If they did, I don’t think they’d ever forgive themselves.
How could they ever trust someone like him after everything that happened with Quinn and her dad last year?
And still, even as my thoughts spiral, twisting into knots I can’t seem to untangle, something about the idea of Ezra beinguntrustworthywith his niece just doesn’t sit right with me. It feels... wrong, like trying to force a puzzle piece into a space where it doesn’t belong.
But I shake the thought away.
I go back to thinking about Jack and Quinn. About how they used Jack—not because he was involved, not because he knew anything, but because he was kind. Because he trusted them. Because his relationship with Quinn gave them the perfect way in.
And he had no idea.
They needed that chip, needed whatever was hidden inside her, and they played the long game to get close. They acted like friends, like they cared, when really, they were just waiting for the right moment to strike.
And when the time came, they didn’t care what it cost.
They took the chip from her, like it was just a piece of tech they could rip out without a second thought. Like she wasn’t a person, just a container for something they wanted.
How could anyone do that?
But that’s the Assembly. They don’t care. Not about the people they manipulate. Not about the lives they leave in ruins. People are just tools to them—means to an end. And Quinn?
She was never more than collateral damage.
They wanted the information on that chip, and it didn’t matter who they had to hurt to get it.
Just like they’ve done with so many others. Just like they’ll do again.
It’s still hard to believe that Ezra’s wrapped up in all of this. That after everything that happened to Quinn—watching her father die, finding out how deep the Assembly's influence ran—that he could still be a part of it. But I know what these people are capable of. They’ll stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it means destroying everyone in their path. I just never thought Ezra would be part of their plan, even while I am smack in the middle of finding out justhowdeep into it he actually is.
How could he fuckingdo this?
I will never forgive him for this.
I fight the urge to punch the railing as the boat shifts again, tossing me off balance.
My hand grips the side to steady myself, and that’s when I notice the way Ezra’s looking at me.
I’m not sure what I see in his eyes—something between guilt and determination, but it makes me want to scream.
I’m angry. No, scratch that—I’mfurious.
“Why the hell did you even let me get close to you at all?” I spit, trying to shake off the way my heart is aching as I recall the months we spent together. “Why did you make me think you wanted anything with me? Even the small amount we had? Has this been your plan since I stopped sticking around for your bare minimum?”
I can’t believethisis where my mind is while this man is taking me god knows where in the middle of freezing night.
“Stop.” His voice is little more forceful now, but it only makes me want to yell louder. “I didn’t plan this.”
“You didn’t plan to take me, but what abouteverything else?” I shoot back.
I should’ve known.
He was always so very distant, but he’s not the first man to treat me the way he did, unfortunately.
He was just the first man I wanted more with.
I look down at the bruises on my arms, feel the pain in my ribs, and the deep ache in my cheek.
I’m so fucking angry that I could throttle him, but that wouldn’t do anything. It wouldn’t change what’s already happened. And I’m too stiff from the fucking cold to move anyway.
