Page 63 of Ex-SEAL Bad Boy

“He did,” I protest. “What do you think would have happened if I had stayed here?”

“Nothing, if he hadn’t put you in that position in the first place,” Dad responds.

He did have a point.

‘You realize, of course, that I have to call the police.”

"Yes, sir,” Ethan responds soberly, “I expect nothing less.”

My dad retreats into the house, presumably to call the police, while Liam and my mother remain outside.

Liam still has bloodlust in his eyes, but Ethan decides to charge forward. I guess he’s thinking that he might as well get it all over with at once.

“I need you to know,” he says in a low voice, looking Liam in the eye, “your sister and I have become involved … romantically.”

Without warning, my brother pounces on Ethan, knocking him to the ground.

He then leaps on him and begins to punch him mercilessly.

Through it all, Ethan does not even try to fight back or defend himself, though he could easily defeat my brother if he did,

“Stop it, stop it,” I scream at Liam.

“I love him!”

At that, Liam stops hitting Ethan. He is pulling him up by his collar, and his arm is drawn back, but he doesn’t strike him.

My mother, on the other hand, is standing on the porch, her mouth agape. I’m not sure if it’s because Liam is beating the shit out of Ethan or because I just declared my love for a man our family has never trusted.

Probably both.

The police arrive soon after, first the local authorities, followed by Special Agents of the FBI.

Naturally, they want to know everything in minute detail.

I tell them what I know, but they seem frustrated that I can’t provide more information.

I only know what Ethan told me, but as far as the inner workings of the Blackwood family or their lawyers, I’m at a loss.

I explain our escape from the two men that Ethan shot, but leave out the part about the FBI agent Mr. Kramer took out near Greenville.

If they ask about it, I’ll tell them what I can, but I figure even if they know about it, it’s a don’t ask, don’t tell situation. If there’s one thing the government hates more than anything else, it’s exposing corruption within the ranks.

I’m sure Ethan is receiving the same treatment in the other room. In fact, he’s probably getting a more severe grilling. After all, it’s his parents who helped engineer the whole thing.

He has not tried to contact them since returning, and I can’t say I blame him.

As difficult as the conversation with my brother was, I’m sure the one he’s going to have with his parents will be far worse.

In one sense, I believe we are better off with Whitmore dead. The interrogation would no doubt have been far more intense and in-depth had the government been forced to build a case to prosecute him.

As it stands, the FBI and federal courts can clear this one off their books and wash their hands of the matter.

Questions will still be asked as to why the government had been reluctant to act sooner, given what is now known about the activities of Harrison Whitmore.

As the agent I was speaking to wraps things up, I see Ethan across the hall speaking on his phone.

His eyes lock with mine. His face is pale and his expression drives a dagger into my heart.

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