Chapter 107: The Stranger's Smile
Afternoon
The knock came like punctuation on a sentence Selene hadn't meant to write.
Three crisp, confident taps.
Not demanding. Not desperate. Just… certain.
She froze, halfway between the kitchen and the hall. Something in the rhythm sliced through her thoughts like a whisper with teeth.
Selene set the tea down with controlled precision. Her gun was in her hand before her feet touched the hallway tile.
She moved soundlessly.
Opened the door a fraction.
And stopped breathing.
Ezra.
He stood like he belonged in every disaster. Lean, tall, dressed in half - worn tactical gear that had seen too many years and too little war. A rifle slung across his back like an afterthought. His expression — unchanged. The same sardonic twist of the mouth. The same rust - colored eyes.
The same ghost.
Selene didn't blink.
"You've got some fucking nerve," she said.
Ezra grinned, as if the accusation was a compliment. "Still sharp. Good."
Behind her, Aria emerged barefoot from the kitchen, curls damp from the sink, apron loosened around her waist. The air still carried the scent of garlic butter and steak, clashing violently with the tension now thick in the room.
Aria's eyes landed on the stranger with a quiet steadiness. Not fear — just that same uncanny curiosity she always wore when studying something dangerous.
Selene didn't lower the weapon.
"What do you want?"
Ezra's voice was smoother than it should have been. "Closure. Maybe a conversation."
Aria tilted her head. "You know him?"
Ezra's eyes slid to her.
And lingered.
Selene stepped sideways, just enough to cut off his view. "I knew him," she said coldly. "Before everything turned to ash."
Ezra gave a mock bow. "Ex - covert. She ran point. I covered her six. Mostly."
"And now?" Aria asked, tone unreadable.
Ezra's smile faltered. "Now she pretends I don't exist."
Selene's eyes narrowed. "You broke protocol. You endangered civilians. You walked into a village and opened fire."
"He had a detonator," Ezra said with maddening calm.
"He was twelve," Selene snapped. "And you knew it."
The silence cracked open between them like a scar reopening. Ezra didn't flinch. Didn't apologize.
"You didn't come back for me," he said softly.
"I tried," Selene growled. "I burned through every channel left. By the time I got clearance, you were already gone. Mission closed."
Ezra's voice dropped. "But you believed I was dead."
Selene didn't answer.
Ezra smiled faintly. "Well. Surprise."
Aria took a step closer. "Mae talked about you once," she said. "Said a man helped her escape a raider outpost. Smuggled her out under fire. She never said your name."
Selene stiffened.
Ezra's gaze flicked to her. "She was a good kid."
"You used her," Selene said.
Ezra's smirk didn't quite reach his eyes. "She used me, too. Everyone does when they're trying to survive."
"You left her unguarded. You led her to the place that got her killed."
"I didn't know she'd run to you," Ezra said. "Didn't know you were even still alive. I just knew she had a better chance away from where she was."
Selene stepped forward. "You knew Jace was nearby."
"I didn't think he'd shoot a child."
"You didn't think," Selene repeated. "That's your legacy."
Ezra's jaw twitched.
Aria, quiet until now, asked: "How long have you been watching us?"
Ezra looked amused again, like it was a harmless question. "Since the ridge. Maybe before. You're hard to miss."
Selene's blood turned cold.
Ezra shrugged. "You leave a trail. You always did. Still move like it's a mission. Same perimeter sweeps. Same fallback patterns. Saw you take out three roamers like it was muscle memory."
Selene's voice went flat. "And then?"
Ezra glanced at Aria again. "Then I saw her. And that camp. One second she's got a tent, next second — nothing. Blink, and she's gone. Clean. Like a trick."
Selene moved closer. "You've been stalking us."
"I've been watching out," he said simply. "Big difference."
"There's no difference when you're not wanted."
Ezra's voice turned sharper. "She's different. And you're getting careless. Emotional. That's not you."
"I'm not yours to manage," Selene snapped.
"You always needed someone on your blind side."
"I have that now."
It was Aria who said it.
Quiet. Certain.
Ezra turned toward her, brow raised.
Aria didn't flinch. "I'm not her blind spot. I'm her shield."
Silence. Full and sharp.
Ezra studied her, like he was trying to read between the lines. "She used to think she didn't need protecting."
"She doesn't," Aria said. "She just deserves someone who doesn't betray her."
Ezra's mouth tightened.
Selene stepped back and slammed the door without another word.
The crack echoed like gunfire.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Selene turned, slower now, as if the adrenaline was fading and only the ache remained.
"He knew about the ridge," she said quietly. "He's been closer than I thought."
"Why now?" Aria asked. "Why come here?"
Selene's eyes went distant. "Maybe he's hunting for forgiveness. Maybe he's hunting for something else."
Aria touched her arm gently. "Mae said he was kind. But even kindness can be a weapon."
Selene didn't speak for a long time.
Then, barely above a whisper: "We need to move again."
Aria nodded once. "I'll pack."
The tea had gone cold. The food was forgotten.
And in the shadow of the door, Selene stared for just a moment longer — remembering Mae's laughter, her story about the man who saved her.
The man who was now standing outside with a smile like rusted wire and too many unfinished sins.
Selene didn't move until the sound of Ezra's footsteps faded completely. Slow. Unhurried. Like he'd expected the door to close. Like this wasn't the end of anything. Just a crack.
Just enough to slip through later.
She turned away and shut the inner latch. Her hand paused on the lock, but it wasn't about the mechanism. It was about memory. About muscle. About how many times she'd locked something behind her and still ended up bleeding.
Aria stood in the middle of the room, her hands idle at her sides, the apron still tied loosely, one of the straps falling off her shoulder. She didn't ask Selene to explain. She didn't push.
She waited. Like she always did.
Like trust was a door that opened both ways.
Selene walked over and sat on the edge of the small couch, the one they'd dragged in from a junked apartment last month. The leather was cracked and worn, but it held weight without protest.
"I should've shot him," she muttered.
Aria moved to her side and sat close but not touching. "You didn't want to."
"I wanted to," Selene said. "But wanting and doing aren't always the same thing."
Aria exhaled slowly. "That's why you're not like him."
Selene looked at her then. Really looked.
The light from the kitchen haloed Aria's curls, casting gold against her cheekbones, her collarbones, the soft curve of her throat. But her expression wasn't soft.
It was steady. Fierce. Unshaken.
"I don't know what he's after," Selene said. "But it's not just closure. He never comes for nothing."
"We'll be ready," Aria said.
"You say that like we're not already behind."
Aria reached for her hand. Laced their fingers together. "Then we'll catch up. Together."
Selene stared at their hands.
For a second, it felt like something solid in the middle of all the shifting.
"Ezra doesn't give up," she warned.
"I don't either."
Selene turned her hand and squeezed. Just once.
Then let go and stood.
"We'll leave tonight."
Aria nodded. "I'll start breaking down the gear."
Selene walked back toward the bedroom, but paused halfway.
She glanced over her shoulder, voice quiet. "Thank you. For stepping between us."
Aria didn't smile. She just said, "You would've done it for me."
And that was enough.
The door stayed locked.
But the past had already slipped a foot through the crack.