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tonight.”
    Eva nodded. Great. That left Adam to drive her home alone.
    â€œI see an opening.” Adam took her by the hand. “Come on, we better make a break for it.”
    Eva noticed that Adam’s touch was warm, although his palm felt rougher than she expected from a paper-pusher. Careful to watch that she didn’t bump into anyone, she followed Adam’s weaving between groups of people.
    An expanse of solid man stood in her way, then he spoke. “Hello, Eva.”
    She stopped short at the sound of that terrible voice. Thevoice she hadn’t heard in two years. The voice belonging to a man she’d thought she loved until he’d attacked her.
    Todd!
    The last time she’d heard Todd’s voice he’d bellowed drunken obscenities when Beth had helped her get away from him.
    Her hand slipped out of Adam’s grasp as the clamoring buzz in her ears drowned out the sounds and faces of the people surrounding her. Todd blocked out the light of her tunnel vision, making her feel dizzy. Sick.
    She sucked in air, but it didn’t help. Stars formed before her eyes. She was going to faint. Right there. In the middle of the sanctuary, she’d fall. Adam would see and he’d know. He’d tell Ryan. And Ryan would go after Todd.
    No!
    Stepping back until her bottom connected with a pew, Eva gripped the solid wood until she felt a fingernail crack. The pain helped her focus, helped her calm down a shade. She tried to make her mouth work, but nothing came out despite hearing herself scream on the inside.
    â€œIt’s been a while.”
    â€œYes,” she croaked.
    â€œThis is my wife, Susan. We’re up from Grand Rapids visiting my in-laws who attend here.”
    Eva’s eyes widened when she took in the pretty woman standing next to him with a pink bundle of baby in her arms.
    The woman’s eyes narrowed as if recognizing her. But they’d never met. “Nice to meet you.”
    She felt the warmth of Adam’s hand at the small of her back.
    â€œEverything okay?” Adam’s voice sounded far away, as if he was talking from the other side of a long tunnel.
    â€œI—” Eva looked back at Todd. The urge to yell andpound on him overwhelmed her, sapping her strength. He acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever passed between them.
    â€œTodd, honey, we better go. Dad’s pulled the car up front.” Susan shifted her pink burden and moved toward the door.
    â€œLook, Eva…” He reached out a hand but let it drop with a sigh. He gave her an awkward smile and then nodded toward Adam. “Take it easy, okay?”
    Eva didn’t know if she responded. Her knees shook, and her stomach lurched. Sweat broke out along her hairline. She really was going to be sick.
    Why here? Why now?
    â€œEva?” Adam touched her elbow.
    She shrank away from him.
    â€œWho is that guy? Did he say something to upset you?”
    Eva closed her eyes with a quick shake of her head. Seeing Todd upset her. Seeing him happily married and blessed with a beautiful baby girl infuriated her. How could God be so cruel? Todd had flourished, while Eva was stuck in a hellish purgatory she couldn’t climb out of.
    She felt the gentle pressure of Adam’s hand return to the small of her back. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
    Â 
    Adam drove with the heat cranked to full blast. He kept glancing at Eva huddled in her seat. She hadn’t quit shivering. He wanted to pull over and gather her into his arms, but he didn’t trust the wildness in her gaze. The fury. He feared he might make matters worse by offering unwanted comfort.
    â€œYou okay?”
    She nodded.
    â€œOld boyfriend?”
    She glanced at him with haunted eyes. “Yeah.”
    The ex-boyfriend was a giant of a man who looked far too clumsy for a petite thing like Eva. He struck Adam as one of those unmotivated types with boring stability stamped across his