Changing Affection

Chapter Twenty-One

Jearon motioned to the men around them. "Let's all head up to the main floor." He smirked over at Ezra. "There'll be more room and more witnesses to see my victory." He turned and walked out of the door quickly.

Ezra moved Aubrey in front of him and gently pushed her after Jearon. He had to do this. He had to win. He smiled as she reached back and took his hand. He held onto her hand tightly as they walked down the hallway and up the stairs to the main floor of the warehouse. A group had already formed. Ezra looked around and recognized many of the faces that were looking at them. 

Ezra met the eyes of Asher and Marcus House. How they got in without anyone recognizing them he wouldn't understand. He maneuvered Aubrey so she was standing in between them. He gave them a sharp look knowing that they understood before looking back down at her.

"Stay here," he told her firmly.

Aubrey nodded. There was fear in her eyes. "Please be careful, Ezra." She continued to grip his shirt, not wanting to let him go. 

He smiled down at her. "I will." He leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek. Leaning back slightly, he breathed out, "I love you, Aubrey."

Aubrey's breath caught in her throat. She smiled wide and grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her. She planted a long kiss on his lips before whispering, "I love you too, Ezra."

Ezra's smile widened.

"Are you ready, traitor?" Jearon asked him impatiently.

Ezra sighed and turned around. "As long as you're ready, coward." He gave Aubrey one last kiss before walking towards Jearon. "You know the rules, Jearon. Respect them and this will be over before you know it."

"Ezra," Jearon tsked and shook his head. "I always respect the rules of a challenge." He held his arms out to his sides. "Trust me."

"You discarded my trust a long time ago." Ezra planted his feet firmly on the ground and raised his fists, ready to protect what was left of his face. "You make the first move."

Jearon smirked as he lunged toward Ezra and tackled him to the ground. He was faster than Ezra had remembered. It had been a long time since he had to wrestle anyone here. It used to be past time for the both of them as they were growing up, but once Jearon became the leader, that stopped. They wrestled on the floor for a while before Ezra pinned Jearon underneath him.

"She's going to be mine, Ezra," Jearon sneered at him. "I'm going to make sure that she's satisfied with me. She was probably faking everything with you."

Ezra growled and didn't hesitate to raise his fist and slam it down on his face. He punched him again making his lip slit and blood come out of his lip. Suddenly, Ezra was pushed off of him and thrown a ways away. He landed hard on his side causing him to wince. He heard Aubrey's voice yell out for him. Ezra slowly got up and wobbled on his feet. He glared at the man who shoved him. 

Jearon looked up at the man standing above him and let him help him to his feet. "It's all right, Carey. Leave us be." He waited for the man to go back to the edge of the circle before standing up. He turned towards Ezra. "You've got a nasty punch there, Ezra." He brought his hand up to his lip and wiped the blood away from his lip. He didn't give Ezra time to replant his feet before he lunged at him again.

Thankful for the amount of distance that was between the two of them, Ezra was able to quickly step out of the way and kick Jearon down on the ground. He turned around and prepared himself for when Jearon stood back up. Jearon tried to tackle him three more times and was unsuccessful. Jearon didn't have a strategy. It was easier for him to stop Jearon. 

"Come on, Jearon," Ezra threw his hands out to the side. "I'm getting bored here."

Jearon growled at him. He was starting to breathe hard. "Stop moving and let me kill you."

Ezra chuckled. "Nope. That's not fun. Get up and finish this."

Jearon stood up and straightened his shirt. He came towards Ezra quickly and raised his fist, connecting it with Ezra's chin. Ezra stumbled back and gained his footing just in time to block another one of Jearon's punches. He took the opportunity and swung towards Jearon's face, but he missed. He blocked another punch and stepped out of the way. He swung his legs out and swept Jearon's legs, making him fall hard on his side.

Jearon quickly grabbed Ezra's legs and brought him down with him. He then pinned Ezra underneath him and punched him hard in the face. Somehow, Ezra struggled out of Jearon's pin and stood up. He quickly began to back away from Jearon and back towards Aubrey.

Jearon started to laugh as he stood up. "This is never going to end, Ezra. I'll admit that you're stronger than I am, but I'm obviously smarter than you are."

Ezra shook his head. "Not true, Jearon. I could end this if I only-"

"What?" Jearon interrupted. "If only you had the guts to kill me?"

"I will kill you, Jearon," Ezra threatened through clenched teeth.

"Then do it!" Jearon yelled at him. He turned to one of his goons and they handed him a gun. He turned back to Ezra and pointed it at him. "You might say that using a gun is considering me as a scared and cowardly man, but I'm not scared. I think that using a gun is actually brave." He glared at him. "I'm tired of fighting you and I don't want my face to be too damaged before my wedding with Aubrey." His glare turned into a smirk as he pulled on the gun and loaded a bullet into the chamber. "Goodbye, Ezra."