Impatiently Patient

by Amelia Shea

  She moaned. “Ethan, please.”

  Her hips moved quickly and she panted hard, her hands gripping his hair. She bounced up and down, faster and harder. He gripped his arms around her, pounding his hips. The walls of her pussy gripped his cock, and he felt her coming around his length, seconds before he gave one last deep thrust and came inside her.

  Her body quivered, moving slowly over his, his own body tremoring. Her face tucked into his neck, he whispered in her ear, “Never been in love ’til you, Em.” He kissed the side of her head. “First and last.”

  Chapter 17

  ETHAN sat in the chair across from T at his desk. They had been waiting for fifteen minutes. The plan had been put into place and if all went smoothly, Evie would be walking through the door any minute. They continued to watch the monitors for her arrival.

  “You sure she’ll show?” Declan’s deep voice rumbled behind Ethan’s chair.

  They were all in T’s office. T sat behind his desk with Stone standing behind him against the wall. Ethan sat across from T’s desk with Bogs in the chair next to him. Declan and Trent were standing with their backs to the wall, facing the door behind Ethan and Bogs.

  “She’ll show,” T answered confidently.

  The plan was to get as much information from Evie as they could. They had figured she would have to go underground again and change her identity, which Trent and Declan agreed they could and would handle. They had spent the last two hours running through every possible scenario of how she got herself involved in this mess.

  Ethan felt sorry for her situation, regardless of the circumstances that got her there. From all the information they had on her, which was limited at best, Evie was in an almost no win situation. Although he sympathized with her, she needed to get her as far from the girls as possible. Their main focus was keeping Cassie, Roxanne, Sadie, and Emory safe, even if it meant jeopardizing Evie.

  Her car came into view on the monitor and Ethan sat up straight in his chair. Adrenaline pumping through his veins. They had a plan and he hoped there would be no hiccups along the way.

  They all remained quiet watching the screen. She didn’t shut off her engine and sat in the car, staring up at the door. A minute passed and she remained in the car.

  “T, man, she’s gonna bolt, I think,” Stone said from his spot in the corner.

  “Shit!” T got up from his desk, walking out his office, closing the door behind him.

  Bogs got up from his seat next to Ethan and strolled behind the desk near Stone. “I got a bad feeling ’bout this.”

  Ethan watched T come into the frame, walking to the car and knock on her window. The window rolled down and they looked like they were talking. It was dark and hard to see in the car, just the shadow of her was visible. T pointed to the office and backed up on the sidewalk.

  They waited in silence, watching the monitor. If she ran, they could follow her but that was the last thing anyone wanted to happen. They didn’t know her or what she was capable of. The girls loved her, thought she was great. According to their paperwork she was a killer. They needed her secure.

  Ethan felt his breath release when he saw her head pop out of the car. She followed behind T through the door. Her head was bowed but Ethan noticed she shifted her head, checking her surroundings.

  He could hear T’s voice from down the hall.

  “It’s just in my office, c’mon.”

  The air in the room was extremely intense. Stone’s eyes wavered to his. They just needed her in the office. Ethan watched the door open and Evie jolted inside with a soft nudge. Her head raised from the ground and Ethan watched her peer in the room, looking at each of them. Her face paled, her bottom lip quivered and she took a step back. Her chest rose up and down at a racing pace.

  The door closed and the lock clicked into place, echoing in the room.

  “Sit down, Evie.” T’s firm tone had her flinching and Ethan could see her body begin to tremble. This girl was scared for her life. T stayed at the door blocking it.

  “Um…I…I…” She stuttered then swallowed hard.

  Ethan sat up in his chair, gesturing to the empty chair next to him. “We want to help you, Evie. No one here is going to hurt you, I promise. We just want to help.”

  Her body stood frozen but her head shook. “I don’t n-n-need h-help.”

  “The fuck you do!” T’s anger vibrated through the small room.

  Ethan swiftly turned his head in T’s direction and raised his hand for him to calm down. Scaring her more would not help them. “T,” Ethan warned, glaring at him.

  Turning back to Evie, her fearful eyes staring at him, he gestured for her to sit. She slowly stepped to the chair, her head glancing over his shoulder behind him at Declan and Trent. He noticed her wince while her eyes widened as though she recognized them. Her bottom lip trembled. Ethan looked over his shoulder to see Declan’s hard eyes focused on Evie. He stood, leaned back against the wall with his arms folded. Ethan could understand her fear; Declan was very intimidating.

  When Ethan turned back around, she was still staring at Declan.

  “Evie, please sit down.” Her eyes flickered back to him full of distress. She inched closer to the seat, looking over at Declan again before sitting down slowly. Her fingers squeezed hard into her bag, her knuckles turning white.

  T moved from the door taking a seat behind his desk.

  “Evie.” Ethan spoke softly and calmly, drawing her attention. “We know about you. We know who’s after you and we want to help you. I need you to explain to me what happened so we can figure out what the best course of action is to keep you safe.”

  Her body shook and her head jerked.

  Ethan took a breath, leaning closer to her. “I understand you’re scared, sweetheart, but we want to help you.” He licked his lips, aware that his words were critical if they wanted her to talk. He decided to appeal to her heart in hopes she had one.

  “Evie, this situation is no longer just about you. They are close to finding you, and when they do, they will be led here, to Cassie and Roxanne. These men, as I’m sure you know, are extremely dangerous, and I know you wouldn’t want anything to happen to Cassie or Roxanne.”

  “N-n-nooooo…I would never…” Tears formed in her eyes and she swallowed a breath. “I would never want anything to happen to them, I swear.”

  Ethan nodded with a calm smile. “I know that.”

  Her entire body shook. “I’ll leave, right now. I’ll go.”

  “It’s not that simple anymore. We need to make sure you are completely erased so when they do come looking, and they will, there will be no connection to Cassie or Rox. Now, we need you to tell us what happened.”

  “What if I can’t?”

  T slammed his hand down on the desk. “Then I will personally fucking call the men who are looking for you right now and hand deliver your fucking ass to them.”

  “T,” Ethan warned, trying to stay in control.

  “No, fuck that, E. This bitch put our sister, my fucking woman and everyone else in this goddamn room in the crosshairs of fucking killers who don’t give a shit who they kill.”

  “I d-didn’t mean to.”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you meant, you did it and now, Cassie is in the middle of it. I don’t give a fuck about what happens to you.” T slammed his hand down on the table. “I say we call her in.”

  The room was so tense. Ethan knew what T was doing. He was trying and from the looks of her, succeeding, in scaring her into talking. He hated that this woman, who was most likely a victim herself, was scared, but it might be what would finally get her to talk.

  “Okay,” she whispered, nodding her head. She stood up, dragging her hand across the back of her neck. “Okay, I’ll tell you.”

  Ethan looked to T and Stone, who watched her.

  “Evie, we will help you, I promise.”

  She was facing the door and muttered, “You can’t.” Etha
n watched her turn back to them slowly, aware of her hand in her bag. She looked at him, then to T and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  Ethan opened his mouth but gasped when she pulled out a gun and raised it.

  Her hands shook with the gun pointed at him. Ethan’s heart raced. This situation had just gotten fucked in the worst possible way. They didn’t know her or what she was capable of, and she was scared. A deadly combination for every man in the room.

  The gun shifted and pointed at T when he made a move. He retreated in his seat, rage on his face, his hands raised slightly with his palms spread out in surrender. T’s face read the opposite and something needed to be done before this scene got any worse.

  “Sweetheart, don’t do this.”

  She gazed back to Ethan. “Don’t make me.” Her whisper was a plea.

  Softening his face, raising his hands to mimic T’s, he nodded. “Okay, no one is coming near you, I promise. We just want to help.”

  “Then just let me leave here. Don’t follow me.” Her tone was begging and shaky. Her gaze shifted back to T. “You can call them and give them everything you have.” She nodded and her voice cracked. “I want you to, if it keeps Cass safe. Do it. But you can’t help me.” She inched back to the door, her eyes scanning the guys. From behind, Ethan heard a boot step forward.

  The gun shifted, pointing over his head, her eyes terrified. “I have eight bullets and I may not look it but I’m a pretty good shot,” she warned in a panicked tone.

  “Dec,” Trent warned in a whisper.

  Ethan watched Evie’s hand fiddle with the lock and open the door, never turning her back on them. She walked out, gun aimed inside the room but at no one in particular. She reached for the handle and slowly closed the door behind her.

  The second the door closed, Bogs raced to the door, Declan beating him there, slamming his hand on it.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Let her go.”

  “Are you fucking crazy, she just pulled a gun on us.”

  “Exactly. That’s why we’re gonna let her go.”

  “Fuck, Dec.” T shouted, charging the door.

  “T, back down, brother, that girl is scared out of her fucking mind. You go after her like that, she will fucking shoot you. You know that.”

  “What about Cass and Rox?” He yelled.

  Declan shook his head. “You saw the same reaction I saw, last thing she’d do is hurt them. She just needs to run and we’re gonna let her think she can. Trent and I will get her. Your job is to cover her tracks here, make her disappear.”

  “What if you can’t fucking find her, Dec?” T snarled.

  “We’ll find her. You know me, T, know what I’m capable of. I will fucking find her.”

  T stood down.

  * * * *

  Emory sat at Ethan’s breakfast bar, phone to her ear and praying for lightning to strike a tower somewhere so this call could end. Please, Lord, you answered Calvin’s prayers and got me laid and Ethan, ending this call should be easy.

  Emory had spent the last twenty minutes on the phone with her mother. Well, not the entire twenty minutes; her mother kept putting her on hold while she took other calls. It was nine thirty at night, who was she even taking calls from? She considered hanging up, claiming they got disconnected but she had used that excuse too many times in the past and her mother finally caught on.

  She tapped her fingers, waiting.

  “Now, where was I?” Her mother’s voice huffed, coming back on the line.

  “Berating me for getting fired?” she offered sarcastically.

  Her mother grumbled, “Really, Emory, fired?”

  “Mom, it’s over and done. I’m back in Houston, I have an interview tomorrow with Malley Real Estate.”

  “The one down on Fifth?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, let me see if I can put in a call.”

  Emory slammed her hand down on the counter. “What?”

  “I think I know the manager there, Bill something. I’ll put in a call.”

  “Oh, no, you won’t!” Emory rarely raised her voice at her mom. She usually dealt with her with sarcasm. But this was unacceptable and not happening. She did not and would not have her mom help her get a job. She was a great agent; she didn’t need any help especially from her mother. True, her sales were low in Beaufort, and she did get fired, but those were different circumstances.

  “Emory,” her mother’s tone warned.

  A warning that Emory was not going to take. “I’m telling you now that if you make that call, not only will I not go to the interview, but I will be a no show. An unprofessional, waste of time, total disregard, offensive no show. And that, Mom, would be a direct reflection on you!” She didn’t yell but the fury was evident in her voice.

  “That’s absurd. You’re willing to risk a job all over your pride.”

  “First of all, I don’t need your help getting a job, Mother. You may not see it but I am very good at what I do. I don’t need you making calls, calling in favors on my behalf. I was one of the top sellers before I left eight months ago. And secondly, hell yes, I would risk a job for my pride.”

  The phone was silent and Emory’s hand shook in anger.

  “Fine, I won’t call,” her mother relented.

  “Thank you.”

  “Hold on a—”

  “Mom, I’ve gotta go. We’ll talk soon. Bye.” She clicked the phone off, dramatically planting her face on the counter. Her mother was probably fuming that she hung up but Emory did say bye; so technically she didn’t hang up on her.

  “Well done, Miss Kern.”

  Emory’s jerked up, looking around the room. Ethan was taking off his jacket, tossing it onto the back of his couch, stalking to her with a sly smile.

  She twisted in her seat. “How much did you hear?”

  “Enough to hear you put Andrea Kern in her place.”

  His counter stools were high but he still towered over her when he walked between her legs and situated himself. His hands came to her neck, lowering his head and kissing her lips. She reached higher to deepen the kiss.

  Her tongue swiped his lips, enticing him to part for her. She grasped his hips pulling him deeper into her, dropping one hand low to caress his already hardened length. His hands curled into her hair, pulling with a small bite to her scalp. The sensation only increased her desire.

  “Let’s go to your room.” She never fully broke away from his lips.

  He pulled back slightly. “Our room.”

  Emory smirked. “So, that’s it. We’re together, and we’re going to live together, get married, have kids, maybe get a dog?”

  Ethan’s eyes were serious. “No.” He leaned down kissing her. “No dog.”

  He pulled away from her chuckling. He walked around the counter grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses. Emory stared at him. So, this was it, she finally got Ethan Barrett. A smile crept on her face, she couldn’t help it, he basically just agreed to everything but a dog.

  “What are you thinking?”

  She shrugged, not wanting to share.

  “By the smile I’m sensing you are not thinking of your mother or that conversation.”

  “No way.” She huffed. “That is one thing I’ll miss about Beaufort, though.”

  He cocked his head, curious. “And that would be?”

  “The five state distance between my parents and me.” She snorted.

  He laughed. “I can understand that.”

  Her mind wandered to the night of their big fight almost a year ago. His words had hurt and he apologized. It still played in her head but she knew she was a part of his family. She felt it when she was with them and him. They had both told lies that night to hurt each other. She silently vowed never to do that again. Not to each other.

  “Hey, E?”

  His back was turned to her pulling something out of the fridge. He turned around.

/>   Her voice was low. “I don’t hate them.”

  He stared, well aware that she was talking about her parents. Her lips tightened in a strained smile. She nodded.

  “That night, you said that just because I hated my own family didn’t make me part of yours.”

  “God, Em.” He stood across the counter, his face grief stricken.

  “I’m not mad at what you said. We both said and did things we didn’t mean. We were stupid and I don’t hold it against you, really I don’t. I just…I don’t hate them. I just wish they were different.”

  His arms extended across the counter, taking her hands. “I know you do. I wish, for you, they were different too.” His face softened. “But, if they had been exactly what you wanted, you might not have needed to be with us so much. Might not have wanted to spend so much time at our house as a kid. We wouldn’t have gotten to have you be part of our family. And that, I would have hated.”

  Her stomach did a weird flip, her heart raced and she leaned across the counter. “This is so going to ruin this moment.”

  He leaned in closer to her face. “What is?”

  “I so want to fuck you right now.”

  Ethan burst out laughing, a sound Emory loved. His laugh was deep and rumbled from his chest. A sound she wanted to spend the rest of her life listening to. He reached over kissing her lips quickly.

  “I need a shower, meet me in our bed in ten minutes.” Kissing her again, he left the kitchen, Emory’s eyes following him until he disappeared out of her sight.

  She finished the glass of wine Ethan poured her and started down the hall when she heard a ringing sound. She looked around, not recognizing the ring. Walking back toward the kitchen, she stopped next to the couch. It was coming from Ethan’s jacket. It rang once more before it stopped.

  It wasn’t his usual ringtone which was strange. She turned but halted when it started up again. Looking over her shoulder, she wondered if she should answer it. Maybe it was important? Calling back to back that way seemed kind of urgent.

  She stood next to his jacket debating whether to answer it when the ringing stopped, ending her debate. She shrugged, making her way down the hall. It rang again and she stopped.