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We slinked onto the yacht, me holding a baseball bat at the ready and Ry carrying a legit bow and arrow. He was as freaking sexy as Jeremy Renner and just as grumpy as the superhero character he played. I, on the other hand, was trying not to pass out from the adrenaline and anxiety.
I’d just as likely vomit on an intruder as break their face.
“Stay behind me, Flynn,” he whispered, peering around a corner.
A flicker of movement across the deck caught my eye. I tightened my grip on the bat and crept forward, keeping to the shadows. I planted my feet, muscle memory kicking in and my body priming to crack the softball across the field.
Except this time, I was aiming for a head.
I swung, putting all my years of training into full effect.
Caramel-blond hair registered, and soulful brown eyes turned on me with a startled expression.
“Fuck,” he squeaked as he leapt backward, and my bat smashed straight through the window. An arrow whizzed by, catching his collar as he flailed, piercing the interior wall and wedging itself halfway in. “Flynn, what the hell?”
“Why did you leave her?” I demanded, gripping his federal-police-issued vest and shoving him back until he landed on his arse. My voice was far too loud in the quiet of the night, but I was beyond caring.
He was supposed to have been protecting her and Monroe and he just left? Straight after Tristan had spoken to them? Zee was probably shaken up. Heck, I was shaken up, and there was no way this was as personal for me as it was Zee. Why would he do that?
“Woah, woah,” Ry warned.
I spun around and saw Zee gripping a kitchen knife like a sword and tiptoeing toward Ry. He stepped out from the shadows, and she froze.
“What the fuck is going on?” she hissed, assessing the mess the three of us had made. “Get inside. You gave me a fucking heart attack.”
I pressed the heel of my hand to my chest, willing my heart rate to slow down, and sucked in a slow breath.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ezra growled at Zee, scrambling up from the deck. “You think there’s someone breaking in, so you go toward the danger?”
“I came to save your arses, you dumbarse. I pulled up the cameras and recognized you and Flynn, but I could only see part of Ry. I was coming to stop him from killing you.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I reminded Ezra, pointing my bat at him. If he thought he was off the hook—
“I didn’t leave. Not completely anyway.” He shook his head and flicked his gaze to Zee, his expression sad. “I moved my car so I could get you guys out easier if I needed to. Then I came back and staked the place out until you left. I made sure Roe locked up and followed you here. I’ve been guarding you ever since.”
“Yet we managed to get onboard,” Ry pointed out at the same as Zee added, “You didn’t have to leave.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We should do what Zali said and go inside.” He gestured for the door she’d come out of.
When we were inside her office with the door locked behind us, he parked his butt on the coffee table, resting his elbows on his knees and intertwining his fingers. He breathed deep, his shoulders curling in on themselves as he mumbled, “I did have to go. Your relationship with your dad is more important than mine is.”
Zee went to her knees and cupped Ezra’s face, smiling gently at him. She brushed her lips against his, but he turned away, dropping his eyes to the floor. “I can’t.”
“You can.” Her words were firm, but there was no anger behind them. It was as if she was trying to give Ez permission. “Dad will come around. He jumped to the wrong conclusion, yes, but he’ll come around.”
“I’ve lost him.”
“So to get over losing your friend, you’ll walk away from us too? The people who love you?” she challenged, hooking a finger under his chin and lifting his gaze until their eyes met. “You’ll hurt the man who’s loved you for a decade? You’ll push three people away who are waiting for you with open arms?”
When he didn’t answer, she shook her head and sighed. “Where were you if you were guarding Dad’s and the yacht?”
He shot her a small smile and shrugged a shoulder. “I was in your dad’s nextdoor neighbour’s garden, and when you got back here, I came aboard. Once you’d locked the door, I set the chain on the gangway and checked all the rooms before I holed up upstairs where I could see the entire dock. I saw movement up the other end of the dock, so I went to the bow and checked it out.” He gestured to Ryder and me and added, “As soon as the chain from the gangway rattled, I ran downstairs. I was about to call out and tell Ry that I was onboard when you—” He gestured to me. “—jumped out in front of me and nearly went all freaking Babe Ruth on my head.”
I couldn’t help my snort of laughter. “Sorry.”
“I’m not,” Ry grumbled. “I missed.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Ezra replied dryly.
