Page 54 of Allegiance

Shit.

More of the dream hit.

And hit hard.

Oh, Jesus.

He wanted to be sick.

Ethan wasn’t done. In fact, he was making sure that the man grew up and owned what he’d done. He’d been the kid without a good father, and he knew how that destroyed a person.

Elizabeth wanted to spare Dakota that, so he would do what he could do.

“She’s keeping it,” Ethan said. “She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get an ultrasound. She’s raising your child without you because you told her to go. She begged you to tell her to stay, and you told her to have a good life. So she is—not as a wife, but as a mother to the child you’re walking away from because you’re a selfish asshole.”

He heard what he was saying, and he wanted to be sick. How could he not?

Tears filled his eyes as he watched the woodland sprite that he loved, following the delivery men up the stairs.

“I didn’t know,” he whispered. “I honestly didn’t have a clue.”

Ethan patted him on the back.

“If it makes you feel any better, she didn’t know until three days ago. She was alone, scared, and she reached out for help. Now, going forward, you have a few choices. You can be a man and do the right thing, or you can walk. Isn’t that what your own father did, Dakota? Didn’t he run and that is part of why you struggle?”

First, he needed to know.

Then, he’d think this through.

That was how he worked.

“Who did she call?” he asked, staring at the townhouse as he waited for the men to leave. That protective feeling rose up, and he was waiting to make sure no one hurt Eve.

Now, he knew he couldn’t leave.

The man beside him was right. He’d been a product of that kind of damage. Yes, his mother remarried, and he had a really awesome stepfather, but it didn’t change that his real father didn’t give two fucks about him.

He became a Hunter because he wanted to know where his father was.

At his question, Ethan said nothing.

Instead, he looked over when he was silent.

“Who did she call, Blackhawk? It wasn’t me! I need to know!”

At the tone, Ethan’s security moved closer. Saint and Raphael were now standing within three feet of the men.

Just.

In.

Case.

Ethan had his orders.

“Who do you think she called?” he asked. “She called the only person in the whole world who would help her.”

He knew who that would be.