Page 47 of Tarnished Hands

Chapter Twenty-Six

EZRA

She snores, and I find it endearing.

Climbing from the bed, I put on some pants and walk out to find Tony and Aqua are still up. Aqua is sitting almost on his lap, and they’re kissing. At first, I’m shocked. What the actual fuck is happening? When did this happen? And how come she didn’t go home? Not that I would tell Tony who he can and can’t see.

My phone buzzes, and Aqua turns around at the sound, her lips pink and puffy.

“Oh gosh, sorry.” She gets off Tony and quickly turns to me. “Sorry, I was just leaving.”

“Have you slept?” I ask. She shakes her head. “Driving on no sleep is just as dangerous as driving drunk.” It’s how my parents died so I would know. “Stay. Sleep on the couch.”

I grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator before returning to the bedroom. Piper is still sound asleep, so I lie down beside her and check the message on my phone. It’s Keir, giving me a time to meet him, which is weird considering he always comes to me. I scribble out a quick note to let Piper know where I went and then grab a shirt and some shoes. Keir doesn’t like to be kept waiting, and the last thing I want to do is wake Piper up.

I kiss her head before I quietly leave the bedroom.

When I enter the living room, I see Aqua and Tony smiling at each other as she curls up on the couch.

“Ezra.” Keir is leaning against his car with Joey standing beside him. They are wearing sunglasses, so I can’t see their eyes. “We have to talk about Piper.”

“Okay,” I reply.

“Just a friendly warning,” Joey says, smiling.

“Warning?” I ask, confused.

“Piper may be our cousin, but she is more of a sister now. So we wanted to meet with you.”

“Understandable.” I nod, getting the reason why I received the weird text.

“Is it?” Joey adds.

“It is,” I say with no hesitation. I keep my focus on Joey, but I feel Keir’s stare through his glasses boring into my being. If he’s trying to intimidate me, it isn’t working. “If you think you can betray or hurt her, I will kill you. Better yet, I’ll let her kill you.”

“Let her kill me?” I ask.

“Yes. Piper is amazing at slicing someone’s neck wide open. She knows exactly how and where to cut to bleed them out quickly or slowly. She is as dangerous as she is beautiful. We have never had to worry about her before. But on this last trip, we saw something a little off with her. Piper has feelings for you, Ezra. More than she has for anyone in the past. So fuck with her and die. Get it?” Joey says.

“I will be the one to kill you if you fuck with her,” Keir adds.

“I don’t intend to fuck with her. But what happens between me and her is between me and her.”

Like I said, I understand why they wanted to meet, but I won’t be threatened by them or anyone.

“When it comes to Piper, it is. You slide your cock into another woman, I’ll cut it off.” Joey smiles at Keir’s words. “Now that’s out of the way, we’re having a dinner tomorrow night at the house. You’re invited. Sailor said don’t worry about bringing anything.” I say nothing as I know Keir well enough that when he’s done with a topic, he’s done.

“Does Piper know I’m invited?”

“She does now,” Joey says, looking up from his phone. “See you then.”

They both turn and get into their cars.

Still confused, I watch them leave. I don’t plan to hurt Piper, so what they said doesn’t bother me much.

I’m more afraid that if I give her my heart, she might stomp on it and smash it with those sky-high heels of hers.

“Why did you meet with them?” Piper asks, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, when I come back. I bought pastries and hand her one. She takes it but waits for me to answer her before taking a bite.

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