Page 66 of The Oath We Take

20

ATOM

Ember doesn’t say too much as we try to pack some of her things. The uncertainty shook her, and she can’t seem to keep a lid on how much she’s packing.

“Em,” I say. “We’re going on horseback. We can’t take all this stuff.”

I want to comfort her.

No, Iacheto comfort her.

Wish I could take her back into my arms and reassure her everything is going to be okay. Even if I have to find a way to pay for this whole place to be demolished and rebuilt, brick by fucking brick.

Instead, I have to settle for the slightest brush of fingers as we pass each other, working hard to keep it out of sight of Wraith, who is passing shit to Catfish, who is throwing it to Butcher.

“I know. But I can send some of it to Dad’s, so if I need it, I won’t have as far to go, before I end up locked out of here because of safety issues.”

There’s a crack in her voice as she thinks about not getting back here, and it breaks my heart. I slip farther into the room, lead her to a spot where Wraith can’t see us, and hug her quickly. “It’s gonna be okay, honey,” I whisper. “Keep it together until it’s just the two of us.”

She looks up at me and nods. “I’m doing my best.”

“That’s all we can ask.”

I leave the room for a minute while she dresses in something a little warmer and softer. It’s a hot night, but this has shaken her down to the bones. Adrenaline is funny like that.

“You wanna tell me what you were doing here riding by at three thirty in the morning?” Wraith asks.

I shake my head like he just asked the most ridiculous question on earth. “Couldn’t sleep, feeling frustrated about how tonight went. Trying to think through how, as enforcer, I should have been better prepared to get information out of that fuck before he died. Feeling like I let my brothers down. So, I rode. Nothing more to it than that.”

Wraith folds his arms and looks over his shoulder. Catfish is outside, talking to Butcher, and there is only the three of us in the house. “You sure? Because while Butcher was too distracted by the fact his daughter had been in a fire, I noticed the way she was sitting across your lap with her head pressed up against your chest.”

I think on my feet. “You’re overthinking it. I carried her out, Wraith. She was unconscious. I wasn’t sure she was even breathing. When she woke up, the building was already in flames, and she was shaking so hard, her teeth were rattling. Did the only thing I could think of in the moment and that was hold her. Offered her some comfort as she cried her heart out and told her she was safe. Stop reading shit into things.”

Wraith squeezes my shoulder. “As long as you’re sure, brother. Because it’s a long way across that fucking ranch of yours. Some distance from Butcher and a little forced proximity with a pretty woman…”

“Just stop. You sound creepy.”

Wraith chuckles. “Just making sure your head is screwed on straight.”

“Yeah, well…you need to stop reading those books Raven loves. It’s giving you ideas you shouldn’t be having.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Says the guy I saw get down on one knee in front of Ember to gently put her sneakers on her feet, like she isn’t a fully functioning adult human being who can do it herself.”

“Jesus. Was just being kind.”

The door to the bedroom opens, and Ember steps out. “I’m ready.”

The pause between Wraith and me lasts a few seconds longer than it should. “Fine. Then let’s go.”

It’s hard to resist taking her hand, but I let her walk ahead of me. I’ve got her back. Always have, if I’m honest.

The logistics and repacking of her backpack with her gadgets, chargers, toiletries, and a few changes of clothes takes another five minutes, by which time Radcliffe has formed a perimeter with his men around the building. He insists it’s to help ensure the safety of the fire crew while they do their job.

I know he’s just being a pimple-headed cunt-face.

Ember loads the backpack onto her back, then wraps her hands tightly around my waist. She’s wearing my helmet; Butcher insisted before I had time to offer it to her myself as I planned to.

Maybe it was better that way. Less about me protecting her, and more about her concerned father wanting to make sure she was taken care of. That way, I could act like it was a chore rather than a small thrill that, in spite of tonight’s events, I get to take Ember to my special place on the back of my bike.

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