Page 107 of Sinners Retreat

“It wasn’t your fault.” Maverick sits on the edge of the bed. “But it wasn’t Ezra’s fault, either. He didn’t know I was the boy he saved all those years ago.”

“How could he not know?”

“He’s helped a lot of kids over the years. He can’t be expected to remember every face. Plus, I changed my name. When I approached him a few years ago, he met Maverick Eaton, not Landon Rivers. Had he known who I was, he would have told you the truth himself. I firmly believe that. He was just so scared of losing you without proof.”

“I didn’t exactly help things along,” Bennett says as he enters the room. “Sorry to barge in, but Ezra was ‘sick with worry.’ His words, not mine.”

With a sigh, I pat the bed on my right side. “You might as well join the party.”

Bennett sits beside me and clears his throat. “I apologize for being so tough on you. It’s not easy to feel like I’m losing my brother when I’ve only known I had a brother for a little over a decade.”

“I doubt you have to worry about any of that now,” I say. “Ezra probably won’t ever talk to me again.”

“Is it safe to speak for myself?” Ezra peeks around the doorframe. “Sorry, I was just worried about you. Maverick didn’t know how much sleepy juice he’d put in that dart.”

“Dart?” I ask.

“Team effort for the hunt,” Maverick says. “We thought it would be fun if I darted them with a tranquilizer and Bennett tracked them down and bludgeoned them with the flail. We were right. It was fun.”

“Until I ruined it.” I cover my face with my hands.

Ezra ushers Bennett out of the way and sits beside me before gently guiding my hands to my lap. “You didn’t ruin anything, pet. I’m the one who ruined this. I lied to you. I even planted the meat hooks in Eighties’ villa to fool you. If there’s any way to make it up to you, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Gross,” Bennett says. “If you guys have reached this stage of the makeup, I think it’s time Maverick and I take off.”

“Agreed,” Maverick says as he stands from the bed.

I grip his hand before he can walk away. “Maverick, I meant what I said. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. Victims shouldn’t have to defend themselves.”

Maverick squeezes my hand and smiles down at me. “No need for apologies. I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor. Killing is my therapy, and it’s done wonders. Each time I take out someone like your brother, I feel a little better. You will too. Just give it time.”

He doesn’t mean to hurt me when he mentions my brother, but fuck. That stings. I try to meld the brother I knew with the monster he was, and I just can’t make it work. It still feels like they’re talking about someone else.

But the pictures don’t lie. My brother was sick, and Ezra was right to kill him.

Ezra and I don’t speak, even once the villa’s front door closes and I hear the men retreating down the boardwalk. We sit in silence when we both have so much we need to say. I just don’t know how to begin.

My chin begins to shake, and I close my eyes as a confusing mix of emotions buries me under their weight. I can’t breathe. Shame, regret, grief, and intense heartbreak press against my chest until my lungs buckle.

Ezra pulls me into him, and I don’t fight against his touch. “Can you ever forgive me for lying to you?” he asks.

“I could have made it a lot easier to tell the truth.”

He places a kiss on the top of my head and strokes my hair. “You make everything easy, especially loving you. The deception is my fault and my fault alone. I suppose if I have anything to forgive you for, it’s the new scar I’ll bear on my cheek.”

“Oh, shit! I completely forgot.” I sit up and turn his face so that I can see the thin red line my throwing star gouged into his perfect flesh. It’s fairly superficial, which relieves some of my regret.

“Chicks dig scars, right?” he says with a chuckle. “Though I’m only concerned with your opinion. What do you think? Do I pass muster?”

He’s asking so much more than what he presents on the surface. He’s asking if I can move past this. He’s asking if we can still live in the fantasy we created in our minds before reality dealt us a huge blow.

And I have the answer.

“Yes, you pass muster. Now please kiss me.”

As his lips press against mine, it feels like our first kiss all over again. Now that we know each other’s secrets, now that we have everything out in the open, thisisour first kiss.

But it won’t be our last.

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