"Help me," he grunts once his head is clear, and I release him to crouch by the hole to reach in with him. When I come in contact with skin and muscle I expect to be pulling Rez out, but once the arm clears and I see the golden glint of arm hair in the dim light, I realize it's Zeke. Fear hits me seeing how lifeless his hand looks and I bare down, desperate to free him. It's a tight squeeze, and I worry we'll have to dislocate his shoulder to free him when something pushes heavily from behind to release him from the grave. Lisa slips out once he is clear. He’s paler than normal, eyes sunken in, blue lips and fingernails; he’s unconscious and his skin is clammy. I quickly check his pulse and chest to see if he is breathing to see if we’re too late, though his pulse is weak, his breathing is extremely rapid and shallow.But he’s alive!
“Is he—is he…?” Rez asks, poking her head out of the hole, looking pale herself.
“He’s alive but extremely weak. We need to get him home,” I explain. JP let’s out a sigh of relief and nods his head before helping Rez out of the hole.
“Where did you get the book?” JP asks Rez, and I notice she’s gripping a large, dirtied tome of some kind to her chest.
“It was in his hands so I think it’s important,” Rez replies and gives us an anxious look.
I nod before I crouch down and carefully pick up Zeke’s limp body and hold him against me as I let out a sigh.My brother is finally back where he should be, with family. I can’t believe I’ve let him down this badly.I thank the Fates that we found him alive as I lead the way back down the tunnel. It’s time to get our brother home, and that’s one thing I excel at.
ChapterForty-Eight
I DIDN’T SEE THAT ONE COMING
Rez
Getting back to the dorm is a breeze. Once we get out of the tunnel, Knox changes into Baron once again and flies us back to the dorms, landing on the balcony. JP gracefully jumps off and carries Zeke into his room where he begins to clean him up, while Knox calls his dad and I get the pleasure of calling my favorite doctor. The next two hours at the guys’ apartment is a whirlwind of drama. Dr. Steinbeck comes to the rescue and sets Zeke up with a blood transfusion since it’s obvious he hasn’t been eating. I don’t think the Rebels took him anymore, not when that lab/hole had so many things that screamed Zeke, so clearly it was a place he went to on his own. Which brings up the questions: why he wasn’t eating and what he was living on.
After he’s set up with the transfusion, Chief Cloak storms in and demands a report of what happened. JP and Knox carefully weave a tale of how we found Zeke. JP kept his word, and when he mentions the Sulks and how a Rebel popped out of it like a jack rabbit killing Fish Face, thankfully he doesn’t include me in the details. With that information, he doesn’t wait before pulling Knox to go with him to patrol. They’re going to check out the area where the Sulks were last seen along with the area where they found me in the Ever Woods.
After that, it’s a waiting game with our stressed out, but also relieved, group. Zeke is found, after being missing for weeks, and though he’s not in the best shape, he’s alive. We all find spots throughout the apartment to wait things out and process what we know.
As soon as Dean Caldron gets here, Levi pulls him to the side and they disappear down the hallway. I wouldn’t think much of it, but Levi seemed really upset as he paced back and forth before Dean Caldron arrived, running his fingers through his hair. I’d asked him if it was about Zeke, but he pushed off my question and I’m not one to force anyone to talk even though his actions sting.
Moni and Chester are sitting out in the living room quietly watching TV, but my guess is it’s just background noise as they watch everything unfold. JP’s in the kitchen cooking up a storm, but I suspect it’s his way of relieving stress.
Uneasy that I’m not doing something and don’t know anything, I walk back into Zeke’s bedroom and sit down next to him as Dr. Steinbeck puts away his stethoscope. “He’ll be alright, Nerezza. The biggest concern we faced was the Hypovolemic shock, but the blood transfusion is helping,” he explains before he gives me a reassuring smile. “It’s good you found him when you did. All he needs now is rest. Call me though, if anything else comes up or if you have questions. I’m sure you have me on speed dial by now.” He nods, and I give him a small smile as he walks out of the room.
I shift further up on the bed and lean against the headboard. Gently lifting and placing Zeke’s head into my lap, I run my fingers through his damp hair. JP has already cleaned him up and dressed him in lounge pants and covered him with a duvet. There’s color back into his skin, giving him that peachy glow, and his breathing is stronger to my relief.
“I’m so sorry, Zeke. I feel like it’s my fault that things got so bad and you even felt like you had to get away from here.” My voice comes out in a whisper as my eyes fill with tears.
“It’s not your fault,” a smooth as honey voice chimes in. Standing in the doorway of Zeke’s bedroom is none other than Mayor Abernathy. “Mind if I come in,” he states, not really asking.
He walks in and sits down in a chair from Zeke’s desk, making himself at home. His eyes take on a remorseful look as he gazes at his son’s form, and I try not to squirm. This feels like I’m intruding on their private moment. I start to slide out from underneath Zeke’s head when Abernathy stops me.
“No, stay…Please,” he says, his voice breaking on his plea. I meet his eyes for a moment before I look back down at Zeke’s peaceful-looking face. “He would want you to stay.”
What does one say to that?
“He’s always paved his own path. You tell him to take the easy way, the one to the right, and Ezekiel would shake his head, smirk, and state he’s taking the other path.” He chuckles and glances up at me. “So you can’t blame yourself for his choices, Nerezza.”
He takes a deep breath and drops his head. Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on his knees and lets his hands hang between his legs. “I’m sorry that our decision when you got here has affected your relationship with the boys. It was not a variable we had factored in.”
I feel raw. After everything I’ve been through recently and the fact I still haven’t found Lynx, I don’t even know how to react to Abernathy.
“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult,” I confess.
“Take it as a fact,” he retorts, and all I can do is nod.
“Well I accept your apology, but did it ever occur to you to ask? Ask me to work with you instead of having your kids spy on me?” I look down and see Zeke’s eyebrows furrow, and I smooth them out with my thumb before going back to playing with his hair to keep soothing him while he rests. “I would have been happy to work with you since I wanted out of this shitshow just as much as you wanted me gone,” I admit.
Abernathy leans back and brings his ankle up to his other knee. “To be completely transparent with you Nerezza—No. That thought never crossed our minds. The first thought that was voiced was to put you down,” he states matter of factly, and my body stiffens as I let his words sink in.
They were talking about killing me?
“But we questioned you, which didn’t turn up much information, so we decided on this course of action. Obviously we were wrong, and for that I am truly sorry. I wanted to come in here and check in on Ezekiel and to personally apologize for my behavior,” he says and stands up, fixing his suit jacket. He walks over to the edge of the bed and pulls out a USB drive and lays it on the comforter.
