Maura hoped so. It kind of sucked to know that they were going to be diving into dealing with BlackStone without her help. Then again, they had Ethan to call if it got funky down South.
“Again,” he said. “Call me if you need me. We’ll come. I’ll cover for Elizabeth if you get in a pinch.”
They believed him.
Giving him one last fist bump,The Huntersheaded back out, getting in their ride, and pulling away as Gene watched.
When they were gone, on their way to the private airstrip to head back toNOLA, Gene headed inside.
As he reached the floor where Elizabeth’s office was, he could hear them talking, and knew he’d find the family there. All he could hope was they’d be okay too.
When he cleared his throat, they turned.
Immediately, they stood and looked at him. That’s when Ethan went there.
“Where’s Elizabeth?” he asked.
Gene had bad news for him.
“Yeah,” Ivan said. “Where is she? Just because this is over, that doesn’t mean she’s safe. She can’t just wander around. There’s a Russian spy running amuck,” he said, playing along.
After their talk, and her promise to be safe, he knew she was going to take a ‘break’.
Where?
He had no clue.
But he trusted her.
For Gene, this was where he had to be brutally honest with them. Elizabeth had boarded a private jet hours ago. She’d asked him, andThe Huntersto give her a little head start, so that she could rest and regroup.
Because Gene loved her, and he understood about fresh starts himself, he did what she asked.
Would they hate him for it?
He had to trust his family wouldn’t.
“She’s gone,” he said.
At that, both Ethan and Callen looked surprised. That Chris didn’t, that told Gene all he needed to know. There was no doubt in his mind that the bag of money he’d givenThe Huntersyesterday and the brand-new, private jet were his doing.
Clearly, she had an accomplice, and that wasNONE OF HIS BUSINESS.
Secrets were just that.
Secrets.
To be frank, Elizabeth had two. He was on team ‘take a break’.
At his words, Ethan was really panicked.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” he asked, his heart thumping in his chest.
Instead of answering, he did what Elizabeth had asked.
He handed Chris the note she’d spent a good hour writing before she boarded that jet. It was after they’d shared a waffle, fries, and some shakes in that greasy spoon.
Opening it, he read it out loud.
