaths, the way her meditation instructor had taught her.
Rowena, one of the sisters Evelyn had never known she had, couldn't believe she'd needed someone to teach her how to relax. But then, Rowena hadn't been raised as the daughter of two prominent lawyers and then passed off to a man who accepted nothing short of perfection. Rowena's husband Octavius had standards, but they weren't unreasonable. And every rule he'd put in place for her had been discussed and agreed upon by both parties.
And then there was Teagan, the third in their recently discovered trio. Teagan wasn't as footloose and carefree as Rowena. Quite the opposite, with her "kick ass and take names later" attitude. She'd never in a million years put up with a man pushing her around. Paddling her ass, the way her fiancé Luca occasionally did, was one thing. But she'd never bend or break. Teagan was a warrior. Not weak, like Evelyn.
But she wasn't weak any longer. Straightening her shoulders, Evelyn lifted her chin. She couldn't afford to be weak, not tonight. Too much was riding on her being able to carry out her part of the plan.
"You look lovely, my dear."
It was a testament to the strength she'd borrowed from her sisters that she didn't jump out of her skin at the sound of his voice and that she could stand here, in a sea of people, and let him touch her without screaming.One more night, she reminded herself. Fixing on what she hoped was the last of her fake smiles for a long time, she turned to face him. Branson Montgomery. Pride of the Pacific Northwest, with his stunning good looks and diplomatic charm. Governor-elect of Oregon. The man she'd agreed to pledge her life to.
And the monster that haunted her every waking moment.
