Page 60 of Doubling Down

“It’s okay.” Brandon laid his hand on the dog's neck.

Ezra was pretty certain that the dog was in love with Brandon. Maverick seemed glued to Brandon’s side and had growled if anyone other than Ezra or Dane went near him.

“I need to talk to Ezra,” Eric said. “Can you two watch Annabelle for a few minutes?”

“Yes!” Brandon seemed relieved to have a responsibility. A task that needed done.

“No problem,” Dan agreed. “Take your time. Maybe clean up a little.”

Ezra was in desperate need of a shower.

“Thanks.” Eric motioned for Ezra to come to him.

Ezra smiled at Brandon before he climbed from the couch. He joined Eric, relieved when Eric captured his hand. Just that small touch grounded him. They walked down the hall until they reached Eric’s bedroom.

He didn’t think this was an excuse to get Ezra alone and naked.

Eric closed the door behind them.

“What’s going on?” Ezra asked.

“I need to ask you something.” Eric led Ezra to the bed. He sat before pulling Ezra onto his lap. “I wanted to get to know you organically and learn everything about you when you were ready to tell me.”

Ezra snuggled deeper on Eric’s lap. “But something changed that.”

Eric hugged him tight. “I need you to tell me about your parents.”

Ezra shook his head. Why would Eric need to know about them? Something was seriously wrong. “Why?”

“Because Joey Collins is claiming that your parents paid him to get close to you.”

“They did what!” Ezra demanded.

“Collins says that he was supposed to get close to you. Gain your trust. Find out where you work, lived, all the places that you might frequent.”

Ezra couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His parents had been angry at him when he refused to move home. Bring Annabelle into the church. But he never suspected they’d pay someone like Joey to stalk him. “They—”

“They wanted to kidnap Annabelle.”

Tears filled his eyes even as Eric began to rock him. He should have run farther than one state away. His parents weren’t like other families. They hadn’t cared about and loved him. They did the bare minimum. Kept a roof over his head and food in his belly. Their entire lives revolved around the church that Ezra had been born into.

“Why?” Ezra wailed as his tears fell. “Why would they do that to me?”

“I don’t know,” Eric responded. “I’ll figure it out though. I’ll keep you and Annabelle safe.”

“You can’t promise that.” Ezra wished he could though.

Eric cupped his face. “Want to bet? I will use every resource available, call in every favor owed to me—no one is going to take that little girl away from you. Away from us.”

Ezra nodded.

“Can you tell me about them please, baby? I need to know what I’m up against.”

He clung to the front of Eric's shirt. “I was raised in a small town in northern California. It was just me and my parents. I don’t have any siblings, cousins, or other family.”

“Okay.” Eric kissed his forehead urging him on.

“I thought it was a pretty normal upbringing. We went to church three days a week and had bible study on the other nights. My parents followed everything the preacher and deacons told them to a tee. They weren’t affectionate to me. Not like I saw on television or out in public, but I thought that was just them. They weren’t even affectionate to each other. It was all about the church. And the teachings.”

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