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He arched a brow. “Answering the door before my cousin bangs it off its hinges.”
“Absolutely no. What did Christa tell you?”
“I’m not broken, Savannah.”
I pointed behind him. “Bed.”
“How about the couch? I don’t need everyone gathering around me like I’m on my death bed. Besides, there’s only one person that I want in bed with me.”
The nerve of the man—he went and winked.
“You think you’re some kind of charmer, do you?” It was purely exasperation.
A grin split his face. “My mom tells me I’m a pro.”
“Fine, you get on the couch, but if Christa catches wind of it, I won’t be held responsible.”
“I promise she never thought I was going to listen to begin with.”
“It seems you come with some kind of reputation,” I said as I moved to the door just as he was sitting on the couch.
“My reputation is spotless.” He smirked as he put his feet up on the ottoman.
I had to smother a smile, not even knowing what to do with him like this. Hell, did I ever know what to do with him?
I undid the deadbolt and opened the door. Dakota was there with her son, Kayden, hooked on her hip.
Ryder was to the side of her, vibrating with anxiety. His question roiled with the power of a threat. “Where is he?”
I widened the door. “On the couch.”
Ryder blew past me. I could tell he was terrified, needing to see for himself that Ezra was okay. Stopping a couple feet from the couch, he loomed over Ezra with his tattooed hands curled into fists.
“Take a breath, man, it was nothing,” Ezra told him, his voice placating.
“If someone takes a blade to my cousin, it’s not nothing,” Ryder spat.
“The hazards of being a cop.”
“Then get a different damned job.”
Dakota cringed from where she was still on the stoop, and she hugged her son closer as she stepped in, the words held below her breath. “Ryder might have come unglued when I told him what happened.” She peeked at Ezra then returned her attention to me. “How is he?”
“I honestly think he’s fine.”
She stepped farther inside, and I shut the door behind her. Kayden clapped when he realized where he was, jumping in her hold as he pointed at Ezra. “Hi, Uncle Ezwa. I see you.”
Affection stretched wide across his face, Ezra pointed back. “I see you.”
I melted a little.
“I’m making coffee. Would anyone like some?” I asked, hoping to break the tension that seethed from Ryder.
“No thanks. I’ll have plenty when I get into the café,” Dakota said, “and I think my man might be a little hot right now to stomach it.”
I cringed. “I’m sorry to let you down today.”
Warmth traipsed across Dakota’s features. Her high, brown ponytail swished around her shoulders when she shook her head. “Are you kidding me? If you weren’t staying here with him, then I’d be the one taking the day off. Don’t think twice about it.”
“Thank you.”
Reaching out, she squeezed my hand. “We take care of each other around here, Savannah.”
My heart clenched, and my nod was shaky.
“I’ll take one, if you don’t mind, since you won’t let me off the couch.” Ezra’s razzing cut into the moment Dakota and I were sharing.
I sent him a look, and he grinned like he was completely innocent.
A buzz fluttered inside, and I kept getting tossed between the severity and lightness that Ezra was trying to maintain.
I dipped my head and rounded the island into the kitchen, rising up on my toes and grabbing a mug from the cabinet where I’d remembered them being when I’d been here for dinner last week. I poured it then carefully carried the steaming cup into the living room.
Ryder sat down on the ottoman across from Ezra.
The guy looked like a dark storm. His black hair was disheveled where he kept tugging his hands through the longer locks, his being whirring with angst.
“Do you have any idea who this bastard is?” Ryder kept his voice low in what I could only assume was an attempt to keep it from Kayden’s little ears.
Dakota had sat on the other end of the sectional, and Kayden climbed down and went directly for the toy box under the opposite window.
“No.” Ezra didn’t hesitate. My heart stalled for a single beat, the same as my footsteps.
Part of me wanted to shout it, tell Ryder that Ezra was keeping a vital piece of information concealed. I was terrified of Ezra being alone against whoever this monster was.
But Ezra had trusted me with it, and I needed to prove that I’d earned that trust.
I gathered myself and walked the rest of the way to him, and I slowly handed him the cup.
Ezra looked up at me. Gaze melted honey. Soft and clearly trying to keep out the trepidation of what had happened last night. When he accepted the mug, his fingers brushed mine.
