Page 12 of Citadel

Breanna turns to me. “He’s getting on my nerves.”

“Mine too. But he’s helping us. I guess we can put up with it.”

“But do we need to? There’s no one around here. We can walk on our own just as easily as with him.”

“He shot us that rabbit last night.”

“True. But we could probably manage on our own.”

“Maybe. But why should we?”

She shakes her head and glares ahead of us where Cole’s back is visible. His shoulders are broad, and there’s a sweat mark in the middle of his T-shirt. “I don’t trust him.”

I jerk my eyes to her face as my gut clenches. “Why? Did he do something?”

“No. I just don’t trust him. I’m not sure why.”

“Oh.” I think for a minute. “I do trust him.”

“I know you do. I don’t understand why.”

“I don’t either. It’s instinct, I guess.”

“Yeah. Usually instincts are good, but sometimes other things can screw them up.”

I frown. “Like what?”

“Like if you think a guy is hot. That will screw up good instincts every time.”

My cheeks flush slightly, and I scowl. “I don’t think he’s hot, Breanna.”

“Don’t you?”

“No. I mean, I guess he’s good-looking in his way, but I’m not… I’m not… after him.”

“Aren’t you?” She’s peering at me closely now.

“No! Why do you assume that? And he’s not after me either.”

“I’m not convinced of that.”

“Seriously. He barely thinks of me as a woman.”

“You think?” Her eyebrows lift skeptically.

“Yes. I promise. He’s never made even the slightest move or even looked at me lustfully.”

She laughs at this and reaches over to tug on my cap. “I’m not sure you’d even recognize a man looking at you lustfully.”

“Hey! I’m not a child anymore, you know.”

“I know you aren’t. But you don’t have a lot of experience with men, and what you do have is kind of… warped. Maybe he’s not after your body right now, but he notices you. Heseesyou. You can see that as well as I can. But that doesn’t mean you can understand him for real, and it doesn’t mean he can be trusted.”

I gulp because she’s put into words the truth that’s been churning around inside me for days now but I couldn’t quite articulate. “I… I don’t know.”

She puts a hand on my arm and stops me from walking, turning me so we’re facing each other. “Listen to me, Del. I do know. That man isn’t a monster. Not like a lot of the others we’ve run into. But he’s a leaver. He’s got some sort of mission, and it’s driving him. It’s the most important thing to him. We aren’t his priority, and we’ll never be. Please don’t trust him.”

I swallow hard again and nod, temporarily unable to speak. Then I finally say, “Okay. I believe you. But can’t we at least… can’t we make use of him? While he’s willing to help us, shouldn’t we let him?”

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