Changing Affection

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The next morning, Ezra stood in the kitchen gathering up his guns. Aubrey was standing on the other side of the counter watching him. She was holding a brown paper sack in her hands. Ezra looked up and watched her jaw clench and unclench. She wasn't happy with him leaving, but she understood why. She agreed on why he was leaving, but she didn't want him to leave.

Ezra sipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He placed his two guns in his holsters as he stepped around the counter to stand in front of her. He grabbed the paper bag when she handed it to him.

"I'm coming back, Aubrey," he told her as he tipped her chin up to meet his eyes.

Aubrey was staring up at him hard. "Don't break that promise, Ezra Pecora." She quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

Ezra wrapped his arms around her and placed a long kiss on the top of her head. They stood like that for a while before they heard Asher clear his throat from the hallway. Aubrey stepped back from him and looked over at Asher.

Asher was standing in the entrance of the hallway. His arms were crossed, but his face held a sad expression on it. His mouth was turned down slightly. "Are you ready, Ezra?"

Ezra hesitated for a moment, but when Aubrey wrapped her hand in his, he nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." He walked over to Asher and followed him down the hallway to the front door. His heart was racing. This wasn't the first time that he hunted someone to kill them, but this time there was more pressure.

They walked outside and Ezra threw his bag in the back of the van before turning to Aubrey. He brought her in for a hug before he leaned down and planted a long, passionate kiss on her lips. Once they broke apart, he turned to Asher. He held out his hand and Asher reached out to bring him in for a quick hug.

"Please," Ezra begged silently. "Protect her."

Asher pulled back and gave him a small smile. "I won't let her out of my sight."

Aubrey stepped up beside them and rested her hands on her stomach. Her eyes were bright and held the threat of tears. She swallowed as she held her head up and gave him a small smile.

He reached over and ran his hand over her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, Ezra."

Ezra tore himself away from her and turned back over to the van. He took out the keys from his pocket and climbed into the driver's seat. He looked back over at Aubrey and Asher, gave them one last smile and put the car in drive. He forced himself to drive away from his woman and his unborn child.

His mind kept going through his plan during the entire drive. The only time it would focus on anything different would be when he listened to the GPS. His hands kept clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel. He was ready to kill Jearon. He was ready to have him dead. Jearon had done too many fucked up things to him and his family.

His family.

He smiled to himself. He had himself a family. A real family. When all of this bullshit was done, he was going to make Aubrey his wife. He knew he wanted her forever. He was never going to let her go.

He stopped the van on the side of the road and grabbed his bag as he got out of the van. He looked up at the sky and smiled as the sun was still up the sky. Jearon's bunker was far out in the mountains. He was thankful that the bunker was far enough away from Aubrey. He couldn't find her. He wouldn't find her. Ezra locked the van and started into the forest.

He still had a way to go before he would reach the bunker, but he didn't want to alert anyone with the sound of the van's engine. He was walking for about thirty minutes before he heard crunching in front of him. He stopped behind a large tree and peaked around the trunk. He spotted three men dressed in camouflage with large guns walking around behind him.

Ezra spun back around to hide his body from them. He was thankful that they hadn't spotted him yet. He quietly reached into his bag and pulled out a gun and placed a silencer on it. He took several deep breaths before peaking around the trunk and locating one of the men closest to him. He aimed the gun and fired, watching as the bullet hit the man in the temple. Ezra spun back around as he heard the man's body drop.

Voices picked up and Ezra listened to two pairs of feet ran over to their dead comrade. Ezra took another couple of deep breaths as he listened to the voices die down. He heard to the men start to separate. He took the chance and peaked around the trunk again. One of the men were walking away from him with his back facing him.

Ezra held onto the gun as he aimed quickly and fired. Blood spewed out of the back of the man's head and Ezra watched as the man fell face first on the ground. He spotted the third man running towards the second man's body. Ezra should feel guilty about already spilling this much blood, but deep down he didn't care. If they were protecting Jearon, they were against him and a threat to Aubrey.

He lined up his gun with the third man's shoulder and fired. He heard the man scream as he fell to his knees. Ezra stepped out from behind the tree and marched over to the man. He watched as the man turned around at the sound of his feet. His eyes widened as he recognized Ezra.

Ezra couldn't place the man's name, but he didn't care. He was now just an obstacle in his way. He raised his gun again and shot at the other man's shoulder when he started to reach for his own gun. He screamed.

Ezra knocked him down with his foot and stood over him, his heel on his chest. He pointed his gun at the man's forehead. The man was shaking. Normally, this would have hit Ezra, but not anymore. He was on a mission of his own and now he had more than his own life to protect. Anyone who stepped in his way was going to get hurt and he didn't care.

"P-please," the man begged.

Ezra bent down and placed the tip of the gun against his forehead. "Where's Jearon?" The man whimpered underneath him. "I'll ask again. Where's Jearon?"

"A-at the b-bunker," the man stuttered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he was going to die and was waiting for it.

Ezra sighed as he stood back up and helped the man to his feet. He placed the gun against the man's lower back. "Take me to him." He pushed against the man and threw his bag over his shoulder. He stopped as he looked at the wounds on the man's shoulders. Ezra shook his head. He didn't want the man to bleed out before they got to the bunker.

Ezra stopped the man and began to wrap his shoulders tight to stop the bleeding. After they were wrapped, Ezra stuck his gun against the man's back and forced him to continue walking. They walked in silence for several minutes until the man spoke up weakly.

"Y-you're Ezra Pecora, right?"

Ezra rolled his eyes. He had hoped that he wouldn't have wanted to talk. It was going to be easier to dispose of him if he needed too. "Yes," he answered sharply.

"H-he's scared of you, you know?"

Ezra nodded. "That's why he wants me dead."

There was another span of silence and Ezra sighed when he heard the man pipe up again. "O-or that woman that you stole from him."

Ezra clenched his teeth and placed the tip of the gun against the man's temple. "Don't you ever mention her again. Do you understand me? One more word out of your mouth and I'll blow your fucking brains out." He pushed his head again with the tip of his gun. "Do you understand me?"

The man nodded his head quickly.

"Good," Ezra growled out. He pushed the man forward. "Keep walking and no more talking."