Page 18 of Desperate Victory
It had been a really long several days. “I get it,” I said, smoothing my hand down Ezra’s arm and pulling all the fire in his eyes toward me.
His temper had never frightened me. Nor would it begin to bother me now. The scowl on his face grew fiercer.
“Adam has a gift for making everything an imperious order, even when it’s just him trying to show you he cares.” Surprise rippled across Adam’s face, but I ignored him for the moment. Ezra needed to hear this. “How many times has he bossed me around? Thrown me in a car? Or just picked me up and hauled me out of a place?”
“I don’t know,” Bodhi said slowly, his voice dropping. “How many, Reed?”
“Not the point she’s trying to make,” Pretty Boy interceded and it took everything I had to not smile. Because he was not defending Adam. “But I’ve seen that overprotectiveness up close. Sometimes it was necessary.”
Now I did stick my tongue out at him and Pretty Boy winked as Adam scrubbed a hand over his face. Impatience? Irritation? Regret? Maybe some odd combination of all three?
As much as I’d like to poke at him, I refocused on Ezra. His scowl shifted to a more troubled expression. “You had no idea,” he murmured. “I’m not a child.”
“Nor am I…” I raised my hand to Ezra’s cheek and he leaned into the contact. That was a good sign. “But Adam only knows one way to protect who and what he cares about.”
“Still kind of sucks,” Ezra muttered and I grinned. The anger was fleeting and there was more speculation in his eyes now.
“Maybe, but you’re also still recovering and while I won’t tell you that you can’t drink, I will say you shouldn’t. Not while we’re getting this cardiac issue under control and not while we have so much else on our plates.”
Guilt flared to life in his eyes and I shook my head.
“We need your brain, Ezra. We need you to be sharp and focused. I get it if you need the drink because it’s a lot right now.” Now I sighed. “I really do get that. But can you try, for just a little while, without? We’ll see what we can do to distract you and blunt the edges?”
Ezra leaned forward and kissed me. It wasn’t particularly passionate at all, but a fierce connection. His lips held mine as he cupped the back of my head. The move was all aggressive demand coupled with feverish declarations.
“I love you too,” I whispered against his lips as he eased back. The long sigh of his tension releasing echoed through me.
“Thank you, Kotyonok.”
“Always,” I promised him. Bodhi told me to see the flaws, and I did. But it didn’t make me love them any less.
“I’m still waiting for an answer, Reed,” Bodhi said and I glanced up to find Adam wearing a thoughtful expression as he studied Ezra and I both. I got it, I really did. He was scared to death Ezra was going to get himself killed.
So was I.
But there were ways to do this that weren’t quite so damn domineering. Even if he was hot as fuck when he got pushy.
“Tell you what,” Adam said, dragging his gaze off of us to look at Bodhi. “Raincheck, you can kick my ass for stupid decisions later.”
“It’s a date.” Bodhi nodded once, then looked to me eyebrows raised. Did I need him to do anything else right now?
I shook my head. “I am hungry and we still have a lot to talk about.”
The words galvanized everyone. They made breakfast for dinner and it was fine by me. Instead of trying to help or retreating, Ezra stuck close to me. When the coffees were ready Adam delivered them. Pretty Boy claimed the chair on my other side while Adam took the one on the other side of Ezra.
Bodhi brought the plates of food over and honestly, it was probably the kindest meal I’d ever eaten. Between the coffee, eggs, and bacon, I was able to push all the cloying scent of death away.
Gradually, through the meal, Ezra relaxed. “Kotyonok,” he said. “I am sorry…”
“Nope, nothing for you to be sorry about,” I told him but the mutiny in his eyes told me this was going to be an uphill battle.
“Ezra, Mayhem is right. This isn’t your fault. You hired him to do a job. The fact he was also working for your father is just another strike against him. Not you.” Pretty Boy laid it out like it was fact. “Betrayal sucks. We’ve all faced it on some level. The problem is solved, for the moment. If you really need to beat yourself up for it, we can do that, but it won’t help you or Mayhem right now.”
“You can take a raincheck with Reed,” Bodhi offered and if I hadn’t been watching him, I might have missed that hint of a smile. “I agree with Milo and Lainey. The betrayal was not yours.”
The trouble frown he’d worn through the whole meal eased, but it didn’t go away. “I hate… I hate that my father took advantage of me protecting you to put you in more danger.”
Not shying away from it, I nodded. “I hate that your father does anything to you at all.” I didn’t have to focus on Adam to see his hand clench or the muscle ticking in his cheek. Wallace Graham needed to go.