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In the next room I found Ethan, and my heart swelled and thudded with joyful excitement to see him. I crept forward and gazed down, drinking him in. He was alive. His throat was bandaged, and he showed some general superficial damage, but he looked intact, thank God. He was gorgeous to me, even all fucked up.
His beautiful, strong hand lay on the blanket. I had to make sure he was real, so I laid my own over his. It was icy cold, so I slid my other hand underneath to warm it.
His dark eyes opened, startling me.
“Oh crap,” I said softly. “I’m sorry I woke you. I know you need to rest. I just had to make sure you were okay. That you were actually here.”
He formed words with his mouth, but made no sound. I leaned down and put my ear to his mouth. “Can’t talk out loud right now,” he whispered. “But I’m fine. Or I will be, when this heals up.”
“I woke up with Holly in my bed.” I dragged a chair over next to the bed.
He smiled at Holly’s name. “You’re her idol,” he mouthed.
“The feeling is mutual,” I said fervently. “That kid is unstoppable.”
He gestured for me to lean closer again. “You okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” I assured him. “Perfectly fine. Sore, and tired, that’s all. Hey, I hate to make you talk, but what about Jed?”
“Good,” Ethan whispered. “Fine.”
I let out a heaving sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God.”
“Mick locked Jed out of the van and drove it off a tugboat dock, into the Willamette River,” Ethan whispered. “Blew the shit out of the dock. Tons of water, blown up into the air. Pure dumb luck nobody else was there. No casualties but one.”
“Ah.” I was silent for a moment. “So…that means Mick …”
“Yes,” he said. “Gone.”
“Oh.” I tried, without much success, to process that. “I was so angry at him for setting me up. And sacrificing Holly in favor of his uncle. But I’m sorry he had to go that way. Maybe…maybe he made up for it. Partly. With that gesture.”
“I say maybe he did,” Ethan murmured. “Almost, anyway. No other losses. Some injuries, nothing life-threatening. Vincent, dead. Nicole, dead.”
“Good,” I said, with grim satisfaction. “Excellent. Wiped out of existence. You don’t even have to worry about putting them in jail. Or keeping them there.”
“Nope,” he mouthed. “No one to question, either. We’re no closer to Shane. The goons they hired don’t know anything. The ones left alive, anyhow.”
Ouch. “Shit,” I said. “I’m so sorry about that. Hey, Nicole had convulsions, after Holly hit her in the head. She was actually foaming at the mouth. I wonder what that was all about. It wasn’t anything Holly did.”
He gestured for me to lean closer again. “Poison tooth,” he murmured into my ear. “Vincent wore something that monitored his vitals. When he died, it sent a signal to her tooth. Burst it open.”
“Holy cow.” I was genuinely shocked. “That is some twisted shit.”
I read his fervent agreement in his eyes.
“Well, then,” I said. “I expect we have our work cut out for us now. Explaining this convoluted crap to the Man will not be fun. They won’t like the way you took action on your own. Though I will always maintain that you had no choice.”
“That’s for sure.” Ethan’s lips twitched. “Yes, the police will disapprove of my choices. But I can face anything if you’re with me.”
My hand tightened on his. “Wait,” I said. “About that. Are you still sure you still want to take on all my problems, after what just happened? Once the press comes down on us, my enemies will spot me. It’s a mathematical certainty. There’s no way to hide from the media blitz about to hit. Haven’t you had a belly full of this shit? Aren’t you afraid of your family being in danger? I’d understand it, if you were. For real.”
His eyes burned with intensity. “It’s my problems that put you in danger, Kat. Not the other way around.” His whisper was intense. “You crushed them. You’re a goddess. We’d be dead without you. Holly would be gone. We’d still be in hell.”
“Oh, get real,” I said. “All I did was get my ass captured and stuck in a cage.”
“No. You had Holly’s back. You stayed at her side. You drove that van to the hotel for her. You came back to save her. You always put her first. Thank you for that.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” I said. “I did it for Holly’s sake. That kid is my hero. She saved me, too. You all did. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in a fiery-pits-of-hell kind of situation, but the last time, no one came to my rescue, and the devil won that round. I survived, but only just. This time, a whole army of brave, strong, excellent people swooped down and kicked the devil’s ass. And that is so, so much better.”
His hand tugged, and I leaned to listen. “This thing on my neck is really cramping my style,” he whispered. “I want to sweep you off your feet. Kiss you madly. Fuck you all night long. But they told me I can’t move yet. Told me very sternly.”
I leaned down and dropped a feather-light kiss on his scratched, bruised cheekbone. “I’ll wait,” I said simply. “That scenario is worth sticking around for.”
We just gazed at each other, our eyes doing all the talking. I wanted to leap on him and cover him with kisses, but I wasn’t messing with that oh-so-carefully patched up wound, so I kissed his hand, pressing it to my cheek. My sopping-wet cheek. Damn it. Enough with the tears, already. I spotted a box of tissues, and grabbed a few. “Sorry,” I muttered, sniffling. “I billed myself as a real tough broad, but I’ve gone sappy lately. Everything makes me cry. That’s your fault, you know. You made me all emotional.”
“Lay it on me. I’m emotional, too. I love when you’re a tough broad, and I love the sappy emotional stuff, too. I love all of you, Kat. So you’ll stick with me? Forever?”
“Hell, yeah,” I told him, sniffling. “Buckle up, buddy. You’re in for a wild ride.”
His smile spread into a grin. “Sounds like pure heaven to me.”
