Chapter 11 #2
They stopped by the twenty-four-hour pharmacy first, filled her prescriptions, and then headed to her place so she could grab a bag of clothes and other things she needed. It seemed like forever since she’d been at home, and she needed her Bible.
“Hang on a second.” Ethan got out of the truck.
She watched as he reached for his service weapon.
She shifted, but it was difficult to see around the seat. A few moments later, he returned, slid into the seat, and slammed the door shut.
Aubrey frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“We aren’t going inside.” He turned on the engine.
Aubrey leaned over between the seats. “What? Why?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “The front door was open. I walked inside and the entire place was tossed.” Ethan’s knuckles were turning white as he gripped the steering wheel.
She sank back against the seat. “I don’t understand.” Her fingers tightened around the seat belt strap.
Ethan started his truck, then backed out of the driveway at an unsafe speed. He tossed her his phone. “Call 911, please.”
She fumbled to dial, then put the phone to her ear.
“911, what’s your emergency?” The dispatcher’s voice filled the cab.
“My house has been broken into. Everything is a mess.” Aubrey struggled to keep her voice calm.
“What’s your address?”
“526 Sycamore.” Aubrey stared out the windshield, her gaze drifting to Ethan. He gripped the wheel as he drove, tension in his body language.
“Are you in danger?” the dispatcher asked. “Are you still at your residence?”
She cleared her throat. “No. I’m with Deputy US Marshal Ethan Butler. We’re headed somewhere safe.”
Safe. It seemed that she wasn’t safe anywhere, even when she was with Ethan.
“Police have been dispatched. Can we call you back on this number?”
“Yes.”
The operator recited Ethan’s number and disconnected the call.
Aubrey placed his phone in the cupholder. “The police are on their way.”
Ethan’s gaze met hers in the rearview mirror, his jaw tense but eyes warm with concern. “Good,” he said, voice low and sincere.
His gaze shifted back to the road. “I’m sorry, Aubrey. You’ve already survived enough. Coming home to this is just…wrong.”
Shock and exhaustion clogged her throat, trapping every word she tried to form.
She swallowed hard and turned toward the window, fingers twisting in the edge of her seatbelt as the dark ribbon of road slid past. Ethan softened further.
“Listen to me. Bravery doesn’t mean you deserve more pain.
It means you deserved protection long before now.
” He reached over the seat, grasped her hand and squeezed.
“We get you safe. Then we take the next step together.”
“Right. Thank you.”
He nodded, his attention pulled back to rain-slick city streets.
Aubrey gazed out the window, the streetlights passing by in a blur. They drove in silence until they entered an older housing development.
Ethan pulled into the gravel driveway of an older brick ranch home.
Low-lying shrubs hedged the perimeter of the house.
He unlocked the front door this time and ushered her inside, turning on the hall lights.
He led her gently to the overstuffed couch in the living room. “Stay put for a second, okay?”
She watched as he disappeared down the hallway, his footsteps echoing against the bare walls. He spoke to someone in the kitchen, his voice low. A few beats later, he returned with a glass of water, a dish towel, and a baggie filled with ice cubes.
“Here you go.” He set the glass on the coffee table, then opened her prescription bottles and handed her a muscle relaxant and the higher dosage ibuprofen. “You’re going to need those tonight.”
She nodded and tossed back the pills with a sip of water. “Thank you.”
Ethan nodded once and sat on the coffee table, their faces at eye level. “Stretch out your leg.” He placed a crocheted blanket across her legs, then wrapped the bag of ice in the dish towel, lifted the corner of the blanket, and placed the ice around her swollen ankle.
She hissed. “Cold.”
“I know.” He patted her calf. “Leave it on for fifteen minutes max. I’m calling one of the female marshals to sit with you tonight.”
Panic clawed up her throat. Donovan was out there. “Why now, after all these years?”
She had to get out of here, away from Renegade. If she stayed, the people closest to her would be hurt. She tossed aside the blanket and stood, wanting to be anywhere but here.
Ethan held out his arm. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Just—not here.” Anywhere that didn’t smell like mud and fear. Anywhere that wasn’t Renegade.
Ethan caught her hand and gently guided her back to the sofa. Pain flared through her ankle and she winced, the fight draining out of her.
She scrubbed her hands over her face. She needed a shower. Clean clothes. Her purse, her phone—some piece of her life that hadn’t been left on that mountain.
She had none of it.
Except Ethan.
He touched her elbow, careful, grounding. “Hey. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
“I know.” Her voice wavered. “My brain just hasn’t caught up yet.” She managed a tired, apologetic smile. “I know you’ll keep me safe.”
Arguing would take energy she didn’t have. She sank back into the cushions, exhaustion pulling her under.
The doorbell rang, and Ethan rose immediately, posture shifting, alert. “I’ll be right back. Stay put.”
She lifted her bandaged ankle an inch. “Pretty sure I’m not going anywhere.”
Voices in the foyer cut through the spiral of her thoughts, pulling her back from the brink of panic.
“Hey, Aubrey.” Emma Kennedy stepped into the room, a bulletproof vest strapped over her shirt, her service weapon holstered at her waist. “Am I glad to see you.”
“Same.” Aubrey adjusted the icepack on her ankle.
Ethan rocked back on his heels, hands in his pocket. “So, do you two need anything else?”
“I’m gonna check the windows and doors.” Emma wandered out of the room.
Looking up at his handsome face, Aubrey had to swallow back all the emotion from the day. He was right. She could’ve died out there today. But God had been looking out for her. Maybe it was time to stop being so angry.
His expression softened. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I just…Thank you, Ethan.” She smiled and stifled a yawn.
“You’re welcome.” He held her gaze. Steady. Like him. “And don’t forget to lock the doors.”
“Already on it.” Emma walked back through the room. “I rechecked all the windows and the patio door.”
Ethan stood there as if he wanted to say something else. An awkward silence filled the small space. Finally, he simply said, “Good night.”
Emma followed him to the front, and after a moment, Aubrey heard the lock click into place.
“Night, Ethan.” She whispered the words as his footsteps echoed against the concrete walkway outside.
Emma came back in. “I have clothes if you want to clean up.”
“Sounds amazing.”
Later, Aubrey drifted off to sleep in an unfamiliar bed, a smile on her lips. Despite everything going on, it seemed like things were changing between her and Ethan.
And she kind of liked it.
The next morning Ethan sat at his desk, no further along with the case. He glanced up from his laptop every few minutes, checked his phone.
Why hadn’t Deputy Marshal Kennedy called in yet? He needed an update. Or at least an ETA for when she’d show up with Aubrey. With that right foot of hers, Aubrey couldn’t drive.
Ethan leaned back in his chair. This was getting ridiculous. He wasn’t interested in Aubrey. He was just worried after hauling her off that mountain in the dark.
Yeah. Keep telling yourself that, buddy.
Ethan abandoned the illusion of productivity and shoved out of his too-warm office. He needed air. Coffee. A mental off switch. Anything to stop reliving the moment her arms locked around his neck, her breath unsteady against his shoulder.
“Get any sleep last night?” Liam Roberts appeared as Ethan reached for the coffeepot.
Ethan poured a cup, more for something to do than for the caffeine. “A little.”
Liam’s brow arched knowingly. “Was it the late-night ER visit with Aubrey, or something else bothering you?”
Ethan’s shoulders tightened, a different kind of exhaustion pulling at him. “I thought I was prepared for what she carries. Turns out, I wasn’t even close.”
Liam nodded, no judgment, just understanding. “She trusts you, Ethan. That says something.”
Ethan exhaled, his gaze dropping to the steam curling from his mug. “Maybe. I just hate that she needed a reason to.”
Liam clapped his shoulder once. “Give her a reason to keep trusting you. Starting now.” He angled his cup toward Ethan’s.
The ghost of a smile tugged Ethan’s mouth for a second. “Copy that.”
Liam added more cream to his coffee. “You gonna admit how you feel, or keep pretending it’s just concern?”
“Concern for a dangerous fugitive on the loose and no leads on where to find him? The Denver agents found nothing in the woods. Just an empty cabin.”
Liam nodded. “Come on, man. You like her—and we both know it runs deeper than protecting her from Donovan.”
Ethan’s gaze drifted to her empty desk. The sunlight hit her chair, soft and golden, like she’d just stepped away for a second.
“She’s a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.
Got under my skin before I even realized it.
” He met Liam’s eyes. “She’s already in my heart, and I’m not sure I could let her go, even if I wanted to. ”
Liam grinned and slapped his back. “Then don’t.”
Ethan shook his head. Liam was right. But first, he needed to head out and check on the Marshals team he’d sent out to the crash site to collect evidence.
The FAA had arrived in Renegade late last night, before he’d even found Aubrey.
With the storm settling over the mountain community, he hoped the plane hadn’t shifted.
Collecting evidence was going to be impossible in the rain as it was.
He still needed to ask Aubrey some questions. And check with the police about what had happened at her house.