Chapter Eight #2
Ezra looked at Ricky and muttered, “Are they doing this during a raid?”
Ricky wiped blood off his brow. “Looks like it.”
Over comms, Bateman broke in. “Wrap it up. Structure’s rigged. We clear the zone in ninety seconds.”
“Copy that, bossman” Kai said. “Lighting the match.”
A low boom rolled through the compound as a controlled charge lit up one of the outbuildings. Flames climbed quickly—thick black smoke curling into the sky like a signal to hell itself.
Ezra lifted Sophie into the van and popped her seatbelt on.
Then, he grabbed Ricky’s arm.
“You’re bleeding.”
Ricky smiled. “You should see the other guys.”
“I swear to God if you ever—”
“Hey.” Ricky’s hand came up to cup Ezra’s jaw. “We’re okay. We got her. We got them all.”
Ezra pulled him in hard, foreheads pressed, heat still radiating off their skin from the sprint and the fire.
Behind them, Hogan’s voice echoed over comms, “Kai, I swear to God if you blow that next charge before I clear the perimeter—”
“It’s cute when you beg,” Kai purred.
“Kai—” Hogan’s tone was the perfect mix of frustration and exasperation.
“Relax. Boom in three ... two ... one...”
A second explosion rocked the compound. The rest of the buildings went up in a symphony of fury and flame, lighting the night sky like a battlefield sunset.
Ezra turned to watch, one arm wrapped around Ricky’s waist.
Smoke. Ash. Screams. Justice.
“Burn it all,” Ricky muttered. “Straight to hell.”
The comms clicked again.
“Evac route secure,” Kai reported. “Compound is offline. Targets neutralized. And Hogan—”
“Don’t say it.”
“—save me that dance, baby.”
Hogan sighed so hard it came through the radio like static.
Ezra laughed.
Ricky leaned in, voice low. “Best rescue ever.”
They walked toward the vans, shoulder to shoulder.
Behind them, the monster house collapsed into fire.
Ahead of them, five children waited for a better life to begin.
****
The hum of the engines was low and steady, a lullaby for the exhausted.
Sophia was curled up in one of the reclining seats near the back of the private jet, tucked beneath a fleece blanket two sizes too big.
Her hair was still braided in the neat, too-tight style the compound had forced on her, but strands had started to slip loose around her face. She looked younger in sleep. Softer.
Safe.
Ezra watched her from across the aisle, head resting against the seat back, hand still loosely laced with Ricky’s.
“She’s got them all wrapped around her finger already,” Ricky murmured, voice warm with affection. “Marsh gave her his tablet. Hogan let her brush his hair.”
Ezra snorted softly. “Bateman carried her to the jet. Didn’t say a word when she stole his protein bar.”
“She growled at Kai for making Hogan angry,” Ricky added with a smirk. “And he apologized.”
Ezra chuckled under his breath, then looked back at her, his smile fading into something quieter. “She’s got Van’s eyes.”
“Yeah.” Ricky’s thumb brushed Ezra’s knuckles. “And that little crinkle between her brows. He used to get that exact look when he was trying to make sense of one of Marsh’s spreadsheets.”
“She had it earlier,” Ezra said softly. “When Marsh tried to explain Bluetooth.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the warmth of her presence wrapping around them like another blanket. The mission was over. The monsters were gone. But the weight of what came next ... lingered.
“What about the other girls?” Ezra asked.
Ricky sighed. “Kai’s taking them back stateside. He’s already got three nonprofit contacts lined up—families ready to foster, maybe adopt. Some will go back to relatives. Others...” He trailed off. “He’ll find them homes.”
Ezra nodded slowly. “Good.”
More silence.
Then Ricky shifted in his seat, just enough to turn toward him. “I’ve been thinking.”
Ezra shot him with a side eyed look. “Dangerous.”
“I’m serious,” Ricky said, voice lower now, more vulnerable. “I’ve been thinking about what comes next. For her. For us.”
Ezra held his gaze but didn’t speak.
“I want you at the Ridge,” Ricky said. “With me. I want ... us. There. Together.”
Ezra blinked, surprised. “You mean, like, live there?”
Ricky’s jaw tightened slightly. “Yeah. I mean exactly that.”
Ezra exhaled a long, shaky breath, then leaned in and kissed the corner of Ricky’s mouth. Soft. Solid. Real.
“My life,” he said quietly, “is wherever you are.”
Their foreheads rested together, breath mingling.
“Just—promise me one thing,” Ezra added.
“Anything.”
“You’ll let me redecorate your suite.”
Ricky laughed into his shoulder. “God help me, I forgot who I was dating. But how about this,” he pulled back to look into Ezra’s eyes, “we build our own home, still on the Ridge, but a place for the three of us, with space for Sophia to grow up, a place we can call our own.”
“I would love that,” Ezra breathed as he leaned in and kissed him. A kiss that Ricky swore he could taste the promise within.
They were still kissing when a soft voice drifted over the hum of the engines.
“Uncle Ricky?”
He turned. Sophia was sitting up, bleary-eyed and blinking.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Ricky crouched beside her and spoke in Albanian. “You okay?”
“Where’s Uncle Ezra?”
Ezra leaned over. “Right here, pumpkin.”
She looked between them, eyes big, then reached out a hand and took one from each of them. “I dreamed we all together.”
Ricky felt his jaw drop. She had said that in English. “You did?” He didn’t want to make too big of a deal out of it, and he could see Ezra’s excited look of wonder.
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
Ezra’s answering smile was gentle. “We are.”
Sophia’s brow furrowed in that little Van-crinkle. “Are we going stay together?”
Ezra hesitated. Ricky glanced at him—and then answered.
“We’d like that. If you want that, too.”
Sophia bit her lip. “Because ... family—stay together. Right?”
Ricky felt something twist in his chest.
Ezra nodded. “Yeah, baby. They should.”
She hesitated again, then added shyly, “I want stay. With you.”
“You sure?” Ricky asked softly.
“I learned English from girls,” she said with pride. “So I say yes.”
Ricky couldn’t be any prouder.