I’d already asked him the question before, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. They’d hurt him and I wasn’t going to take any chances. If he needed to go to the hospital, I’d take him there in an instant. We could come up with an excuse.
Ezra stared down at my writing for a long moment, then shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. I’ve had a broken cheekbone before. It’s not painful like that.”
I almost asked him how he’d been hurt previously until I remembered it wasn’t my business.
Are you sure you don’t need a doctor?
I underlined “sure” twice.
He snorted and brushed his long brown hair out of his eyes. “I’m homeless. Do you think I can afford a doctor?”
I pointed at myself, but he shook his head fast.
“I don’t need one. You can stop fussing.”
Interest piqued inside me. He answered too quickly with a kind of worried desperation I understood. When I was a teenager, I felt the same way.Were you abused, too, Ezra?I didn’t ask.
I need to go to work today. Will you be okay on your own?
His eyes widened at the words and he narrowed his gaze on me. “You trust me?”
I cocked my head in question.
“I’m homeless. Your house—” He peered around the dining room. “—is nice. Why would you leave me alone? Aren’t you worried I’ll run to the cops?”
No, and that scared me more than leaving a murder witness in my house. I answered with a shake of my head, then smiled. Brushing a finger over his jaw, not too hard so I didn’t cause him pain, I leaned in a little closer.
“I trust you.” The words hurt, but they were worth the pain to see his surprised smile.
“Your downfall,” he teased.
I laughed. My coworkers always shifted away from me when they heard the sound, and I’d learned not to socialize with them. I was there to earn money and that was it. I never liked people much in the first place, which is why my connection to Ezra was surprising on many levels.
Unlike others, Ezra merely laughed with me and nudged my shoulder with his own. “What do you do anyway?”
Lab tech.
“Ah. That explains why you’re good with all the blood and stuff, right?”
I winked at him and rose from the chair. I took his plate to the sink, then filled my travel mug with coffee. I felt his gaze on me the entire time and forced down the desire to go back over to him, maybe kiss him like I’d thought he would do to me last night.
“Do you have plans?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “When?”
“I mean, do you have plans to do it again?”
I didn’t have to ask what he meant this time.Kill. He wanted to know when I was going to kill again. The morbid curiosity on his face made pride swell inside me. I’d never expected to meet someone who wanted to know these things. Everyone else would’ve run to the police by now.
“Maybe.”
He flashed a smile.
“Come on, tell me.”
I shook my head and walked back over to the table.
Are you still hungry? I don’t have much food but can give you money to buy some.
