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“No, he’s yelling, and I won’t have him yell at you.”
There was sudden silence from the other end of the phone.
“Hand the phone over,” Rhodes said suddenly. “I wish to speak to my sister.”
Ethan scowled. “No, like I just said, you are not speaking to her until I can be sure that you’re not going to upset her.”
“I would never upset Cate. I love Cate. You, on the other hand, I could happily bury in a graveyard. Alive.”
“And it’s threats like that which mean that you don’t get to speak to your sister.”
“She is my sister, you asshole. I hired you to guard her, not take advantage of her.”
“I am not taking advantage of her! For fuck’s sake, I wiped her face and hands. What are you trying to insinuate?”
“So you’re saying it’s nothing more than you cleaning her up?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Ethan looked straight at Cate. “I care about your sister. She’s special. And she deserves the world. I’m not about to take advantage of her or hurt her in any way.”
There was silence on the other end. “She’s not like other women. She won’t understand if you toy with her. Fuck, she’s never even been on a date before.”
“And now she has. There will be many more dates to come. This isn’t just some fling to me. Do you really think I’d risk my job and Ink’s friendship with either me or you over a fling? Over something fleeting. And do you seriously think I’d treat Cate like that?”
“She is my sister.”
“And I get that. You just want to protect her. So do I. And not because that’s what I’m paid to do. In fact, I’ll quit right now.”
“You’re going to quit?” Rhodes asked. “You’re leaving?”
“No. I’m not leaving. This isn’t about the money. It’s about my girl.”
Rhodes breathed out. “You’re really serious about her?”
“Yes. I am.” Ethan reached out and drew Cate close. “Very serious.”
“I still don’t like this, but as long as you’re not taking advantage of her I’ll reserve judgment. Let me speak to her.”
“No yelling or getting upset,” Ethan warned.
“I wouldn’t do that to my sister,” Rhodes told him. “I do think I should come back, though. I’m going to book a ticket on the first flight home.”
“For what reason? Cate is safe with me. Nothing has changed.”
“This asshole took photos of her.”
“Probably to get you home.”
“Fuck,” Rhodes said. “I didn’t think of that. Why the hell does this fucking nut job need me home?”
“I don’t know.” He wasn’t going to mention that could be why someone tried to run them off the road.
“Isn’t that more reason to come back? What if he does something worse?”
“I’ve considered that and spoken to Ink. But if you give in to this person, what’s to stop him or her from escalating anyway? What’s to stop this person from using Cate to get you to do other things? Maybe it’s as simple as they just want you to come back here. Or perhaps it’s a test.”
“Fuck. And what if the person running the blog is the stalker? I don’t like this at all.”
“You know that Ink called in a favor that Reyes is owed by some bikers. They’re hanging around the street and keep an eye on things for tonight and tomorrow night.”
