“Yeah, count me out. I have trauma with regards to basements. I’m not going down there,” I tell both men.
“You sure?” Greg asks.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I tell him with a smile.
“Okay, if you’re hungry, you can help yourself to some food in the kitchen. Or maybe make something if you’d like.”
“You remember that I’m a disaster in the kitchen, right?” I ask him.
“Oh, right. Please don’t go near my kitchen. Just sit here quietly and watch TV or something,” he says.
I laugh. “Got it.”
Ethan gives me a single nod as both men make their way to the basement.
Chapter 9
(Ethan)
______
I don’t like the guy, I don’t like his attitude, and I don’t like his behavior around Audra. But I have to admit. He’s great at what he does.
We spend about thirty minutes in his nerd basement before he can connect me to Lucas and my team.
“Hello?” Lucas says, his voice cracking thanks slightly to the signal jammer courtesy of Greg.
“Hey, man. It’s Ethan. I’m alive,” I tell him.
I hear an exhale of relief over the phone.
“What the fuck, Ethan? We’ve been worried sick the past few days. We wanted to come to Mexico immediately, but we didn’t get the green light. The higher-ups wanted us to confirm you were alive before heading there. Every one of us has been going out of our minds with worry. We’ve got local contacts out looking for you; no one found anything.”
“I’m sorry, man. I fucked up. The terrorists got me, but I was able to escape. Now I need to get out,” I explain.
“What do you need?” Lucas asks.
“First, I need you guys here for damage control. Then I need alot of cash and possibly an airtight fake passport from Sam. I’ll explain when you get here.”
“We’ll be there in a few hours,” Lucas says before hanging up.
I turn to Greg.
“Thanks, man.”
“Don’t sweat it. I take it you’ll want to lay low here until your teammates get here?” he questions.
I nod.
“If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Sure, it’s fine. Come on, let’s get back to Audra. I’ll leave the line open so your friends can track your location.”
I give him another grateful nod before we head back up.
*****
All four of them arrive about six hours later. I wouldn’t even call what they do arrival. It’s more like they burst into the house like they’re ready to fight.
