Price of a Bounty - By S. L. Wallace Page 0,33

the chance to talk again soon,” I smiled nervously and backed away. Then I turned and walked around to the servants’ entrance. I couldn’t believe what I’d implied about Mr. Beckett. If I were caught saying the wrong things about my employers, I could lose my position.

I looked down at my hand and smiled. It was still warm from Ashton’s touch.

-Keira-

Dinner at Tony’s

After April left the park, Scott and I had some time to talk privately. I shot him a dark look.

“I’m sorry, Keira,” he began. “I should have told you, maybe not right away, but long before now. Just before your sixteenth birthday…that would have been a good time. Maybe I could have convinced you to join the military by telling you about the Resistance.”

“The two don’t exactly seem to go hand-in-hand.”

“That’s why it’s a perfect cover! Don’t you see? Nobody in the Gov expects military personnel to be working for the Resistance.”

“So, is everyone in the military initiated? Is that how you learned about it?”

“Initiated? No! Not all soldiers are part of it, but many are.”

“How did you get involved?”

“Through Rick,” he paused. “Keira, he can help you. Don’t give me that look! You don’t even have to be part of the Resistance if you don’t want to. Rick will help you no matter what. He cares about you. Please, just call him.”

***

Later that day, I returned to Tony’s for dinner. I found an empty booth and ordered the daily special. It was the best value, and other than an occasional beer, it was all Cole would allow his boarders to order on his tab.

While I waited for my food to arrive, I thought about what Scott had said. Could I have been wrong about Rick? Does he have feelings for me? Could he even love me? What does that even mean? I’d never known anyone besides Scott and April who meant anything to me before.

Rick was the opposite, I realized. He seemed to believe that most people were important, that life was important. Maybe that’s why he became a leader in the Resistance.

But Scott seemed to think that Rick cared for me specifically. Did he? Then why had he walked away? Could I ever be more important to him than the Resistance was? Could the Resistance become as important to me as it was to him?

Cole spotted me across the bar, sauntered over and sidled into the other seat. My food arrived, and he placed an order for himself. He studied me for a minute while I picked at my food.

“You’re thinking again. You’ve been doing that a lot lately. I’ve seen you dark and gloomy before, but this time it’s different.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“When you arrived, you told me this was temporary, until you could get back on your feet.”

“Yes. Do you want me to leave?”

“Want you to leave? Nah…but someone else has expressed an interest in boarding. You can both stay. It could be fun.” He winked.

“I’ll pass. I’ll take the sofa and try to be out in a day or two.”

“All right, but if you stay past the weekend, I’ll have to insist on another week’s rent, even if you’re not into that.”

I nodded. I’d be gone before then. “Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ve never hurt me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t into that either.”

“I’m not, but what makes you different than the rest of the men around here?” I nodded my head toward the bar.

“Can you keep a secret?”

I rolled my eyes, more secrets!

“Image.”

“What?”

“It’s all about image. People around here, they know what you’re like. They tread carefully for fear of losing, appendages. Having you around helps my image, and I know that you’re more likely to come around if I don’t hurt you. It also keeps me in possession of all of my…appendages.” He smiled. “You get what you need, a safe place to stay, and I get what I need, image.”

“Oh.” I looked away. It was like I thought. People didn’t give without receiving something substantial in return, and apparently, Cole was receiving a lot more than just the rent.

“Well, it’s been…quiet, having you around this time. It was unexpected, but it’s been a nice change in my routine.” He sounded sincere. His food arrived, and we ate in comfortable silence.

I continued to think about the latest news. Scott said there had been an attack at the Ramsey estate. Had Rick ordered a hit? Had he meant to kill her? Even from the little I knew about him, it seemed

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