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"How?" Tugging at her hair, Ro let out a short, frustrated scream. "How was leaving harder than staying and getting beaten up every day?"
Teagan's eyes never left Evelyn's as she explained, "Because he's what she knows. Leaving him meant leaving behind the only world she's ever known. You think she can just go back to her old life after the stunt she pulled?"
"Why can't she?" The confusion and exasperation were clear in Ro's voice. "Nobody will blame her for what happened."
"Some will," Evelyn said quietly, turning her attention to her wild, carefree sister. Ro knew her share of heartache, but she'd also been raised in an environment where people held each other up and supported each other, no matter what. Teagan, like Evelyn, understood the world didn't work the way Ro expected it to. "Some people will blame me. Even after tonight, there will be whispers. People who aren't willing to believe the man they put their faith in could be so evil. And even if they don't blame me, there will still be whispers about how weak I must have been. I'll never fit in, not like I did before. And I don't know that I want to."
Dropping her hands to her side, Ro sighed, and the sound was so defeated, it broke Evelyn's heart. She hated being such a source of pain for her family.
Teagan let go of one of Evelyn's hands and Ro stepped into the empty space between them. The three of them stood there, holding each other up, for several long moments before Teagan spoke again. "You know we have to tell the men."
Ro groaned. "They're going to flip."
"I know." Evelyn rested her head on Ro's shoulder. "I'll tell them."
"We'll be right here with you." Teagan gave her hand a squeeze, and Evelyn smiled. At the crux of it, that was all that mattered. She had her sisters, and together, they could move mountains. Even mountains wielding paddles and God knew what else they'd brought with them.
Chapter 3
Octavius jumped up from his spot on the couch at Rowena's shout. "I'm going in there."
"Stop." He might not have been the one giving orders on a regular basis, but Jason had no problem issuing them when needed.
Luca and Octavius both stared at him with similar expressions of disbelief. "Stop?" Octavius parroted back, both eyebrows winging up toward his hairline.
"Yeah. Stop. This is something they need to work out between the three of them right now. You barging in there is just going to make it worse." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or the other two, since he wanted nothing more than to swoop in and rescue Evie from the angry, raised voices coming from the kitchen.
"I hate that you're right." Dropping back onto the couch, Octavius scowled at the coffee table. "What are they talking about, anyway?"
Tapping a finger on his knee, Jason weighed his words carefully. "Evie has some fresh bruising. Really fresh. She was pretty skittish when I asked her about it in the van."
"Why would she be skittish?" It was Luca's turn to scowl. "We all know he was beating her. That was the whole point of this little operation."
"I know. I got the impression it's not as simple as that." Just like he had a feeling none of them were going to like the explanation when it finally came.
"Great. Because it wasn't enough they completely ignored our orders tonight. Now we have something else to deal with?" Octavius scrubbed a hand over his face, but it did little to hide his irritation with the situation.
"I don't think you have to worry." Jason shrugged when they stared at him again. "I don't think Ro and Teagan knew anything about whatever it is. This was all Evie."
"Good. It's your problem, then." With a slightly evil grin, Luca clapped a hand on Jason's shoulder.
Frowning, Jason shook his head. "She's not mine."
"Sure, she is," Octavius said with breezy confidence. "Has been from the moment she decided to leave Sleazeball."
"Maybe, but I'm waiting for her to let me know she's ready. After all she's been through, she doesn't need me banging down her door."
"I don't know, Jay." Tilting his head, Octavius gave him a look that clearly said hedidknow and Jason was just being an idiot about it. "Seems to me, she could use someone exactly like you right now."
"Just drop it, O," Jason snapped.
"Drop what?"
All three men turned at the sound of Evie's voice. The women were standing side by side, facing them. A united front. Good. Whatever she had to tell them wasn't so bad, her sisters were refusing to stand by her through it. His stomach began to unknot itself.
"Nothing." Luca took charge, as usual. "Are you girls ready to tell us what's going on?"
Teagan and Ro glanced at Evie, but her gaze was locked on Jason. Her hazel eyes pleaded with him, but he wasn't sure what she wanted from him. "Yes. But before I do," she looked to Luca and Octavius each in turn, "I want you to know Teagan and Ro didn't know about this. I didn't tell them, because they would have stopped me."
