Chapter 70
1060words
Me: No. Nothing happened except for that one brief make out moment, which was due to alcohol.
Audience: *signing* Blame it on the alcohol.
Emma: Linda knows, definitely, that she's lying. I love my fiance and I would stand by him through anything because he loves me too.'
Me: That's right. This is the woman I love; the woman I intend to marry; and, Leslie, guess what? She's having my babies. Twins!'
Host: Aw, congratulations to the both of you. That's tremendous news.
Audience: Congratulations!
Me: Thanks.
Host: Well, that's all the time we have today, folks. And you've heard it from the man himself, Ethan Hollen, and his beautiful fiancee, and mother of his unborn twins, Emma Cole.'
Audience: *Loud applause*
Emma and I walked off stage.
'Thank you so much for coming and congratulations on the babies,' the show organizer said to us as we shook her hand.
'Thank you for having us,' Emma said and we made our way to the car. 'Are you alright?' I asked, opening her door.
'Yes. Babe, do you smell something?' she asked as she sat, looking around the car as she threw her purse on the floor.
I leaned my head into the car. There was a scent, like gasoline.
'Emma, get away from the car!' I shouted, but, by instinct, I had already grabbed her wrist, pulling her from the car and running away from it, pulling her with me.
Less than twenty seconds later the entire car went up in flames with a loud explosion. The floor shook from the blast. Car alarms from the cars parked close to mine went off. Glass shattered. Emma began to cry in my arms as I held her tightly near the furthest elevator lobby of the parking lot.
'Shh, baby it's okay. We're okay!' I told her
People from the show began to run toward.
'What happened?' Leslie asked.
'We smelled gasoline and the car exploded just as we got out and ran over here,' I summarized.
'Oh my goodness. Call 911!' she instructed to anyone who had a cellphone in their hands.
Emma's was in the car, along with her purse, and mine had broken in my bag when the force slammed us against the glass of the elevator lobby.
Ethan's POV
'Don't bullshit me, cop. I have a mechanic who services my vehicles every month. I didn't have any leak. If I did, I would've smelled gasoline before leaving home with the car!'
I was in a fit of rage because this stupid cop kept telling me that the explosion was an accident caused by a leak in my gas tank. I knew damn well that I didn't have a leak. I couldn't have a leak when that car was newly bought just two weeks ago. I loved my cars as if they were my children and I gave them the best servicing in the world from top to bottom, exterior to interior.
'Mr. Hollen, calm down; we're looking into it for further investigation.'
'Where's my fiancee?'
'She's just outside this door having a glass of water.'
'She's pregnant and I don't want her being upset anymore. Can we leave now?'
'Yes. We'll call you when further information soon.'
'Uh huh.'
I stood up and went to find my woman. I had already called Luis to pick us up.
'Baby, are you alright?' I asked, rubbing her back and wiping away a single tear from her eye.
'I want to go home,' she answered, softly.
'Luis is on the way. He should be here any minute now.'
'I can't believe that the car exploded. What if you hadn't pulled me out in time? What if I was trapped with my seat belt and I was burned alive with the babies? What if—'
'Emma, baby, stop this. I am not going to let anything happen to you and the babies. I'm here for you now and I'm not going anywhere. Everything will be alright.'
'Everything is not going to be alright! Your mother is dead, Sharon is missing, and someone is out to get us. I don't believe the explosion was an accident. You recently bought that car!'
'Shh. I know that.'
'I don't feel safe in my own bed. I had a terrible nightmare last night; someone shot me in the head, Ethan! I couldn't see the person's face but a gun was raised to my head and I was shot!' she cried.
___________________
'We have to find Sharon. We can't wait until she shows her face to us. I believe she's back and she's out for a kill,' I said to Detective Sam when he came over to my house.
'Is Sharon capable of doing such?'
'Anyone is capable of doing anything. I underestimated the woman. She took my revolver and my mother was shot with one. She is still missing but I believe she's right under our noses, Sam. Emma is pregnant again; I don't want anything to happen to her and my children. I need you to find her.'
'We've never stopped trying to, but she's untraceable.'
'Well, what about fake identities? She is wanted in both countries. She must have changed her appearance and identity.'
'You're right about that. But even if she did, she's made it even harder for us because we won't know where to begin. There're billion of names out there, she could have any one.'
I heaved a frustrated sigh and sat down on the couch with a beer.
'Don't worry, we'll find her.'
'Please do. I'm not comfortable in my own house.'
'Well, how about going away for a while?'
'No. I'm not taking that chance if she's not captured. I'd rather keep Emma here where there're security and alarm systems and cameras.'
'Okay then. I should head back to the station. I'll call you once I find out anything.'
He left.
He'd come over to tell me that the gas pipe beneath my car had been tampered with and there was a timed lighter on the ground, right underneath it. The leakage ran to the lighter and, when the timer went off and the lighter sparked, the car caught fire immediately. It was heaven's work that Emma caught the smell just in time or the four of us would of been toast.
