I didn’t know how long we stood there for, but the silence around us was broken by the sound of the front door being opened and someone calling Devon’s name.
Ethan’s family was early.
“Oh God,” Ethan whispered.
I had no doubt the turmoil Ethan was going through right now. I’d seen it in every line of his face as he’d encountered his brother again after so long. But I also knew that nothing he told his family would change the way they felt about him. I’d seen proof of that when Devon had started interrogating me the second Ethan had been out of sight. There hadn’t been much I could tell him without divulging the true nature of Ronan’s group, but I’d finally managedto convince him that I would bring his brother home to him. Only then had he gotten the phone for me along with the letter. I was certain I’d have to make the same reassurances to the rest of his family and while it made me nervous to be around so many people at once, I’d do it for Ethan. He’d need that strength in the coming days and weeks as we brought Eric to his knees.
“You’ve got me, right, Cain?” Ethan suddenly asked.
I ended up squeezing his hand again like I had downstairs.
“I’ve got you, Ethan.”
Only when I said the words did he relax and nod. And then he was heading downstairs to face the family he so badly needed.
“Jace, you have us?”I asked as Ethan and I got out of the car.
“I have you,” came the response. “Parking garage,” Jace said, his voice loud in my ear. I’d explained to Ethan that I would be wearing a communication device in my ear that would allow me to communicate with my teammate, Jace Christenson. Although I wasn’t expecting trouble while we emptied out the safe deposit box, I’d decided that having a second set of eyes on us wouldn’t hurt and since Jace was based out of D.C., it had made sense to call him, though I’d never worked with him directly.
Ethan was tense next to me as we crossed the parking lot next to the bank. I glanced up and saw a glimpse of Jace as he got set up on the top floor of the parking garage across the street from the bank. I could see he had a pair of binoculars, but his position didn’t allow me to see much else. But I knew he’d come prepared to provide the support we might need if anything went wrong.
We’d landed at a small airstrip early that morning after leaving Ethan’s family late the night before. The visit with his family had gone as expected. Shock, grief, excitement…the range of emotions as the Rhodes family had been reunited with their son had been endless…and powerful. I’d found myself envious at times of how close they were. As expected, there’d been no anger with Ethan and hissudden return, just pure happiness. So much so, that Ethan’s mother had grabbed me in a giant hug because she’d decided I’d played some big role in bringing her son home to her.
Ethan had panicked when she’d hugged me, but I’d managed to maintain control of myself and I’d given him the smallest shake of my head when he’d tried to stop his mother. Luckily, she hadn’t held on to me for long since she’d wanted Ethan back in her arms right away.
It had been brutal to watch his family learn the truth about what had happened to him over the years he’d been gone, and that hadn’t even taken into account how much he’d left out. It hadn’t really mattered because his family had suffered anyway. There’d been lots of tears and outrage, but there’d been a lot of joyous moments for Ethan too. He’d discovered his sister was married and pregnant and his brother, Garrett, was engaged. They’d shared dozens and dozens of stories in the few hours we’d spent with them and when it had come time to say goodbye, there’d been another round of tears and hugs and promises. His mother had hugged me again, but it had been easier the second time around because she’d been crying and begging me to promise to bring her son home. It was hard to consider a weeping, shaking woman a threat, so I’d held her and promised I would do exactly as she’d asked.
I’d decided that we should fly out right away rather than stay at a hotel on the off chance that Eric was watching the family. Ronan’s tech girl was monitoring Eric’s movements through his phone and credit cards, but he’d been quiet in the past two weeks.
Too quiet for my liking.
After landing this morning, Ethan and I had gone to a hotel near the airport after grabbing the rental car Ronan had had waiting for us. We’d checked in, but Ethan had been too on edge to sleep so I’d made arrangements with Jace to shadow us so we could get the task of retrieving the contents of the safe deposit box over with.
“You see anything?” I asked Jace.
Silence for a moment, then “No, you’re good.”
The location of the bank was in a quiet neighborhood of mostlyMom and Pop type shops and small businesses. There were a few people out and about which helped us blend in. I’d had Ethan wear a baseball cap and a windbreaker over his T-shirt. I’d debated having him wear sunglasses to try and hide some of the bruising on his face but had decided they’d look suspicious if he wore them inside the bank.
Ethan was tense as we reached the sidewalk and passed by a narrow alley before reaching the entrance to the bank. He already had the safe deposit key out, along with his ID. Since he’d ditched his ID after taking off with Lucy, Ronan had had to get creative and had a new one made for him using the picture from the Internet that the news agencies had used for their reports – it was the picture that had once been on the hospital website where he’d worked.
The bank was a small, outdated establishment, so it hadn’t surprised me when Jace had let me know that his reconnaissance before our arrival had revealed the absence of metal detectors. Which meant I had the comfort of being able to carry a gun with me, though I had no reason to think I’d need it. The place wasn’t busy at all when we entered so within a matter of minutes, an older woman in a crisp navy skirt and matching blazer was greeting us.
“How can I help you today?” she asked.
“I’d like to access my safe deposit box,” Ethan said, his voice calmer than I’d expected it to be. Pride shot through me at how well he was handling himself because I knew he was scared shitless.
“Of course. I’ll just need to see some ID,” the woman said as she motioned to a desk. Neither Ethan nor I sat as she looked up Ethan’s information and checked his ID. She glanced at him several times, her face pulling into a frown for the briefest of moments, presumably as she took in his battered face and tried to confirm it really was him.
“Right this way, Mr. Rhodes,” she said as she got up and motioned for us to follow her to a side door. She led us to the room with the safe deposit boxes and used her key along with Ethan’s to open his box. She removed the long, silver drawer and placed it on a table in the middle of the room.
“I’ll be outside if you need me,” she said politely before leaving.
Ethan’s hand was shaking as he tried to insert his key to open the box. I covered his hand with mine and said, “Deep breaths, Ethan.”
He nodded and did as I said. Several long moments passed before he relaxed enough to work the box open. I saw him hesitate at the last minute before he lifted the lid. I had no doubt he was preparing himself for all the memories that would flood his brain the moment he opened the thing. I didn’t rush him in any way and when he finally opened it, I waited for the inevitable fall. But when his mouth fell open and his eyes went wide, I stiffened and went around to his side of the table.
“Oh God,” he whispered.
