Chapter 157

* * *

<I'll stay here for the time being.>

Dane lay in the darkness, recalling the words Joshua had said before leaving.

<If anything happens, contact me anytime. I'll check around that bastard first.>

In other words, he would keep watch until he felt no particular suspicion from Greyson. Even after saying that, Joshua still didn't seem to completely believe Dane's words.

Damn bastard, uselessly quick-witted.

Clicking his tongue, Dane gently patted Darling, who was stirring in his arms. Listening to the cat's deep breathing as she fell back asleep, he fell into thought again. It wouldn't last long anyway. If something was going to happen, there would have been signs by now.

Even while thinking that, something kept bothering him. What was it, exactly?

Sighing, he forced himself to try to sleep.

...Come to think of it.

Suddenly he remembered the doubt that had occurred to him just before Joshua's visit. How did Ezra know? That Greyson had been attacked here.

He couldn't figure it out at all. He tried to dismiss it as something that didn't matter, but his mind became increasingly clear instead, and in the end, dawn broke without him getting a wink of sleep.

* * *

"Hi, Dane."

"Hi."

Dane briefly raised his hand to the colleagues greeting him and strode across the locker room toward his cabinet. As he was changing into his work shirt as usual, the door soon opened and someone entered.

"Oh, Ezra."

"Hi."

From the exchanges, Dane could tell who it was. His hand gradually slowed as he took out his uniform.

"Uh, hi?"

Ezra, who had come around the cabinet, spotted Dane and greeted him first. His noticeably haggard face still had unshaven stubble, and dark shadows had fallen under his eyes. He too seemed to have not slept all night, his eyes as red as Dane's. Dane, who had been silently staring at Ezra's face, opened his mouth.

"...You look tired."

"Huh? Oh... I, I couldn't sleep well."

At Dane's words, Ezra was startled and stammered with a laugh. Was even that attitude seeming awkward because I was suspicious of him? Dane thought inwardly and opened his mouth.

"Ezra, I've been thinking about it continuously, but I just can't figure it out."

"What?"

As he casually brought it up, Ezra asked perfunctorily while opening his cabinet. Dane fixed his gaze on him and spoke.

"How did you know that the place where Greyson was attacked was the parking lot of the hotel where I'm staying?"

At that moment, Ezra stopped moving.

30

Suddenly, a cold silence settled. The sounds of other guys laughing and chattering seemed to come from far away. Dane stood there waiting for Ezra's reaction, hidden behind the open cabinet door. 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds. It was a brief moment, but the few seconds that felt so long passed before Ezra poked his face out from behind the door.

"Well? Didn't you tell me?"

Looking at his usual smiling face, Dane denied it.

"No, I didn't say anything."

"Really? Then Miller must have said it."

Ezra skillfully deflected. Dane stared at him as he hummed and changed clothes. The unsettling feeling remained, but there was no more justification to press further. Ezra's attitude was no different from usual either. In the end, he didn't ask any more questions and left the locker room after putting on his uniform.

Only after confirming that Dane had passed behind him and gone outside could Ezra finally exhale a trembling breath. Belatedly clutching his pounding heart, he had to take deep breaths several times.

It's okay, calm down.

He thought, placing his hand on his chest and breathing heavily. No one knows, it's okay. I got through it well, Dane won't suspect anything.

What I did.

Thinking that far, his nose suddenly stung. He felt like he had fallen into a deep swamp. He probably would never be able to escape from here for the rest of his life, from this swamp called guilt.

He buried his face in one hand and swallowed a deep groan.

* * *

"Higher, higher!"

Hot flames writhed as if they would consume his entire body. DeAndre, his face completely blackened with ash and dust, shouted again toward Ezra.

"Ezra, it's low! I said raise it higher!"

He shouted repeatedly, but the water level didn't change. Finally, he burst out cursing.

"Ezra, fuck! I said raise the hose higher!"

Eventually DeAndre couldn't stand it and ran to Ezra, shouting.

"I said shoot higher, can't you hear! The water isn't reaching at all!"

"Shut up, you fucking bastard!"

Suddenly Ezra shouted loudly. For a moment DeAndre was flustered, and the guys around them also turned their heads in surprise. But Ezra didn't care and continued cursing while pushing DeAndre away.

"Get lost, damn it! Fuck off! You stupid bastard!"

DeAndre, who had staggered back, blinked in bewilderment. He looked around as if asking what was going on, but the other guys were equally puzzled. Then, Dane, who happened to be nearby, saw them and walked over with large strides. As DeAndre stood there hesitating, Dane immediately grabbed Ezra's arm without a word and lifted it up. The water stream from the hose immediately shot up.

"What the, fuck..."

Ezra turned his head with a menacing face while cursing, then was startled. Dane just looked down at him with an expressionless face. Surprisingly, unlike before, Ezra avoided his gaze and obediently raised the hose to spray water. Dane, seeming satisfied, patted his shoulder and soon returned to his position, while DeAndre watched them in bewilderment.

* * *

"Isn't Ezra acting a bit strange?"

After barely suppressing the fire, the guys who finally had a moment to breathe gathered in small groups and whispered. At the words spoken while looking at Ezra, who was organizing equipment on one side, another guy nodded in agreement.

"He's been like that for the past few days, right? He's become overly sensitive."

"It's understandable. His wife is sick, how could he be in his right mind? He doesn't even shave properly these days and seems absent-minded."

A different opinion slipped in. But DeAndre immediately objected.

"Even so, didn't you see Ezra yelling and cursing at me earlier? That Ezra!"

At those words, everyone closed their mouths and looked at each other. DeAndre couldn't contain his anger and raised his voice repeatedly.

"That's not all, he couldn't say a word to Dane! He cursed and even pushed me, but why couldn't he do anything to Dane? Huh?"

He raged and expressed his anger.

"This is unfair!"

"Yeah, yeah. You're right."

The other guys hurriedly soothed DeAndre. Actually, everyone had been feeling the same way. For the past few days, Ezra had become excessively sensitive. He was constantly startled and noticeably anxious. Finally cursing and shouting - they couldn't help but be flustered. Ezra, who was usually gentle and rarely got angry, had been called the mediator within the fire station.

"He's always only cared about Sandra. Plus he's taking care of the kids too, so it's understandable he'd be exhausted."

In the bewildered atmosphere, when a voice defending Ezra emerged, another guy immediately chimed in.

"That's true. Let's be understanding."

"Right, how hard must it be alone? I saw him worrying about hospital bills last time too, he must have a lot of difficult things to deal with."

"He got angry at me too. It was just some trivial joke, but he suddenly yelled and cursed... I thought I was going to get hit."

"I did notice he's only weak toward Dane, but well... it's probably a coincidence."

"Dane's condition hasn't been good lately either, maybe that's why?"

"That guy's strange too, doesn't seem like he's been going out much."

"Well, Ezra's probably having the hardest time right now."

The guys who had been tilting their heads in confusion looked at Ezra in the distance with sympathetic eyes. DeAndre, who had caught the backlash, felt wronged but couldn't just blame a colleague in such a pitiful situation. In the end, he roughly spat out "Tsk" and turned away.

* * *

What's with that bastard?

Dane, who was loading used equipment into the vehicle, frowned at the sight of a man who entered his field of vision. Ezra was organizing the surroundings with a serious face. His expression, which seemed somewhat dejected and worried, was full of concern, but given the current situation, it was also natural.

The problem was his attitude.

Dane too had felt that Ezra had become strange. He was constantly getting angry and picking fights, but the stranger thing was that he was different only toward him.

The incident earlier was the same. Ezra's attitude of shouting and getting angry at DeAndre changed the moment he saw Dane. For Dane, who had been watching Ezra for several years, it was an incomprehensible situation. From his life experience, there was only one reason that came to mind in such cases. There was something related to Dane, but something he couldn't talk about.

But he had no idea what it could be. Because of that, Dane was watching him while waiting for the right timing. It would be best if Ezra found the courage to confess first.

<Dane, Dane!>

Suddenly, a forgotten memory popped up. Dane sighed "Haa" and stood there blankly before sweeping his hair back behind his forehead.

He's probably doing well.

It was natural to feel empty since the guy who had been constantly around was nowhere to be seen. Dane shook his head and buried the memory that had briefly surfaced. Believing that even this would disappear with time.

* * *

He learned that there had been contact from Joshua that evening, around quitting time. Only after getting in his car did Dane check his mobile phone and frown at seeing three missed calls from him. Sensing something unusual, he immediately called back.

"What's wrong?"

When he asked directly, Joshua also immediately got to the point.

- Greyson has disappeared.

Dane hesitated for a moment.

"...What?"

When he asked after a pause, Joshua continued.

- He's nowhere to be found. He's completely vanished without a trace.

"Wait a minute."

Dane, who furrowed his brow and organized his thoughts, asked again.

"Th-there are tracking devices, aren't there? On all the Miller family members..."

- There are. But it's gone.

Joshua's words became faster as if anxious.

- It can't be tracked at all. Something definitely went wrong. The secretarial team says it seems to be broken...

He didn't know why. At that moment, Dane instinctively thought of Ezra.