69
Ethan!” My shouts have no effect. Ethan is frozen, staring down at Rafe’s still form. I try again. “Ethan, I’m up here.”
Finally, he raises his head to the ceiling. “Tiffy?”
“I’m here. Help me down.”
Since he’s tall, it’s easy for Ethan to stand on the chair and get me out. I hold onto the bag of diamonds. As he places me gently on the ground, he asks, “You okay? Are you hurt?” His hands travel over my body, sweeping my arms and legs, searching for injuries.
I bat him away impatiently. “I’m fine. Really.”
Looking at Ethan like I’m seeing him for the first time, I question, “What the hell was that?”
He blinks owlishly at me, swaying as a thin line of blood trickles down his face. “What was what?” he asks, his words sluggish.
I snap my fingers in front of Ethan’s unfocused eyes. Maybe he has a concussion? “Ethan. How did you do that?” I point down at Rafe’s incapacitated body.
He shakes his head, trying to clear it, and follows my finger. “Oh, that.” His gaze sharpens. “I told you.” He widens his eyes, slightly exasperated. “I have a black belt. I’ve studied mixed martial arts. You know, the Karate Kid stuff?”
Admiration bubbles in my chest and with it the full realization that Ethan’s here.
He came for me. I’m not alone.
Awed, I shake my head. “I can’t believe it. Can’t believe you fought like that.”
“Tiffy.” Ethan steps to me and places his hands on my cheeks, bracketing my face with his touch. A quiet desperation vibrates through his lean frame, a trembling in his fingertips, the adrenaline-fueled aftermath of battling with Rafe.
No tremor in his voice, though. It’s steely, filled with determination. “I haven’t had a lot of things I could call mine. Medicine was my parents’ and my brother’s. Baseball, maybe, but I lost that. But you, you’re mine, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose you. Not today. Not to that guy.” He points to Rafe on the ground. “I will fight anything, or anyone, that comes between us. Nothing could keep me away from you. Nothing.” His composure breaks, and he draws me into a bone-crushing hug. “I was so worried. When you didn’t come back. I lost it.”
Pressed against his solid body, I rush to explain, “I wasn’t running away. I swear. I—”
“Of course you weren’t,” he interrupts. “That didn’t even cross my mind.”
“It didn’t?” I peer up at him.
“No. I know you. You keep your promises.” He pulls me tighter, holding onto me like he’s unmoored and I’m his anchor, the only thing tethering him to this reality where he got to me in time. Where I’m safe.
“What’s going on? Who’s this guy?” He doesn’t let go, addressing all his questions to the top of my head.
Here it is.
The moment I’ve been dreading. He’s been honest with me, and all I’ve given him in return are lies and secrets. I can’t blame him when he walks away, but even if his abandonment is warranted I’ll never get over it. Losing Ethan will wreck me. Shatter my heart into so many jagged pieces that I won’t ever put it back together again.
Throat tight with unshed tears, I whisper, “You’re going to hate me.”
Ethan squeezes me even tighter. “Impossible.” He pulls back from our embrace. Tilting my chin up with his hand, he forces me to meet his eyes. “I love you, Tiffy. I think I’ve loved you from the moment I first saw you glaring at me in that auditorium. Nothing can change that.”
Ethan leans down and kisses me, long and slow. The world narrows down to this single sensation, the feeling of his lips pressed to mine. The brush of his tongue, the soft exhale of his breath. It awakens a firestorm of desire within me. Hot tears break free at his touch and trickle down to mingle with our lips. He tenderly kisses each one away, and hope blossoms in my heart. Is there a chance, I wonder, however small, that he might still love me after he knows the truth? Can I be redeemed?
I’m lost in that thought when I suddenly remember the explosives. I push out of his arms, frantic. “Ethan! We need to get out of here. They’re going to implode this building tonight!”
“What?” His eyes fly wide in disbelief.
“Yes. We need to leave right now!” I grip his upper arm tight, squeezing for emphasis.
“Okay.” Ethan pauses and gestures at an unconscious Rafe. “Just one thing. What should we do with him?”