18
ETHAN
“This is going to go over well,” Levin muttered as he drove us through the city back to wherever Rosalie was staying. Since the stalker had struck again, I knew they’d moved. I just didn’t know where.
We pulled up in front of one of Dom’s buildings.
Should have known.
“I can take her,” Levin said as he opened the back door for me. “Probably be safer if you aren’t here.”
“No. I need to talk to them,” I said, letting him help me get her out of the car. Levin held her as I got out before I took her back from him.
My feelings were all over the place, but mostly I was angry at myself for ever doing what I’d done to her. For lying. For keeping Laz a secret. For not telling her the truth. I wanted to say I was protecting her, but really, I was protecting myself back then because I was ashamed of being raped.
I had the opportunity to tell her the first time I saw her again, but I was so wrapped up in her that I was afraid I’d lose her.
I guess old feelings die hard. All old feelings, because even though I’d grown so much over the years, the moment I saw her again, I was right back to the guy who was afraid of losing her.
Fuck me for that.
I guess I had trust issues. Mostly trust in myself since I was apparently an unreliable narrator in my own damn story.
We went into the building and up to the floor where their place was. Levin knocked lightly on the door, and it was opened by Klaus, who immediately zeroed in on Rosalie in my arms.
“What the fuck happened?” he demanded, taking her from me. “Baby? Hey, wake up!” His voice cracked as he held her.
Anson and Evan rushed forward, and Dom followed.
“What the fuck happened?” Evan grabbed me by the shirt and slammed me so hard against the wall that my ears rang, and my breath whooshed out.
“L-Let me ex-explain,” I rasped, trying to catch my damn breath. Fuck, he’d turned into a nightmare. The Fox I knew was far more gentle than the big fucker currently pinning me to the wall.
“Talk fast,” Evan snarled at me, his forearm at my throat.
“Rosalie, come on,” Klaus pleaded softly. “What the fuck did you do to her? Wake up!”
I swallowed hard. To me, Klaus had always been this strong, terrifying force, but seeing him clinging to Rosalie, clearly distraught, broke something inside me.
“S-She’s O-OK,” I managed to choke out from beneath Evan’s hold.
“Easy, man.” Dom put his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Relax. Let him speak. He can tell us what happened.”
Evan was surely glaring at me from beneath his sunglasses, but finally he released me, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“She came over. Things were said. She pointed a gun at Enzo and then shot through our ceiling. We listened to her concerns,and then Cole lost it when she said she was going back to L.A.,” I explained. “He carries this damn drug in his pocket that I came up with recently. It knocks people out.”
“He fucking drugged her?” Anson snarled.
“Not like that. He just… It’s on a cloth. He pressed it to her face. It’ll knock her out for a few hours. She’ll be fine. I promise she will be. She’ll have a little headache, but I swear to you she will wake up soon.”
“Un-fucking-acceptable.” Now Anson was on his feet and staring me down.
I didn’t want to fight, but I certainly would.
“He was upset,” I explained. “He doesn’t want to lose her, Ellis, or… You guys.”
“So he fucking drugged her?” Klaus demanded, glaring at me.
