Page 105 of Ignite

“We’ll figure this out, baby. We’ll talk to Isaac.”

It sounds more like he’s convincing himself at this point, and that tears me up more.

“You really love me,” I murmur, sniffling.

“I really fucking do.”

“Will you hold me until morning?”

A heavy breath comes out of him as he wraps his arms around me. “Always.”

The ringing of a cell phone snaps me awake. Morning light streams through the bathroom door. I’m laid out on Cain as he sleeps, his head cocked at what appears to be a painful angle.

Shit. He’s going to have knots in his muscles. I’ll have to massage them out when I get him back into bed.

I scramble for my phone on the nightstand, rushing into the kitchen to answer Rev’s call so I don’t wake up Cain. There’s a note from Isaac on the counter about food in the fridge.

“Did you find Jakey?” I ask.

“Can’t say anyone really found him. He walked through the front doors of Madera Estates this morning like he’d gone out for a grocery run.”

I push out a breath of relief. “Is he injured?”

“Well…” Rev chuckles. “He’s missing an ear, but he refused medical attention until someone served him breakfast.”

I can’t help but unleash a breathy laugh, too. It’s not an ideal outcome, but at least Jakey’s alive and back to stirring up trouble.

“Sometimes I forget that he survived on the streets long before I showed up.” Honestly, he was the only reason I’d made it this far in life. “Thanks for checking on him, Rev. Thank you for being so—”

“We talked about the kind word,” Rev warns. “Bossman still high as a kite?”

I peek into the bathroom, taking in the strong shape of Cain laid out in the tub. “He’s sleeping.”

“Why don’t you check in with Isaac and then go visit your old man? I promise I’ll call when we make headway on Gabriel. Fucker has your name written all over him. Oh, and you owe me for the damage you caused to my precious truck. Better kiss up to your sugar daddy.”

He ends the call with a laugh before I can shift the blame on him. I warned him that I couldn’t drive.

Standing in the kitchen for a few breaths, Rev’s words sink in. Hot tears burn my eyes. Anytime Jakey got lost, he would always end up outside the scrapyard where we first met. Almost like that was his reset spot. His checkpoint. His beginning. It was definitely mine.

The fact that his spot has moved reassures me that Cain made the right choice in moving him to Madera. No matter how much I worry about Jakey, I could never uproot him from a place that feels like home to him.

But it also makes my chest ache. Jakey doesn’t really need me anymore. I have to accept that reality. I have to deal with my fucked up mental health, too.

I call Isaac first, not wanting to cause any panic from my sudden absence. “Hey, Cain’s asleep in the tub. Might need help getting out.”

“Like… with water?” Isaac’s voice hitches up.

I give a sad chuckle. “No. We never filled it. We may have slept in there last night.”

“Ezra.” He blows out a breath. “Are you okay?”

I drag a hand through my wild hair. “No, I’m not, but I think I need to visit a friend before I word vomit in your office.”

“Take your gun. Come right back to us. I’ll handle Cain, but you know if he wakes up and you’re not here, he’s going to be a handful.”

Hanging up, I tuck my gun into my holster and slide on my jacket. Then I grab Cain’s keys to the Benz.

My lack of driving skills earn me countless blaring horns and middle fingers, but I make it to Madera Estates in one piece.