Page 31 of Operation Rescue
Ethan had been gone a week, but as of just yesterday he was alive and clearly well enough to make this apparently regular stop. Meaning he was also still in the area; he hadn’t taken off for some gang-infested big city.
Belatedly he tuned back into what Rafe was saying.
“—owner said he’s worried that they were scoping out the place.”
“Ethan would never…”
Erin’s voice trailed away, making Blaine look at her again. He had no trouble reading her expression, but then he’d always been fairly decent at it. Except when it had counted most, apparently.
He didn’t have to ask what had stopped her declaration. She could no longer say with certainty what Ethan would or wouldn’t do. He’d be willing to bet that a week ago she would have said he’d never fall in with the kind of troublemakers these other kids seemed to be.
“That wasn’t the point,” Rafe said gently. “The point is, he has surveillance cameras.”
Blaine’s head came up sharply. “He does? Did they get Ethan? Can we see the—”
He stopped when Rafe held up a hand. “I already have. It’s a little short on clarity, but he let me send a copy to St. Louis. Ty’s working on it now.”
Blaine blinked. “He just handed it over?”
Rafe gave him that satisfied smile again. “He never hesitated, once I told him who I work for. He’s heard of Foxworth. The branch here helped somebody he knows. Besides—” Rafe leaned down to scratch the dog’s ears “—he liked Cutter. We should have a cleaned up copy at the office soon.”
Erin had been silent since the mention of the hamster, but now she asked, “Is your office close by?”
“It’s just a few blocks from the mission,” Blaine said, knowing that to any local that pretty much pinpointed the neighborhood. Belatedly he realized why she’d asked. “Planning on joining us?”
“Planning on keeping me from it?”
There was no denying the snap in her voice, but then, his own had been a little sharp, too. Enough that Cutter let out a low sound, not a growl, but not quite a whine, either. He felt the craziest urge to apologize to the dog for upsetting him.
Erin, on the other hand…
But when she spoke again her tone had shifted completely. “I’m sorry. Again. If I try harder, can we set this aside until Ethan is home safe?”
He wanted to tell her that was up to her, since she was the one doing most of the sniping, but he didn’t. All he said was, “Fine. Truce.”
Cutter moved again, and he glanced down to see the dog looking from him to Erin and back again almost assessingly.
“You two,” Rafe said sounding more amused than anything, “remind me of a couple of other people.”
Blaine wondered if he meant himself and the woman he’d been so estranged from. He wasn’t sure how that would make him feel, given where they seemed to be today, all healed and moving forward.
He couldn’t even imagine that happening with Erin. Not after what she’d done. Not after she’d thrown away nearly thirty years of being together, from childhood right up until the day she’d walked out without an apparent second thought.
Not even if he still wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman in his life.
She opted to follow them to the Foxworth headquarters, and although he thought it, he said nothing about her needing to be back at the house in light of the newly declared truce. But he watched her walk toward where her car was parked fifty feet or so down the street. Watched the way she moved, watched that sweet backside and the long-legged stride.
And again that memory of those legs wrapped around him nearly swamped him. Sex with Erin had been like no other, not that he’d sampled much. Only a couple of times before they’d faced the fact that they were meant to be, and only once since she’d walked out on him. And if he was honest, he’d admit that last time had been as much to see if he could still function as anything else. Erin had treated him as if he were made of fragile glass after he’d been hurt, backing away from anything sexual. At least he’d thought it was because of his injuries, then. Now he knew better. She’d even then decided she was going to leave, and only stayed as long as she did because she’d felt she had to.
His gut was starting to churn again, as it had so many times since he’d arrived here. He felt a nudge at his left knee and looked down to find Cutter staring up at him. Wondering if that soothing knack the dog had would work for this, too, he reached down to stroke the dark head.
It worked.
The calming ripple went through him, and he could feel himself settle. He shot a glance at Rafe, who shrugged.
“We call it the Cutter Effect. I can’t explain it, but I’ve been glad of it many times,” the tough veteran said with a crooked smile at both Blaine and Cutter. “But we’d better get going. She can’t follow us if we’re not moving.”
On the short drive she kept a safe distance, but as they turned onto the side street a block away from the main road she was the only other vehicle moving. She slowly pulled into the long driveway after them. Rafe waved her past the gate, then to a spot beside them on the wider part of the drive.
