Sworn to Protect (Vows of the Heart) (27 page)

“Well,” Tommy said. “Then you should like my news.”

“What’s that, Tommy?” Nathan asked.

“This asshole is getting under my skin too. Knowing Cordova killed all those people and…enough is enough. Nathan, I just got off the phone with Captain Williams.”

Nathan’s face drained of color. “You what?”

“Who is that?” Bethany asked.

“Our former CO,” Nathan replied.

“I told him everything that’s happened, that you’re in trouble and so is your brother.” He glanced at
Ethan. “We may treat you leathernecks like red-headed step-children but you’re still family.”

Ethan grinned. “
Hooo-rah,” he said softly.

“This asshole has gotten away with too much, bought off too many people. It’s time a higher power stepped in.”

“But what can the military do?” Bethany asked. “They can’t run an op on U.S. soil.”

“No, but we can hide you. Believe me, you’re disappearing so deep, Cordova will never be able to find you.
”

“So he got promoted to Captain?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah and he is stationed in San Diego right now. So first thing in the morning guess where we’re going.”

Ethan dragged his hand through his hair. “Tommy, God knows I appreciate this, but none of it matters if Cordova escapes the country.”

Tommy’s grin broadened. “You know, Captain Williams and I just had that same conversation. The Navy can’t run an op on U.S. soil, neither can the Marines, but last I checked, the four of us are private citizens.”

Nathan’s chuckle sounded absolutely evil. “And I know Williams, he wants to level the playing field.”

“Damn, Nathan, I think you just quoted him word for word.”

“I’m sorry guys,” Bethany said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “My brain is mush.”

“Cordova has military backing,” Ethan said. “Now, we do too.”

She blinked in surprise. “Wow,” she murmured.

“With this storm coming in, we’re going to have to drive to San Diego,” Ethan said.

“Yeah,” Tommy said. “That’s what I told Williams
, but he said the drive will give us plenty of time to plan. There is a Marine convoy traveling from Salt Lake to Camp Pendleton. Williams is going to put me in touch with the Lieutenant so we can meet up with them at the I-70 and I-15 interchange. We’ll travel the rest of the way with them.”

“Cool! Will they let me drive a Humvee?” Bethany asked.

Ethan and Nathan laughed while Tommy just looked at them in confusion.

Ethan winked at Bethany. “San Diego, here we come.”

Deciding to get an early start in the morning, Ethan said goodnight and pulled Bethany into the adjoining room. She tossed her bag into a corner and sat on the bed with a heavy sigh. Her face remained pale, her auburn ringlet curls cascading wildly around it. Ethan felt his chest tighten, damn she was beautiful. But something had changed within her. When he had held her, her body felt…different somehow.

He abruptly realized she had lost weight and there were dark hollows under her eyes. He worried over the ragged exhaustion he sensed within her. It was as if the stress was eating her from the inside out. He moved to crouch before her and took her hands in his. The moment he touched her it felt as if a powerful spark of energy shot through him, igniting his blood.

“How are you feeling?” she asked. Her emerald eyes searched his.

“I’m fine,” he said smiling up at her.

She looked at him a long moment then her gaze fell on his left arm. He wore a button down long sleeved shirt and had rolled both sleeves up to his elbows.

“Where is your arm brace?”

His smile broadened. “I was wondering when you’d notice. It was pretty bent up and it’s a custom brace. Getting it repaired would have waved a red flag to anyone trying to find me. I began working out to help strengthen not only the muscles in my side, but my arm as well.” He released her hands and held his arms out before him. “The muscle is slowly returning, but as you can see my tan is still a little uneven.”

He was glad to see her smile. Again he took her hands in his.

“Bethany, when you left….”

“I’m sorry, Ethan, I shouldn’t have left. I was just so scared. Seeing you like that…then Aaron showed up…I…” Her voice cracked.

“I know, sweetheart. I know it brought your nightmare to life. I know you blame yourself for this. But please, please don’t ever leave me like that again. You tore my heart out, Bethany. I…I was going to give up. Only because Nathan told me he had a plan…that’s the only reason why I kept fighting.”

She flung her arms around him, sobbing bitterly.

“Hush,” he whispered, a knot of energy forming deep within him. “Don’t cry, sweetheart, please.”

She fought to stop her sobs and Ethan smoothed her hair
, but his grip on her did not ease. “Sweetheart, listen to me. We have been thrown into one hell of a situation and then shared a night of pure magic. It was so powerful that it completely overwhelmed me before I had the chance to even realize what was happening. We never talked about anything, we never took the time to understand each other.”

“I’m tired of running, Ethan,” she said her voice thick. “I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. I can’t breathe anymore.”

“I know, but I have realized the only reason we’ve made it this far is because we’ve worked together, as a team, caring about each other…and….” He drew a deep breath, knowing he put everything on the line. “And…loving each other.”

She drew back and looked at him startled.

“Yes,” he said, gently wiping away her remaining tears. “I love you.”

He felt as if he fell into her beautiful emerald eyes as she gazed at him. She swallowed hard and her fingers caressed his cheek.

“I love you too, Ethan. I knew it the minute you fell through the door broken and bleeding. My heart shattered that night. Don’t you see? That’s why I left. I loved you too much to stay.”

He captured her mouth, kissing her deeply. An exquisite sensation roared through him. Finally, the agonizing drought in his soul ended.

Ethan pushed her back on the bed. Bethany’s fingers tore at his shirt, nearly ripping the buttons from it. He shivered as her hands caressed his chest. God, he had missed her! He pulled her shirt off and slid his hands up her sides, savoring the sweet lines. She moaned softly as his kiss grew more demanding. The tiny sound ignited his blood. Ethan cupped her breast in his hand, his thumb fondling her nipple through her bra.

“Ethan, please,” she murmured into his mouth. Her hands struggled with his jeans. He sensed an urgency within her, one he had never felt before.

He pulled away slightly. “Bethany, are you okay?”

Her green eyes were wild, she struggled to pull him back. “I need to feel you inside me,” she said her voice a hoarse whisper. “Now.”

Ethan rid himself of the remainder of his clothing and she kicked off her jeans and underwear but left her bra. God, she looked wildly sexy. He moved her fully onto the bed, then laid back, pulling Bethany on top of him. She straddled him and her hot wet folds slid along the length of his engorged shaft. “God, Bethany,” he growled. “I wanted this to take forever.”

“I’ve already waited too long, Ethan, I need you inside me.”

He lifted her hips and slid inside her. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the glory of her slick sheath so tight around him. He shifted slightly and heard her gasp. His eyes flew open as he realized he filled her completely. He watched the muscles in her abdomen convulse. Ethan looked up, Bethany’s eyes nearly rolled back in her head as her lids fluttered closed.

It was as if the only thing keeping her upright was his cock buried so deeply in her body. He lifted his hips only slightly, his hands pulling down on hers, forcing himself even deeper. She made tiny mewling
noises. His lips lifted in masculine satisfaction.

“Look at you,” he murmured. “You are
so beautiful.” His thumb found the small hard nub between her legs. He pressed hard and her body convulsed, forcing herself down on him.

She gasped and her eyes flew open, dark with desire. “Please,” she whispered.

She still wore her bra, but he could see her hard nipples pushing against the lace. “Pull your bra down, just one side.”

She did so, the bra pushing against the mound of her breast. As a reward his thumb pressed hard again and he lifted his hips. Her body convulsed and shuddered. “Oh God,” she breathed.

“Now the other side.” He could barely speak, his thoughts growing more lustful, more primitive.

She did as he asked and he rewarded her with a second hip thrust. Bethany nearly screamed
, but she bit it back just in time.

She struggled to breathe, her hips automatically trying to grind forward.

Ethan had never realized just how much she loved this position or that she could experience pleasure so intensely. It had to border on pain, but she was so tight around him he felt the waves of a mounting climax rippling through her. He pushed himself up on one elbow and drew her breast into his mouth. He suckled her hard at the same his thumb pressed against her nub and he lifted his hips.

She
strangled on a cry as her climax ripped through her and demanded his own.

The four left first thing in the morning and returned the two rental cars, exchanging them for one huge Tahoe. Bethany stood with Nathan in the office while Ethan and Tommy transferred their bags to the new vehicle. She watched Nathan fill out the forms and she looked at the driver’s license and credit card.

“I thought you said you didn’t use plastic,” she whispered when the clerk stepped away to make photocopies.

“I don’t
, but this alter-ego of mine does,” he said with a grin. “I have a half dozen personas at my fingertips. I’ll be using a different one each step of the way, so hopefully our trail will be difficult to follow.”

That made sense. She looked at the window noting the falling snow increased. “I hope we don’t have to run. The vehicle is good, built like a tank and four wheel drive
, but mountain driving, snow, and speed don’t mix.”

“And you being from sunny southern California, you probably never drove in the snow.”

“Actually, I have driven in snow,” she said. “We have mountains surrounding the L.A. basin and ski resorts – Mount Baldy, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and so forth. I’d just prefer not to if we don’t have to.”

Nathan nodded and fell silent as the clerk returned. He signed the last of the paperwork.

“Very good, sir,” the clerk said, giving him his copies. “Here’s the address of our office in San Diego. You can drop the vehicle off there when you arrive.”

“Thank you,” Nathan said.

“Be careful out there, I hear that storm is growing worse.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, holding the door open for Bethany. “We will.”

****

Nathan drove and Tommy sat in the passenger seat. Ethan sat in back with Bethany. To his surprise she curled up against him and within ten minutes fell sound asleep.

Tommy looked back at her and nodded. “Finally.”

“What?” Ethan asked, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t disturb Bethany.

“She’s only averaged a couple of hours of sleep every night. You’ve probably noticed how much weight she’s lost.” He paused and shook his head. “You don’t know how close I came to prescribing her some Xanax. The stress of all this is too much for her.”

“It’s a fifteen hour drive,” Nathan said glancing in the rearview mirror. “Maybe a little longer since we’ll have to keep pace with the convoy. Unless we get unwanted company, let’s just split the driving between us guys and let her rest
.
But between the three of us, we should do just fine.”

About five hours later, Ethan noticed Nathan paying an inordinate amount of attention to the rearview mirror. “Ethan,” he said tightly. “We’ve picked up a tail.”

“Shit,” Ethan muttered, looking over his shoulder. He quickly spotted a black Suburban very similar to the one that had ran him off the road.

“He was hanging back for a long time
, but he’s gradually closed the distance. Because of the snow I’ve been going a bit slower than normal. We still have an hour to go before we meet up with the convoy.”

“They’re closing the distance because the time to act is now,” Ethan said.

“That’s what I thought,” Nathan replied. “As much as I hate to do this, you’d better wake her up, Ethan. She’s the best chance we’ve got.”

“What do you mean?” Tommy asked.

Ethan grinned. “You didn’t tell him?”

“
Naw, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Ethan chuckled and
gently shook Bethany awake. “Sorry, sweetheart, but we’ve got a problem.” He quickly filled in the details.

She rubbed her eyes and groaned. “God, I need coffee.”

“That I can do,” Tommy said, holding up a thermos. He opened it and poured it into a travel mug. “I hope black is okay.”