Page 57 of Allegiance

And she was a better person than him.

He watched the delivery guys head out of the house, and Eve appear on the steps to watch them go.

His heart hurt.

She was lovely.

She was absolutely gorgeous and smiling.

She had her hand on her belly as she made the attachment to the child she was protecting inside her petite frame.

Ethan kept talking.

“She’s trying to be happy,” he said. “Maybe you being a coward is for the best. That baby is going to have a good mother who won’t let anyone hurt it. She’ll kill to protect that child, and that’s what a parent does. I gave up my legs to save one of our children and would have given my life. When you can say that, Dakota, you’ll finally understand. Once you make a life, you’re responsible for it, even if you’re in the pit, fighting to get out. Then, you fight harder. You don’t quit.”

Dakota said nothing.

As soon as the truck pulled away, Eve sat on the steps and put her head into her hands.

“She’s sad.”

Well, yeah, she was.

Eve Knight was in love with a jackass.

“She’s crying because she’s not happy. She’s carrying the baby of a man she fell in love with and who told her to leave. If she was happy, would she be sitting there alone? The reason she cries out here is she’d rather let the world see her sad than Violet.”

That broke his heart.

Ethan wasn’t done.

“Know how many times Elizabeth has wept in a closet so that the kids didn’t know she was breaking under the pressure? Countless times. That’s a mother’s love. It protects the child over her own soul. Only, she has partners who cover for her. Eve is alone.”

He watched her.

Then, it happened.

The Snake skills turned back on, and Eve became dangerous.

When she picked up her head, she looked around, as if sensing someone was watching her. She scanned the area, and the jig was almost up.

Immediately, Ethan shoved him down, and he followed him behind the wall as his Marines joined them.

Oh, they looked silly, but you didn’t let a snake know it wasn’t alone.

When Raphael checked the house, and whistled, Ethan knew it was clear.

When they got up, Adder was gone.

Eve was gone.

And Dakota was left to make a choice.

“The next step is yours.”

Dakota was bright red.

Oh, boy.