Page 193 of Ripe
Two.
No.
I grab Malakai’s wrist. “No.”
The mark burns beneath my fingers.
Rhett’s heart pounds beside me.
One.
Two.
Two men.
Two offerings.
Two marks.
And one left.
Slowly… everyone looks at Ezra.
He backs away. “No.”
The house creaks as Ezra takes another step. “No.”
The red line around my wrist burns and I gasp.
He looks at me. The expression on his face tears something open inside my chest.
He knows.
Maybe not what happens. But he knows who’s next.
I move toward him.
Ezra backs away. “Don’t.”
“Ezra.”
“Stay away from me.”
The floor trembles.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
His laugh is broken. “You don’t understand.”
“Then tell me.”
He looks at Rhett’s mark. Malakai’s. Then me. “I started this.” Ezra’s voice is barely there. “I made the bargain.”
“Two hundred and thirty-five years ago.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
