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Tris had initially thought she was guilty, but he’d changed his mind when he’d read her diaries. Those bloody things were red herrings. They were decoys to try to convince anyone looking that she was innocent. We’d all fallen for it so completely that we’d been blindsided. Even in those early days before Zali changed his mind, I don’t think Tris imagined for a second that she’d faked her own death and disappeared overseas.
We never believed her capable of killing Ash.
The truth was horrifying.
An absolute nightmare.
My throat closed up, and I bit back a sob. How could she? He was sunshine and laughter. He was happiness and love contained within a lanky kid.
How could she have killed him?
Why didn’t she just send him home? To us. To all the people who loved him and would have kept him safe from her.
If only she’d called. Hell, Roe would have dropped everything and gotten on a plane in an instant if he’d heard her voice. He would have swum that fucking ocean if it meant getting Asher back.
I would have too.
We fucking loved him.
Why couldn’t she have given him back to us?
He was my brother in all but blood. He’d saved me. He’d been there for me through what I’d thought were my darkest days after losing Dad. They were nothing when his death was added onto my already broken heart.
Hot tears flowed, and I clutched Ez harder, crying into his shoulder. He rocked me gently and held me tight, never letting go. He kissed me wherever he could reach and ran his fingers through my hair, calming me even as he let me cry.
I didn’t know how long we sat there, but it was long enough that Zali came over and sat on the armrest. I wanted to reach for her, to gather her into my arms and clutch her tight. But the sling held my arm fast to my body.
Tenderly rubbing my back, she waited until I’d composed myself enough to pull away from Ez. She wiped my cheeks with her thumb and the backs of her fingers, the tears in her own eyes cascading down her cheeks. Her smile reflected my heartbreak, her lip quivering as she sucked in a breath and tried to compose herself. When she had, she offered me a glass of water and some tablets.
“They’re just paracetamol. Probably won’t even take the edge off, but I’ve got stronger meds—”
“I can’t have them. I need to be alert enough to fly. Flynn’s nowhere near ready to take over.”
Zali nodded and cupped my face, pressing a kiss to my cheek as she stood. “Let’s focus on getting you patched up. We’ll go straight to the hospital once we land in Sri Lanka,” she promised.
I shook my head. “I’ll get us home. I can wait.”
Zali slipped the tablets onto my tongue, and I swallowed them, downing the glass of water she pressed to my lips.
Ez tilted my chin up and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I sighed, a confusing mix of joy and devastation fighting for dominance over me. Everything was upside down except for these four people. They were my rocks. They wanted me safe and well. They wanted me happy. I was home when I was with them.
Ez pressed his lips to mine again, lingering longer before he repeated the action and swiped his tongue along my bottom lip. I let him in, touching my tongue to his in a slow dance.
Without words, he showed me he loved me.
I poured myself into the kiss, losing myself to the horrors of the knowledge we’d discovered that evening. The kiss wasn’t leading anywhere, but it did more than getting off could ever do. We were reconnecting, showing each other what we had in our hearts. I sank into his arms, and when he finally pulled back, I was at peace.
“Thank you for looking after me,” I whispered.
“You never have to ask.”
I smiled, knowing the truth of those words. “You’re a good man, Ez. One I’m proud to say I love.”
He laughed, his eyes lighting up with happiness as he cupped my face in his big palms and kissed me again with a hard press of his lips. He didn’t call me out for still being in the closet—I hadn’t known how to broach the subject with Mum or the rest of my family. I’d been so fucking worried about losing them, but now… now I knew. I was done hiding. I was done being scared and living the way I thought other people wanted me to. The people here with me now made me happy, and I wanted to be able to shout from the rooftops that Zali and her men were mine too.
Ezra’s eyes softened as if he knew what I wanted to do. He nuzzled my nose with his in a ridiculously adorable move and smile-kissed me before adding, “I think our girl wants my spot.”
“Should we make her jealous?” I teased.
