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CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
VANESSA
When I heard tires rolling down into the compound, I jumped out of the couch and dashed to the window, hoping to see Ethan.
The car doors opened, but when I didn't see him, I froze.
Oh my God.
Once again, despair welled up in my chest. The thought that he could have been killed or injured crippled me, rendering me immobile as I stood with my face pressed against the window.
Come out of the car, Ethan, please, I begged, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Tristan got out of one of the sedans and came to open the back door.
Ethan?
I hoped, but the man Tristan dragged roughly out of the back of the car made me even more concerned. It was my uncle.
I had worried about him for nights, but I had consoled myself with the knowledge that he was safe. Despite his crimes against the Levine family, Ethan had not pursued him and had barely spoken of him. He had not been threatened. Seeing him being dragged out of a car had been a nightmare that I had pre-empted.
He was severely injured. I could tell by the way he moved and had to rely on Tristan's strength to get him inside.
I need to do something. Tristan will have answers.
And with that single goal in mind, I dragged myself out of my fog and dashed out the door, walking quicklydown the corridor. I didn't care about the crowd downstairs because I was focused on finding Tristan.
As I neared the top of the stairs, I noticed himapproaching. As he came up to meet me, he showed his palm to prevent me from coming down.
"Please, shall we head to your room? There is something that I must tell you," he said.
"Myuncle?" I asked right away, dreading what I was about to hear.
"He's locked up but alive," he politely replied. "Should we?" He motioned towards the bedroom once more. Despite his size and icy face, I knew Tristan would never hurt me as long as Ethan was safe.
"Ethan?" I asked him.
When I returned to the room, I looked around for a weapon in case I needed to defend myself, but none were nearby.
Tristan shut the door behind him. "The boss didn't want the people downstairs asking about you. It was for this reason that he asked you to remain in the room," he began.
"Why areyou here, and where has Ethan gone?" I asked in a frantic tone.
I had to ask him before he answered those questions. "Has anything happened to Ethan?"
"He is alive and downstairs with his family. He must speak to them and inform them of the impending conflict with the Robinson family."
Ethan is alive.
I exhaled a sigh of relief. Knowing Ethan had returned gave me a feeling of ease. My heart swelled with joy, which spread throughout my body. I wanted to see him and hold him, but I knew he had responsibilities.
"He asked me to come up to you and tell you what had happened. He didn't want you to be concerned," Tristan went on.
He went on to tell me about the events that had taken place at the cemetery.
"We were attacked, but the boss had forewarned us, so we were prepared. Some men got to him," my heart skipped a beat as I tried to follow Tristan's narration without breaking down in tears, "but he survived. What we didn't anticipate was your uncle's involvement with the Robinsons."
I was furious that Ethan had kept such a risky plan from me. He knew as well as I did that if he had been explicit about his plans, I would have stopped him, especially after seeing him get beaten up just to protect me.
