Twenty minutes later they were seated on a neat gray-and-rose sofa, working on their second cup of coffee. Chris drank hers black, using the strong, slightly bitter taste to soothe her nerves.

“Deboque.” Her cup clattered in the saucer before she set it down. “All these years later and he’s still causing such pain.”

“From what Alex said, he’ll never stop.” As long as he lived. Eve pushed the thought away. She had never thought she could ever wish anyone dead. “I don’t even know what kind of man he is. Evil, certainly, and I’d guess obsessed. The person who called spoke of justice—he spoke of it both times. Deboque’s kind of justice won’t be met until Prince Armand is destroyed. Reeve thinks the bomb in the theater was a show of strength. Chris, what’s really frightening is that I know—somehow I’m sure—that the next target is going to be one of the Bissets.” She thought of Alexander and pressed her lips together. “It could be any one of them, even one of the children. That’s why Reeve and Brie have moved back into the palace for now.”

Chris was silent while her loyalties warred inside her. “Eve, you know how I feel about the Bissets. They’re a second family to me. But no matter how much I care for them, you come first. I want you home, away from this.”

“I can’t leave. One of the reasons is the troupe and what we’re trying to do here. Please hear me out,” she continued as Chris started to speak. When she subsided, Eve rose. She had to move. Time seemed to be pressing in on her from all directions. “I have a chance to prove something here, to myself, to you and Dad, to my industry.”

“There’s nothing you have to prove to me, Eve.”

“I do. You took care of me.” She turned back, her emotions a little shaky. “You were only five years older, but when Mom died, you did everything you could to fill the void. Maybe I wasn’t always aware of what you were doing or what you gave up to do it, but I am now. I guess I need to show you it was worth it.”

Chris felt her eyes fill and quickly shook her head. “Do you think I’ve ever doubted it? Eve, I did nothing more than be your sister.”

“Yes, you did. You were my friend.” She came back to take both of Chris’s hands. “Even when you didn’t believe, didn’t approve, you stood by me. What I’m doing here is as much for you as it is for me. I’ve never been able to explain that to you before.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Chris’s fingers tightened on hers. “I don’t know what to say.”