Page 92 of Brutal Knight

We start to walk away from the doors of the bar, down the empty sidewalk. There are a few people here and there, coming in and out of the bars and clubs around us. It’s a nightlife part of town, but it’s late enough that there aren’t many people out.

The night air feels wonderful. It’s cool and fresh, and it makes me feel cleaner, somehow. Like it’s washing away the noise of the bar.

I’m a little tipsy, and I want to clear my head before we go home. I want to be in the moment with Connor, conscious and aware for every second I have with him. I don’t want to miss anything.

“I forget how nice the night sky looks, even though you can’t see many stars in the city,” Connor muses.

I glance over at him and find his face turned to the sky. He’s always handsome, but with the moonlight on his face, he’s even more strikingly gorgeous. There’s a rough handsomeness to his features, the strong lines of his jaw and cheekbones illuminated with a bluish cast.

I still can’t believe he’s mine. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be his.

I smile to myself and say, “We should look at the stars sometime. Go out away from everyone and just enjoy it together.”

“We should,” he agrees quietly. “There’s so much I want to show you.”

“Like what?”

“This city. All the good parts of it,” he adds, thoughtful. “There’s so much of it that’s so important to me.”

I know he wants to share his life and love with me. I know he probably also realizes just how much I’ve missed in my time with Dmitri. All the life I never got to live.

I came to this city without any friends or family. I was sold to Dmitri, and I never had the freedom to explore the city. I’ve never had my chance to be a tourist, a newcomer, someone who wants to see the sights.

I’ve always felt like a stranger. I was a stranger in Dmitri’s house and a stranger on the streets, even when I knew where to score my next fix.

It means more than I could ever say for Connor to want to share this place with me. It’s his home.

“I haven’t ever really gone anywhere in the city,” I say, even though I know he must know. “I’d like to be able to see it. With you.”

“And I want to show you. It’s Boston—it’s in my blood. See that restaurant?”

He points to a small building on the corner of the next street, the lights turned off for the night. It’s a pizza place, the restaurant’s name emblazoned on the window in swirling text.

“I used to go with my brothers when we were young. We’d cut school and take our five dollars, and we’d buy a slice and a soda. Then we’d hang around the front and watch the people go by.”

I can almost see it. I can almost picture Connor, young and handsome, in his school uniform. He’d have his tie loose but his jacket still on, trying to be the best for his family. But he’d push the rules, push the boundaries.

“I bet you watched the pretty girls too,” I say, teasing.

He snorts. “No, that was Tristan’s job. Aiden was always trying to buy something for Rose. I was usually distracted.”

“By what?”

“The future.”

I laugh a little, startled. I can’t imagine Connor as a serious young man, planning for college or something else.

I know he takes care of business, know he’s responsible. But I can’t imagine him like this as a child.

“The future? What about it?” I ask, curious. “Didn’t you know you’d be part of the family’s business?”

“Sure. But I always felt like I had to be ready for something big. See that theater down the road?”

I glance in the direction he’s pointing. “Sure. What about it?”

“We’d go sometimes on our days off. Aiden always had to bring Rose, and they’d sneak off. Finn loved the movies. He’d usually pick.”

I can imagine it perfectly. The more Connor tells me, the more I can picture him as a young man. It’s like a simpler version of the man he is now, a simpler time with the same men—the same family he’s still a part of.

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