“We have to do the opposite of what he assumes we’ll do, Elizabeth. We have to be strong. I was wrong. I have faith in you. I don’t have faith in me. I’m the problem, not you. He knows that, too. He’s definitely studied all of us.”
She cried more.
“All he did was pick us up,” she whispered. “All he did was show up to give us a ride, and he was so smiley and happy. You know Jet. He was in Johnny’s sports car, and he was in agood mood. The music was on, and he was just doing his job. He wanted to doggy nap a dog and just enjoy his life.”
Ethan pushed.
“So do your job. You have to do yours, Lyzee. You’re the best agent out there. He picked you because of that. Prove to the world why you are that badass in boots. Help us find him, and fight through this now. We need you to dig deep and find a little more in the tank.”
She tried.
“I don’t know where to look. He won’t follow the usual paths, and he has likely hidden his jet and some of his money. Even if we cut him off, we have issues.”
He clued her in.
“We brought in Gabby. Gene wants to find a thread, so whenThe Huntersget here, they can follow it.”
She let him talk.
Elizabeth needed to feel like they had a chance to solve this. It was all she had left.
“He likely knows about you and Chris being married first. He’s going to use that to damage us. We can’t let it happen. We have to fight, Baby. Again, and I know I just said it, but it bears repeating. I need you to dig in and find a little more strength for me.”
She was trying.
Really.
Ethan wasn’t done apologizing.
“I’m sorry I kept us here,” he admitted. “I was so selfish to want to be the Shaman. It’s clearly a mistake. Everything has gone to Hell because I made this decision.”
She was honest.
“You weren’t selfish. You were allowed to make that choice. They need you, too, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Your people need a Shaman.”
He was to the point.
“You need me. Let me come to you. I swear to God, Elizabeth, that I willALWAYSfind you. No matter what, I won’t let you slip away from me. You’re my soul.”
She was sobbing in that chapel.
Ethan kept talking to help pull her up. It was clear this leveled her. Devon had made a strike at her, and it worked.
He hit her where she was tender.
The Marines.
“We’re already digging in. We’re going to get you something, and you’re going to get him. I can feel it in my heart and gut.”
She was so tired.
“Are our kids okay?” she asked, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
It was eating away at her.
Jet’s death was a bridge almost too far.
All she wanted was for everyone to be safe, and then for her to have some peace and quiet for a while.
