Ezra cooed, squeezing my arm a little tighter. “Do you still speak to her? I bet she’d love to see you.”
I nodded. “I know she would,” I grumbled. “In fact, one day I will. I have a nephew too. He’s probably ten or something now. She’s not with the father, but I make sure she’s able to get by.”
He was looking at me, staring, and I could see those big eyes turn watery. “I wish I had a sibling sometimes, someone to tell things to, and someone who could relate to me.” As he snorted a fake laugh, the tears slipped down his cheeks.
There wasn’t much I could do but let him cry. I had a small tear in my waterline, and with a blink it vanished. “It’s okay,” I told him. “We’re bonded now. You’ve got me to tell things to.”
“Trauma bonded,” he laughed, wiping his tears. “Or whatever Dina said.”
“If I’m going to be your protector, we need some rules,” I said. “Okay, kitten?”
Sitting up straight in the passenger seat, he nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good, I want you to follow every instruction I give you,” I began. “You’re going to follow a protocol of health, that means self-care, and make sure your body is always clean.”
He nodded. “Of course,” he said.
“As my kitten, you’re also to be sheltered from any shit that comes our way, and because of that, we’re going somewhereisolated,” I said. “You’ve got to give me your full trust and control.”
Ezra gestured with open palms pushed towards me. “It’s all yours,” he said. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
After a moment, I glanced at him. His brows were doing this strange dance on his forehead. “Be kind to yourself,” I said. “That’s another rule. I’m not letting you think about the past now, unless it’s for the investigation.”
“I promise.”
I took his hand and kissed the back of it, followed by him kissing my bushy facial hair and all the way up to my exposed cheek. It was nice to feel someone touch me like this, someone so pure, someone not tainted by the darkness that always surrounded billionaires—unethical billionaires anyway. And my sweet Ezra had the proof he needed to take one of them down a peg or two, but maybe not into the ground, though.
***
We found a small gas station on the way up north. We couldn’t go anywhere with too many cameras, so big box stores were off the list. I wasn’t telling him the exact place we were going, but he was clever and could see the road signs.
“Will they be able to find us there?” he asked after a string of questions.
“Maybe,” I told him. “But I have contingencies.”
The roads toward Canada were quiet, but that’s not where we were going. Well, not exactly. We were heading to an island, which it would take a boat ride to get to, and if anyone decided todescendon us, they’d have a hell of time getting past the security.
Ezra had slept a little since, and we were right past a cute little place named Watertown. We headed right through it,no stopping, the sky becoming an even more intense dark. The thread of thunder wasn’t quite there, but the clouds loomed.
“Okay, kitten,” I whispered, waking Ezra. His teddy was clutched to his chest, and he almost yanked its head right off when I woke him. “It’s okay, baby. We’re just going to take a boat ride now.”
He grumbled and stretched. “Okay.” He looked at me funny, eyes narrowed in on me. “So, you own a boat?”
I chuckled, pulling up into Millen Bay. There was certainly a boat in the dock with my name on it—not literally, but The Sweet Delilah, my small yet decked out with tech boat, was in the bay, docked and ready for me whenever I needed her. “I own a lot of things,” I told him. “Like the house we’re about to go to.”
“An island,” he grumbled. “How long will we be there?”
After I parked up, I bunched up his adorable cheeks. “Until this is over or I decide it’s time to leave.”
He nodded with a big sleepy smile. “Okay. Do you think we have enough food?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I told him. “Let me take care of it, and of you.”
At the door, a lumberjack-looking man was standing, and he would’ve startled me like he did Ezra, who had fear in his eyes. It was Arnie, who worked the docks and took care of things. Not an official Sanctum asset, but if he wanted to go in for training, he could.
Out of the car, we stood level with each other. He was just as muscular in his fisherman’s overalls and no T-shirt.
“You should’ve called,” he said, barely moving his lips. He could’ve been made from stone. “I’ve just repaired part of the jetty—some rich asshole rammed his yacht into it. You’re going to ruin my work.”
