Page 72 of The Billionaire's Bride

"After that third attack, it was clear that you need to be protected until we track down the remaining two guys who came after you in the subway," Baron reminds her.

She shivers, folds her arms around herself.

"I don’t mean to bring this up to scare you, Eve." I lean forward and take her hand between mine. "It’s just, we want to make sure you understand how serious this threat is. Which is why," I gesture to the space around us, "we brought you here."

She blows out a breath. "I understand. I really do." She glances between us. "I just wish I, at least, had a phone. My father’s getting married tomorrow, and uh, he wanted me to be there. If I can't make it, I should, at least, let him know."

"Do you want to go to his wedding?" I hold her gaze. "Do you, Eve?"

She swallows, then glances away.

"If you did..." Baron tilts his head, "If you did, we’d make it happen."

She bites down on her lower lip. "To be fair, I’m not sure." She shakes her head. "It’s only been six months since my mother died and while she, apparently, approved of the woman he’s chosen to marry, I don’t know." She shakes her head, "It’s too soon. I mean, my parents were married for twenty-five years. They had me and my sister. It’s not like it was some fly-by-night relationship, you know. They had a wonderful marriage, a close family… And then, just like that…" she snaps her finger, "she fell sick one day and was gone in a few months." A tear rolls down her cheek, "It was terrible."

I push back my seat, walk around and put my arms around her. "I am so sorry, Eve."

"And now he’s getting remarried." She wipes the tears from her cheek. "I can’t believe he’s replacing her so quickly."

"Maybe she wanted him to marry?" Baron offers. "She’d have wanted him to be happy, right?"

"That’s what he claims." Ava sniffles and my heart seems to break.

"Don’t cry, babe. If you want to go and see him…"

"I do want to see him," she says in a fierce voice. "It's what my Mum would have wanted."

"If you want to go, we’ll take you." I meet Baron’s gaze over her head.

"It’s dangerous," he cautions. "We’d be revealing our whereabouts."

"Not if we are careful."

"However, as many precautions as we may take, there’s nothing stopping anyone from spotting us, then tracking us back here."

"We’ll be very cautious."

He blows out a breath. "Is this important to you, Ava?" he murmurs. "Do you definitely want to go?"

"My father and my sister will never forgive me if I don’t turn up." She smiles, then adds, "Also, Isla is organizing the wedding and she won’t be very happy if I didn’t turn up for it."

"Right." Baron scowls at me.

"Right." I jerk my chin at him.

"Where are they getting married?" Baron finally asks.

"In Windermere," she replies.

"That’s the next town over," I offer.

"It is?" Ava’s face brightens. "That means we can get there and back really quickly, right?"

"It’s a forty-five-minute drive, at the most," Baron interjects.

Both of us turn to him.

"We can’t stay too late." He raises a shoulder, and Ava’s face breaks into a smile. She holds out her hand. Baron glances at it, then back at her. "You also can’t leave my and Edward’s side."