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“Your family will be here in about twenty minutes,” I said to Ethan as he continued to stare at the letter in my hand.
“Why did you read that?” he whispered.
I debated telling him the truth versus not answering him at all. I knew I was getting in way too deep with this man, but there was something inside of me that just couldn’t disconnect from him.
He was changing me.
I could still feel the proof of that on my skin even hours later.
Where he’d grabbed my arm on the plane to stop me from getting up…where his fingers had pressed against mine downstairs just before he’d gone to get cleaned up.
I wanted to touch him again.
I wanted him to touch me again.
And that made no fucking sense to me whatsoever.
“Because I need to know you, Ethan,” I said softly.
He stood up and walked over to me. It should have bothered me that he was standing above me, putting me in the more vulnerable position. Yes, my gaze went to his hands automatically, reflexively, but it didn’t stay there long before returning to his face, to his pretty green eyes that were even now filled with confusion.
“Why, Cain?” he whispered.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. I stood up, causing our bodies to nearly touch since Ethan didn’t step back. I liked that he had to look up at me a little, though I didn’t know why I liked it. He was drawing in deep breaths and I watched as his eyes dropped to my mouth.
I knew what he wanted.
Did I want it too?
Did I want to cross that line?
I’d only ever been with women, though in truth, after the age of fifteen when everything had changed for me, those women had been nothing more than warm bodies to slake a biological need. Something inside of me had ended up broken, because I’d never looked at women the same way again. I’d never looked at people the same way again.
And I’d never looked at anyone the way I was looking at the man in front of me. I’d never felt this ache to touch, to taste, to feel.
I didn’t know how long we stood there for, but the silence around us was broken by the sound of the front door being opened and someone calling Devon’s name.
Ethan’s family was early.
“Oh God,” Ethan whispered.
I had no doubt the turmoil Ethan was going through right now. I’d seen it in every line of his face as he’d encountered his brother again after so long. But I also knew that nothing he told his family would change the way they felt about him. I’d seen proof of that when Devon had started interrogating me the second Ethan had been out of sight. There hadn’t been much I could tell him without divulging the true nature of Ronan’s group, but I’d finally managed to convince him that I would bring his brother home to him. Only then had he gotten the phone for me along with the letter. I was certain I’d have to make the same reassurances to the rest of his family and while it made me nervous to be around so many people at once, I’d do it for Ethan. He’d need that strength in the coming days and weeks as we brought Eric to his knees.
“You’ve got me, right, Cain?” Ethan suddenly asked.
I ended up squeezing his hand again like I had downstairs.
“I’ve got you, Ethan.”
Only when I said the words did he relax and nod. And then he was heading downstairs to face the family he so badly needed.
* * *
“Jace, you have us?” I asked as Ethan and I got out of the car.
“I have you,” came the response. “Parking garage,” Jace said, his voice loud in my ear. I’d explained to Ethan that I would be wearing a communication device in my ear that would allow me to communicate with my teammate, Jace Christenson. Although I wasn’t expecting trouble while we emptied out the safe deposit box, I’d decided that having a second set of eyes on us wouldn’t hurt and since Jace was based out of D.C., it had made sense to call him, though I’d never worked with him directly.
Ethan was tense next to me as we crossed the parking lot next to the bank. I glanced up and saw a glimpse of Jace as he got set up on the top floor of the parking garage across the street from the bank. I could see he had a pair of binoculars, but his position didn’t allow me to see much else. But I knew he’d come prepared to provide the support we might need if anything went wrong.
We’d landed at a small airstrip early that morning after leaving Ethan’s family late the night before. The visit with his family had gone as expected. Shock, grief, excitement…the range of emotions as the Rhodes family had been reunited with their son had been endless…and powerful. I’d found myself envious at times of how close they were. As expected, there’d been no anger with Ethan and his sudden return, just pure happiness. So much so, that Ethan’s mother had grabbed me in a giant hug because she’d decided I’d played some big role in bringing her son home to her.
