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My eyes go from the black boots to the black cargo pants to the eyes of the man suited up in a bullet proof vest whom I have somehow fallen in love with.
I watch as Ethan’s jaw ticks steadily as he takes in my injuries from top to toe, and I want to hide away. I know I look like hell. When my eyes meet his, I can see the fury inside them.
“Des, you okay?” he asks.
“Do I look okay?” I smart back.
“Less sass right now, babe.”
“I’m breathing, which is more than I can say for my sister.” I turn my head to glare at Nino Ricca. I want nothing more than to watch him bleed out on the floor in front of me.
Ice has him contained while Ethan removes my restraints. I stand and twist my wrists, trying to get the blood moving. I’m dizzy and hurt like hell from head to toe, but I need to do this. Face to face with the man who killed my sister and has beat on me for hours, I need to have my moment.
I look up into the cold, dark eyes of a killer. “You killed a beautiful woman. You took a piece of sunshine out of my world. I hope there is a special place in Hell for scum like you.”
He stares at me yet doesn’t speak.
“If I had a gun in my hand right now, I’d proudly put a bullet between your fucking eyes. There isn’t a day or a moment I don’t miss my sister, while when you’re gone, I don’t think a single soul will shed a tear. In fact, I may have to bake a cake and celebrate, you shit bag.”
With all the energy I can muster, I swing back and punch him in the junk. With my still achy hand, I then grab his balls through his pants and twist. He sucks in a breath but doesn’t make any other sound.
As he hunches over slightly, I spit in his face. “You are a piece of shit.”
Ethan wraps his arm around my shoulder, kisses my temple, and then turns me away from Ricca.
“Ricca, you fucked with my woman. You’re about to see what the Regulators are all about. Family is important to you. Family is everything to us,” He says before looking toward Coal. “Do what you do, brother.”
Ethan tries to lead me away, but I dig my heels into the floor and look back frantically at Coal. “He kept asking me about a thumb drive, demanding to know where Suzie put it. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I have a feeling we need to know.”
Coal watches me shrewdly for a moment, as if he’s not sure whether to believe whether I knew about the thumb drive or not. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a woman on this earth the man trusts, and I have no idea why he is the way he is. What I do know is that, in this moment, I need him to trust me. He has to trust what I’m saying.
Just when I think he’s going to ask me if I do have the stupid thumb drive, he surprises me by giving me a somewhat grudgingly respectful nod. With that, Ethan guides me outside.
The sun hits my face and soothes my soul. Stopping, I turn to face Ethan then roll up to press my lips to his. A twinge of pain hits me when my busted lips touch his, but after what I have just endured, it’s the sweetest pain I have ever felt.
When I pull away, he starts to say something, but I put my finger over his mouth, stopping him.
“Don’t speak. You don’t have to say anything. I just need you to know there wasn’t a moment in there when I wasn’t thinking of you.” I kiss him softly again.
His arms come around me as he opens his mouth and engulfs mine in the sloppiest but hottest kiss I have ever had. When he pulls away, I can see the pain in his eyes.
“I’m gonna take you to Evan’s. We talked. It won’t have the memories my place does.”
My immediate thought is Evan’s place won’t have Ethan there, and I don’t want to be without him. Yet, once again, I don’t seem to get what I want. Not that I should be surprised. When has life ever really been on my side?
First, I was gifted with two parents who couldn’t care less about my sister and me, and now life has taken away the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. Now life is trying to rip away the only person who has forced himself into my heart. Don’t I deserve a little bit of peace and happiness?
Some rational part of my brain is reminding me this is just a chemical reaction. The adrenaline from trying to survive is starting to wear off now that I’m safe, and my mood is spiraling down as my anxiety flares back up at the thought of losing Ethan now, too. I know I should just be grateful that the Regulators found me and that I’m alive, but somehow, it seems utterly unfair that I have to go even a moment of my life without someone I care about.
