Page 17 of Ethan's Command

“Look, Ethan.” Nova glanced toward the officer behind the desk who was calling her name, “I’ve got to go. But I need you to talk to Brooklyn. See if she knows anything—anything at all.”

Ethan frowned. “I will, but it’s a long shot. She’s going to be as confused about this as I am. And Liam? He’s just a kid. He’s got his head buried in science fair projects, video games, and middle school shit. He’s not that kind of kid.”

“I hope you’re right,” Nova said. “But check it out anyway, will you? Let me know what you find.”

“I will,” Ethan replied.

Nova gave him a nod before walking off. Ethan stared after her, his mind racing. He couldn’t figure out why the Yakuza would want anything to do with Liam, but whatever was going on, he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

CHAPTER 7

Brooklyn steppedout of her car and hurried into the office. As she passed through the waiting room, she offered polite smiles to the patients before heading to the back hallway and closing the door behind her. She leaned on the door and took a deep breath.

She hadn’t gotten much sleep. Kissing Ethan in her little kitchen had excited her body and it had taken a while to calm down again. She knew sex with him would be fantastic. After all, they’d done it before. That had been the single best night of her life when it came to sex and that was hard to forget. Nate had paled in comparison. She needed to guard against it though. Keep her defenses up against Ethan.

More than anything else she couldn’t bear to be hurt again by this man. She’d been more fragile than she’d realized after her relationship with Nate fell apart. She no longer trusted her own judgment after the fiasco with Nate.

Sleeping with Ethan had been her first encounter with any man after Nate. She’d thought she hit the jackpot. It had felt so good, so right. Then he ghosted her, proving she’d gotten it wrong again. That pain had been intense. She wasn’t going through that again. No way. Her judgment when it came to menwas obviously flawed. She needed to remember that and not get sucked in again.

And she needed to focus her energy on with was going on with Liam.

“Brooklyn, you okay? You look a little pale,” the other hygienist asked as she passed by.

“I’m okay,” Brooklyn replied. “How’s it going today?”

“Same as usual. Not too busy.”

“Great. Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll be right in to start,” Brooklyn said.

“No rush. Take your time,” Sherry replied, her tone kind.

Brooklyn sank onto her chair, grateful for the support. Her thoughts raced as she tried to make sense of everything. The boys at the police station weren’t the ones who tried to take Liam. That much she knew. But if it wasn’t them, then who?

Her frustration mounted as she realized they were starting from scratch. The lack of answers made her feel worse than before. She thought about Ethan. Maybe she should have waited for him at the station. But she needed space to think, and so far, her thinking hadn’t gotten her anywhere. She wanted to call Christie again but didn’t want to ruin the rest of her friend’s vacation. Christie would worry and that wasn’t fair.

Brooklyn decided that after work, she’d have to sit down with Liam. Maybe he could help her make sense of things. Chances were, Ethan would want to join the conversation, and maybe that was for the best. She wasn’t thrilled about involving him, but she couldn’t deny he was good at this sort of thing. This was his area of expertise, and she didn’t have the first clue. She just had to remember that Ethan, no matter how appealing he was, no matter how safe he made her feel, held a temporary position in her world.

He could be trusted with her life but not with her heart.

Brooklyn sat in her car,nervously tapping the steering wheel as she waited for Liam to come out of school. He was two minutes late. On any other day, two minutes would mean nothing, but today, she was on edge.

Where is he? she thought, glancing around. She hadn’t seen the white van, which offered some relief, but not enough to calm her racing thoughts. Hadn’t Ethan said some of the guys were here at the school, checking it out? She scanned the area but didn’t see anyone who stood out. Her hand hovered over her phone, ready to call Ethan.

Just as she was about to hit the call button, Liam stepped through the doors, his backpack slung over one shoulder. Relief flooded her, and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“Hey, Aunt Brooklyn,” he said as he opened the car door, but he didn’t slide in. Instead, he dumped his backpack inside and leaned down. “Would it be okay for me to stay and play video games with my friends for a bit? Mr. Williams, who runs the computer lab, is letting us play for an hour because we helped him install some updates to some computers in the lab.”

Brooklyn’s stomach rolled. “What about the science fair? Are you finished? What about your homework?” As she fired off the questions, Liam’s face fell. Guilt washed over her.

“Who is going to be there?” she asked in a much more friendly tone. It wasn’t fair to let her fear take over.

“Just Nakoa, Keoni, and me. It’s just for an hour. Mr. Williams will be there the whole time. I’m almost finished with my science fair project. I can’t do the rest until I put it in the gym tomorrow morning during science class. I only have someMath and History homework but it’s not much. I promise I’ll get it done.” Liam looked so hopeful. “Please, can I stay?”

Brooklyn’s stomach twisted. It went against every instinct to let him stay but that was her anxiety talking. “Okay,” she said and gave him a small smile. “You have fun with your friends. Do you have your cell phone with you?”

He pulled it out of his back pocket. “Here it is.”

“Call me when you’re finished. Don’t leave the school building until I am out front, okay?”

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