Chapter 15
Ryan chuckles in my question is the funnier than wor
“Well, maybe some people have very good rd, or “Whe
Thank God
Chmbing out of the car, I thank them both before redone to the front done of the mall house my mom left die Fendific live with Jack anymore, and 1 wasn’t moving back into my dad The the only cause the
I pull fondle with my keys, feeling that Exhim and Ryan are still working me. Thankfully, they don’t ade ini come in because even though I nded up last night. I don’t know if I want Erhan in the only space I have right now that’s just mine
Then eyes stay on me until lentes the home and close the done behind me. The silence and darkness wrap around me while I lean against the door and take a deep breath. I want nothing more than to take a hot shower and fall into bed, in 1 toss my keys onto the little table by the door and kick off my shoes
My foot hits something, and I stumble, catching myself on the kitchen doorway. Mi
Bending down. I pick up the black box, open it, and find my mother’s diamond necklace and a handwritten letter, Confusion sparks through me as I close the box again. Last night, while I was cleaning, I put this beat in the top drawer of tone. dresser and haven’t touched it since then. There’s no reason it would be on the floor of the kitchen.
No one has a key to this place, not even Dad, so that means-
I turn and a shadow flickers in front of the dim light of the window. Soft footsteps sound from somewhere to my left, and my heart nearly stops. I grip the black box in my hands and spin toward the sound.
Someone in the house.
“Etha-
Large hands slap over my mouth and drag me backward. My leg collides with a table, the jagged corner tearing at my thigh. Warm, wet blood runs down my leg as 1 thrash and kick out at the attacker.
“Shut up,” he orders as I scream into his hands. Fear rips at my heart, and I desperately look toward the front door as the man drags me into the living room,
Something cold presses against my neck, and I freeze.
Just then, the front door slams open, and Ethan rushes forward, slamming a fist into the man’s face and knocking the knife aside. I drop to the ground and crawl away as Ethan kicks the man away.
I scramble to my feet, holding onto Ethan when he moves toward me Grabbing his hand, I allow him to pull me close
“I’ve saved you again,” he mutters, shaking his head.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my eyes landing on the attacker who is still laying on the ground groaning. “Maybe I just have tou
much trouble around me.”
I never had troubles like this before. There were no car chases or break ins
“What is that?” Ethan growls, and when I look up at him, I can almost swear his eyes are glowing a but as he stares at my thigh. I’d forgotten about the injury because of the rush of adrenaline and tear
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“You piece of shit.” Ethan snarls. Next thing I know, he lunges at my attacker again, slamming his fist into the man’s face. A crunch echoes in the air as knuckles connect with a jaw.
“Ethan, stand down. You can’t kill him,” Ryan calls. When Ethan continues beating the man and ignores Ryan, I limp forward and wrap my arms around Ethan’s waist.
At my touch, he freezes and turns his head to look at me. A rumble shakes Ethan’s body, but I don’t let go. I may not have feelings for this man, but I don’t want him to kill someone.
“Get this trash to the police station, Ethan orders, and Ryan nods his head. I watch as Ryan grabs the intruder by the collar and drags him out of my house.
As soon as Ryan is out the door, Ethan pulls his phone out. I release him and make my way over to the couch, sitting down and turning a lamplight on. Ethan speaks with someone on the phone, but I tune him out and look at my leg.
There’s a large cut on my thigh, but from what I can tell through my pants, it doesn’t look too deep.
“Make sure you take care of him and bury him,” Ethan orders. Bury? “I want him locked so far away that he won’t even think about hurting another person.”
The enraged words shock me, but they also scared me a bit. The power rolling off Ethan is palpable, creating a thick tension in the air. Hair stands up on my arms and the back of the neck, almost triggering my fight or flight response.
He ends the phone call, and I stare up at him. If I were to anger this man, the consequences would be much worse than what Jack could ever do. Ethan was far more powerful and frightening.
“You should get your wound bandaged,” Ethan finally says, his eyes on my leg. I don’t know how much of the wound he can see, but I don’t ask.
“I will.”
He inhales, closes his eyes, and rubs his face before opening his eyes again and looking around. I look around also. What does he see? It doesn’t take long since the room is small, but eventually, his eyes land on a family photo. Everyone in the photo is smiling, including me and Jack. I scowl at the image, wondering why I hadn’t thrown the picture away yen.
Apparently, Ethan had his own questions because after a minute of looking at the picture, he asks, “Why did you marry your husband
It seemed like a silly question, but from his point of view and because of my situation, I understand his curiosity.
“When my heart was broken, my husband was there for me. During that time, we developed feelings for each other, 1 answer honestly. There’s no reason to lie, yet I still feel embarrassed.
“Feelings?” Ethan hums. “Feelings are useless.”
e gasp. My heart jumps into gear, and I grab onto
Ethan’s arm again out of instinct.
The doorbell rings, making me Shaking my head, I release his arm. He probably doesn’t want me hanging all over him, and the attacker is gone. Someone with bad intentions wouldn’t ring the doorbell, so we’re okay.
Following Ethan. I watch as he opens the front door.
nave
“What’s going on?” 1 ask, looking at my neighbors. They’re armed with bats and rolling pins, ready to strike until they see
The
“Fional We
na! We heard a commotion,” Mindy, my neighbor to the left, says.
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Chapter 15
“Are you all right, hon?” Mindy’s sister asks, lowering her rolling pin.
“Yeah, we heard some shouting and a fight, Roman, my neighbor on the right, says.
I step in front of Ethan and offer my best calming smile as I say. “I’m okay. My friend dealt with the danger.”
Three pairs of eyes immediately focus on Ethan behind me. They study him for a minute before looking at me again.
“If you’re sure. We didn’t want to bust in, but we were worried,” Mindy says. Warmth fills my chest, and I hug each of them. My neighbors back at my house with Jack were never this kind. We chat for a little while, and once I’ve assured them a few more times that I’m alright, they head home.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Roman calls out as he makes his way back to his house. Ethan stiffens behind me, and I think I’m hearing things when a soft, barely audible rumble reaches my ears.
“I’ll get going.” Ethan announces as my neighbors disappear,
A stone sinks in my stomach, and I reach up with shaking hands.
“Wait,” I gasp. I wrap my trembling fingers around his arm again, stopping him from walking away. “I don’t- I can’t stay here. I can’t sleep alone tonight.”
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