Page 66 of Zeke

“All right, well, I guess I’ll see you later.”

I leave the kitchen and return to my room, where I fall back into bed and close my eyes. I’m asleep for less than an hour when I’m woken up by a nightmare about watching Zeke break Kira’s heart and having her hate both of us, just in time for a faceless creep to snatch her from under our noses because she didn’t want us watching over her anymore.

My eyes snap open, and my heart pounds as hard as my head as I sit up in my bed.

“Damn it,” I moan, knowing I’m unlikely to get any more sleep. I stare at my ceiling for a few minutes, remembering my dream and wishing I could make out the face of the guy who grabbed Kira. Maybe my subconscious has some information, but it doesn’t seem to want to share, so I eventually give up.

Resigned to being awake, I roll out of my bed and head downstairs. Country is still outside with the dog, but now Julia is out there with him, leaning against a tree while Country runs around with Bastard.

I watch them for a few minutes, then turn to get myself a cup of coffee and end up coming face to face with Kira and Zeke.

“Oh,” I say. “Morning.”

Kira blushes, unwilling to meet my eyes, and looks away as Zeke takes half a step closer to her, as if he’s afraid I’m still in the game.

“Morning,” she says after one too-long beat of silence and tucks some hair behind her ear.

“You two sleep okay?” I ask, then immediately regret it. I heard them up half the night. They got about as much sleep as I did, I bet.

“Great,” Zeke says, eying me suspiciously, like he can’t figure out my motivation for asking. “I’m taking Kira to work.”

We exchange a look, and I know he’s as nervous about the idea as I am. For some reason, he’s going along with it.

“Damn,” I say, trying for the lightest tone I can manage. “Been all of a day and she’s got you this whipped?”

Kira seems unsure, but Zeke meets my eyes and I know he understands this is my peace offering. To let it go and simply be his brother again instead of his enemy.

“I can think of worse things,” he says, putting an arm around Kira and giving me a tentative smile to let me know he accepts my surrender. “You want to go out and let Julia know you’re going in?”

Kira looks at Zeke, confused. She must trust him enough to go along with what he says because she nods and looks at me. “See you later, Eli,” she says, and I do my best to not show my heartbreak. She walks outside, and I turn to my brother.

“She’s going to work?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. I can’t imagine Zeke letting her leave the house with someone threatening her, but Zeke looks as unhappy about it as I feel.

“Believe me,” he says, a weariness to his voice I’m not used to hearing, and certainly not something I was expecting after he and Kira finally got together. “If I could convince her to never leave this house again to keep her safe, I would. But you know how she is. She doesn’t obey a damn person besides herself, and I wouldn’t want her if she did.”

I nod, understanding what he’s saying. Her fire is a huge part of what makes her so easy to fall for.

“Well, if you need any help…” I say, knowing he probably won’t ask me after everything we’ve been through with this girl, but wanting him to know I’m on his team.

“I’ll let you know.” He smiles and reaches for my hand. I take it, and we pull each other into a hug. Things feel, for the first time in months, like they’re getting back to normal between us.

Zeke releases me and walks out the door to meet Kira, who took a detour to play with the dog. He’s become a real hit with everyone, and it makes me happy to see this creature, who had no future and no hope, surrounded by people who love and care for him.

As I watch Zeke and Kira pull away from the house on his bike, I fall back into the depression that overtook me last night, but I catch myself. I need to find a distraction. Something that will keep my mind off Kira and Eden and everything else going wrong because it can’t be long before things get better.

Right?

I head back to my room, thinking I’ll sleep the morning away if I can get my anxious ass to stay asleep, but I barely make it to the base of the stairs when I run into Pony Boy.

“Hey, Eli,” he says with a smile that I can’t help but return. He’s a good kid with a good heart. Now that he’s gotten past the anxious, fearful way he used to be when he was working for Torque, his bright-eyed demeanor makes it easy to like him and want to be around him.

“Hey, Pony,” I reply, stopping to talk to him. “Where are you headed?”

“Nowhere special.” He shrugs. “I don’t have anything to do this morning, so I’m going out for a ride. You can come with me, if you want.”

I don’t have to think twice. I haven’t been on a ride for fun in longer than I care to admit. I’ve spent so much of my energy that isn’t dedicated to work trying to undermine my brother with Kira that my time on my bike has been strictly business.

“You know what?” I say with a smile. “I think that sounds great. Let me get my gear on, and I’ll meet you back here in five.”

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