Page 40 of Ex-SEAL Bad Boy

He leans over, opening the glove compartment.

“Do you have your phone with you,” he asks.

I nod.

“Turn it off and remove your sim card. There are two burner phones in the glove box. Take one and leave the other. That’s how we’ll get in touch. Do not turn your cell phone back on. It’s too easy to track.”

I do as he demands. I trust he knows what he’s doing, and I will follow his instructions to the letter.

“I figure we can drive down to North Carolina. It’s better to be out of the state. Many small towns are along the coast, or we can move further inland. I like staying near the coast since I’m more familiar with the highways.”

“If we move toward the interior, I’m not sure about the lay of the land. We can move around and stay at different motels until this all blows over.”

As I sit there in silence, it suddenly hits me. I’m in love with Ethan.

It’s strange to have such thoughts, but I guess you don’t really get to choose when it happens.

This side of him, despite the danger we are in, is something I find incredibly attractive. I’ve been waiting to see his concern for my safety, his protective nature, his ability to take command and focus on the task at hand, and most importantly, his deciding to do the right thing once he has it figured out.

Why then does it feel as if my nightmare has only just begun?

17

ETHAN

“Yeah, we’re in Carolina Beach, near Wilmington.”

I’m standing outside our motel room on the phone at three a.m. at some run-down hole-in-the-wall motel on the beach, trying to keep my voice down while Sophia sleeps inside.

The clerk at the front desk didn’t give Mr. and Mrs. Smith too much trouble for not having a photo ID, especially when I showed him a few pictures of Benjamin Franklin.

He was quite accommodating.

Yiva sounds quite awake despite having just been roused from her slumber. She’s a seasoned reporter, accustomed to the unpredictable nature of the job.

“I will only give you what I can confirm. The rest ... well, I trust your instincts to dig for the story. I’ll keep you updated as best I can. I have a guy looking into it as well, so if he brings me more, I’ll let you know.”

Sophia and I preemptively went on the run once I decided to disclose what was happening to the press. If I waited too long, it might have been too late.

I lay out the story as far as I know to this point. I include Lena Gardner’s victimization by Harrison Whitmore and the fact that she is a potential target. She is probably safe until she gives birth, but if Whitmore feels the net closing around him, who knows what he might do?

I detail what I know about my parents’ involvement, although they might manage to avoid any serious consequences. They can always claim that they were only trying to help some poor girl and had no idea what was happening.

Rodney was always a genius when it came to spinning a good yarn.

After hanging up, I pull up a map of the East Coast to try to find where to go next. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of staying here for a few days.

Surely, the people assigned to watching Sophia and me back home will notice we’re gone and draw the proper conclusions, but how can they possibly guess where we’re headed?

Yiva’s story hasn’t even dropped yet, so they’re not even aware we’re preparing to bring them down? They might suspect, but ...

We’ll stay here for a few days, maybe even enjoy the beach, and plan our next steps.

There’ll be plenty of action once Yiva’s report goes viral, then it will be all hands on deck for Whitmore’s men and possibly Pierce’s.

The turmoil caused by the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein had opened the floodgates and showed the perverted power brokers that even they weren’t safe from the long arm of the law.

They know now what lies in store if they’re exposed and are willing to do everything in their power to prevent it.

---