Page 13 of Seizing Control: Part Two

“I’m in,” Nadia crows. Her eagerness forces me to halt my mental spiral. I laugh, almost genuinely. She purses her lips and screws up her nose, then claps her hands together like an excited toddler. With a light punch to my bicep, my best friend declares, “They’re not gonna know what’s hit ’em.”

Her use of the plural makes me jerk.

Because she’s nailed my exact mission without even knowing the full details.

Nadia isn’t only helping me escape Slash and his wavering devotion, her circumspect assistance will also help me slip out of Zeke’s control. I love him. That’s an undisputed fact. The main problem I foresee, outside of the conundrum of his return from the dead, is the fact that I don’t trust him, and I don’t have the first clue whether he’ll prove capable of rebuilding the connection we once shared.

One middle of the night visit, replete with an orgasm and new jewellery does not constitute a fresh start. If he returns a second time, I need to be ready to stand my ground. In the same way I laid down the challenge to my husband, my first love must demonstrate his worthiness too. I’ve offered Slash time, and I will ensure that I do the same with Zeke.

It’s not fair that Ezekiel Miles always manages to get off easily.

His ability to escape my wrath is second to none.

I hit my husband for leaving me.

Literally drove my knee into his balls...

My first love must similarly prove his remorse and change for the better too.

Determinedly meeting my own eyes in the mirror, I make myself acknowledge the devastation that’s been wrought on my psyche by the two men I love. They have heaped pain on my head. Shattered my heart. Damaged my soul. I am irrevocably changed by the choices they’ve made without consulting me. They’ve created multiple problems, failed me in too many ways to count, and I’ve barely held them to account for any of it, even though every time they’ve tempted fate, I’m the person who’s paid the price for their mistakes.

Ready or not, it's time for me to seize control of our relationship.

If they eventually choose to return to my orbit, their presence will be on my terms.

I have children to protect.

A life to rebuild.

Two feet I must learn to stand on.

Alone.

“I guess we shouldn’t keep Gabriel waitin’ any longer... should probably delay Slash’s call too.” From behind me, Nadia makes a scandalised sound in response to my mention of my boss. Ever since I filled her in on the full details of the ritual, she hasn’t been his biggest fan. Inwardly I agree, although I don’t admit that truth out loud. I may resent the part Gabriel played in that night, but I also know that he’s our biggest ally going forward. Having the Adjudicator in the Shamrocks corner is a boon that we must hold on to with both hands. So, I ignore her disdain for the man waitin downstairs to read my not-dead ex-fiancé’s will to me, to tell her, “Behave yourself... for all you know Zeke left you a little something.”

“You think?” Nadia asks as she follows me out of my bedroom.

“Maybe.” I shrug.

When I finger the snake charm hanging from my bracelet, my heart drops into the pit of my stomach. My stride falters. Nadia stumbles to the left to avoid running into me. Lost in a whirlwind of realisation, breathing becomes impossible. I can’t make my eyes focus. My hearing turns tinny, then the ringing begins as my best friend’s worried query morphs into a high-pitched squeal that makes me grimace.

“Anna... aren’t you all right?”

Turning away from Nadia to brace one hand against the wall, I can’t help but feel like an idiot. It’s hard to catch my breath. It’s even harder to admit how dumb I’ve been. In the adrenaline rush that followed my discovery that Zeke’s still alive, I failed to grasp the full extent of his vigilance—and the prolonged cruelty of his ruse. The cherub charm I found in the bathroom at Hades’ farm was from him. It’s obvious. I’m not sure how I managed to overlook that fact for so long, but I did.

While I struggled, my first love watched me in secret.

While I fought my feelings for Slash amid my grief, Zeke observed from afar.

When I coaxed my husband into giving into his dark side, the chances that he was guarding me, protecting me from myself and Slash’s newly embraced brutality, are high.

I know Zeke.

He didn’t just fake his death, then skip off into the night.

My conversations with Gabbi have proven that I’m always at the forefront of his mind, even when our separation is his choice. Last time, he left me to save me from my father’s machinations. The distance between us now is for an even greater purpose. Zeke died for me, and coupled with the charms he’s gifted me as well as the sticky mess he left behind on my stomach this morning, there’s no way he hasn’t been keeping an eye on me.

The main question I’m struggling with is his decision to reveal himself now...

---