Leah sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry. You’ve never seen me so wrapped up in a guy the way I am with Ethan because I never have been. The way I feel about him, which is probably way too much, way too soon, has given me hope that he could maybe put up with my sometimes over-the-top tendency to care. Although it’s damn well warranted in this case. The trouble is, he’s brought more worry into my life than anyone ever has before. I’d be stupid to ignore that.”
Carrie smiled softly, her gaze sympathetic. “That’s because no one has mattered this much to you before, and that’s huge, because you care about everyone. The best ones are always worth fighting for, right? You’re into Ethan and he’s into you. Whatever’s going on right now will pass and then you guys can spend some proper time getting to know one another.”
“Maybe.”
Tanya shook her head, her gaze determined. “No maybe. You deserve some happiness. From what I know of Ethan James, he’s a recluse, someone who has been reluctantly thrown into the limelight because of what he does for a living. If he’s spent so much time with you, it’s because he wants to. Otherwise he would’ve shut you out.”
Humiliation warmed Leah’s cheeks. “He did shut me out. I’m the one who kept pushing back in where I wasn’t wanted.”
“Well, if he’s a doormat, which I don’t believe for one minute, he isn’t the guy for you. Simple.”
A scuffle, followed by raised voices and scraping chair legs, caused Leah to look across the bar. A wall of turned backs blocked the view of what was happening.
Tanya stood, her brow creased. “What’s going on over there?”
The wall parted and Ethan marched toward their table, with Liam Browne and Scott Walker close behind him. Leah swallowed at the anger etched on all their faces.
She stood at the same time as Carrie, who planted her hands on her hips. “What’s going on?”
Tanya slipped her hand into the crook of Leah’s elbow and she stiffened, her gaze locked on Ethan’s. “Ethan? What is it?”
“I need to talk to you and these idiots refused me entry, like they have a right over who you will and won’t speak to. Would you come outside with me for a minute?”
Her heart thumping, Leah dragged her gaze from Ethan’s to look at Scott and Liam behind him. “There’s no need for the bodyguarding. I’ve got this.”
Scott and Liam glared at the back of Ethan’s head before looking at Carrie and Tanya, their respective partners. Leah could only assume her friends gave a silent signal for their men to stand down, for they each threw a parting glare at Ethan’s back before shaking their head and walking away.
She looked at Ethan. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
“I need to speak with you alone.”
His jaw was set and his broad shoulders tense beneath his plain black T-shirt, but clear concern showed in his eyes. She longed to go with him, tell him everything was going to be okay. But how could she do that when the situation surrounding them grew worse, and would inevitably pull them apart? Ethan was going a little crazy under the pressure of circumstances that weren’t his fault.
She faced Carrie and Tanya, who both glared at him, their own bodies rigid. “Why don’t you wait for me at the bar? I won’t be long.”
Seconds ticked by as the face-off continued, until Vanessa, the Coast’s owner, came up and laid her hand on Ethan’s arm, a wide smile on her face. “Everything all right over here?”
Leah nodded. “Everything’s fine. Ethan and I just need a few moments alone.”
Vanessa’s shrewd gaze whipped around the small circle before she gave a curt nod. “Right. Carrie and Tanya, you ladies come with me. I’ve got some special cocktails with your names on them.”
After another heartbeat or two, and with a squeeze to Leah’s shoulders, her friends followed Vanessa to the bar. Leah took a long breath and faced Ethan. “Why don’t you sit down?”
He stared at her before glancing over his shoulder. Leah followed his gaze and her heart sank. Residents she had known and cared about for years were still shooting glances in their direction, poised to take action. It was as though the entire community had closed ranks the moment Ethan strode into the bar, looking as if he was spoiling for a fight.
She looked at him. A little of the determination had seeped from his eyes, only to be replaced with pleading. Alone. Outsider. Recluse. All the words that she had heard others use to describe him, and he’d used himself, rolled through her mind.
Picking up her purse, she stepped toward him. “I’ll tell you what. Let’s go to Tanya’s place.”
His study lingered on her lips before he lifted his eyes. “Thank you.”
She smiled softly and slipped her hand into his. He stiffened and looked at her in surprise. Instead of explaining herself, she tightened her grip, raised her chin and led him to the bar, ignoring the other patrons.
Stopping in front of Tanya and Carrie, Leah held her friends’ stares in turn, silently asking them to trust her, before focusing her gaze on Tanya. “Can I have your house keys? Ethan and I need some time alone.”
Tanya shifted her focus to Ethan and back again. “Are you sure?”
Leah nodded. “Absolutely.”
Tanya pulled her purse into her lap and extracted a bunch of keys. “It’s the gold one.” She pressed them into Leah’s hand and held them there. “We’re a phone call away if you need us.”
Leah smiled. “I know, but I’ll be fine.”
Still holding Ethan’s hand, Leah led him outside. The fresh night air was welcome and she breathed deeply, slowly easing her hand from his. “So, I’m guessing how you acted in there hasn’t done much to increase your number of friends in town.”
“I don’t care about that.”
She crossed her arms in annoyance. “You should care. They’re decent people who were only looking out for me. You can’t come charging into a bar, a restaurant or anywhere else in the Cove and not expect people to stand in your way. You should’ve called me if you were too riled up to act civilly.”
He glared. “Riled up? That is far too mild a way to describe how afraid I am for you. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I’m here for you, Leah. I hate that you felt you needed to speak to DI Garrett before me. Don’t you trust me enough to see those pictures first? Trust me to take care of you?”
She stepped closer until she had to concentrate on not falling into his deep blue eyes and forgetting what she wanted to say. He looked so scared for her. “I’m okay. Going to DI Garrett was the right thing to do. I did what you should’ve done when all this started. This entire situation is bigger than me, Ethan. It’s bigger than us both. We need the police’s help. God knows, I do all I can to ensure situations are not taken out of people’s hands when they want to deal with them alone, but there is no way I don’t call on the proper help when I think it’s needed.”
“I’m doing my best here. If that’s not good enough for you—”
“What? You’ll walk away from me again? I’m getting tired of that, Ethan. We’re in this together. For better or worse. This isn’t about you protecting me. It’s about doing all we can to help get drugs and violence out of our clubs and off our streets. It’s a battle, but one we should all want to be a part of.”
“But you don’t seem to understand how dangerous this situation could be.”
She glared. “Do you?”
“What?”
“I mean it. You don’t seem to understand this can’t be about us. It’s about Anna and Daisy. Worry about them, not us.”
He stared at her before closing his eyes. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.” He opened his eyes, took her hand. “I’m sorry. I need to see you’re on my side through this. Even, unbelievably, on Anna’s, to some degree.”
“Exactly.”
He no
dded. “I get it.” His gaze bored into hers. “I do.”
“Good. Then let’s get out of here.”
Stalking away from him, she left him to follow her from the bar toward the promenade along Cowden beach. The wind had picked up, and waves crashed and roared in the darkness. The old-fashioned lanterns that lined the promenade provided a soft glow that lit their way along the wooden planks.
If the tension that permeated from Ethan hadn’t been Leah’s major concern, she would’ve liked to imagine that this walk could have been romantic...which was why when he took her hand and turned her to face him, she didn’t resist.
The light from the lamp beside them illuminated his face, and when she looked into his eyes, nothing but anguish stared back at her. Sighing, she stopped and lifted her hand to his jaw. “I’m sorry I upset you by going to see DI Garrett first, but please don’t hate me for doing what I thought was best.”
“Hate you?” He shook his head. “I don’t hate you. God, if I did, all of this would be easier.”
“But you seemed so angry when you came into the bar.”
“Angry at those two guys, not you. I had to see you. Had to make sure you were okay. Maybe I’m upset about you speaking to DI Garrett before me, but it’s more than that.” He drew her hand from his face and held it. “My mother now has a police officer stationed outside her house to keep her and Daisy safe. Anna has disappeared back to Bristol, with no forwarding information of where she can be found. That means there are still three people I care about possibly being watched by Harry and his goons. Not to mention that they still might see me and you as part of the equation.”
“I’m so sorry, Ethan.” She shook her head, helplessness squeezing at her heart. “Your mother shouldn’t have to put up with a scare like this. Did Anna not tell you which club she dances at? Harry’s surname? Anything?”
“She mentioned both to DI Garrett, and I’m hoping that she’ll pass that minuscule information on to the Bristol police, now more photographs have turned up. DI Garrett is trying to get hold of Anna and so am I, but her phone has either been turned off or she’s been ignoring us all day.”
“There must be something we can do.”
His jaw tightened. “We aren’t going to do anything. Chances are these idiots will stay clear of you if they think you hold no leverage as far as Anna’s testimony is concerned.” He brushed some hair from her brow, his gaze softening. “It doesn’t matter how much I want to be with you. You have to get on with your life. As soon as I know Anna is out of Harry’s clutches and safe, I’ll be cutting her out forever, which will most likely mean Daisy and I move away—”
Leah’s stomach dropped as pain for Daisy, rather than herself, burned deep inside. “You can’t do that.”
“Why not? It’s hardly as if I have friends or family here. We could just as easily set up home somewhere else.”
“You could, but what about Daisy?” Leah’s heart was hurting at the idea that Ethan might move away, now that she’d found him. But the idea of Daisy having to start over someplace new was unbearable. “It’s not fair to ask her to move house and school over something that isn’t her fault. She is desperate to make friends, to fit in and make a life here with you.”
Ethan glanced past her toward the ocean. “I’m trying to do what’s best for her, and keeping her as far away as possible from Anna is it.”
Inhaling, Leah took a step closer, slid her arms around his waist and tipped her head back to stare into his eyes. “Look at me.”
Slowly, he turned his frustrated gaze to hers and she shook her head. “Don’t make a decision about Daisy’s mum without Daisy’s knowledge. Please, Ethan. You’ll do far more damage in the long term than you will right now. Anna is her mother. Daisy has a right to a relationship with her if she chooses. If you stand in the way of that, she’ll only blame you, not her mum. God knows, I’ve blamed my parents long enough for separating me from my grandmother. I don’t want the same rift between you and Daisy. If Anna hurts Daisy again, then you can step in. Not before.”
He pulled her close, as though he didn’t want to look into her eyes. Leah rested her cheek on his chest. “I’m not sure about a lot of things, but I am sure about that,” she murmured.
“I have to do something.”
“I know you do, and working with the police, doing all you can to convince Anna to testify, is it. Not taking Daisy away from her mother forever. That’s not the answer.”
He pressed a long, firm kiss to her hair and Leah closed her eyes, praying he heard her before he made the biggest mistake of his life.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ETHAN WANDERED BACK and forth along the deck in his back garden, his phone pressed to his ear. “Are you sure Daisy’s happy, Mum?”
“Of course she is. We’re making papier-mâché masks as we speak. She’s looking forward to seeing you later, but she’s absolutely fine.”
Ethan paused in his pacing and grimaced. “I hate to ask you this, but is there any chance you could keep her for a couple more nights?”
“Has something else happened?”
Closing his eyes, Ethan cursed his mother’s ability to notice even the minutest change in his tone and what it meant. “I’m struggling to meet a deadline, that’s all.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I wish you’d asked me earlier. I’ve just promised Lily Gilbert that I’d stay with her mum for a few nights. Do you remember Lily from school? Well, her mother took a fall and needs around-the-clock care for a few weeks. She’s in her seventies. Lily has been there for her as much as possible, but the girl is exhausted with three kids under seven to contend with, too. I’d hate to let her down.”
“Of course, you should go. I can pick Daisy up today, no problem. I just thought I’d ask.”
“But what will you do about your work?”
“I’ll get it done. I’ve yet to miss a deadline.”
“Okay, darling. If you’re sure?”
“I am.”
“You know, with the police gone from outside my front door, the house feels normal again. I assume you haven’t tracked down Anna yet?”
“No, but it’s been a week since we’ve had any pictures turn up. My guess is she’s back in Bristol and making a go of things with her thug of a boyfriend. DI Garrett agrees with me. There’s nothing we can do if Anna wants to be with him. It’s up to the Bristol police to catch and arrest this Harry. DI Garrett has told them all we know, so it’s out of her hands now, too.”
“Then you can go back to wooing this young lady of yours, can’t you?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Maybe. In time.”
“There’s no time like the present.”
“I might ask her to join me and Daisy for some supper later.”
“That sounds perfect. Just concentrate on Leah, not Anna. You have no obligation to that woman.”
Sensing the tension returning in his mother’s tone, Ethan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled in a bid to calm his worry for Anna’s welfare. “Look, I’d better get back to work. I’ll be there about five to take Daisy home.”
“Okay. Take care, darling.”
His mother hung up.
It might have been seven days without any photographs, but it had also been seven long days without Leah. As much as he wanted the distance to remain between them, he couldn’t get her out of his heart or mind. Finally, he’d found a woman who mattered more than his work. A woman he could imagine playing a big part in his and Daisy’s lives. A beautiful blonde who could potentially color his and his daughter’s existence in a way that he’d hardly dared to imagine.
He had to do something to draw the trouble with Anna and her lover to an end. There was no way he could try to reunite with Leah until that happened...if she’d have him.
Before he could take a single step along t
hat path, he needed to go to Bristol and find Anna. If he was face-to-face with her, he’d be able to look into her eyes and know if she was lying. He might have been blind to her feelings when he was wrapped up in pursuing his career, but when she’d come to the Cove and spoken to DI Garrett, everything Anna was thinking and feeling had been clearly written in her gaze, and he was worried for her.
Being with Leah had made him realize the importance of caring for others, of appreciating other people’s fears, wishes and dreams. Maybe he was just a better person with Leah. Period.
He dialed Anna’s number and braced himself for it to go to voice mail, as it had every time he’d called her this past week.
She picked up on the third ring. “Ethan, what do you want?”
The snappish tone of her voice threatened to obliterate his previous sympathy. “At last. Do you know how worried I’ve been? I’ve not seen or spoken to you since we were at Jordon House. Where are you?”
“Where do you think I am? I’m in Bristol with Harry. We’re giving things another try.” She sighed. “Everything’s okay now. I promise.”
He tightened his grip on the phone. “How can everything be okay? The man arranged for you to be mugged, beaten up.”
“And I accepted his warning. So now you can go back to your little quiet life and leave me be.”
“You’re not going to testify about the drugs?”
“No.”
“Anna, for crying out loud.”
“What? I love Harry. My life is here with him. He’s promised me no more drugs.”
“And you believe him?”
There was some scuffling in the background, some male voices, and Ethan pressed the phone harder to his ear. “Has he just walked into the room?”
“Yes.” Her voice immediately became affable. “Okay, well, take care of yourself.”
“Anna, don’t hang up.” Ethan closed his eyes. “Everything you’ve just said about being with Harry is simply bravado, right? You’re scared. Do you still want to get away from him? Have him locked up for the drug dealing? Just answer me. Yes or no.”
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