He’s finally caught on to why I’m freaking out.
Derek.
If Derek catches wind of this, he could potentially have one helluva payday by offering information. And if he doesn’t care about the money, he could do it anonymously just to ruin Zeke and me. He could tell the media about the things Zeke did to pay his rent. He could lie and say we had an affair. Or if he’s smart, he’ll blackmail me for a shitload of money because he knows I’ll protect Zeke at all costs.
Until now, Derek didn’t knowmyreal name or identity, but by printing Zeke’s name alongside mine, he’ll know exactly who I am.
Hugging Zeke to my chest, I address my mother.
“Zeke has had a hard life and, like most of us, has donethings he isn’t proud of, but no, there’s no record of arrest or anything like that. But his ex could be a problem. Abigproblem.”
“How so?” my dad asks.
Clearing my throat, I finally enlighten everyone about the real issue.
“Zeke’s ex, Derek, the asshole who put him in the hospital, never knew my real name, nor did he know how much I’m worth. By printing Zeke’s full name in connection to mine, there’s a damn good chance he’s going to try to extort a lot of money from me in return for his silence about things Zeke would rather not have aired to the world. Derek and I…uh…” I rub the back of my neck. “We may have had an altercation one night that ended with Derek in the ER. He knows Zeke is my Achilles’ heel and that I’ll do anything to protect him. And while Zeke and Ididn’thave an affair, I am responsible for physically taking him away from Derek, and he would love nothing more than to hurt us both for that, I’m sure.”
I scan the room, taking in my family’s faces, and I can’t help but notice Lukas looks awfully pale suddenly, but it’s my mom who speaks.
“Zeke, honey, Talon’s dad and I have to know, and I’m so very sorry for asking, but I hope you understand why we’re asking, butareyou with our son for his money?” Zeke opens his mouth to answer, but my mom holds up a hand while I sit in mortified, angry silence. “If the answer is yes and you walk away right now, I will write you a check for two million dollars. We’ll handle the press if you sign an NDA and agree to never contact him again, and we’ll all move on.”
I don’t know where he finds the strength, but Zeke stands and moves to the center of my father’s study to address everyone.
In an eerily calm voice, Zeke makes my heart swell with love to the point of bursting.
“I understand your concerns, Mrs. Devereaux. All of them,” he says. “I have never had money. I have never had a family. And until Talon, I’d never met someone who made me feel like those things were a possibility for me. It’s always been important to me that I stand on my own two feet, even when life kept knocking me down. But despite my best efforts to find independence, I was drowning when I met Talon, who I actually thought was trying to take my job, if you can believe it,” he says with a smile. “Every day around three o’clock, he’d bring me a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, and that simple act quickly became the highlight of my day. He showed up for me when there was no one else. He advocated for me when I couldn’t advocate for myself. He believes in me as a survivor when everyone else sees me as a victim. I fell in love with Talon long before I knew who he was, and I’m sure it’s hard to believe, but I’d love him just the same if his net worth was as low as mine. People see him for his wallet, but I see his heart, and I’m not willing to walk away from that unlesshetells me to go. So, with all due respect, you can keep your money, because the way I feel about Talon is worth more than your entire empire.”
I don’t even remember standing up, but I’m on Zeke in two seconds flat, pressing my lips to his, the presence of my family be damned.
“I love you,” Zeke whispers.
“I love you, too,” I reply, meaning the words now more than ever.
I thought Zeke would be scared when I explained that Derek might threaten to spill details about their relationship or lie about ours. I thought he would be pissed knowing Derek might try to extort money from me. I’m ashamed to admit that the one response I hadn’t counted on was such a well-spokendefense of our relationship to my family, people who had just accused Zeke of the one thing he was adamant he never wanted.
Suddenly, a broken whisper sounds from my right.
“I just wanted to protect you.”
My eyes flash to Lukas, who now looks a sickly shade of green.
“What? Luke, are you okay?” I ask because he’s not making any sense.
“I just wanted to protect you, Tal. You’re too nice for your own good. The article was only supposed to?—”
“IT WAS YOU?!” I yell, pushing Zeke behind me as I spin toward my brother. “WHAT THE FUCK, LUKAS? YOU TOLD THEM HIS NAME!How could you do this to me? Tohim?YouKNEWwhat he went through! I talked to you fromHIS HOSPITAL ROOM WHEN I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE!” I bellow.
Suddenly, there’s a hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off, wanting my brother to answer for this.
Keeping his eyes pinned to the floor, Lukas says, “I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand, Tal. You have to believe me. And it was just supposed to be theonearticle. I just…” He cuts his eyes to Zeke. “I just wanted to scare Zeke a little, make him see what being associated with our family can be like. It’s not a world you can just jump in and out of. Our choices have consequences.”
“Zeke knows far more about that thanyou do, obviously,” I snarl.
Luke drops his head into his hands.
“I’m so fucking sorry. You wear your heart on your sleeve, and you have to know what this looks like from the outside, right?” he asks, desperate and grasping at straws.
“No, Lukas. I don’t.Youshould’ve asked me what it waslike on theinside.I tried to buy Zeke meals because he couldn’t afford to eat, and he left the fucking bag in the refrigerator, untouched. I tried to buy him a car when he got out of the hospital so he could have his independence, and he refused. El took him shopping with my credit card and explicit instructions to buy him anything he wanted.” I pull out my phone and scroll back to my conversation with Eloise from two days ago and flip the phone around for him to see. “AND ALL HE AGREED TO BUY WERE SOCKS, YOU ASSHOLE.”
