Chapter 106 Caught Red-Handed
Elena: POV
The words hung in the air between us like a challenge.
Around us, the sleepy Georgia town suddenly felt too small, too quiet. A couple walking past stopped mid-step, their heads turning toward us like we were some kind of show.
I didn't give a fuck.
"Ethan," I said again, my voice lower but just as sharp. "What the hell are you doing here?"
He didn't flinch. Just stood there against that brick wall with his hands in his jacket pockets, watching me like he'd been expecting this exact moment.
"Elena." He straightened up slowly. "I can explain—"
"Can you?" I cut him off, crossing the distance between us in three strides. Mom called my name behind me, but I didn't stop. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you've been following us."
His jaw tightened. "It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?" My hands were shaking. I clenched them into fists. "That black sedan at the RV rental place. The gas station. The rest stop. The highway. That was you, wasn't it?"
A muscle jumped in his cheek. "Yes."
The admission hit me like a slap. Part of me had wanted to be wrong. Wanted it to be paranoia, not reality.
"Jesus Christ, Ethan." I laughed, but it came out bitter. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"I was trying to keep you safe," he said, his voice tight.
"Safe?" I stared at him. "By stalking us across two states?"
"Elena." Mom's hand touched my elbow. I'd been so focused on Ethan that I hadn't noticed her catching up. She was breathing hard, her face pale. Shit. I shouldn't have made her walk so fast.
"Mom, go sit down—"
"I'm fine." She squeezed my arm gently. "But maybe we should talk about this somewhere less... public?"
I glanced around. The couple who'd stopped was still watching. An old woman on a bench across the street had lowered her newspaper to stare. The lady at the produce stand was craning her neck.
Fucking small towns.
"Fine." I turned back to Ethan. "But you better have a damn good explanation."
---
We ended up at a table outside the diner, the same one where Mom and I had eaten pancakes an hour ago. The waitress brought coffee without being asked, probably sensing the tension coming off me.
Mom sat between us, her hands wrapped around her mug. Ethan sat across from me, his posture careful. Controlled.
I hated how calm he looked.
"Talk," I said flatly.
He took a breath. "I was worried about you."
"So you followed us? Without telling me?" I leaned forward. "That's not worry, Ethan. That's—" I caught myself before I said what I was thinking. That's what Julian would do. Control disguised as protection.
"I know how it looks," Ethan said. "But after the bonfire, after what Alexander said—"
"Alexander?" Mom's head snapped up. "What does he have to do with this?"
Ethan's eyes flicked to her, then back to me. "He showed up at that party for a reason. And it wasn't coincidence."
"Everything's a fucking conspiracy with you people," I muttered.
"Elena." Mom's voice held a warning. Then, to Ethan: "What are you talking about?"
Ethan ran a hand through his hair. For the first time, he looked uncertain. "I shouldn't have—look, I was planning to drive up to Virginia anyway. For work. A research trip."
I blinked. "What?"
"There's a program my department runs every year." His words came faster now. "Graduate students take a two-week intensive in Appalachian folk architecture. We drive through Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina—documenting historic structures, interviewing locals." He gestured vaguely. "I'm supposed to join the group in three days."
"Bullshit," I said immediately.
"It's true." He pulled out his phone, scrolled, turned the screen toward me. An email from something called the "Southern Heritage Documentation Project." Dates. Itinerary. His name on the participant list.
I stared at it. Then at him.
"So you just... happened to be driving the same direction we were?"
"Not exactly." He had the decency to look uncomfortable. "When you said you and your mom were leaving on a road trip, I checked the dates. Realized the timing worked out. And after Alexander—" He stopped. "I thought if I was already going to be on the road, I could just... make sure you were okay."
"By hiding in the shadows like a creep?" My voice rose. "You could've just asked to come with us."
"You made it very clear you didn't want me on this trip."
Fuck. He had me there.
Mom shifted in her seat. "Elena did say this was our time together." Her tone was gentle, but pointed.
"I know." Ethan looked at her. "And I respect that. I wasn't planning to approach you. I was just going to stay close enough to—"
"To what?" I interrupted. "Play bodyguard? We don't need protection, Ethan."
"You don't know that."
The certainty in his voice made my skin prickle. "What are you talking about?"
He leaned forward, his voice dropping. "That night at the bonfire, Alexander wasn't making small talk. He was sending a message. And the things I've heard about him, about the Sterling family—" He glanced at Mom. "You said it yourself. They're dangerous."
Mom's fingers tightened around her mug.
"So what?" I said. "You thought Alexander was going to chase us down Route 95? This isn't a mob movie, Ethan."
"No. But rich men with power and too much interest in one woman?" He held my gaze. "That happens every day."
Silence fell over the table. I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him he was paranoid.
But I'd lived in that nightmare for three years. I knew what rich men with power could do.
"Even if that's true," I said slowly, "you should've told me. Not followed us like some—" I broke off, shaking my head. "You scared the shit out of me, Ethan."
"I'm sorry." And he sounded like he meant it. "I wasn't trying to frighten you. I was trying to—"
"Protect her." Mom finished quietly. She was looking at Ethan with an expression I couldn't quite read. "That's what you said before."
"Yes, ma'am."
"By yourself?" She raised an eyebrow. "One man against the entire Sterling empire?"
Something flickered across Ethan's face. "I have friends. Resources. I'm not as helpless as you might think."
"Clearly." Mom's lips twitched. "You tracked us across two states without my daughter noticing until this morning."
"Mom—"
"What?" She turned to me. "He did. And to be fair, sweetheart, you're exhausted. You just lost—" She stopped herself. "You need help. Whether you want to admit it or not."
"I don't need his help," I said stubbornly.
"Maybe not." Mom looked back at Ethan. "But you're already here. And you're already going north." She paused. "Where exactly is this research trip of yours?"
"We're starting in Charlottesville." Ethan's gaze didn't leave my face. "Then heading west through the Blue Ridge."
Mom's breath caught. "The Blue Ridge?"
I remembered. Her wish. The mountains she wanted to see.
"Yes, ma'am."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Elena and I are going there too."
"Mom—"
"We are." She squeezed my hand. "And if Ethan's going to be in the same region anyway..." She looked between us. "Wouldn't it make more sense to travel together? Safety in numbers?"