“You really have no idea where she could be? She hasn’t called you?”
Erin’s assistant shook her head in the negative, her eyes curious as she followed Ethan’s restless movements back and forth in front of her desk.
“Maybe she’s at Nicky’s.” Heather offered, “She’s been spending a lot of time with her lately especially since the breakup.”
“She’s not there.” Ethan replied, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. “She’s not in her apartment either, Kim says she hasn’t seen her, and she’s not answering her cell.”
His brows drew together in a worried frown as his mind began to envision all kinds of bad scenarios. It had gone past a need to just find Erin, now he was full out worried for her safety and he cursed himself for the millionth time for not seeing her safely home. He should have followed his instincts, rather he’d foolishly agreed with her and now this.
He cursed again, earning him a raised brow from Heather.
“Where do her parents live?” He asked, ignoring the look. He was fast running out of places to look, and that scared him beyond comprehension. What if he lost her for good? Resolutely, he shoved that thought aside, along with the crushing despair that threatened to consume him.
“Just a couple of minutes away, but maybe I should call first? Her mom might know where she is.”
Ethan nodded and resumed his pacing, listening with half an ear while Heather placed the call, expertly drumming up an excuse to be searching for her boss that didn’t raise alarm. He waited, every nerve tense until Heather caught his eye and gave a little shake of her head before thanking Mrs. Gosling and replaced the receiver.
“She says, she hasn’t seen her either, I’m sorry.” Heather worried her lower lip between her teeth, concern for her boss now mounting. “Look, I could make a few calls, and ask the staff if they’ve seen or heard anything, but… do you…. think she’s ok? I mean should we call the police or something?”
“No police.” Ethan replied distractedly, “And ummm…. yeah, make those calls and ask around but keep me informed of anything.”
He rattled off his number and that of his assistant’s then took his leave.
“Where are you, Baby?” He murmured as he made his way to the parking lot. In the car, he tried her cell two more times, growing frustrated as each call went to voicemail.
At the prompt, he spoke tersely.
“Erin, I’m worried about you, I’ve left a dozen messages already and I’m scared something’s happened to you. I’m sorry I let you go and I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now. But at least let me know you’re safe? Please? I lo…. yeah… so call me.”
He ended the call, hating how helpless the situation left him. Fingers shaking, Ethan typed out a quick text to her cell, and her email just in case she checked the damn thing. Then he leaned his head on the wheel and said a quick prayer to whoever would listen, begging the powers that be to keep her safe.
****
Blinking away the last remnants of sleep, Erin yawned and sat up in bed, her eyes rapidly adjusting to the dim, unfamiliar room. A quick glance around though, and it all came crashing back.
Nicky. Lillian. Ethan.
“Oh God!” Had it been too much to ask to hope it had all been a really bad nightmare? She flopped back onto the pillows, yanking the warm covers over her head, just as the door opened and Kim strolled in.
“I know you’re awake Erin,” Kim’s sing song voice caused Erin to wince. “I heard you a second ago.”
“Leave me alone.” Erin replied, her voice muffled beneath the layers covering her. She really wasn’t ready to face reality. Right now, all she wanted was more sleep and blissful silence.
The bed shifted beneath Kim’s weight as her friend climbed in beside her. “I know right now the bed seems the best place to be Erin, but the sooner you get up and face your problems, the quicker you can start healing.”
“Don’t care.”
The long suffering sigh was the only warning she got before Kim yanked away the covers.
“No!” Erin wailed and made a dive for it, but Kim held firm.
Too drained to put up a fight, Erin flopped back, presenting her back to Kim and hugged a pillow for comfort. An insane part of her wished it were Ethan with her right now and she closed her eyes, swallowing past the lump in her throat as she envisioned the comfort of his arms around her, the haven his touch offered and.
Forcing the thought aside, Erin sighed as tears gathered in her eyes. Much as she wanted him, she’d made the right choice. This whole mess had been her fault from the beginning, after all, Nicky would have done what she did if she had learned to keep her panties on in the first place. The best way to put an end to Nicky’s madness was to end the relationship.
There was no future with Ethan and the sooner her heart came to accept what her head already knew, the better.
Still, it hurt so damn much.
“Are you hungry?” Kim reached out to gently stroke her hair. “Derek’s incredible in the kitchen and he made this heavenly chicken.”
“I’m not hungry, but thanks.” Erin replied, feeling nauseous at the mention of food. She wasn’t sure she could ever eat again.
Kim fell silent, seeming to sense that was what Erin needed right now. For long minutes, the two of them lay in a comfortable silence, and Erin was grateful to Kim for not pressing her for answers, even though she probably was silently dying of curiosity.
Finally, with another sigh, Erin turned over so she could look at Kim. “We found Lillian Putney.”
Kim brows raised in surprise. “Ok. And I’m guessing ‘we’ includes Ethan, right?”
Erin nodded, plucking at a loose thread on her pillow. “He found her actually, had some kid in his office trace her IP address or something.” She took a deep breath, needing courage to continue, “Anyways, we went to her place and Ethan threatened her, then she… well, basically, she did it ‘cos she wanted to hurt me for stealing Luke.”
“Wait,” Kim sat up, her face tight with concentration. “The ‘Luke’? The guy you broke up with a couple of months ago.”
“Yeah, same.”
“Well! That lousy, cheating, sleazy, good for nothing bastard! And that fucking bitch! But wait, I remember you saying he wasn’t seeing anyone when you guys started going out, so where did she come from?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But, Ethan told me Lillian was lying about that. I’m as confused as you are, Kim. And that’s not even the worst of it.”
As she told Kim what had happened with Nicky, Kim’s expression changed from incredulity to plain, simple, throat ripping rage.
“I’m gonna kill that girl.” Kim declared, both hands curled into fists. “I will kill her slowly and painfully. Shit! And to think she knew about it all this time and what the hell does she mean claiming Ethan as her own property? She cheated on him and dumped his ass, and would have married someone else if she hadn’t fucked that up too. The bitch has gotta die! And if you or Ethan are too chicken to put a bullet through her brain, I volunteer!”
She rose from the bed, but Erin grabbed her hand.
“No! Kim, you have to calm down. Please. When I left, Ethan was still there, and believe me, that man can frighten the devil himself.”
“Speaking of the devil, what does this mean for the both of you?” Still annoyed, Kim settled back on the bed and regarded her friend with shrewd eyes. “You weren’t just crying cos of Nicky, were you? If he’s hurt you too, I swear, I’ll cut off his balls.”
Erin lowered her gaze, pain constricting her chest. “He didn’t hurt me. If anything, he was so sweet and protective of me. He said I was adorable, and it’s like he’s feelings towards me have changed.
“So, he’s starting to care about you. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“That’s just it. It’s too good to be true.” Erin’s voice broke. “He might change his mind again when Nicky tells him the truth and he could still hate me for keeping the truth from him.”
She sniffled and wiped at fresh tears. “What kind of relationship are we supposed to build from that? For God’s sakes, Kim, it’s been doomed right from the start. I should never have slept with him and now that I know it hurt Nicky, I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable being with him.”
“First of all, that’s the biggest load of crap I’ve heard in a long time. Sleeping with Ethan behind Nicky’s back was wrong, yes. But that’s no excuse for what she did. If she wasn’t such a selfish little slut, she should have been happy for you and given you her blessing. But I’ve always known her to be a self absorbed, spoilt person, and that’s why I warned you about it before. You shouldn’t lose your shot at happiness just because of Nicky, not if you really care about the guy and I can see you do.”
Kim drew a deep breath. “And second, if Ethan gets mad at you for protecting your family, then he sure as hell doesn’t deserve you.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do if he rejects me again.” Erin whispered bleakly. “I love him, but I can’t take a chance that he’ll hurt me again. I don’t think I could bear it if he did.”
“He called while you were asleep.” At Erin’s look of alarm, she held out a calming hand. “I didn’t tell him you were here, because I wasn’t sure what had happened between you two.”
“Did he…” Erin moistened her dry lips. “Did he say anything? How did he sound?”
Kim shrugged, “It was kinda hard to tell over the phone. He also called your cell a couple of times, but I turned it off cos I didn’t want it to wake you. Do you want to call him back?”
“No, not yet.” Erin shut her eyes, scared at what would happen if she spoke to him. “Maybe later.”