“Oh, geewizz, thanks,” I hissed sarcastically, “How kind of you to allow me to go to my father’s funeral.” I tossed my pen down onto the table. “I wasn’t asking if I could go. I was telling you that I will be going and I won’t let you stop me.”
Again, my anger washed over the top of his head as a pang of jealousy curled around my stomach, wishing I were more like him, where nothing affected me. I walked this earth as a bundle of rage, ready to be tipped over the edge, whereas he walked this earth playing it cool, nothing to worry about, everything will solve itself. Annoying. Except I did discover the one thing that gets to him is me associating with other men. On the surface, it seemed he was concerned I was plotting and scheming against him, but I wondered if he was jealous of me becoming romantically involved with someone.
I could use this weakness against him and drive him completely mad.
“One or two of us will be going with you,” he informed me.
“What? I don’t think so,” I argued.
He grunted, amused, “You have no choice, sweetheart.” I was to mouth off that I’d sneak away without them knowing, but the damn train schedule dictated my escape.
“And don’t think about going without us,” he added as if he knew what I was thinking.
“I don’t want you there,” I spat, moving my chair away to lengthen the space between us.
“No, you might not want us there, but you’ll probably need us there,” he said firmly.
“How so?” I asked in confusion. “I'm pretty independent.”
Another smirk stretched across his dial as he leaned in, “You’ll need protection because of who will be at your father’s funeral.”
I shook my head. “No, we already have plenty of security. That’s already covered.”
He grunted as if there was a little secret he was reluctant to share. “You need protection from those on the inside, not from the outside.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, “Like…Leslie, my stepmother.”
He nodded his dark blond head.
“What do you know?” I pointed my finger at his face. “Is there something you know that I don’t?”
“Do you know who her nephews are?” he said, taking a snapshot of the notes from our Finance class, then enhanced the size so he could read them easily, while my head was spinning.
“No, who?” I snapped at him, in no mood to play games.
“I’ll give you a clue…” he hesitated to increase the intensity and play on my patience, then chewed the inside of his cheek before adding, “One of the nephews asked you out on a date.”
My head snapped up, then I turned to face Ezrah, who licked his bottom lip, “James?”
“Yeah, James and Declan York are your stepmother's nephews,” he filled me in.
“Bullshit,” I laughed, “Surely, James would’ve told me.”
Ezrah made a face, “Surely he would’ve told you…” he mocked me a little, “Unless they were trying to fuck you over.”
The missing pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place, “I always knew he wasn’t truly interested in me, like there was an ulterior motive, and I thought at first, he was trying to avenge you guys.”
“Could be two birds with one stone,” he said, placing his phone into his bag and standing up to leave, “I gotta talk to someone about the meeting with the detective, so I’ll see you later.”
“Oh?” I weird pull on my heart took me by surprise as I didn’t want him to leave at this moment, when I was vulnerable andtrying to digest what he just told me. But then I internally cursed myself for being so stupid. “See you, bye.”
I heard his footsteps walking away, but my mind was trapped, fixated on the Yorks, my stepmother, and the harrowing details of my father’s death. My head spun, forcing me to bury my face in my hands—bereaved, hollow, yet terrifyingly angry. Then I heard footsteps returning, the long strides instantly familiar. I looked up to find Ezrah gazing down at my shattered face. His eyes softened, a rare hint of sympathy appearing as his large knuckles brushed gently against my burning cheek.
“We’ll take care of you,” he faltered, before quickly correcting himself, “I mean… we won’t let them touch you at the funeral.” I nodded, paralyzed by a feeling of utter hopelessness. His hand cupped my chin, lifting my gaze to his, and he leaned down to plant a kiss on my lips that felt entirely different than before.
