Page 56 of Ex-SEAL Bad Boy

“It’s a good thing the cops that picked her up weren’t involved with Whitmore. His reach is pretty extensive.”

By now, I had my own phone out, scrolling through stories.

“Says the federal investigation is ramping up. Arrests are imminent.”

“Wonder if he’ll try to run. I’m sure they’re watching the airports, and they’ve got his passport flagged, but you never know, I guess,” he says, sounding like someone who maybe, might have, possibly had reason to give that some consideration at some point in his life.

“What would you do?” I suddenly ask. “Not that you’d ever be in that position, but you’ve got money and know the right people. Would you run?”

He almost laughs at the suggestion.

“Me? I’d never get away with it. I’m too devastatingly handsome. They’d recognize me in a second.”

“Oh, right. Of course,” I giggle.

“If this is anything like the Epstein case, his friends, business associates, and employees are looking at one of three options.”

“They can claim that they never really knew what he was up to, which is the road a lot of famous people took with Epstein. They can cut a deal to squeal on him, tell the cops what they know, or they can disappear completely. Drop off the face of the Earth.”

“The kind of guys that would be after us can only go with option number three. They obviously know what he’s up to, and they can’t go to the cops because the shit they’ve done can put them away for a long time.”

“That means the best they can hope to do is make themselves scarce and start over somewhere else. They always have themoney. That kind of work pays well. They can lie low for a long time.”

“You sound like you know these people well,” I observe.

“Yeah, well, my parents know people.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they do.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do if your parents get caught up in this?” I ask.

“Some. It’s not an easy thing to think about. I mean, they are still my parents, and I’ll feel bad about it, but at some point it needs to stop.”

“Must be hard to walk away from the family business,” I say. “That’s a lot of money and power to leave on the table.”

“I guess. I’m not too worried about the money. Even if they manage to impose some sort of monetary penalty against them, I’ll still inherit more than I could ever spend in a lifetime.”

“As far as the power goes, well, that’s something I’ve never been comfortable with. The people who owed their loyalty to the Blackwoods will be glad to be out from under their thumb, but because of the type of people they are, they’ll just find themselves indebted to some other person or family. They can’t resist.”

For the first time since this ordeal began, I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

A lot had happened to me in a very short time.

With great effort, Ethan heaves himself off the bench, and we begin to walk back to the motel.

Despite the waning danger, I still feel very sensitive to my surroundings.

I’ve read a little bit about PTSD and wonder if that’s what I’m experiencing, a hypersensitivity to the slightest motion or sound. I’ve never been in combat, of course, but my understanding is that it’s not restricted to that. People who experience any kind of trauma can show symptoms.

Maybe once this is all over, I’ll ask Ethan to teach me how to defend myself. I’m sure he’d be an excellent instructor.

I can feel Ethan’s breath on the exposed skin of my upper back as he spoons me, his hardness poking me between the cheeks of my ass beneath the thin sheet covering the lower half of our bodies.

My chest trembles as I suppress a laugh.

Men!

You’d think maybe being in pain might cool his libido a bit.

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