Chapter Five
EZEKIEL
After what I’ve just done, I don’t take the bag off Riley’s head until we’re in the car and on the road. There goes the faction of thugs we had a whole family meeting about. If anything, at least some good came out of it.
I stop in a parking spot, a few blocks out from the warehouse where Orlando took her.
When I get the sack off Riley’s head, her eyes are red and bloodshot, and tears are pouring from them.
I can’t blame her. What just happened to her is probably the most terrifying thing that can happen to a woman, being abducted.
I’m just lucky I was there to see the van.
I’d never be able to live with myself if anything happened to Riley.
“Let me get you home, okay?” I say, reaching out and stroking the tears from her cheeks with my thumb.
“No,” Riley says, shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to go home. I need you to tell me what that was all about. I need to know what the hell is going on!”
“Riley, I can’t.” That isn’t entirely true. I’d just rather Monty and Hayley had this conversation with her instead of me. “It’s not my place—“
“How did you find me so quickly?” the question comes bluntly, and I feel put on the spot. There’s no lying this time, no matter how hard my head works to come up with one.
“Answer me, Zeke. Answer me now,” Riley demands. There’s no chance in hell I can dodge the question now.
“I followed you from the strip mall,” I say. “I had to make sure you got home safely.”
“Why would you think anything bad was going to happen?”
Christ, why is she asking the hard questions?
“Come to think of it, why were you really at the strip mall? I know you don’t buy clothes at that outlet,” she sounds almost angry. “All your shirts are Buck Mason. Mom calls you a one-trick pony.”
I stall, unable to conjure the words.
“Answer me, Zeke!” Riley slaps a flat palm against the dashboard.
“I’ve been following you for a while,” I say flatly.
Riley’s confidence is contagious, and words leave my lips without a pause. “It started as trying to make sure you were safe and staying out of trouble. Then things changed, and I started following you because I couldn’t get enough of you. I’ll stop—“
I sigh, and this time I really mean it. If Riley says those words, I’d probably pack my shit and disappear into the night.
Riley looks at me. I can’t tell what emotion is displayed on her face. Shock, awe, disgust, or a blend of them all? I have to turn away, but before I get very far, her fingertips are against my chin, pulling me back to face her.
“What if I don’t want you to stop?” Riley asks.
“Then I’ll watch over you, as your protector, always making sure you’re safe,” I say.
Riley leans forward, tangling her fingers in my hair, and gives me a kiss. I shut my eyes, letting it happen, and for the first time in a long time, I feel heartbroken.
I’m a man who’s thrived, lived, and succeeded in being The Ox.
Cold. Emotionless. Tactical. However, in a matter of only days, Riley’s shattered every wall I’ve spent years building.
Even though today’s events are going to have repercussions on the family, I don’t care.
I just want to be here, with her, trapped in a bubble of time, and not worrying about what tomorrow will bring.
Riley breaks the kiss and falls back into the passenger seat. “I want you to tell me about the family.”
“You really don’t. Once you hear it, you’ll never look at us the same way again,” I say, as a defensive mechanism. I can’t tell her what we do, what I do. No one in their right mind would want to stick around with a family of thieves and killers.
“Please. Zeke, please.” She’s giving me these puppy dog eyes. Her bottom lip trembles, her eyes threatening to spill tears again. I’m too weak around her, and that’s a problem.
I start the car again, driving with no real aim or purpose. I tell Riley everything. I leave out the details about her parents.
“That’s quite the story,” Riley says. Her reaction isn’t exactly what I thought it’d be, but it’s definitely better than I expected. “Can I spend the night with you, Uncle Zeke?”
She asks the question, resting her head on my shoulder, while the late evening sun on the horizon paints the sky with pinks and oranges.
“What about your parents?” I ask.
“Who cares what they think? After all, you’ve just told me, I’m pretty sure I can make my own mind up on this.”
Riley has a good point, and I’m not going to deny her that after the day she’s just endured.