Chapter 9
(Ethan)
______
I don’t like the guy, I don’t like his attitude, and I don’t like his behavior around Audra. But I have to admit. He’s great at what he does.
We spend about thirty minutes in his nerd basement before he can connect me to Lucas and my team.
“Hello?” Lucas says, his voice cracking thanks slightly to the signal jammer courtesy of Greg.
“Hey, man. It’s Ethan. I’m alive,” I tell him.
I hear an exhale of relief over the phone.
“What the fuck, Ethan? We’ve been worried sick the past few days.
We wanted to come to Mexico immediately, but we didn’t get the green light.
The higher-ups wanted us to confirm you were alive before heading there.
Every one of us has been going out of our minds with worry.
We’ve got local contacts out looking for you; no one found anything. ”
“I’m sorry, man. I fucked up. The terrorists got me, but I was able to escape. Now I need to get out,” I explain.
“What do you need?” Lucas asks.
“First, I need you guys here for damage control. Then I need alot of cash and possibly an airtight fake passport from Sam. I’ll explain when you get here.”
“We’ll be there in a few hours,” Lucas says before hanging up.
I turn to Greg.
“Thanks, man.”
“Don’t sweat it. I take it you’ll want to lay low here until your teammates get here?” he questions.
I nod.
“If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Sure, it’s fine. Come on, let’s get back to Audra. I’ll leave the line open so your friends can track your location.”
I give him another grateful nod before we head back up.
*****
All four of them arrive about six hours later. I wouldn’t even call what they do arrival. It’s more like they burst into the house like they’re ready to fight.
When they sight me, they all let out simultaneous sighs of relief. I’m guessing they didn’t believe I was really okay until they set their eyes on me. We share a close bond that most other teams don’t. I think it has to do with the fact that we’ve been through hell together.
Dustin walks forward and throws his arms around me.
“You had us worried sick, E,” he states.
I squeeze his shoulder.
“I know; I’m sorry.”
The rest of them take turns hugging me, and once that’s done, they turn to the other two people in the room.
“And who is this?” Dustin asks flirtatiously when he spots Audra.
Audra rolls her eyes at his tone. I want to tell her he doesn’t mean anything by it, unlike her friend, who is standing way too close to her for comfort.
“I’m Audra. A friend of Ethan’s. We were kidnapped together.”
My teammates look from me to Audra, then back at me again. They’re going to require an in-depth explanation. I ask Greg for permission before leading them into his living room.
Once we’re all seated, I relay the entire story to them. I do leave out all the intimate parts about myself and Audra. That’s information they definitely don’t need to know but can probably guess.
“So let me get this straight…feel free to correct me if I’m wrong,” Sam starts.
“Go on,” I tell him
“You met this girl in an alley while on a stakeout mission. She jumped into a situation she knew nothing about, and in the process of trying to help her, the both of you ended up getting captured. Then a kid that helped you escape died; she got sliced by a knife. The both of you found refuge in a motel, and then you had to come here to her friend’s house.
Said friend helped you get in contact with us. ”
I nod. “Pretty much.”
“Is she brave or just fucking crazy?” James asks.
It’s then I notice that both Audra and her friend Greg are nowhere to be found.
Great.
“A little bit of both,” I say in reply to James.
The men chuckle.
“You like her, don’t you?” Dustin asks with a sly grin.
“I’d like to think I’m not that transparent,” I grumble, prompting laughter from all of them.
“We’re glad you’re okay,” Lucas says.
“Yeah, me too,” I say. “So, what’s the plan? Are we going to get these guys or what?”
“Not. The bosses asked us to confirm you were alive before doing anything else. I’ll give them a call,” he says, stepping out of the house.
“So Ethan’s in love as well now? Y’all are dropping like flies,” James says.
“I know right? It seems almost contagious. Keep your love air away from me! I’m not ready yet,” Dustin shouts.
“Idiot,” I say fondly while shaking my head.
I’m not in love with Audra yet. But I am worried about the fact that she and her friend are off. God knows where doing God knows what.
Lucas walks in a few minutes later.
“Guys, our orders are to return to base ASAP,” he announces.
“What?” I ask in surprise. “What about the terrorists?”
“According to the team that has been working on it apart from us, the terrorists have left Mexico. They’ve just left the cartel and guards to manage things on the ground.
I’m guessing they fled as soon as they couldn’t find you.
They wouldn’t risk blowing their op. They’re long gone by now, probably relocated in another country. ”
“Fucking assholes!” I yell.
“Yeah, Ethan. I know you’re angry, but we have to leave. Right now. I already called the jet.”
“No, no, no, no,” I say. “What about Audra? I still have a few things to do here, I can’t just leave.”
“Ethan, I get it. But it’s a direct order. You can’t refuse.”
I run my hands through my hair in frustration.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. “I can’t leave with her, can I?”
Lucas shakes his head.
“She might still be in danger,” I tell him.
“Sam will work on a full-proof new identity for her until she has to return back to America. I don’t think the terrorists are still on the look-out for either of you.
If she’s worried, she can book a flight and leave immediately, but she should be fine here until she decides to leave. Sam,” Lucas calls to our tech genius.
He immediately grabs his laptop from his bag and gets to work.
“So you’re telling me I’m going to have to leave Mexico in less than an hour?”
“Yeah, sorry, E,” he says apologetically.
“I have to go talk to Audra,” I say with a groan.
I head towards Greg’s room, where I find both of them on his bed having a conversation. Annoyingly, they’re seated close to each other. Shoulders touching, heads bent together as they check out something on his phone.
“You were so hot back then,” I hear Greg say.
“I’m still hot now,” Audra returns.
Kill me now.
I clear my throat to draw their attention to me. Then I walk in and pull Audra up. I place a hand around her waist in a show of possessiveness. I’m done denying what we are. Greg smirks when he sees my arm.
“The two of you are together?” he asks.
“Yes,” I state firmly.
“That’s great. I’m happy for you, Audra,” he says to her.
Then he turns to me. “Take good care of her. Even though you probably don’t deserve her.”
I nod because he’s absolutely right.
“I’ll give you both some privacy. He looks like he has something to say.”
He leaves the room, and then we’re alone.
“I’d just like to point out that that display was narcissistic and possessive to a fault. Especially since we aren’t actually together,” Audra starts moving out of my grip.
“We’re together,” I bite out.
“Really? Since when? I didn’t get that memo,” she states.
“Audra, I like you, you like me. We’re together. Easy.”
She blinks.
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or annoyed right now. I’ll go with annoyed.”
“I prefer flattered. I’m sorry, Audra, but I can’t leave without you knowing how much I care about you and how much I want to be with you.”
She’s momentarily confused.
“You’re leaving?” she questions.
“Yeah, just got orders from base. Our team is to return as soon as possible. A jet is on its way.”
The expression on her face breaks my heart a little.
“I’ll book a flight now so we can go back together,” she immediately says.
“No, stay. You deserve your trip here in Mexico. You need to have fun and enjoy. I’ll be waiting for you back home.”
She sighs sadly.
“So you’re leaving. Now?”
“Yeah, sorry, baby.”
She frowns at that but then smiles.
“I’ll see you back home,” she says, getting on her toes to kiss my lips.
We continue like that for a few minutes, lost in each other.
My tongue slips inside her mouth with familiar ease while my hand goes to her hair.
I pull her close, devouring her in a way that makes my departure much harder.
I manage to lift her, and she wraps her legs around my waist. Her hands tangle in my hair, and we both say a thousand words with this one singular kiss.
“Book a hotel far away from here. No hanging out with Greg,” I tell her when we finally separate.
“While I like this jealous side of you, you can’t tell me not to hang out with my friend.”
I chuckle at her feistiness.
“I know, but I still don’t like seeing it,” I groan, making Audra laugh again.
“I’d better not catch you with any women when I return either,” she threatens.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I need to head over to the hotel and pay the owner. We’ll leave immediately after. You need to get a new phone. Sam is already working on a new identity for you. It’s only for use here. You can get a new hotel room and a new phone with it. Then I’ll contact Greg so he can give me your new number.”
“All right then. It seems like you’ve got it all figured out. Now all you’ve got to do is go,” she sniffs.
It’s then I notice the unshed tears in her eyes.
“You’re crying?” I ask softly.
“I swear I was this strong, alpha female before I met you. When it comes to you, I’m a weak damsel in distress.”
”You’re more of a princess in my eyes.”
“That sounds horrible, Ethan. I’m 35 years old, not a teenager,” she says as I thumb away her tears.
“Princess, damsel, it doesn’t matter. Just know I’m going to treat you like a queen,” I tell her.
She laughs.
“I think I like this romantic side of you.”
I laugh before pulling her into my arms. The hug is so much more than that.
“I’ll miss you,” I whisper against her hair.
“I’ll miss you more.”
After one last kiss, I’m forced to walk away from the woman that came into my life and rocked my entire world. She did it in the best way possible, and now I can’t imagine life without her.