Page 123 of Goal Line

“Maybe why you thought wewouldn’tshow up if you needed us?” Tucker suggests.

Hmmm.“Who said I needed you?”

“You don’t go toe to toe with a guy like Hans Becker alone. Just because you don’t work for the family business doesn’t mean you don’t have our support,” Preston says as he takes a seat next to me on the couch.

It’s only then that I stop to wonder whether my brothers are closer to each other than they are to me because I’m somuch younger, like I’ve always assumed, or if it’s because I’ve distanced myself—either intentionally or not—assuming they were a triumvirate that I could never be part of.

“Technically, Tucker doesn’t work for Hartmann Enterprises anymore either,” Tristan says, planting himself in the chair nearest the couch. We don’t talk about how Tucker had to walk away from the family business after his failed engagement, but I always wonder if he’d rather still be doing that work than being the CEO of the Boston Rebels.

“And yet, I’m still a Hartmann,” Tucker responds, clapping me on the shoulder. “Funny how that works.”

“So tell us what’s going on, and let us help you fix it,” Preston says, nodding to Tucker to take the other chair nearest Eva’s bed.

“Okay, but I need you to not ask too many questions. There are some things that I just can’t tell you,” I say, keeping my voice low, and my brothers all lean in as I fill them in. I don’t tell them that he’s the biological father of our baby, just that he and Eva had “a thing” before we were together, he’s recently popped back up, and I’d like to make sure he stays as far away from our life as possible.

My brothers all pull out their phones, and we get to work identifying everything that this man values, so we can figure out the quickest way to pull it all out from under him.

“Hey.” I stroke my hand over Eva’s hair as I kiss her forehead. I’m trying not to focus on the bruise that’s forming around her forearm, no doubt where Hans grabbed her last night. I need to stay levelheaded rightnow, and the knowledge that he physically hurt her doesn’t help.

She blinks a few times before focusing on my face. “What time is it?”

“It’s early. I need to go meet with our lawyers?—”

“We have lawyers?”

I chuckle at how half-asleep Eva is asking silly questions. “Of course we do. And then I’ll head over to meet Hans. Morgan’s going to stop by in about an hour, but I didn’t want you to wake up and wonder where I’d gone.”

“Did I dream that your brothers were here in the middle of the night, or did that really happen?”

She’s about as awake now as she was at two in the morning when the nurse came in to take her vitals, and found the four Hartmann brothers with their heads tucked close together, plotting in hushed whispers.

“Yeah, they stopped by.”

Her hand coasts over the swell of her belly. “Do they know?”

“No. But they helped me figure out the best way to make sure Hans stays out of our lives forever.”

Her eyebrows draw together in concern, and then she chuckles. “Is it legal?”

“Honey, we’re Hartmanns. We don’t need to do illegal shit. We just stay two steps ahead of everyone else.”

She bites her lip and gives me a nod. “Hurry back.”

“Of course.” I press a soft kiss to her lips and head out to meet our lawyers.

Two hours later, I’m walking into the coffee shop where Hans told Eva to meet him. I move through the crowd of people in line and find him sitting in the back with a cappuccinoon the table in front of him. I drop a manilla envelope on the table before I pull out the chair. His head snaps up in surprise.

“That seat’s taken,” he says.

“Doesn’t look taken.” I sit.

“I’m expecting someone.”

“Well, I’m here instead.”

His eyes narrow, and he reminds me a bit of my brothers—confident and accustomed to giving orders, not taking them.

“Where’s Eva?”