Page 64 of His Reluctant Savior

I raised a brow. “For two weeks?”

He shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed with his hands neatly folded on his lap and his spine rigid and straight. “I gave them enough hints that I’ve caught your trail, but it was a dead end. I also explained I was following other leads, but none of them panned out. We are all still looking while trying to stay in business.”

“Even Sully?”

“Malik has Sully’s leash on, forced to sit this one out. He won’t let him hunt you down. Sully wants your head for upsetting Malik.”

I huffed a laugh that lacked humor. “No doubt. He’s always resented me for coming into their lives and daring to live in the same house for almost two months as I recovered. He’s always been jealous of my friendship with Malik. How tight is that leash?”

“Who knows? Sully can be impulsive and then apologize for it later—if he even cares to.”

“You can be impulsive as well, and you never apologize for it,” I reminded him.

“Yes, but I have the capacity to think and care more than Sully does, at least for those who matter to me. Well, the one personwho matters. Regardless, you know when I’m angry. Sully’s attacks come with a calm smile and demeanor. One minute, he’s your best friend, and the next, you find yourself holding your entrails.”

I rubbed my face. “All the more reason to come in. If Sully breaks his chains, he’ll kill me for sure, then I can’t help anyone, let alone Dalton.”

“If you come in willingly, Malik may be more forgiving.”

“What about everyone else?”

“Dante will always have your back. You gave him a second chance at life. Layla loves all of us. She’s upset with you, though. Luca is Luca. He worships all of us, even… me. He is also becoming important to me. I’ve never been… worshiped before.” Easton squirmed, no doubt not used to people caring about him or how to handle it, but strangely, he was addicted to it. He had so little affection in his life that he fed off it whenever he received it, and Luca was full of affection. “Khai and Maverick are just waiting for orders. They’re good little soldiers. Malik hides it, but he cares about you. If he didn’t, he would’ve already sicced Sully on you.”

I nodded. It was as I expected. But I wanted to remind Easton that it was okay to accept others caring about him. “Luca especially likes you because you helped him and trained him with a bow, which helped save his life. He’ll never forget that. You gave him the power to fight back, something he’s never had before.”

“He’s… good. Innocent. Too good for us,” Easton said with surprising honesty.

“His soul is as blemished as ours, maybe even more so, but you’re right. Luca will always be kind and tender, though he shouldn’t be.”

Now, to test other waters.

“What if… I brought Dalton into The District?”

Easton stiffened more than he already was. “I know you love him, but do you think that’s wise? Sully will want him dead, and not even Malik will be able to control him. Sully will protect Malik at all costs, and Dalton is an FBI agent. He poses great risk to all of us.”

“He does not pose a risk. He won’t turn us in or harm us.”

He shook his head, looking at me with a hint of disappointment. If it weren’t for his fisted hands, you wouldn’t know he was upset with me. Easton was doing all he could to calm the growing anger. “You’re compromised.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, but I’m also not blind, East. I’ve been working on him because I don’t want to leave The District for good, and I want Dalton to come with me. He’s starting to understand he can’t go back to how things were. He can no longer trust his employers.”

Easton abruptly stood and growled, showing that impulsive anger he always struggled to control. “I’m sick of you on the run! I’m tired of watching your back! It’s getting… frustrating!”

“Thank you for that.”

“Shut up!” he hissed, his fingers trembling. I knew well enough that he itched for his dagger. “I miss… working with you and our training, along with our talks. You need to come back! Enough is enough, Sid. Your three weeks are nearly up. Come home with or without Dalton. I don’t care as long as you’re back. Ineedthings to go back to how they were.”

I read between the lines. You had to in order to understand him. “I miss you, too, East.”

With a sigh, I stood and pulled him into a hug. Because he let me, it said that we were good. “Thanks for this. I needed to get a feel for things before I made any decisions. But this is taking too long. We have more answers, but I’m not sure I can help Dalton on my own anymore. This case is getting too big.”

Easton relaxed at my words, knowing I’d be home soon, then pulled away.

“Yes, come home. They will accept you. If not, I’llmakethem,” he said with a coldness I didn’t hear often. His words proved he would always choose me over the family.

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed with a notification. When I opened it, my security app showed movement on the Duvall’s property. Cars were racing up to the house, and I instantly knew they were in trouble.

“Fuck… Owen,” I hissed, my heart hammering. “I’ve got to go and get Dalton. His son’s in trouble.”

---