Pros & Cons (29 page)

Life can change in the blink of an eye. It’s mind-blowing, really. One minute, you’re a con artist, traveling the world with your best friend. You’re nothing but a common criminal, but you somehow justify it in your head because you only steal from the rich and give the stolen goods to other rich people. Your life revolves around getting to the next job, avoiding your disapproving parents, and flirting with a brown-eyed beauty you occasionally run into during your travels. You’re a guy, so you only have one thing on your mind. The very
last
thing on your mind is falling in love with her.

But then you do.

And just like that, your life is changed forever.

She’s smart. She’s strong. She doesn’t put up with your bullshit, and she’s your equal in every sense of the word. She’s the other half of your heart. The other half of your soul. So when someone takes her, and hides her, it’s enough to drive you completely insane. The world ceases to exist. Nothing matters, except that you find her and then destroy whoever is responsible for taking her away from you in the first place.

If I learned anything from Coop, it’s that love makes you a little crazy.

I didn’t get it then.

I get it now.

Jenna sighs softly in her sleep, and I gently brush her hair out of her eyes. Her hand rests on her stomach—a strange new habit I’d noticed but didn’t really give much thought to until she told me the news. Even I have a hard time keeping my hands off her tummy now. I can only imagine how impossible it’ll be when there’s actually something to feel.

She’s been asleep for nearly sixteen hours. Despite my father’s efforts, I refuse to leave her for a minute. I’d called him immediately because it was obvious she needed a doctor, and I only wanted the best. My parents made the four hour trip from Nashville in only three, and my usually stoic mom began to weep as soon as I told her about the baby. I’d smiled apologetically to Hank and left him to deal with my mother while Dad and I headed to Jenna’s room.

Her blood pressure is up, and she’s dehydrated, but according to my father, Jenna and the baby are just fine. And that’s despite the fact she’d fainted right after Gabe turned himself in to the police.

Gabe.

My pilot. My friend.

I can never repay him for what he’s done. We have no idea what the FBI will do to him. It makes me sick to think he may go to prison. Shane promises he’ll do everything he can to keep that from happening, but I have my doubts he can do much. Stavros Peri was murdered in cold blood with too many official witnesses around to pass it off as self-defense. For now, my only hope is that Gabe’s granted bail, and I will pay it happily.

I rub my face tiredly. Truthfully, I’m exhausted, but I’m too wound up to actually sleep. More than once, I’ve considered climbing in next to Jenna, but I’m too afraid to wake her. It’s pointless, anyway. It’s not as if I’d be able to close my eyes.

All I want to do is look at her.

The flight back from Greece was the most terrifying experience of my life. We couldn’t reach anyone back home for ages, and when we finally did, they were shocked to realize that Jenna had snuck out of the house. It took us hours to pinpoint her location, but Cara finally found her cell signal, and we headed there as soon as we landed. Hank had alerted the local cops, and I’d never been so happy to see a caravan of blue lights when they finally arrived at the abandoned church.

I’ve seen a lot of dangerous things in my life. Scary things. Things I hope to someday forget. But nothing compares to the vision of Jenna with a gun in her hand, aimed at the man we both wanted dead. It was terrifying to think that, at any moment, some cop with an itchy trigger finger would try to play the hero.

My entire body begins to shake under the weight of the memory, and that’s when she whispers my name.

“Ethan?” Her fingers wrap around mine as they lay across her stomach. “What’s wrong?”

I wipe my eyes. I hadn’t even realized I was crying.

“Nothing’s wrong, baby.”

Her beautiful brown eyes are gazing up at me, full of worry and concern. Very carefully, I bring her hand to my lips and press a kiss against her palm.

“The baby?”

“The baby’s fine.”

“But you’re upset.” Her voice is raspy, and I reach for the pitcher of water Mom had placed on the bedside table. I fill the glass and carefully bring it to her lips.

“Drink slowly, sweetheart. And I’m not upset. I’m just tired, that’s all.”

She nods and sips the water.

“How do you feel?” I ask when she lies back against the pillow.

“Tired. How long have I been asleep?”

 I shrug. “A while. Probably not long enough.”

She frowns as she watches our entwined hands. I know that look. She’s trying to put the pieces together.

“Everybody’s okay?”

 I take a deep breath. I have no idea how much she remembers.

“Stavros is dead.”

Her forehead creases. “Did I kill him?”

I shake my head.

“Damn. I really wanted to do that.”

I chuckle.

“Is he the only one?”

“The only one?”

“That’s dead.”

“Yes, just him.”

“Did the police shoot him?”

“You don’t remember?”

She frowns. “No . . .”

Her voice grows weak again, so I offer her more water. While she drinks, I try to find a way to explain what happened in the church without upsetting her. Her blood pressure is high enough.

“What
do
you remember?”

She sighs and closes her eyes. “I remember gunfire. I remember Stavros being shot, and I remember taking his gun away from him.”

“And after that?”

“Just bits and pieces. None of it really makes sense.” She opens her eyes and gazes at me. “Did
you
shoot him?”

“I wish,” I mutter. “Listen, why don’t I get my dad to check you out before we get into all this?”

“Your dad’s here?”

“And Mom.”

“Why?”

“Because they love you, too.”

Her eyes fill with tears.

“No, I’m okay,” she says, tugging on my hand. “I’d be better if you’d crawl under the blanket and hold me.”

Such an easy wish to grant.

“You need a bigger bed.” I grin and climb in. Jenna giggles and nestles herself into my arms. The sound of her laughter instantly relaxes me. I’ve been on edge for so long. It feels good to finally take a deep breath without it hurting.

“You can ask Dad for that bigger bed. He knows I’m pregnant, by the way.”

“Everybody knows, except Minnie and Joe. We’ll have to call them soon. I’m sure we’re all over the news. I don’t want them to worry.”

Her fingers trail across my jaw.

“I missed you, Ethan.”

“I missed you, too.”

“I want you to tell me everything. Even the scary stuff. I can take it.”

I sigh and brush my lips across her forehead. “I know you can. I just don’t want you to have to.”

“Tell me.”

Pulling her close, I tell her everything. When she hears that Gabe was the one who killed Stavros, she buries her face in my neck and weeps.

“He did that to keep me from going to prison.”

I nod.

“What will happen to him?”

“I don’t know, Jenna.”

“Well, we need to find out,” she replies stubbornly, her voice no longer weak or fragile. “We have to help him. Find him a lawyer and—”

I hug her close. “Shh. We’ll help him. I promise.”

“We thought we heard voices up here.”

Jenna and I look up to find my father standing in the doorway.

“Welcome back, Jenna.”

She smiles. “Thanks.”

Dad grabs his bag from the dresser and pulls out a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. He places both on her arm and listens carefully. I watch as his smile turns into a frown.

“Your blood pressure is still higher than I’d like, Jenna. It’s very important that you rest.”

“I’m fine. I just need to get out of bed, take a shower—”

Dad doesn’t let her finish. “Jenna, it’s not good for the baby for your blood pressure to be this high.”

Jenna York is probably the most stubborn woman I know, but with one mention of the baby, she’s nodding, cooperating, and snuggling back into my arms.

I glance up at Dad and smirk.
Impressive.
I’ll need to remember that. It might come in handy over the next eight months or so.

“I’ll tell Hank it’s important that Ethan’s allowed to stay with you,” Dad says with a grin. “Maybe he won’t mind too much.”

“If he does, we’ll get a room at the Strawberry Flatts Motel,” Jenna mutters.

“I heard that. My daughter and grandchild aren’t going anywhere,” Hank says as he walks into the room. If he’s surprised to find me in bed with his daughter, he hides it well. “I suppose that means Ethan’s welcome to stay, too.”

“You’re all heart, Dad.”

They share a smile, so I know it’s okay.

The room clears out when my mom arrives with two bowls of soup. She’s smiling, the relief evident on her face. She doesn’t say a word. Just hands us our lunch and kisses each of us on the forehead before closing the door behind her.

I help Jenna sit up against the headboard. “That smells good.”

“Mom makes the best chicken soup.”

I’m suddenly starving, too, and we lapse into a comfortable silence while we eat. From time to time, Jenna asks a question about what happened inside the church, and I answer the best I can while trying not to upset her. She then tells me about Shane and the deal with the FBI he’d been able to negotiate, which I’m pretty sure is off the table now. No way would they offer us immunity now that Stavros is dead.

Once the soup’s gone, I ask Jenna the question that’s been driving me crazy.

“Why did you go to the church, Jenna? Why didn’t you take Sebastian or your dad with you?”

She closes her eyes.

“He said you were there, and then I heard a man scream.”

That must have been Marcello.

“But you knew I was in Greece.”

“But you hadn’t been answering your phone, and when he called, the caller ID had your name on it. He said he had your phone . . . and you. What was I supposed to do? I panicked, Ethan. I’ve never been in love before, and I have no idea what I’m doing. All I knew was that he said he had you, and if I didn’t come alone he’d kill you. It wasn’t even a choice.”

 She dissolves into tears, and I feel like a complete idiot for upsetting her.

“Shh,” I murmur against her hair as I pull her close to my chest. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I would have done the same thing. I
did
do the same thing. I thought I was going to lose my mind . . . knowing he had you, and I was thousands of miles away. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.”

We cling to each other for the rest of the afternoon, talking and napping in between blood pressure checks with Dad. Each time, I can tell by the look on his face that the numbers aren’t improving.

“Shane would like to speak to both of you,” Dad says, placing the stethoscope into his bag, “but I’m not sure this is the best time.”

“Maybe he has news about Gabe.” Jenna’s voice is full of hope. “I’ll stay calm, I promise.”

Dad’s eyes shift to mine.

“No worries, Dad. If she gets upset, I’ll kick him out.”

Satisfied with that answer, Dad nods and walks back downstairs. Moments later, Shane peeks around the corner and smiles.

“You both look better.”

“How’s Gabe?” Jenna asks.

Shane sits down in the chair next to the bed. “Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about. I have good news and bad news.”

My stomach drops. “Give us the bad first.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure your man will do some jail time. He’ll have a trial, of course, and unless you find him a kickass lawyer, I’m afraid it doesn’t look good. While the FBI is tickled shitless that Stavros Peri is dead, they can’t ignore the fact he was gunned down in cold blood in a room full of witnesses. There’s no way this isn’t going to trial.”

“He killed Stavros so that I wouldn’t have to,” Jenna says softly.

“I know. Hell, the Feds know it, too. But they can also argue that you weren’t in immediate danger. You had his gun, Jenna. Had it pointed right at him.”

“I should have just shot him.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” I whisper against her ear.

“Me, too,” Shane says. “I highly suggest finding the guy a lawyer, if you know any.”

I nod. “I’ll ask Dad for some names.”

Jenna looks at the two of us.

“I want to see him,” she says.

“I figured as much. Dr. Summers says your blood pressure is too high to do anything except to lay right there.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” I offer in compromise, “if your numbers are better.”

“He’s not going anywhere,” Shane says. “The twins are locked up, too, incidentally. I don’t foresee them getting out of jail anytime soon.”

“Is that the good news?” I ask.

Shane’s face brightens. “Nope. The good news is that the FBI is still willing to make you a deal. There are some conditions, but I don’t think it’s anything you can’t live with.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“It’s a good deal. Awesome, actually, considering your long list of crimes.”

Jenna sighs tiredly. “Shane . . .”

“Sorry,” he mutters. “They are willing to grant you immunity in exchange for your testimonies regarding the explosion in New York. I understand you have a recording on your phone? From the church?”

Jenna nods.

“They’ll want that. They want every ounce of evidence they can get their hands on in order to put the twins away.”

“What about our international crimes?”

“Interpol is in agreement, as long as some conditions are met. Honestly, both agencies are just happy that Stavros is dead.”

There has to be a catch.

“Let’s hear these conditions.”

“Well, needless to say, your criminal careers are over,” Shane says.

We both nod.

“I’m serious, guys. Nine-to-five jobs. Normal lives. If you pull one heist, they will throw your asses into prison so fast it’ll make your heads spin. Model citizens. That’s what you are from this day forward.”