Page 6 of Citadel

We have no idea where he’s going, but we have no other options.

* * *

We walk about two hours over the marshy, treacherous ground until we reach an old stone church that’s half-collapsed. The man must have known it already since he heads right for it and then leads us into a room still preserved under the broken structure.

It feels as safe as anywhere does, so we settle there, drinking some of the desalinated water from the bottle in my bag and eating some jerky from the man’s pack. Then we take turns going to the bathroom.

I’ve got a small blanket in my bag. I pull it out and hand it to Breanna. She’s about to insist that we share it—I can see it on her face—when the man yanks a blanket out of his pack and tosses it over to me.

“What will you use?” I ask him.

“I’m not cold.”

My clothes have mostly dried, but they still feel slightly damp since the air is so humid and the terrain so wet. I wrap the blanket around myself without further objection and immediately feel better even though it smells strong.

Like he does.

“What do I call you?” he asks in that same gruff mutter that’s evidently his regular voice.

“I’m Del. Delaney, but everyone calls me Del. This is my sister, Breanna. What about you?”

“Cole.”

“Thanks,” I say, feeling weirdly embarrassed, like I want to squirm. “For saving us.”

He looks at me. Doesn’t answer.

“Yes, thank you,” Breanna adds. She looks from me to Cole, and her eyebrows draw together. I’m not sure what exactly she sees, but she scoots closer to him. “If you want something in return, I can fuck you. If you’re interested.”

She says it plain as can be. No hesitation. No inflections. It’s how she’s always managed our way through perilous circumstances and self-serving men. Better to offer it willingly than have them take it by force. That’s what she’s always said.

And I realize what worried her. She didn’t like how Cole was looking at me. I can’t see any hint of lust or admiration on his face. Even though I’m twenty—more than the age where I could be a consenting sex partner—I’m quite sure he’s barely aware I’m a woman. But he was looking at me,focusedon me, and she’s always tried to protect me from men.

So she’s standing in the gap here. For me. Putting her body between mine and any possible danger.

It touches me, even as it makes me nervous. Because she clearly can’t read Cole as well as I can.

He’s going to be offended by her offer.

I’m not wrong. His lip curls, and he leans back. “Don’t do that,” he says brusquely.

She frowns and withdraws. “I’m sorry if I did something wrong. I was just offering.”

“I don’t do that.”

Her lips part. “Have sex?”

“Take advantage. I don’t fuck as a payment.”

“Oh. Okay.” She meets my gaze, clearly confused but not troubled by this surprising turn of events. “If you change your mind, let me know. Del is off-limits.”

“Breanna, you don’t have to—”

“Yes, I do!” She narrows her eyes at me. “I do. We’ve had to put up with all kinds of horrible things to survive, but I’m not going to put up with that. No one is going to touch you.” She turns back toward a silently brooding Cole. “If you want someone to fuck, you can have me. Del is off-limits.”

“Understood,” the man says in almost a growl. He’s not angry about the boundaries she’s setting down. He’s offended by the implications.

“He doesn’t want to fuck me,” I say softly.

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