Beautifully Angelic - Charity Parkerson Page 0,2
earshot. Ezra kept his head down and kept moving—like Declan was invisible.
Wrecker, the owner of The Back Porch, immediately appeared at the edge of Declan’s table, swooping in like he had appointed himself Ezra’s protector. “What can I get you?”
Declan swallowed the growl rising in his throat. “A black coffee, please.”
Wrecker nodded but didn’t move away. Declan found himself staring into Wrecker’s oddly colored eyes. They looked like a lion’s eyes. Wrecker was a big guy. He matched the image of a pro-level linebacker. Right now, he also looked like he wanted to match his size against Declan. Declan would always win. “Why do you keep coming here? He doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I like the coffee.”
“You never touch the coffee,” Wrecker shot back.
Declan didn’t back down either. “Have Ezra bring it to me, and I will.”
Some blond guy slid into a chair at Declan’s table, looking ready to shoot his shot. Wrecker and Declan focused on the guy. “Get lost,” they said simultaneously before going back to staring each other down.
“He doesn’t want you here.”
Declan shrugged at Wrecker’s claim. “Then he can tell me that himself.”
Wrecker’s features hardened. “I’m telling you for him.”
“Oh, for fluff’s sake, come on, Declan. We can talk outside,” Ezra said, appearing at Wrecker’s side.
As thrilled as Declan was to have Ezra’s attention, he wasn’t quite finished with Wrecker. Wrecker had bucked up to him and Declan couldn’t stand for that, especially when it came to Ezra. Ezra belonged to Declan. Always had. Always would. “What about your boss here?” Declan asked, holding Wrecker’s stare.
“Wrecker isn’t my boss. He’s my friend and he’s short staffed. I’m just helping where I can. Now do you want to talk or not?”
Judging by the impatience in Ezra’s voice, it was now or never. Declan withdrew from his pissing contest and stood. “Let’s go.” Declan ignored Wrecker’s hate-filled stare as he followed Ezra outside. Ezra looked even smaller than usual. His large sweatshirt swallowed him whole. Declan fought the urge to snatch Ezra off his feet and take off running. He could toss Ezra in his truck and take off. Maybe if they had a few weeks alone, Declan could fix them. He didn’t know if a few minutes of talking outside would make a damn bit of difference.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in Wyoming or someplace like that?” Ezra asked the moment they stepped outside.
“I came back early,” Declan lied. He could hardly say he had never left and spent all his time stalking Ezra. “I wanted to see you. Plus, Icarus misses you. He’s been a depressed mess since you left him with me without saying goodbye.” It was a low blow, but Declan wasn’t above such things. Ezra had given him a pit bull puppy for Christmas right before he kissed Declan. Since things had gone badly, Ezra had run for it and not looked back.
Guilt settled into Ezra’s features. His eyes slid toward Declan’s truck. “Is he with you?”
“No. I didn’t want him chewing up the inside of my truck while I came to see you.” An evil smile stretched Declan’s lips. “So I stopped by your house on the way and dropped him off there before coming here.”
For a moment, Ezra blinked as if he couldn’t comprehend Declan’s words. When he spoke, his words came out slow—like he hoped Declan would stop him before the accusation fully fell. “So you’re saying you broke into my house.”
There wasn’t an ounce of shame in Declan’s heart. “It’s not breaking in if I know the code to your front door and alarm.” Declan didn’t give Ezra time to rip into him. “I figure if I don’t take you home pretty soon, he’ll have time to chew up at least three pairs of your expensive shoes.”
“I’ll tell Wrecker I’m going.”
Declan hadn’t expected such a calm acceptance. He didn’t trust it. Still, he nodded. “I’ll go wait in the truck.”
Ezra didn’t quite meet Declan’s gaze as he nodded and headed back inside. Declan couldn’t look away. Damn, he had missed everything about Ezra. No one knew how completely obsessed he was with the man. It wasn’t right. Jessie might be Declan’s boss, but he was also Declan’s best friend. Declan shouldn’t want Jessie’s little brother this much, but he did.
Declan climbed behind the wheel of his truck to wait. Pretending to go out-of-town while not actually going out-of-town had given Declan some real insight to Ezra’s life lately. Ezra had never gone longer than two days without seeing