Chapter Twenty Two
Raya St Claire

Clouds were darkening the sky as Ezra and I walked down the sidewalk after our fun at the abandoned amusement park an hour ago.

We were walking hand in hand and in sync next to each other.

Ezra’s thumb kept brushing the skin above my thumb and it was a gesture so sweet that I forgot why we were walking out here alone in the first place, and I guess it was something I wanted to forget, anyways. It wasn’t something I could run away from, though. I needed to get back to the mansion and I know I needed to face Archie again. To confront him. But having Ezra holding my hand like this told me that I wasn’t completely alone in this world, and it meant something.

“That was fun, newcomer.” I admit, looking at him when he glanced at me with a smile.

“You’re calling me newcomer after what we’ve done at the amusement park? I thought we were on a real name basis right now. I thought we were past the not-calling-you-by-your-name shit.”

“Well, you’ll always be the newcomer to me, newcomer.” I squeeze his hand a little tighter. “But if you’re complaining about me holding your hand, then—” I made a move to take my hand out of his grip, but he squeezed my hand tighter.

“Don’t. I like it when you’re holding my hand. It fits like a puzzle piece.” He has a big grin on his mouth when he examined our intertwined fingers, and sure enough, it really did fit like a puzzle piece. I also loved how safe my hand felt in his, it was like nothing could break it apart.

I spot an empty bench on the sidewalk and pull Ezra toward it. I sit down on the bench first, turning on the seat to look at him seated beside me. “I want to know more about you, newbie.”

He slightly shrugs. “What do you want to know, princess?”

“Why did you become a contract killer? When did you become one? Do you have a family?”

He chuckles, shaking his head at my babbling. “One question at a time, princess, or I’m going to start charging you for them.” He starts to fiddle with a piece of loose thread of my pants, avoiding eye contact with me. I wouldn’t exactly call it avoiding eye contact, it was almost as if he was nervous about the questions I asked him, and whether or not he wanted to answer them.

“Okay, uh, why did you become a contract killer?” I ask him.

“I’m a very good shot, that’s why I became a hit man. I started when I was eighteen, I guess. I got my very first contract after both my parents passed away. I was alone, on the streets just like you until someone came up to me and asked me what I was capable of…” His words trail off as he looks at me, but it was like he was looking right through me. “And to answer your previous question, I do not have a family.”  His shoulders slumps and his mouth were set in a firm line.

My shoulders sag. “I’m so sorry, newcomer. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. You told me what happened to your family, so it’s only fair that I told you about mine. I want you to trust me with everything. And I want you to know that you’re not alone in this world. You have me now. And you have the NC, too. Bear might still be pissed at you, but you still have him, too.”

I nod at him, not saying that I trusted him because there was still a small part of me that didn’t trust him, but with the way he was looking at me right now, with sadness written all across his face and features, I decided to let that little uneasiness slide. It’s time I decide to trust Ezra; he hasn’t proven to me that he couldn’t be trusted. He was there since the start and the first time when I have been attacked. He was there he second time too. He was there. He always has been.

And I am going to say this with a heavy heart, but the NC hasn’t been there for me like he was. Bear was angry at me for the two times I have been attacked and he still hasn’t asked me if I was okay. And Archie hasn’t really lifted a finger to do something about the situation, either.

The newcomer fucking shot someone in the leg for me.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Archie?” He asks me, rubbing my palm with his thumb. “You never said what happened between the two of you this morning.”

“I, uh, I don’t really want to talk about that right now.” I tell him, releasing a deep breath. “It’s kind of personal, too.”

“I can see that the fight has been bothering you today, princess.” He says, looking at me directly in my eyes. “Like I said before, you can trust me.”

“I know.” I breathe out, focusing on his thumb rubbing circles in my palm. “But the thing with Archie and me… it’s complicated. I realised some things I didn’t want to realise, but I have to make peace with the facts.”

“What facts, princess? What did Archie do?”

The newcomer was looking at me so sincerely that I wanted to tell him what happened, so I did.

I choke out the words. “Archie lied to me.”

The words were bitter on my tongue. Archie lied to me. He used me.

He lied and used me all these years.

Eight years.

He never wanted to help me find the people who killed my parents. He just wanted a hacker who could make jobs easier for him.

“When I was on the streets, Archie promised me that he would help me find the people who murdered my family. But eight years later and nothing has been done about it, I realised that he never wanted to help me find my family’s killers, he only used me for my hacking abilities.”

It made sense now as I said the words to the Ezra.

It made sense now, after eight years of hoping that he’d tell me that we were going to find them.

“Did he say anything when you confronted him about it?”

I shake my head, feeling my throat closing up and the tears welling up inside my eyes. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was better knowing the truth than being left in the dark about everything. “He didn’t have to.” I shrug, swallowing hard. “The look on his face said everything. He didn’t even try to deny it and that’s when I knew that my entire eight years I’ve spent with him was a lie. He just used me.”

“So, what are you going to now?” Ezra asks me. “Are you going to go back to the mansion or are you going to stay on this bench with me forever?”

“I’m pissed at Archie.” I tell him. “But I can’t stay on the streets. I can’t go back to living in an alleyway reeking of garbage.” I tell him, shaking my head at the thought. “But I am going to go back to the mansion and complete the job he failed to do. I’m going to find my family’s murderers and I’m going to kill every single one of them myself, without his help.”

Ezra nods, placing his hand on my thigh in a comforting manner. “I will help you find them, give or take.”

I smile at him. “Your expertise might come in handy in this situation, newcomer, but I will not let there be blood on your hands. This blood is only mine to take and I won’t let you be a part of this. This is my fight.”

“I have more blood on my hands than you, princess.” Ezra says, smirking at me. “I’m sure one more life won’t matter.”

I was supposed to be frightened with how he said those words so confidently, but I wasn’t, not even a little bit.  He was a hit man and I was a hacker. We were not perfect, but this was our life. We were made into these people. Life didn’t give us any options. We had to become these people to survive. “It won’t be one life, newcomer. It would be three.”

“There were three people who murdered your family?” He asks, clearly shocked. “How did you manage to escape?”

“The two men were outside.” I swallow the bile that rose from my stomach. “There was only one in the house with me and my parents. He was the one who shot my parents. The two men outside, they, uh—” My hand started to shake in my lap but the newcomer took it in his hands and gave it a squeeze. I couldn’t look at the newcomer anymore. I didn’t want to see the pity written on his face, so I looked away, at the moonlight getting covered with the darkened clouds above us. “The two outside killed my little brother.”

I feel Ezra’s hands tightening around mine. “He was six years old. They had absolutely no remorse. They fucking killed him without hesitation. He was just fucking six years old.”

Ezra lets go of my hands and the next thing I know, he crashes me against his chest, embracing me while his hand rubbed soothing circles around my back. His head was resting on my shoulder and I smelled the sweet cologne he always wore. It was my safe place right now.

The newcomer was the only person I could trust right now despite there being an uneasy feeling still lingering in the pit of my stomach.

I had Bear too but he wasn’t talking to me.

Storm didn’t really know what happened to me as much as Archie and Bear knew, so I can’t go to him. The Twins knew what happened to me but they have their own shit to deal with.

And Rossi, well he sleeps a lot.

Ezra pulls away when the first of the rain started to fall, but even when he pulled away, he was still close to me. He was holding my hand in his again, tighter than ever. “I think I want to go back to the mansion now.” I tell him. “I guess we had our fun for today but it’s time to face the reality again. We can’t stay here forever although I really, really want to. I need to face Archie.”