Sworn to Protect (Vows of the Heart) (31 page)

Still he said nothing.

Damn it, Ethan! Talk to me!

A knock on the door made them both jump. Ethan pulled his hand away from hers and went to answer it. Bethany suddenly fought back tears. She buried her face in her hands
, battling not to sob. Damn her stupid hormones! They made her emotions so much harder to control.

“Tommy,” Ethan said tightly.

She heard him enter and sigh heavily. “I take it you just told him.”

She nodded
, but otherwise didn’t move.

“Hey,” Tommy
said softly, moving to stand next to her. She looked up and noticed he carried a bag. He pulled out a box and Bethany realized it was a pregnancy test. “Take the test first thing tomorrow morning.” He then pulled out a prescription bottle. “Take one of these. In about fifteen minutes you should be able to eat a little something and keep it down.”

She nodded again.

“Now, would you excuse us for a moment? Ethan and I need to talk.”

Grateful for the excuse, she darted into the bedroom and closed the door firmly behind her. Only
then did she let the tears come.

****

Ethan battled to sort through his emotions. Fear, joy, rage, helpless frustration, all tangled into a confusing knot. He sat heavily before his plate, his appetite gone.

“Ethan
, why are you mad at her?”

“I’m not. I’m mad at myself. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking not using protection.”

“There’s no use kicking yourself over something you can’t go back and change.”

He stood and paced the room, dragging his hand through his hair. “Shit, Tommy, either or both of us could wind up dead any day. The thought of losing Bethany nearly paralyzes me with fear
, but now knowing I could lose her and my baby…? Shit! I can’t even wrap my brain around it let alone deal with it.”

“You’d better deal with it and fast because I think you succeeded in tearing her heart out.”

Ethan stopped pacing, his shoulders slumped. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“Ethan, listen to me. Bethany is under too much stress right now. The last thing she needs is to get even more from you. I’m seriously concerned. If her stress levels go any higher, she could lose this baby.”

He looked at Tommy sharply. “I’m a fucking idiot.” He strode for the door to the bedroom and reached for the knob, but his hand stopped inches away. “Tommy, could you do me one more favor?”

“Name it.”

“See if you can tear Nathan away from that damned geek convention and get him up here. He’s going to be ecstatic.”

Tommy laughed and reached into the bag he had set on the table. “One last item.” He pulled out a bottle. “Sparkling cider, this way both Mom and Nathan can celebrate too.” He rose and held out his hand. “Congratulations, Ethan.”

Ethan accepted his hand. “Thanks, Tommy.”

“I’ll get Nathan up here. You go talk to your lady.”

Ethan summoned his courage and opened the door to the bedroom. Bethany lay curled on her side, sobbing terribly.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered and sat next to her, wrapping her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

She buried her face against his chest, struggling to control herself.

He rubbed her back continuing to hold her tight. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted. It was just…Bethany, you might has well taken a two by four and smacked me right between the eyes.”

“That can be arranged.”

He chuckled softly. “I’m just…terrified. I’m afraid I’m going to lose you and now my child. But what’s worse I’m even more afraid of being a father.”

She looked up at him, startled. “Ethan, you’re going to be a great father.”

“I hope your right, Bethany.”
He held her for a long moment. “I just sent Tommy down to get Nathan up here. Is that medicine Tommy gave you working?”

She nodded.

“Okay, I’m going to cook breakfast again and make enough for everyone. Tommy brought some sparkling cider so let’s celebrate.”

She smiled up at him. “That sounds good, I’m starving.”

He laughed and pulled her up with him.

A few minutes later Tommy knocked on the door with a grumbling Nathan in tow.

“What the hell is all fired up important?” He stopped when he saw the plates on the table. “Well at least you cooked.” He sat at the table and scowled when he saw the bottle of sparkling cider, but his expression relaxed when he read the label. “Okay, what is going on?”

Ethan served the food. “Before we dig in, Nathan, I have something important to tell you.” He
popped the cork on the cider and poured everyone a glass.

“Don’t keep me in suspense.”

Ethan grinned. “You’re going to be an uncle.”

Nathan just stared at him in stunned silence.

“Oh my God,” Bethany said, laughing. “You two are something else. Ethan just gave me that exact same look when I told him.”

He blinked at her then a bright smile creased his face. “Holy hell, little bro.” He jumped out of his chair and pulled Ethan into a rough embrace. Just as quickly he released him and swept Bethany into a bear hug. She squeaked in surprise then laughed.

“I’m going to be an uncle,” he whispered as if he couldn’t fully comprehend the words.

“My work here is done,” Tommy said.

“Not quite yet,” Ethan replied and pointed to a chair. “Sit. Eat.”

****

Later that day, Bethany reclined on the couch, channel surfing. Ethan joined her, her head on his lap, his fingers toying with her curls. “Did you want to go downstairs at all?”

She shook her head. “Too many people. Besides I have doctor’s orders to relax all I can and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”

“Good idea.”

“If you’re going stir crazy
, you can go down. You don’t have to babysit me.”

He chuckled. “No. Like you I’m simply enjoying being able to relax a little bit.”

She channel surfed a little more and found another news report about them. It cut to a commercial break. Bethany hauled herself up and fetched her note pad as well as some other important papers.

“Ethan, there’s something here I think you need to see.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m worried about your brother. I think some of this might be hitting Nathan a bit hard. I’m afraid our relationship might be reminding Nathan of what he lost...how lonely he is now.”

“I was concerned over that too.”

“And there’s more, Ethan.” She pulled out some papers. “When Tommy and I arrived at the cabin, the mail was a literal mountain by the door slot. I got bored and sorted it. Most of it was junk mail which I tossed, but there are bills and bank statements too. I must admit, I got curious...I know I shouldn’t have.”

“What did you find?”

“Nathan
told me all about Ana. He said she died four years ago.”

Ethan swallowed hard and nodded.
“Yes.”

“Well, she’s still getting bank statements sent to the cabin.”

“Actually, since a body was never found, Nathan has to wait seven years before she is legally declared dead and he becomes the beneficiary of her will. He can’t do anything with her bank account until then.”

“Why is the account still active and showing transactions?” Bethany asked softly and showed him last month’s statement. The activity wasn’t excessive, but it was obvious.

Ethan took the paper from her and stared at it, his eyes wide. “Good God, you’re right Bethany. What if someone has her ATM/check card or something?”

“I thought of that too, but Ana still gets her canceled checks with her statements.” She pulled one out from the envelope, also dated last month and pointed to the signature. Then she grabbed a statement dated before Ana’s death and pulled out a check. “Compare the signatures.”

Ethan’s jaw went slack. “The same,” he whispered, and shuffled through some more checks, comparing them. “Either this person is one hell of a forger or....”

“Or Ana is still alive. Since a body was never found, it has to be considered possible, Ethan.”

For a long moment, he remained silent staring at the evidence before him.

“What do we do?” Bethany asked.

“I...oh Jesus....” He rubbed the back of his neck, a worried frown creasing his brow. “I want to tell Nathan, but unless we have more evidence. God, Bethany, I don’t want to put him through that kind of hell again. It took him over a year to accept the possibility she was dead. If he sees this....”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

Again Ethan fell silent. “Right now, we can’t do anything about this because of Cordova breathing down our necks. Let’s take care of him first. I have an acquaintance I met a few years ago when I was working on a different case for the ATF. He’s a private investigator and has an excellent reputation. Maybe I can give him a call and see what he can discover. If it’s a forger, we can take care of it without opening old wounds for Nathan.”

“And if it’s not?”

“Then we can tell my brother. But I don’t want to go to him with this until we have a few solid answers. If Ana is still alive, it will be up to him how to handle it. But I just don’t want to give him any false hope.” He drew in a deep breath, a wealth of emotion in his mercury eyes. “For once I saw my brother truly happy. You don’t know how hard it was watching him self-destruct after he lost Ana.”

“I
’m sorry, Ethan.”

He shook his head and put the evidence away.

The commercial break finished and the news report began. Bethany grabbed the remote increased the volume.

“Bethany,” Ethan said, pained. “I really wish you wouldn’t watch this crap. It’s worse than a damn soap opera.”

“I know, Ethan, but if we’re going to get those files out to the public, I’ve got to find a reporter willing to listen.”

He scowled looking at all the pages of notes. Then he stared at the floor. “There’s only one problem,” he said softly. “The files are worthless.”

“What?” she asked, absolutely stunned.

“There is nothing in those files proving my innocence.”

Bethany’s heart dropped to the floor. All he had risked, all he had suffered through...worthless.

Wait a moment. Maybe not entirely.

“Ethan, you said Cordova kept those files in order to hold sway over the people he bribed.”

“Yeah.”

“So, if you come out and say you have the files with the names, how are the moles in the ATF and U.S. Marshals to know any different?”

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Cordova might tell them.”

“Do you think he’ll come out of hiding to do it?”

“He may not have to, obviously they have been receiving orders from him.”

“Maybe. Maybe they are acting on their own simply knowing Cordova wants us dead.”

“Perhaps.”

“Even if Cordova does reassure them, would you be inclined to believe him? If it came down to your butt or his...who would be hamburger?”

His lips twitched. “True. But that’s a huge gamble, Bethany. I don’t like wagering our lives on such rotten odds. If Cordova or the people he has bribed call our bluff, we could be in serious trouble.”

She nodded reluctantly. “Still, there has to be something. You may not have the exact info you were searching for, but you have enough to make a lot of people very nervous.”

“A lot of very powerful people.”

“Do you think Cordova altered those files, knowing you would go after them?”

“I guess so. I didn’t realize he knew I was aware of those files.”

Bethany rested her chin in both hands. “There’s an answer to this, I know there is. We’re just not seeing it.”

He ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry over it so much. It will probably come to you if you don’t try so hard.”

She nodded, but still wasn’t happy. “Ethan, do you still have the files and passcodes?”

“Sure do.”

“Do you mind if I look at them?”

He shrugged. “Not at all, but I’ve been over them backwards, forwards, and sideways.”

“At least let me try.”

“No problem.” He went upstairs then quickly returned with a flash drive, a file folder, and the laptop Nathan had loaned to her.

“I put everything on the flash drive because the laptop was so battered, I didn’t know if I could trust it.”

“Good idea.”

Bethany connected the flash drive to her laptop and opened the file with the password Ethan had marked on the paper. Then the printed password list captivated her attention completely. There were four pages of passcodes, each page filled with four blocks. The first page was broken into sections labeled with Roman numerals, and the various passwords numbered. The second and third page sections started with letters. No Roman numerals.

“Why so many?” she asked.

“What?” Ethan asked, turning his attention from the news.