The door to the suite closed behind the men with a sound that almost made Tony jump. He knew that now was the moment of reckoning
"Ezra I need to apologize. I should have never said those things about Maude while your coworkers were present. I know I should have continued the conversation in Italian or some other language."
Ezra looked at his cousin. "I notice you aren't apologizing for what you said Tony."
"No I can't. I hate that woman almost as much as I despise my father. How do you think I felt in NY when I saw your arm in the sling knowing it most likely happened because of that injury you obtained when we were kids?" Tony switched tracks now talking about the time that Ezra had been left in Tony's parents care. "Long before she did any of the things that gave Moha and Mary custody of you she left you with my father. Sure grounds for questioning her judgment.
"It doesn't matter, look Ez I am tired I am going to bed see you in the morning."
Ezra grabbed Tony's arm as he was leaving the living room. "Don't run from me Tony. Never think that I will treat you as he did. I will never hurt you." He knew that Tony's instinct when he felt cornered was to run even all these years later. No matter that he had never been treated with anything but love and respect since he was 15 the damage had already been done. He pulled his cousin into a hug and then let him go to "his" room. Tony always used the same room whenever he stayed in the suite. Ezra suspected it had to do with subconscious fears about sleeping in an unfamiliar place.
Vin had remained silent during the cousin's short exchange. He had watched them interact quite a bit in the short time he had known Tony.
Tony's outburst today surprised him. Maude was a charmer and Tony seemed just the type to fall under her spell. Vin was not fooled by Maude even at first meeting. That Tony suspected her of underhanded dealings came as no shock to him. Most of Team 7 however was under her spell. They would never believe that she was anything other than a doting mother. They never paid enough attention to Ezra to notice how he reacted around her.
Vin watched Ezra. It was one of his favorite things to do. He especially watched Ezra after he first noticed how Maude, while seeming to play the devoted mother, never could seem to get to Denver when Ezra needed her. Strangely enough whenever he was in need both Mel and her family were ready and even eager to be on hand. He also noticed how quiet Ezra became when Maude was around the team. She seemed to take delight in embarrassing him. Telling stories about things that she claimed he did while a youngster. Vin however found out that most of her stories were just that stories fabrications that she spun to entertain the team. One night immediately after one of her infrequent visits he had come over to Ezra's home to go over an undercover assignment they were to go on the following week. Vin was always nervous when he had to go undercover and rehearsing the part with Ezra helped to calm and center him for his roles. He found Ezra drunk, so completely wasted that the man didn't know what he was saying. He had found out about the places that Maude had left him as a child. How she had abandoned him time after time and then the final straw how she left him with someone who had tried to molest Ezra on a previous visit and Ezra had warned her about him then she left him with the same man again. How he had escaped and Mel's family took him in at 15.
He remembers Ezra asking him why she couldn't love him even now. It had broken Vin's heart to hear Ezra so lost and sad.
Vin looked at Ezra as his cousin went into his room. " He's a good man Ez and a good friend."
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.