Page 71 of The Defiant Curse

And that hung there.

“In Scotland?” he asked.

He nodded.

“If you can get me out of here, I’ll get to the airport, and head there. I just need you to buy me a few hours to get to her. Then, I’ll be safe. Michael is ALSO an Archangel, and at one time, he was the head Archangel. He can protect us both at one time. Add to it, his husband is Black Watch. Where else would I be safer?”

Jesus.

H.

Christ.

He was out of his mind.

He was also forgetting that Michael didn’t work security anymore. He was part of a different business for the Blackhawks.

“And how are you going to delay them finding out you’ve stolen a jet, skipped the country, and are in Scotland?” he asked. “Because I can’t wait to hear this. I imagine a hostage situation is on the horizon.”

He told him.

“The same way she did. Trackers off, no flight log, and a head start. I just need six hours to get in the air and be out of Ivan’s range.”

He was staring at him like he was loco.

Because he knew he was.

Ethan was crazy in love with his wife and needed her to know that. Clearly, she didn’t.

“And how are you going to magically make six hours appear where NO ONE asks where you are? I’m good. I’m not that damn good. The second your tracker goes off, Ivan will know. He has it set to…”

And then he got it.

“You’re going to ask me to fuck with the security protocols. Only two people have access, and it’s Ivan and myself. Goddamn it, Ethan. You are absolutely going to get me fired! Ivan has a few rules, and that is the BIG ONE next to DON’T LOSE A BLACKHAWK!”

Yeah, that was exactly what he was going to do.

“I’ll be safe. Once I land, I’ll get to the castle, and there’s an Archangel and a Black Watch soldier there. That’s safer than anywhere else, not including with you guys. Ivan will not fire you once he realizes he can still monitor long distance.”

He was actually considering it.

Why?

Ethan had tears in his eyes.

“I broke us,” he said. “I put doubt in her mind that I wouldn’t be there for her, and I have to fix that. I know what I did and how bad it is for a relationship. Last time, I let her wander without me. This time, I have to be beside her as she fights to find herself. She’s lost because I made her feel that way. This isn’t about taking a life or breaking the law. It’s about me not being there to support her.”

Well, fucking finally.

Ethan got it.

Because everyone else ALREADY knew why she left, and it wasn’t because she broke the law. She was broken by a man she didn’t think would ever do that AGAIN.

Ethan had ninety-nine problems, and ALL of them were self-made.

As for all of them…

No one liked to see Mom and Dad fight.