“Don’t make yourself sick.”
“We can’t lose him,” I say.
“We won’t. It’s after lunch, and I keep water and snacks.” He nods over his shoulder. “I have a cooler behind my seat.” I glance behind him. “Would you get me a water?” I lean between the seats and unzip the bag.
“It doesn’t feel like hours since breakfast.” I lost time as we drove. I grab a water bottle for him.
“Take one for yourself,” he says, and I lick my lips. I notice how dry my mouth is, and do as he suggests. “I have some jerky in there. Share some with me.”
“You’re prepared.” I open the bottle and hand it to him. Digging inside again, I grab the jerky.
“Always.” He drains half the bottle and hands it back. I re-cap it and drop it in the cup holder before opening mine.
“Where do you think he’s going now?” I take a drink, and pass him a beef stick.
“My guess…to wherever he’s planning on taking them. He either already has a place and is learning the route or is searching for the perfect place.”
I shake my head and stare out the window, nibbling on the snack.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve followed someone,” I say quietly. Ezra has shared many things about his life, and if I didn’t trust him enough, I wouldn’t be with him. “The day before we met, I killed a man. Well, Heath finished him, but he was on the verge. I’m not ready to tell you all the details of why, yet, but he was a nightmare from my past. I waited years to take my revenge. I didn’t know where he was until recently, but I hadn’t looked. Once I believed I was ready, I tracked him down. I didn’t do all the research you did, yet I watched him for a while. I knew where he would be, and I went there with the intent of killing him.”
“Was he the first man you planned to kill?” he asks.
“Yes. I’ve built up the rage over the years, and I knew I could do it.”
“What changed?” I don’t sense any judgment, just curiosity.
“I had hit him, stabbed him, and watched his blood flow. As I was doing it, I told him all the emotions he made me feel as if he cared. It was therapeutic. His heart was barely beating, and I couldn’t do the one thing I swore I would do.” I want to gag thinking about his dick, and I set aside the food. “I was contemplating how to end him when Heath showed up. I don’t hide many things from him, but I did this.”
“Why?”
“I knew he would do it for me, but I needed to take my power back. It was personal. ” I lean back. “I couldn’t do it.” I roll my head, looking at him. “I felt like a failure.”
“Would he have died from his wounds?”
“Yes, he didn’t have long.”
“Then you failed at nothing. Did you feel better after you told him all the ways he was a piece of shit?”
My lips twitch. “Yeah.”
“Would you have felt any better if you ended it?”
I frown and think about the moment.
“I don’t think so,” I mumble.
“You didn’t fail. He was at your mercy the entire time, and it caused him immeasurable pain. You said what you needed to. I think you are brave and powerful. It took guts and strength to push aside what he put you through to be in his presence again.”
“You don’t know what he did,” I whisper.
“I don’t have to. I believe in you, and you must have had a good reason to kill him.” He tugs on my fake hair. “I’m proud of you. If Heath hadn’t intervened, you would have buried him, and if he were still breathing, I would tear him into pieces.”
“Without knowing the reasons,” I rasp.
“I trust you. I help the people I care about no matter the task,” he says. As I’m trying to wrap my head around his statement, his phone rings. “Will you answer that, baby?”
“Uh…sure.” I pick up his phone, and Shade’s name is on the screen. I answer, and the car's system connects.
