Page 21 of Snapping the Ice

With a long breath, I opened the message. Evan was right. I needed to calm the fuck down.

Ezra

No, Tate called, but didn’t show up. I’m fine today and preparing for my photo shoots.

Rubbing my chin, I reread the message. What should I text back? I wanted to see him. How could I make it happen?

“What did he say?” Evan leaned close, scanning my phone. “Looks like he’s fine.”

“Yeah, but…” We still had to plan an exit strategy. I sighed. I was already in so deep.

“But what?” He peered at me. “Dude, what’s up with you?”

“He doesn’t have any friends, and he needs my help. If he tries to break up with his boyfriend, I want to be there, so he doesn’t get hurt.” My chest pinched. Did I sound crazy right now? It seemed perfectly normal last night.

“No friends?” He dipped his brows. “I can’t believe a guy like that has no friends.”

“He told me, fuck.” I huffed a breath, hung my head, and then straightened. “His boyfriend doesn’t like him hanging out with anyone, so he lost all his friends.” I stared at the phone. I’d start by seeing what he was doing later.

“Oh, that makes sense. That’s what abusive assholes do to their partners.” Evan ate another bite of his chicken and rice.

I texted.

Lucas

Are you free later?

The three dots flickered, taunting me, and then stopped. Fuck me. I set my phone down and ate my meal.

An hour later and I still hadn’t heard from Ezra. I paced the main room in front of the patio doors leading to our small balcony overlooking the pool area of the complex. Evan had gone down there to relax and show off his hockey bod. The guy loved trolling for women.

Should I text Ezra again? He’d read the message. But maybe he was busy with his shoot? I shouldn’t bother him. Fuck it. I’d call Mason.

Sliding my phone from my pocket, I stood in the sunshine streaming in through the sliding door and called my brother.

“Hey, bro,” Mason said. “How’s your game?”

My breath caught. No need to tell him the truth. “Fine.” I strolled to our dark leather couch and fell in. “I have questions about, uh, well, I spoke more with Ezra.”

“Who?”

“Ezra, the photographer I told you about with the shitty boyfriend?” I inhaled deeply. I had to keep my weird feelings out of this conversation.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “What did you find out?”

Propping my feet on our black coffee table, I said, “He’s in trouble, Mason.” As an ache slid across my chest, I rubbed it with the heel of my hand.

“What sort of trouble?”

“The guy he’s with is definitely abusing him.” Iwinced. “He even hit him.” If I’d been there, I would have lost it on Tate.

“Jesus, Lucas. That’s not cool.” He scoffed. “Fuckers like that are bullies, pure and simple. And you know how I feel about bullies.”

“Yeah.” A memory struck me, of Mason going after a kid in elementary school who’d hit me with a rock on the playground. Mason had shoved the kid so hard, he’d landed on his ass and scuffed his hands. My brother never took shit from anyone. “Ezra wants to break up with the guy.”

“He should. But he better be careful. My buddy Jonah went through hell with his husband, Ryan, when they tried to get away from a hookup Ryan had before they got together. The hookup went stalker on them.”

“Shit, seriously?” Would Tate try something like that? Probably. I tensed my lips. “I was thinking I’d be around when Ezra breaks up with this guy in case he tries to hurt him.”