17. Will the Real Eve Step Forward

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I parkedat the campground entrance and hiked in with only my flashlight and bear spray as a weapon if I needed it, because my plastic pirate sword wouldn't help. Nothing about this situation seemed right. But I had to do something to help Eve, unsure what that would exactly entail.

As I approached her cabin, the black vehicle was out front. Something crashed inside and I almost ran in, but then Heath flung the door open with such force, it hit the inside wall and sprung back.

"This is where you've been this whole time? This-this hovel?" He stomped onto the porch, running his hands through his hair, the disgust in his voice for this place palpable.

Then Eve ran out the door, but a man was on her heels, catching her. She flailed her limbs until the guy grabbed ahold of both arms, shaking her to stop.

Heath marched up to her and slapped her across the face using the backside of his hand. I saw red. My nails dug into my palms.

"I took your mother away from this hellhole. Do have any idea what it does to me seeing my daughter live like a dirty poor person? You're an Arnault, honey, we have royalty in our blood. I raised you better with all the finest things. I can't even believe you'd think to come back here."

I gasped at the revelation and whispered. "Heath Arnault is her father? What the?—?"

Everything became clearer, but why hide? Something's missing.

"Lies!" Eve screamed.

Heath grabbed her by the throat, and it took everything in me to wait it out, my jaw clenching at the sight. I didn't know if these guys had guns or what.

"Where's the God damned code, Tess?" He yelled in her face.

"Tess?" I repeated under my breath. If she's not Eve, who was I falling in love with?

She spat in his face and he grimaced, taking out the pocket square from his suit and swiping at it. I couldn't tear my eyes away from this scary situation playing out in front of me.

"I'll never let you have it. I created that for good. To help Mom, or anyone with cancer. A medical advancement that would change the world," she retorted with almost an unfamiliar voice entirely different from Eve's.

Shit, this fucking messed with me.

A laugh of maniacal proportions rang out from Heath, slapping his thigh. "You compare the money I stood to make selling this to the military, to the paltry sum you would have made in the medical field? But thanks to you, correct me if I'm wrong, you stole the code on the day we were scheduled to show off the full capabilities of our artificial intelligence to the military. It left me embarrassed in front of the U.S. government, Tess. How do you think that made me feel?"

He got right up into her face again, and she jerked back. I didn't like his intimidating tactics on her one bit. I could run now, cut my losses, wish her well, and never look back. But that wasn't me.

Whatever this tech was they squabbled over aside, I couldn't stand by and watch Eve, er, Tess, suffer this abuse. Yet, bear spray wouldn't be enough to bring either man down.

"You're a monster." Eve shouted.

"Maybe, but I'm a rich one. And greedy. As you found out when you went digging where you shouldn't have, why offer the technology to one government when I could offer it to several? What can I say? When I saw an opportunity to make more money, I acted on it. It's just simple business sense. Only you stole the primary code, and now I have countries in a bidding war for a tech that doesn't work!" He kicked the door open again.

"I'll never let you use it for anything that could start a war or hurt millions of innocent people." She struggled against the man's grip.

Heath cleared his throat and straightened his blazer and tie as if returning to a business-like discussion instead of yelling and beating on his daughter. "I'll tell you what. Let's make a deal. You give me the code. I'll make my military deals. You can have a little division off to the side for your medical tech. We'll both be happy, sweetheart."

"Never!" Again, she went wild, only this time she stomped on the man's foot. Temporarily fazing him enough, he dropped his guard, and she leapt down from the steps. He caught her in the middle of the clearing, though, and wrestled with her, gaining back control.

"Put her in the car, Stan," Heath yelled from the porch. "We'll tear this fucking place apart. The code must be in there somewhere. And if it isn't there, we'll burn this God forsaken place down once and for all."

I had to act fast. Without thinking, I jumped from the bushes, shining my light in their eyes so they couldn't tell all I had pointed at them was a canister of spray.

"Let her go!" I demanded.

The man switched his hold, bringing his arm around her neck, and suddenly produced a gun from his back. My pulse skyrocketed when he pointed it at her. And now I knew what I was up against.

"Stan, watch it. That's my daughter you have there. I need her alive," Heath warned.

"Yeah, Stan. Why don't you be a good boy and let her go?" I taunted. But he pointed the gun my way instead. Great.

Eve's eyes stared in my direction, begging me for help. Or was she concerned at all about me, putting myself out on the limb here, and with a gun involved? Exactly who was I doing this all for?

"Who is that?" Heath stepped slowly down from the porch, holding his hand up to the light to block it for a better view. I let him get as far as Stan before I responded.

"Doesn't matter who I am. Stop right there or one of you gets hurt." That line probably came from one of the sci-fi suspense movies I loved watching. I worked out in the gym five days a week and did a little boxing training. It didn't mean I'd ever faced a real scenario like this a day in my life.

As with bears and wildlife, I'd often used my intelligence to work through difficult situations. I needed to get him talking to buy myself time. "So what was the plan, Heath? Sell to the highest bidder, and then what?"

His smug smile needed to be wiped from the planet. "Do what every stinking, filthy rich bastard does. Buy governments and armies and bombs, sway policy, become richer, rule the world."

He blabbed on about the world economy being a shit show, something everyone knew. Only he'd like to change that. I was more concerned about the two bear cubs who'd suddenly appeared from behind Eve's cabin, headed their way into the clearing. And where was mama bear? I kept my eyes peeled, suddenly with two dangerous situations on my hands.

"…Overpopulation hasn't been good for the planet. I'll get rid of a few billion people in the first round of bombings, then I'll see where that leaves us," Heath continued to regale us on his maniacal plot.

"No, Dad. This is you. You were never like this when Mom was alive," Eve cried. The cubs were just a few feet away behind them now sniffing in the grass, and I couldn't believe how quiet they were.

"Honey, I hate to break it to you, but I was. I just kept it under wraps better. But if your mother's death proved one thing to me, it's that life is short. I can no longer sit around while governments ruin this planet. I'm taking matters into my own hands."

Suddenly, one of the bears snapped a twig and Stan turned abruptly, shooting at the cub and missing. Both babies cried and ran off, and I knew that meant only one thing. Their cries alerted the mother.

"Run, Eve!" I screamed, the second I realized the mama made her presence known, darting out from behind the black vehicle so fast, Heath didn't know what hit him.

One swipe of her paw and he flew, landing on the ground near me, probably unconscious.

Stan came next, but wasn't so lucky. He managed to fire off one shot, but dropped his gun when the bear mauled him, dragging him away toward her cubs.

Eve ran into my arms, crying and shaking, and despite it all, I held onto her, too, trying to remain strong despite my own tremors.