“Not much. Just that his injuries would heal within a few days. He asked me not to tell the girl.”
Another long pause and then, “Okay, bring them down as soon as he’s up to traveling which, with his injuries, will be at least a few days if not more. Bring them to my house in Queen Anne.”
I was surprised Ronan was willing to have the pair at his house with his family, but it was just further proof that he didn’t believe Ethan to be any kind of threat. And after seeing things for myself, I no longer believed him to be any danger to anyone, but he certainly had danger following close enough on his trail that it could end up putting Ronan’s family in jeopardy.
“Okay,” I responded, since I wasn’t going to question the logic behind Ronan’s decision.
“I’ll see what I can find out about them on my end.”
“Understood,” I said. “My phone doesn’t have reception up here so I probably won’t be able to check in until we’re on our way back to the city.”
“Okay,” Ronan murmured. I had no doubt he wasn’t thrilled about that since he liked knowing what was going on with his men, especially when they were on the job. And even though he’d handed control of the team over to Memphis Wheland, his second-in-command, Ronan still kept his thumb on the pulse of his organization and the men who were a part of it.
“I’ll be careful,” I offered, hoping to ease his mind. It had been a strange thing for me to understand that Ronan cared about me beyond being one of his operatives, but I’d gotten used to it in the three years since I’d joined the team.
“Yeah,” Ronan said with a sigh. “If I don’t hear from you by Monday, I’m sending the cavalry.”
I chuckled. “Deal.”
I said my goodbyes and then made my way back up to the cabin. The snow was still flying around, but it seemed to be a littleless heavy than it had been and I hoped Ronan was right that the storm would pass soon. While I wanted to believe Ethan’s injuries weren’t life-threatening, I didn’t want to be put into a position where I had to risk his and Lucy’s lives by getting them down the mountain quickly enough to get Ethan the help he’d need.
And that was even assuming I could get him down fast enough.
The weight of the unknown was heavy on my shoulders as I made my way back towards the cabin. I parked next to my truck and got out, pocketing the SUV’s keys. I searched out my bag from the backseat of the truck and then headed towards the door. I was glad the cabin was feeling warmer than it had before when I’d entered, but made a mental note to grab some of the firewood from outside just in case we ended up losing power. I dropped my bag on the kitchen table and then went to the back rooms to check on my charges. But I didn’t make it past Ethan’s room because instead of finding him asleep in bed like I would have expected, I saw his naked body lying sprawled on the floor just feet from the door.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I pushed the door open and dropped down next to him. Relief tore through me when I felt for a pulse and found it. It seemed strong which gave me hope.
“Ethan,” I said softly as I shook him. He didn’t feel feverish which I hoped was another good sign, but he was once again out cold. I remembered his words about him being in trouble if I couldn’t wake him up. I shook him harder than I probably should have. “Ethan, wake up,” I ordered as the fear began to filter through my veins.
Ethan let out a little moan before opening his eyes. “What…” he said in confusion.
“What happened?” I said as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and helped him sit up.
He seemed groggy, but his words were clear when he said, “Need to get Lucy out of here before he comes back.”
I wondered if thehe he was referring to was me or the fucker who’d hurt him.
“Who?” I asked.
“Promised I’d keep her safe,” Ethan murmured tiredly. “He doesn’t know she knows.”
“Knows what?” I asked even as I put my arm beneath Ethan’s legs.
Ethan just shook his head and then his eyes drifted shut. I lifted him and struggled to my feet. I managed to get him back in the bed and covered up and then sat down on the edge of the mattress and shook him until his eyes opened.
“Ethan, I need you to answer some questions,” I explained. “I need to make sure you’re doing okay.”
He nodded slightly and I was relieved to see that he was able to focus on me. He appeared to be more awake than when I’d found him. I ran through some basic questions including asking him what my name was, where we were and who the president was and he answered them all without hesitation. But the second I asked him about what had caused him to get out of bed, he clammed up again and I knew it was because hehadbeen hoping to get himself and Lucy away from me.
Once Ethan was asleep again, I went to check on Lucy, who was still in the exact same position, before heading to the kitchen to try and find something for dinner. The bag in the refrigerator from the convenience store had a couple of unappetizing looking sandwiches in it along with a bottle of soda as well as a bottle of water. I searched the contents of the freezer and then the pantry and finally settled on something simple and that had been a staple in my house when I’d been a kid, both because it was easy and cheap. It wasn’t often that I cooked these days, so it felt awkward at first, but I soon found myself falling back into the routine.
As I worked, my mind drifted to the past, but I shoved the offending thoughts away. I’d stopped living in the past a long time ago.
The creaking of a floorboard automatically had me reaching for my gun. My eyes met startled brown ones and I immediately lowered the gun.
Fuck, I needed to get a grip.
So much for not letting my brief walk down memory lane get to me.
