Page 15 of Faron
But I wasn’t listening.
I leaned in close to Rico, his face bleeding into the plaster.
“You ever so much asthinkabout her again, I’ll bury you under this damn clinic, and no one will find you.”
I shoved him toward the door, dragging his half-conscious buddy behind him. “Get out.”
And then silence.
Blue stood ten feet away, fists clenched, eyes wide. Not afraid of them. Afraid ofme.
“Don’t—” she started.
“Don’t say it,” I growled.
“You’ll make it worse—”
“They were gonnatouchyou.”
“I can handle myself!”
I stepped forward, furious and shaking. “Like hell you can. You shouldn’thaveto.”
We stared at each other, both breathing hard.
“You don’t get to be my hero, Lightfoot,” she whispered. “Not anymore.”
I stepped closer, close enough to feel her breath.
“Tough. Looks like I am anyway.”
15
Faron
She didn’t yell.
She didn’t humiliate me in front of her staff.
She grabbed a handful of my shirt and shoved me through the back halls until we landed in her cramped, overstuffed office.
Then she locked the door and leaned against it like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
“You don’t understand what you did,” she whispered.
“I stopped him,” I snapped. “That’s what I do.”
Her palm smacked the door behind her head.
“No. Youmarkedme. Now they know I have a weakness.You.And next time, they don’t come in yelling. They come in shooting.”
I stepped closer. “So I should’ve let them—what? Threaten you? Hurt you?”
“I’ve survived worse. I don’t need a damn savior!”
Her voice broke. That small crack in her armor nearly undid me.
“You’re not the reason I fight,” I said quietly. “You’re the reason I survive it.”
