I nodded. “Since I had Allen’s ID, I figured it was okay to use it to get a library card. We’d been so cut off from everything for so long, that I wanted her to have something normal.” I let my eyes settle on Ronan. “Thank you for not telling her about the email. She’d…she’d never forgive herself if she knew…”
I shook my head, unable to complete the thought.
“I’ll have my tech girl delete the email account. We’ll tell Lucy that for now, it’s safer that she doesn’t create any new accounts, no matter what.”
I managed a nod. “Thank you.”
“Ethan, tell us about the day Eric found you again,” I heard Cain say.
It was the last thing I wanted to do. I was so damn tired and raw that the idea of having to revisit those moments even for a few minutes was taxing. But I also needed to be done with this.
Unfortunately, I had no idea what would happen once Iwasdone.
Would Cain keep his word to let me and Lucy go?
Or would it be just another broken promise in a line of many?
Chapter 9
CAIN
My heart hurtfor Ethan because he just looked so damned tired. A part of me wanted to tell Ronan that we’d heard enough, but another part of me needed to hear every detail of what Eric had done to the man before me. I’d use it as fuel when I confronted the fucker. And Iwouldconfront him. Of that, I had no doubt.
“After I performed that procedure on that patient, I knew the jig was up. I told Lucy when I got home that we’d need to leave the next day. I ended up sleeping in later than I’d meant to the next morning. When I woke up, I found a note from Lucy saying she’d finished packing her stuff and had walked over to a friend’s house to say goodbye. I packed up my own stuff and then drove to the gas station to fill up the car and get us some snacks for the road. When I got back to the house, Eric was waiting inside,” Ethan said softly.
“He was on me before I even realized what was happening. He hit me a few times and then kicked me. Then he started breaking things. He accused me of taking Lucy to humiliate him. Said I was trying to brainwash her against him. I managed to get to my feet while he was trashing the place. I flipped the light switch near the front door so the outside porch light would turn on – it was a signalLucy and I had worked out. If the light was on, it meant she should run…go to the police.”
My insides clenched as my admiration for this man rose several more notches. Even with his own life in jeopardy, he’d put Lucy’s safety first.
“I tried talking Eric down…telling him I was sorry, but he was in a rage. He dragged me to each room as he…”
Ethan’s voice dropped off and I didn’t need him to finish his statement. I remembered the blood all over that house. I had no doubt it had only come from Ethan.
“My room was already trashed when he dragged me into it. He…he threw me face down on the bed and told me I was his…always his. Then he pulled my pants down…I was too out of it to fight back,” Ethan murmured. “When he was finished, I managed to pull my pants up before he knocked me to the ground. Then he was on top of me, his hands around my throat. I knew he wasn’t going to let me go this time. I could see it in his eyes. I was…I was relieved,” Ethan admitted as tears slipped unchecked down his face. “All I ever wanted was to be free…I just never thought he’d be the one to give that to me.”
Rage surged through me, white-hot, and I barely managed to stay where I was. My fists were clenched, but there was nothing I could do to relax them. I wanted blood. Period.
“How did you get away?” Ronan asked.
Ethan let out a strangled laugh. “Lucy,” he managed to get out as he wiped at his face. “She saw the light on, but ignored it and came inside. She hit him over the head with a cast iron skillet. Knocked him out cold, then helped me to my feet. I told her to grab the safe deposit key I’d taped underneath one of the dresser drawers and then we ran. She drove because I couldn’t. I was too out of it to do anything. She told me when we got to the cabin that it belonged to her friend’s family and that the girl had said we could use it. The girl’s parents were out of the country for another couple of months so we’d be safe there. Her friend told the guy who plowed the road that we were there with her parents’ permission so he wouldn’t callthe cops. She also told Lucy about the gun her parents kept at the cabin for protection.”
Ethan took a few deep breaths and then lifted his eyes to Ronan. “She can’t know I was raped,” he said, his voice firm.
While Ethan had made the same request of me, I knew his demand held even more weight now since Lucy’s email account had likely been what had led Eric to finding them.
“She won’t,” Ronan said just as firmly.
Ethan nodded.
“Ethan, I’d like for you to let us help you,” Ronan said.
Ethan began shaking his head before Ronan even finished. “No. Two people are dead because I accepted help.” Ethan’s eyes shifted to me. “I want to go.”
I knew what he was asking of me. I felt Ronan’s eyes on me and while I knew I was about to do something that would cost me my job, I did it anyway. I stood up and said, “Okay,” and motioned to the door.
Ethan glanced uncertainly around the room before he climbed to his feet.
As he neared me I said, “Be sure about this, Ethan. It’s not just your life that you’re putting at risk.” I knew it was a low blow, but after having seen the connection between Ethan and his young charge, I was only speaking the truth. “She’s put herself in danger twice for you. You really think she’s going to stop doing that just because you tell her to?” I asked.
