I leaned forward, brows furrowed. “Still doesn't explain why it landed here?” I asked, thinking over everything.
“It doesn't matter.” Ezra’s voice iced over. “We’ll handle them. Same as every other infestation that crawls our way.” Her gazedidn't waver. Judgment passed and sentence delivered, their fate sealed.
“So, E,” Calix eased out, “when were you going to tell us about the parents meeting with other organizations?”
Ezra’s jaw clenched, and the smallest tic trembled under her left eye, betraying the gears turning behind her calm exterior. She straightened, her words measured. “They were already traveling. I just… suggested they visit a few groups, see how things were done. Then if something came up, maybe lend a hand.”
Aniyah’s brows shot up. “A hand?” She knew that we never did anything for nothing in return. Out of the kindness of our hearts?Ha! Yeah, right.
Riot’s voice followed, flat, suspicious. “Why?”
Ezra’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Because favors matter, especially the kind owed by leaders.” Her tone softened, becoming much too smooth. “Just in case we ever need to call one in.”
The room went quiet until Calix did a slow clap, cutting through like sarcasm wrapped in applause. “Of course,” he said with a humorless laugh. “Our Ezra is always ten steps ahead.”
Riot’s frown deepened, the realization catching up to her before it did to the rest of us.
Ezranevermade any moves without a plan. Power was her favorite language. I thought back over the last few years—planning this whole legitimate side of the business for us, making us so much money that I never knew what she planned to do with it all. Now she wanted to bank favors from overseasorganizations. The picture was forming before I wanted to admit it.
“So,” I said, trying for a laugh, “is the world the endgame?”
Ezra’s eyes flicked across each of us, measuring our reactions. My heart skipped a beat.
She didn’t deny it.
I almost wanted to ask her, ‘The world, E? What the fuck are you going to do with the whole damn world?’
When she finally spoke, her fingers flicked out like all of this wasn’t that big of a deal. “We’re years out from anything like that,” she confirmed. “I’ll bring it up when we’re ready, then we can take a vote, of course. You all have a say, like always.”
Good old Ezra. Not an outright lie, but she would set up the board so we were rigged to win. She was going to make it hard for us to refuse her when the time came.
Aniyah grinned, unbothered. “Sounds like fun. I’ve always wanted to have a second location in Paris.”
Calix glared at Aniyah before turning back to Ezra with a groan. “E, taking on other organizations means we need intel, funds, and weaponry they don't know how to combat. We would also need to get some men on the inside.” His fingers tapped on his desk in a steady, anxious rhythm. “That’s a war plan.”
Ezra nodded. “Which is why we’re not there… yet. This is long-term, years-long.” She glanced at her screen, feigning distraction. “I told you, Cal, I’ll bring it to a vote when the time comes.”
When he sputtered, not making coherent words, she folded her hands in front of herself, staring at all of us. “Until then, don’t worry about it. When the time comes and I put it to a vote, if you don't think we’re ready or the risk is too great, then you can always say no, and it will be squashed. Simple.”
Thinking over the bomb she’d just dropped, none of us spoke.
Ezra sighed, breaking the silence. “For now, our focus stays on the home front and this substance. We need to find the source, the creator, and we need to eliminate them for good. Do you all agree?”
“Agreed,” we said one by one, even though we all knew her plan wasn’t over. It was just beginning.
Ezra was like that—a bulldozer when it came to what she wanted or thought was right. It was what made her such a great, effective leader.
We said our goodbyes. With my life the complicated mess it already was, the call had given me more to think about than I wanted, but she was right. I didn't have time to think of five to ten years down the future, but if I did…
I closed my eyes and let my mind wander.
I was at the same kitchen table, a small spoon clinking against the bowl. A child with turquoise eyes and ash-white hair looked up at me, pointing to the spoon for more. As the front door shut, a voice called out my name, making my heart race. Conrad. He was home.
Deslen padded into the room, a baby cradled on his shoulder. His laugh was soft as he kissed the crown of my head and settled down beside me.
A set of growls came from the backdoor. A large black wolf and a little white one padded through the door, tails sweeping against the floor before they came my way. The feelings of home and love took over my body.
I opened my eyes, knowing then and there that this was what I wanted.
