Blank Slate

Chapter 83 - Ethan Carter

What a fucking mess this night had turned out to be. Maybe Payton had been right to try to keep her past from us. But now at least some of the information was out and I needed to get on top of my team and solve this conflict. 

If only Payton would explain to Ezra how she became a part of the mob, that she was one of their biggest victims. Then I was sure that Ezra would be more understanding of the situation. But Payton didn't volunteer that information and Liam was right, it wasn't my place to do it for her. She hadn't chosen to tell me about her past. I hadn't earned enough of her trust for that, and any trust that I had cultivated was hanging by a thread.

The look Payton had given me after Ezra had confronted her hadn't been filled with indignation as I expected. Instead, it conveyed an intense sadness. I needed to find a way to make her understand that the situation was not hopeless. There was a solution to this, we just needed to work together to find it.

Liam pulled the car up to the curb of the hotel and everyone but Christopher got out of the car. I was about to join them when Liam growled, "Fix this Ethan. If Payton disappears and we see in the news about how they found her body with her tongue cut out, I will kill Ezra. She won't admit it, but Payton needs our help."

"I'll help you hold him down," Christopher murmured, and I looked back at him in surprise. I didn't think Christopher much liked Payton. Or maybe he liked Payton too much. The jury was still out on that one. I got out of the car and hurried to join Payton, Oliver, and Ezra as they waited for the elevator. I saw that Payton was standing very close to Oliver and wondered if it was because she was afraid of Ezra or if it was because she didn't want to leave Oliver's side. Either way, Oliver was her strongest connection. Maybe I could use that.

When Payton took off tonight, I had figured that she would either try to leave or go for a run to clear her head like she did the last time. But instead, she ended up stopping a fight that Ezra started. How did she end up there? And why didn't she ever react in the way I thought she would? It was clear that we really didn't know Payton yet. But I wanted a chance to get to do just that.

The Elevator doors opened, and I asked Payton to come with me to his suite and told Ezra not to leave. From the corner of my eye, I saw Oliver reach out and squeeze Payton's hand before she moved to follow me into my room. Once we were in the room, I paused to look her over. She looked rough. There were dark circles under both her eyes and a fist-shaped bruise was darkening on her jawline. I knew that Ezra favored body shots and wondered how many other hits she had taken tonight.

I made us each a cup of coffee and handed one of the mugs over to Payton before asking, "What happened after you left the security room tonight?"

She took a sip of the coffee before answering, "I went to the kitchen and listened to the rest of your conversation. When you all left, I followed Ezra to ensure he wasn't going to do anything drastic." After that, she stopped and I didn't think she was going to elaborate. She was closed off and clearly wasn't in the mood for a heart-to-heart. I was going to have to do most of the talking.

"Ezra just needs some time to come to terms with everything. He will come around." At this Payton looked up with a furrowed brow, and I saw her next statement coming.

"Ezra doesn't need to come around to anything. I am going to leave in the morning."

"You don't need to do that Payton. We will figure this out. After everyone gets some sleep and has a chance to process, everything will go smoother."

"Ethan, I have caused nothing but drama since joining your team. I thought that I could start over and do something good with my life, but it took less than one month on your team for my house of cards to come crumbling down. This team will be better off if I just accept this for the mistake that it is and move on."