Page 124 of Sinners Reunion

“You haven’t told Kindra?”

“I wanted to be sure. A feeling wasn’t enough, but now that you’ve confirmed it, I’ll tell her everything the moment I’m back in our quarters. I don’t keep secrets from her.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but can we get back to the elopement bit?”

He leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I’d already decided to call it off. I wrote that letter before I knew who my father was.”

“And now that you know?”

“I want to give him an opportunity to explain himself. If what he has to say makes any sense at all, I’m reasonable enough to forgive him.” His hands clench, and he looks up at the black sky. “I want to forgive him. I was angry with the man who abandoned me, but I’m having a hard time being angry with King. He’s been there for us . . .”

“Like a father?”

He utters a single laugh. “Yeah.”

“I won’t say that his reasoning is sound, but I will say that, in many ways, he was only doing what he thought was best at the time. But you’ll have to hear it from him.”

Ezra rises from the bench and looks across the street at the club. “Then let’s go. I’m eager to hear him out as quickly as possible. You and Kindra have a shared affliction in IBS. We’ll say you’re unwell, and then we’ll take a limo back to the RVs so that we can talk next steps.”

His escape plan is impressive, and I love his gusto, but there is no way in hell I’m telling King that I blabbed his big secret.

Then again, I don’t have to.

“Okay, I’ll agree, but only if you tell him that you figured it out yourself. Don’t tell him I confirmed a damn thing.” Even though that was my plan all along . . . “And you have to pull Kindra aside and catch her up to speed first. I don’t want her blindsided.”

“Wouldn’t dream of blindsiding that one. Have you seen her when she’s pissed?”

“Not yet.”

“Count yourself lucky.” He glances at the ground and shakes his head, then looks at me again. “Just follow her lead. When she gets sick, you give it a moment and follow suit.”

I stand from the bench and give him a salute, and we start back across the street. We part ways in the stairwell. He lingers behind, and I head up to the lounge to send Kindra down. Things are about to get messy.

King strokes lazy circles on my shoulder. He places his other hand on my knee to stop my foot from jackhammering against the floor. Gary sits on his other side, telling King about his favorite basketball team and why they’re his favorite. I’m not sure why King humors the poor guy, but it’s sweet.

I wish I could focus on anything in this room. My mind keeps jumping to how long Ezra and Kindra have been in the stairwell. There’s every chance she’s unwilling to go along with any of this. Which means there’s every chance this plane is going down, and I’m the one in the cockpit. Everyone knows the pilot is the most likely to die.

The doorway swings open.

Ezra enters alone.

Mayday! Mayday!

My stomach cramps up, and now I won’t even have to fake it. I really might shit myself. If Kindra couldn’t even bring herself to come back inside, her reaction must have been pretty fucking terrible.

“Kindra’s having a touch of tummy trouble, I’m afraid,” he says as he approaches the sitting area. “We’ll need to head back.”

“We might as well head home together,” Blayne says, and nobody groans, but I can tell everyone wants to.

Meanwhile, I just want to ram my fist into his throat.

He gets to his feet. “We may not have an event tomorrow, but we can still do with a little more rest. Like Eve said.”

His brown-nosing behavior finally clicks in my head for what it is. And here I thought he was unaffected. Meanwhile, he’s shaking in his fucking boots. That’s why he’s being such a horrid little kiss-ass. He’s hoping some of us might be convinced to back him if he can charm us.

Hate to break it to you, dude, but it’s having the opposite effect.

“Nah, I’m good here for a while longer,” Eve says, clearly going against whatever he says, just to annoy him. God, I love her. “Sit down, pretty boy. Let the girl go shit herself in private.”