Beautifully Angelic - Charity Parkerson Page 0,16
“Tell him I stopped by. If I don’t hear from him by the end of the night, I’m going to Jessie.”
Declan shrugged. “Fair enough.” He shut the door in Wrecker’s face. Declan planned to be gone with Ezra before the end of the night anyhow. Maybe they would stay gone for good. Declan was tired of worrying about what everyone else would think. So he wouldn’t anymore.
Four
Ezra woke on a sharp gasp, leaving behind a nightmare he forgot the instant his eyes opened. He had fallen asleep almost the minute the doctor left. Ezra had been having a hard time keeping his eyes open through his shower. The second he had finally been alone, the life had seeped from him. Now he stared at his surroundings, incapable of understanding his change in locations.
“What the... fluff? Where are we?”
Declan glanced his way from his spot behind the wheel. “You don’t remember? You woke up enough to get dressed.”
Ezra blinked. He didn’t remember that at all. Dang. He had truly passed out. They were in Declan’s truck and headed down the interstate. Ezra was dressed... sort of. He still wore Declan’s huge shirt and a pair of short shorts. It was dark. Ezra glanced at the clock. It was two. He assumed, judging by the pitch-black sky, it was two in the morning.
“Where are we going?” he asked again when his mind turned up blank.
“Mesa, Arizona.”
For a moment, Ezra tried harder to remember agreeing to go to Arizona. Still, the last memory he had was his doctor’s visit. “Why are we going to Arizona?”
A sexy rumble of laughter fell from Declan’s lips. “Because it’s beautiful there and you need a vacation. I got us a private place right near some great hiking trails. Your prescriptions are filled. Our bags are packed. We’re ditching reality for a while.”
“You packed me a bag.”
Even though it hadn’t been a question, Declan obviously took it as one. “No. Jessie and Theo stopped by to check on you, but you were too out of it to visit. When I talked to them about this trip, Jessie agreed it was a good idea and Theo volunteered to pack for you.”
“Oh. That’s fine, then. He knows what I need.”
Declan snorted. “Did you think I would screw it up?”
Ezra rushed to make things better. He hadn’t meant his words as an insult. “No. It’s not that. Theo’s lived with me recently. He knows my daily habits and whatnot. I just meant that he would know what to pack.”
Another sexy chuckle escaped Declan. “I’m not insulted, angel.”
Before Ezra could argue that he had sounded insulted, Declan exited the interstate. “We need to stop to walk Icarus.”
Ezra glanced behind him. Icarus was asleep on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat. Ezra heard himself admitting something he never planned to say. “I was scared to death when I gave Icarus to you at Christmas. I thought I might be overstepping and hurting you.” Declan had lost a dog that was his baby and hadn’t tried getting another dog since. Ezra had taken a huge risk giving Declan Icarus. He hadn’t known how Declan would react.
Declan didn’t look his way. He kept his eyes on the road and his voice sounded hesitant. “After Lucifer died, I didn’t want another pet of any kind. If anyone else had given me one, there’s a chance I would’ve turned him down.” Declan quickly glanced his way. “But it’s you. If you’d handed me a snake, I would’ve loved it, because I love you. Icarus is perfect, though. He makes us like a little family.”
Ezra turned inside himself. He didn’t know what to think. For years, they had gone back and forth. They would get close and Ezra would think they were finally going to be together, only to have Declan shove him away again. Ezra didn’t have the strength to handle that right now. But Declan kept saying he loved Ezra and he had kissed Ezra, which was more than Ezra ever expected. The hope building in his chest scared the hell out of him. The issue churned in his mind all the way to Mesa until he exhausted himself again. When Declan pulled into the driveway of a tiny cottage, Ezra sat forward and eyed the place. It was really, really small but adorable. It was like a gem in the wild. There was nothing surrounding them except beautiful scenery. Even though the house was minuscule, there was a pool out back. The entire place was