Our Lips Are Sealed (Haven House Book 2) by Chloe I. Miller

Author:Chloe I. Miller [Miller, Chloe I.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Key Lime Books
Published: 2023-06-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The throbbing in Evie’s head drowned out the conversation at the kitchen table. Cold denial seeped through her veins, refusing to let her mind accept the information they were learning with each passing minute.

Toby.

Like Judy and Nick, she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to hold on to the memory of the shy, misunderstood boy who had once been her best friend.

In her whole life, Evie would never understand why Ben did what he did. One of her mother’s final acts in life had been to make sure Toby was taken care of, getting him the help he needed to grow into the young man she believed he could be.

But leaving him and CeCe in the care of someone like Charlie would have been wholly against her wishes. They were innocent children and didn’t deserve such a fate.

In the years following her mother’s death, Evie’s memories were murky at best, but she could recall the day Toby and CeCe were sent away with precise clarity.

It had been nothing short of a nightmare.

Toby had screamed as Ben carried him out, expecting his Evie to save him like she always did. He’d sat crying in Trevor’s car, waiting for her to make it stop.

And then there was CeCe.

It had taken two full grown men to force her into that car. The little girl had fought with every ounce of strength in her, clawing at Ben like one of Haven’s feral cats.

The remaining pieces of Simone’s heart not already shattered by what they’d lived through, surely broke then. It took years before she could move on and forgive Ben for his part in the children’s removal. But even so, there were times Evie noticed traces of that lingering resentment holding on, appearing on rare occasions.

“How often did he visit you in Angola?” Cohen asked Nick, snagging her attention. “It’s not always easy to get visitors in there.”

Alone with Judy on the couch, she watched Samuel assist Cohen with his questioning. It seemed Nick required prompting, and Samuel’s presence was apparently the encouragement the man needed.

“I’m not real sure,” Nick mumbled, giving Samuel side-eye. “About twice a year over the last few years, I think.”

“Do you remember the first time he came, and what he said about his relationship with my mother?” Jamison asked. She was over at the table, drilling Nick with her own questions that were coming off surprisingly relevant. “Or what he might have said about us?”

The questioning continued for a bit longer, and when they looped back around to things already covered, Samuel returned to her. “I need to call Nari,” he said, cupping her cheek. “Are you still hanging on?”

Evie leaned into his touch and nodded. “Do what needs to be done.”

He sat on the couch beside her, pulling out his phone to talk in a low voice so as not to disturb Cohen. “Nari, I’m sorry to bother you on the weekend, but this is an emergency. There’s an account run out of the North Carolina offices under the name Tobias Miller.

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