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“Fuck’s sake, Zeke, you killed a man inside the IVI compound. What did you think would happen? You’d walk away? You fucking make time and be fucking grateful he’s got something to lose or it’d be The Tribunal you’d be facing.”
He’s right. “Fuck.”
“Anyway,” he starts. “It’ll be a good opportunity to find out what they know about Blue.”
“Oh? You suddenly care about Blue?”
“I care about you, and you care about Blue, so I suppose my caring is a degree removed.”
“You’re so generous with your affections, Brother.”
“I try.” That does make me chuckle. Jericho has never been an easy brother, an easy man. Would we be friends if we were not brothers? Or does our history, our shared loss, bind us tighter than friendship or blood ever could? “I talked to Isabelle and, well, I’m not going to ask you to choose.”
Funny, that. My brother, my headstrong, always in control brother, bowing to his wife. “What did she say?”
“Nothing.”
“Well, something. I’d like to hear what it was.”
“She said it was a stupid thing to expect you to do. And…” he mutters this part.
“What’s that?” I ask, making out the word he tried to swallow.
“Selfish. Okay? Selfish.”
“You? Selfish? Nooo.”
“Don’t be an asshole. Just get here. We’re expected at six. Where are you anyway?”
“Blue’s apartment. It was ransacked.”
“Shit.”
“I’m about to leave. I’ll just pick up…” I’m about to walk away and mindlessly close the freezer door which stood open, but I stop.
“Zeke?” Jericho asks.
There’s a magnet on the door. Some local pizza place. The magnet is innocuous enough. What it’s holding to the door, though? It’s a calling card.
“Fuck. I gotta go.”
I disconnect the call, pick up the postcard.Run Rabbit Run. Little Blue is scribbled between the first run and rabbit. I flip it over to read the back.
Daddy’s home.
Red hot rage has me clenching my hand, crushing that postcard in my fist. I drop it on the floor, stalk out of the apartment and head back to the salon. I can’t let her out of my sight now and she can’t know that this was her father. That he’s in town and looking for her.
15
BLUE
Zeke walks in the door just as Jacque is putting the finishing touches on my hair. It’s taken all I have not to break down and cry because I keep going over that conversation again and again trying to wrap my brain around what he said.
I am Zeke’s atonement.
Didn’t I know that? Wasn’t he honest about it from day one? He was, yes, but it still hurts to hear it, after all that’s happened.
I need to steel myself. Focus. I’m in danger. Wren is in danger. And Zeke can help me get out of it. Whatever his reasons, I need him to keep us safe. I just need to keep reminding myself of this and putting all that other stuff in that overfull box I’ve buried that I’ll deal with another time.
