“Blue,” he said softly as his gaze held mine. “Soft, pale blue that looks almost silver.” His thumb skimmed the skin next to my eye and I instantly knew why he was looking into them so intently. I shifted my weight until I was leaning over him.
“I want to change my answer,” I murmured as I looked into his bright green eyes right before I leaned down and kissed him. Ethan laughed against my mouth, but it didn’t last long. As soon as my tongue stroked over his, he was moaning and kissing me back. His arms went around my neck and I was glad he was too far gone to ask me if I was okay with it.
I didn’t want him to be afraid to touch me anymore. Even though I knew there were some things I just wasn’t ready for yet, I wanted that responsibility to be on me to tell him rather than him obsessing over what was or wasn’t okay when it came to physical contact between us.
I would have kept kissing him if his stomach hadn’t chosen to let out a loud growl at that point.
“Oh my God,” Ethan whispered just before he covered his face in embarrassment. I laughed and kissed his nose between his fingers.
“I guess my man is hungry,” I said with a chuckle.
Ethan stilled and dropped his hand. He watched me for the longest time before saying, “Yes, he is.”
The moment was heavy between us and I knew why. But I couldn’t regret calling him mine because it felt like he was. And even that tiny confirmation from him…
I levered up on my elbow so I could look down at him. “We need to switch hotels so we can grab something on the way.”
“Are we going back to Seattle?”
“Not yet. We’re going to meet a guy who will hopefully be able to fix Lucy’s phone. Ronan’s tracking him down to see where he is.”
“He works for Ronan?” Ethan asked.
“Yes and no…he’s sort of a free agent.”
“What if he can’t fix it?”
I knew what Ethan was asking me. He already knew what the plan was in terms of Eric if we ended up with no evidence against the man.Secretly, a part of me wanted that to happen, but I also knew what it meant for Ethan and I couldn’t actually hope for it. Even if we took Eric out, Ethan wouldn’t be a free man. He’d never be able to go back to his old life. He’d always be on the run. Yes, Ronan could set him up with a new identity, a new life…probably even as a doctor somewhere, but he wouldn’t be able to see his family again nor could he keep Lucy with him unless he was willing to subject her to a life of hiding as well.
And I knew he wouldn’t do that.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I hedged.
“You promised never to lie to me, Cain,” Ethan said softly. “And while that wasn’t exactly a lie, it wasn’t the truth either.”
I sighed and said, “If our only choice is to eliminate Eric, your name will never be cleared.”
“I’ll have to disappear,” he whispered. “Hide for the rest of my life.” His eyes shifted away from me. “But Lucy would be safe, right?”
“She’d be safe. The state would likely try to find a relative to take her in. If they can’t, she’d have to go into foster care.”
“They wouldn’t let my family have her, would they?”
“No,” I admitted. “Probably not.”
Ethan rolled onto his side, away from me. “She’d be safe, though,” he murmured.
“Whatever happens, Ethan,” I said as I rolled him back on to his back. “You’ll both be safe and you can still have a life. You can still practice medicine. Ronan can make that happen for you.”
“But I won’t get to be me anymore,” he said.
“No, you won’t.”
He nodded, but his expression was solemn.
“Talk to me, Ethan,” I said softly as I saw him checking out mentally.
He shook his head. “I…I’ll sound so ungrateful,” he said quietly. “And I’m not, I’m really not.”
