Ethan stiffened at that and then glanced at Ronan. He was quiet for a moment before saying, “Can you keep her safe? Even if Eric comes at you with everything he has?”
Ronan stood. “We can keep you both safe, Ethan. Whether that means proving to the world who Eric really is or just making it so he’s no longer a part of it, he’ll never get near either of you again. You have my word on that.”
Ethan was clearly overwhelmed and torn. I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to clasp his face with my hand so I could force him to look at me. I leaned forward enough so only he could hear my next words. “I’ve got you, Ethan,” I whispered.
A choked sob tore from his throat as he let out a jerky nod. He stepped away from me and went to sit back down.
I was too on edge to sit so I moved to stand behind the couch.
“Um, what happens next?” Ethan asked as he wiped at his face with his hands.
“I’d like to arrange to get Lucy’s phone from your friend and we’ll also need the contents of your safe deposit box. My suggestion would be for Lucy to stay here with my family while one of my men escorts you to get the phone and the contents of your safe deposit box in D.C.” Ronan glanced between me and Phoenix. “Cain and Phoenix will act as primaries on your case and I’ll call in more men if we need it.”
“Primaries?” Ethan asked.
“One of them will stay here to shadow Lucy whenever she leaves this house and one of them will escort you to Arizona and then D.C.”
“I’ll go with Ethan,” I interjected before Ronan could continue. I ignored the heat that crawled up my neck as all eyes turned to me. Not only was I stepping on Ronan’s toes by making a decision that was solely his, I’d just revealed a pretty big fact about myself.
That I was way more emotionally invested in this case than I should be.
I remained silent as Ronan’s eyes returned to Ethan. “Both Phoenix and Cain are more than qualified for this job, Ethan. Do you have a preference for who your primary is and who Lucy’s is?”
I held my breath as Ethan’s eyes shifted between me and Phoenix.
“Phoenix should be Lucy’s,” he finally said as his eyes briefly met Phoenix’s before meeting mine for a fraction of a second.
I tried not to react at all, but the fact that Ronan cast a glance at me showed it wouldn’t have mattered if I had or not. He knew something was up.
“I’d like to recommend you rest up for a few more days,” Ronan said. “That will give Lucy time to adjust to being with my family.”
Ethan nodded. “Thank you. I’d like to be the one to tell Lucy about all of this.”
To Phoenix, Ronan said, “Would you take him to Lucy, please?” To Ethan he said, “Seth can show you to your rooms so you and Lucy can talk.”
I kept my eyes off Ethan as he left the room, but didn’t bother leaving myself since I had no doubt Ronan wanted to talk to me. The way he’d held my gaze as Ethan had gotten up to leave was proof enough of that.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on or do I need to guess?” Ronan asked.
I took a deep breath and went to sit down on the couch across from him. “Does it matter?” I asked. “I can keep him safe.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Ronan responded. “Does he know about your…preferences?”
I wanted to laugh at the polite word he’d chosen to describe my aversion to physical contact.
“He knows. I told him this afternoon.” I paused and said, “I wouldn’t hurt him, even if he…”
“Touched you?” Ronan finished for me.
I nodded.
“And what if he touches you in other ways?” Ronan asked.
“What do you mean?”
Ronan sighed. “I had the same problem,” he said softly. “Though my reasons for it were different from yours, I suspect.”
I found that hard to believe since I’d seen plenty of people touching Ronan in all sorts of ways. Even the thought of all those people doing the same to me had a shiver running up my spine.
