ME AND MY DADDI - Season 4 Episode 14

“No, I don’t like my little girl to look like a streetwalker.”

Larkin gasped. “I do not.”

Gage nodded. “Darian’s right, but were not going to worry about it right now. We have got somewhere to be.”

Eve stood and fidgeted nervously when she still didn’t see Patrick.

“What should I do?”

Darian cupped her chin. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. They did a good job with your hair.”

“Where’s Patrick?”

Darian and Gage glanced at each other. “He’s in a meeting, so we said we’d bring you with us.”

“Oh, okay,” she said and tried not to sound disappointed.

“Let’s go,” Gage said and held the door open for them all.

The girls sat in the back seat while the two men drove up front.

“Where are we going, daddy?” Brylee asked.

“We’re going to meet someone.”

“Who?”

Gage smirked at her over his shoulder. “You’ll find out.” His grin grew when Brylee pouted and tried to look mad.

“Give it up, baby girl.”

Brylee nudged Larkin in the side with her elbow when her friend giggled.

Eve stared out the window and watched the buildings and people go by. They pulled up to a humungous glass building, and the men got out and opened their doors.

“This way, girls,” Darian said.

Eve stiffened when she noticed the two bodyguards park behind them, get out of the car, and hurry toward them.

The seven of them took the elevator up to the top floor and down a long hallway.

Eve gripped Larkin’s hand, getting more nervous as the seconds passed.

Gage opened a door and ushered the group in. Eve caught sight of Patrick and a few other people across the room. Her stomach knotted when he glanced at her and scowled before turning back to the people.

Darian sat Larkin and Brylee by the window at a small table and told them to stay seated before he and Gage went over to Patrick.

Eve stayed by the door. She heard them talking but could tell they didn’t want her to hear. She looked at the girls and then the door. Her need to flee was gaining strength. She took a few sliding steps toward it but froze when it opened and her mother walked in.

The two women stared at each other in shock.

Eve studied her mother. Although she had aged, she was still beautiful, and her eyes still held the gentle, caring emotions.

“Eve…” Trisha reached out.

Eve stepped back and then stopped. Tears filled her mother’s eyes. Eve looked around, desperately needing Patrick to be with her, but he stayed across the room with his arms crossed and a hard look on his face.

She inhaled sharply and turned back to her mother. “Hi, Mama.”

“May I … can, I hug you, sweetheart? It’s been so long.”

Eve nodded and then flinched when her mother wrapped her arms around her. She lifted her own arms but just set them on her mother’s back. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t more excited. She’d dreamed of seeing her for years, and she stood in front of her that moment. Now that she had her mother, she was terrified for some reason.

Trisha moved back and wiped her eyes. “I know we have a lot to talk about.”

“I … yes, I suppose.”

“The men have been wonderful to me. I have a place to live and a new job. Both secure enough to keep me safe from your father.”

“Did he harm you?” Eve asked, concerned.

“He tried, but a man intervened and then brought me here.”

Eve nodded. She looked around again and saw that Gage and Darian had taken the girls out of the room, and she, her mother, and Patrick were the only ones left.

“There’s an extra bedroom if you’d like to stay with me.”

Eve bit her lip. She wanted to yell no, but with the way Patrick was acting, it might be her only option. “I…”

“She’ll be with me,” Patrick said gruffly.

Trisha glanced at him and nodded. “It’s probably for the best. You can protect her better than I can.”

“I think we should plan another time to get together,” Patrick said. “You need to get settled, and Eve looks exhausted.”

“I’d like that,” Trisha said and smiled at Eve. She hugged her again and then turned to the door. “I’m so glad I finally got to talk to you. I hope to see you soon, sweetheart.”

Eve couldn’t get any words past her tight throat, so she stayed quiet. A long moment passed after the door closed before she turned to face Patrick.

A slight trembling started in her hands and moved outward. The man she’d already partially fallen in love with stood cold across the room and didn’t attempt to come to her. He’d said she was going with him, but he didn’t sound happy about it.

“Listen, I … think … I can make other arrangements…”

Patrick’s scowl darkened as he made his way to her. He gripped her upper arm and started pulling her out of the room. They were both silent as they made their way outside to the car. On the way back to Patrick’s, Eve sat silently, not sure what to say. She desperately wanted him to say something to her. She became more depressed as the miles passed.

She tore from the car the second they pulled into the garage and raced up to her room. She ignored all the boxes and bags from the department store website they’d bought clothes at the day before. After she crawled into the closet to the way back, she pulled her knees to her chest, laid her head on them, and cried.

Sobs ripped from her until she was gasping to breathe. She balled her hands tightly, puncturing her palms with her nails.

“Eve,” Patrick yelled out in the hallway.

She made herself smaller and tried to be as quiet as she could. She jerked when her bedroom door was thrown open.

“Eve, goddammit, where are you?”

She whimpered as her body started to shake uncontrollably.