Page 101 of Fourth Point Of Contact

But I sucked it up and followed her down the hall, through the hospital to the room Eden was in. The moment I stepped inside, I sucked in a ragged breath. The girl was so small for herage, and where I should have seen the remains of baby fat, all I saw was skin and bones.

“Eden,” the social worker smiled.

It occurred to me then that I hadn’t bothered to learn the woman’s name. I just kept calling herthe social workerin my head.

“This is Eduardo. He’s your brother.”

Bright blue eyes flicked to mine, watching me curiously. She didn’t seem scared of me, but she also wasn’t excited to see me. If anything, it was more like there was a ghost of a child in the bed. She was just there, just staring, wondering what I was doing here.

“Hey, Eden. You can call me Edu.” I took a step forward and she flinched, the first fucking reaction I’d gotten from her. And she was fucking terrified.

Her eyes flitted back to the social worker in question.

“Like I said, Edu is your brother and he really wanted to meet you.”

I studied the little girl, trying to think of anything to say. What would I have wanted to hear? Fuck, I didn’t know. I was at a loss for words, completely fucking terrified of a ten-year-old.

“I’ve never had a sister before,” I finally said. “I don’t know anything about being a brother.”

Her lips pursed slightly as she watched me.

“Um…I’m married. My wife—Harper—she’s a very nice person, and we have a little girl. Her name is Grace.”

Again, Eden watched me, waiting for me to say something else. But I was at a loss for words. I had no fucking clue what to say to her. A knock on the door had me thanking the Lord for saving my ass. It was Raven, and she was motioning for me to leave.

“I’ll be back.”

The social worker nodded as I quickly exited, but the moment I saw who was outside, I would have rather been back in that room with Eden. Anger rose inside me as I realized someone had fucking betrayed me. And when my eyes met Patrick’s, I fucking knew it was him.

Harper stood before me with bundles of stuffed animals in her arms and bright balloons. Eva was just a few feet behind her, also stuffed to the brim with dolls. Hell, just about every woman from OPS was here, and by now, they all fucking knew my shame.

“What are you doing here?”

Harper didn’t even flinch as she took a step forward. “Did you really think I’d let you be here by yourself?”

“I didn’t want you here.” I knew it was fucking harsh. I knew I was only driving a wedge between us, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“You have a sister,” she grinned. “That’s awesome!”

“A sister I let down,” I bit out, putting up a wall between us. “I didn’t ask you to come.”

“Well, I think this is amazing. An older sister for Grace! She’s going to love it!”

“Not an older sister,” I clarified.

“Well, she will be when we adopt her.”

“What are you?—”

“Edu, did you really think we were going to let her just roam around in the system? Now, I know that’s not your intention, and if she comes to live with us, which she will, we will make sure she has a loving home and parents who think of her as more than an armchair in the house. Which means we’re going to adopt her. You’ll be her brotherly dad,” she grinned in true Harper fashion. “Just think of how wonderful it will be!”

God, I loved this woman, her energy, her spirit. Everything about her was perfect. Except for one thing. She was naive if she thought this would be easy.

“Harper…It’s not that simple.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Edu, let’s face it, you are not the most well-adjusted man after the way you were raised. Now, I know you haven’t told me a lot, and frankly, I’m not sure if I’ll ever get it out of you. But I know your heart. Whatever happened, we’ll get through it. That little girl is already a part of us, and we’re going to overwhelm her with love.”

My gaze strayed from her to all the other women in the hallway. They all showed up, all of them here to support this little girl who meant nothing to them. I had a village, even if I didn’t want to admit it. It had always been a brotherhood, but this…

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