His Revenge (Power Play #1)

Chapter 26

For the third time that evening, Erin felt shock course through her like a punch in the gut, stealing her breath in one forceful slam, threatening to topple over her already fragile hold on reality. Indeed, she wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly woke up to find that the past few hours had been nothing but a product of her already stressed out imagination. She could hear Ethan saying something, but she couldn’t make out anything through the frantic swirl of thoughts as her brain struggled to piece together a story that made more sense than the ridiculous notion that Nicky was somehow involved in all this…

She shook her head, and took a step back, her legs coming up against the chair and she sank down to it, the tightness in her chest a reminder that she had forgotten to breathe. She opened her mouth on a gasp, the renewed flow of oxygen helped to clear her muddled thoughts enough to hear Lillian ordering them from the house and threatening to call the cops.

Her gaze shot to Ethan, as he stood so still he seemed to be made of stone, the only sign of animation the ice cold fury that swirled in his eyes. She’d seen him like this once before… the first time they’d met and she had managed to piss him off after less than ten minutes alone with him. She remembered being the recipient of that look, the barely concealed rage that could crush its prey in a heartbeat. That day, she’d unwittingly made a dangerous enemy and Erin had no doubt that whatever was going through his mind at the moment boded ill for Lillian.

As though recognizing the formidable presence of a predator, Lillian shivered, fear replacing the self-satisfied smile of a minute earlier. To her credit, she didn’t cower or run away, though her eyes darted about the room in search of something with which to defend herself.

For long seconds, the only sound in the room was the loud ticking of the clock.

“There are two things you need to know about me, Ms. Putney,” Ethan finally spoke, his voice low yet dangerous. “One. I am not the kind of man you wish to have as an opponent because I fight dirty. And two…”

 He moved, closing the gap between them and leaning down so he could look Lillian right in the eyes. She let out a small squeak of terror and shrank back at whatever she read in his eyes.

“I will make you wish you had never crossed me and mine, and by the time I am through with you, a broken heart will be the least of your worries."

He straightened, dismissing her with a look and held out his hand to Erin. Bemused, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up and usher her out the front door, leaving two terrified women in their wake.

The minute he shut the front door, Ethan dropped her hand, and without a word, stalked towards their parked car, his every movement controlled like a beast in a cage waiting to be unleashed. Despite the warm midday sun, Erin felt a shiver travel down her spine as she watched him walk away, suddenly hesitant about being in the same car with him in this mood. His opinion of her had been less than glowing before…after all, he still believed she’d manipulated Nicky into breaking up with him and now…to discover that she was also responsible for breaking up yet another relationship and getting caught in the middle of an insane plot for revenge, and not even to add the extra offence of believing she had been aware that Nicky still loved him..

Her head throbbed badly, the rays of the sun seeming to pierce through her irises and she shut her eyes against the glare. Nicky didn’t love Ethan…she knew that for certain, but for her to actually go around telling people  otherwise made Erin out to be some sort of…… man stealing monster and that, she could not forgive. She’d covered for Nicky, endured Ethan’s scorn and all this time, the ungrateful little bitch was….

“Are you coming or do I go on without you?”

Erin’s eyes snapped open and she found herself gazing into a pair of blue eyes. Ethan regarded her impassively, his face giving away no clue to his thoughts as he stood at the foot of the steps.