Page 55 of A Brother At My Back

“But?”

“But I’m not surprised. Citizens oftentimes think the worst of us and typically we wear it like the badge of honor that it is.” He sighed and went on, saying, “We came by our reputation honestly; we aren’t nice men, once someone gives us a reason not to be. That’s just it, though. You have to give us a reason not to be.”

“Like what?”

He smiled and said, “Not even worth talking about, Girl. You’re not the kind of person that would ever give us that kind of a reason.”

“I hope not,” I said softly and he bowed his head, pressing his lips to mine. I kissed him back, a little thrill of fear trickling down my spine. The cold calculation in his eyes during the short conversation told me that I really never wanted to give any of these guys a reason to be upset with me, but that was a scary prospect when you didn’t know what it would take to upset them.

“Come on, a hot bath awaits,” he whispered and I nodded carefully.

“That sounds good.”

“Good, after that, I’ll cook.”

I had to smile then. “That sounds even better.”

He laughed and we gathered our things so that he could lock up and we could go upstairs.

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