Page 64 of Nanny for the Firefighters

Deflating again, I really cannot abide by this cycle. And that's when Will clears his voice. "I have an address. Do you—do you need back up?"

"I thought you wanted to claim ignorance."

"I do, but I also want to help."

"Well, this isn't quite the big, romantic gesture moment, but you could keep track of her if this doesn't work. If we can just figure out what she's hiding from us, we can convince her that it's not as bad as she thinks it is." Says the man who would abandon a woman after a few dates because I got bored.

Ella surely isn't boring.

"Okay. I can do that. I'm headed over to the manor to help watch Lily. You should stop by after," Will offers. I've noticed how much more sensitive he is since we all became involved with Ella together. All of those Gothic romances amplify his general moodiness, but really, he's just quiet and contemplative. And this is killing him as much as me.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

I write down the address before hanging up and getting in my truck. Ella is across town, and the closer I drive, the more worried I become. Harborview doesn't have slums or decrepit neighborhoods, but we do have unsavory ones, and she's right on the border of a few.

The house is a small one-story ranch with weather-stained siding and faded shutters. The cement porch is cracked and leaning, and the basketball hoop cemented into the side lawn is weather-bleached and missing its net.

I park on the street, not wanting to exert the dominance that fitting my oversized truck in that little driveway would do. I'm out of the driver's seat and around the back gate when Ella appears on the tilting cement slab with her arms crossed. The rich brown of her skirt is embroidered with gold, although I can't see the design from here. Her mellow green shirt helps the gold statement piece around her neck pop, and I know that up close, it will accentuate the flecks of colors in her almond eyes.

I stop and lean against the bed of my truck and mimic her behavior by crossing my arms and frowning back at her.

"What are you doing here, Ethan? How did you find me?" After another minute of silence, she stalks down the driveway toward me.

By the time she reaches me, my stance has fallen, and all I want to do is pull her close and hold onto her. But she stops too far away and glares at me. Although I can see the way her mouth tips with sadness and worry rather than a deep well of anger.

"Why are you doing this, Ella?"

She stiffens, shoulders rolling back. "I told you why?—"

"You really didn't," I cut in.

"I did. There are safety issues. That is all you need to know, Ethan. And coming here to question me really isn't going to change my mind." Uncharacteristically, Ella avoids my gaze as she says this, glaring daggers at my passenger window.

"I know you're not telling us something. We all know." My voice comes out husky and broken, and I clear my throat. What comes out next sounds a lot angrier than I intend. "And if you really want this to be the end, we deserve your honesty."

The wild, angry, but broken look in her eyes shatters my chest. It was the wrong thing to say. I should just put my foot in my mouth, but I can't seem to stop. Stupid, impulsive decisions. I should have talked to the guys first about this.

Too late.

"I don't owe you anything." Her left eye twitches. Shit, I've hit a nerve.

I put my hands up. "I'm not saying you owe us anything. Owe me anything. I just thought you respected us more than this. That we meant more than some offhand excuse."

Her glare sharpens, and I can feel her digging for something more.

"Look," she finally says, her eyes still not meeting mine, "Fine. Here is the truth. I lied about the threats. The truth is I shouldn't have rushed into it with you guys. I wasn't ready then, and I'm not ready now. I'm not relationship material."

I shake my head in disbelief. The Ella I've seen over the last couple weeks is not the one who is speaking these words right now. She is lying now. I can see it in the guilt etched across her face, the way her shoulders droop, the way she continues to avert my gaze.

My mind goes back to what Theo found out about her a while back. There is more here, and it ties to those pictures. Someone is threatening her, of that I am sure— but what reason would they have? Unless… unless she has done something to them. Something damaging, something that has taken away their lives.

Does Ella have enemies?

I stare at her face for an impossibly long time. She is beautiful on any occasion, but more so when she is this remote.

Damn this all.

I shake my head frustratedly. "That's not the whole story. I can see it written all over your face. It's an excuse to let you hide. To let you throw away something that can be so good—is so good. Because you're scared."

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