Page 72 of Inflict

She wanted to be free?

He was going to let her.

Evelyn didn’t look up from the book in her hands. Despite how out-of-touch and simple she had seemed those first few days, as though she had never gotten a taste of the outside world, Connor knew the lass was far from stupid.

“I’m enjoying my book, Connor.”

“Did you read often before?” he dared to ask.

Sometimes, he got answers. Sometimes, she didn’t say a thing.

“I had a man who preferred for me to read to him while he did whatever he was doing; he was not kind when I stumbled over words, but I got better. Another liked to beat me with books, but was then stupid enough to leave them with me after he left me alone.” She glanced up to meet his gaze, a sly smile curving her lips wickedly. “I didn’t mind the beating, and the books were icing on the cake. He didn’t know it, though.”

She was a wee bit crazy.

And a wee bit strange.

He hated that those were her experiences, but he liked the woman it had seemed to shape her into through it all.

Connor scrubbed a hand down his face, half wishing he hadn’t asked. “Your book will be here when we get back, and it won’t be used to hit you with.”

Evelyn pursed her lips, looking rather comfortable on Connor’s bed. “Out to where?”

“What does it matter? Get dressed, we’ll have some fun.”

“What should I wear?”

Connor had to think about that for a moment. “Something you don’t mind walking or moving in, I suppose. Something pretty.”

Evelyn set the book aside. “Like a dress?”

“There were dresses in the things I brought for you, right?”

“Yes.”

Connor smirked, and turned on his heel to leave. “A dress it is, love.”

• • •

Hell’s Kitchen was a melting pot of people and businesses. It was a hot spot for people of all walks of life, from tourists new to New York, to the old timers sitting outside the shops, watching time pass them by. Depending on where a person went in the Kitchen, or what exactly they were looking to do, you could run into some interesting characters.

Connor had done all sorts of different work in the Kitchen, so he made it a point to avoid places where his face might be recognized as he strolled through the market set-up with Evelyn at his side.

Evelyn stayed quiet, tucked into Connor’s side, but her wide eyes took in everything they passed with a curiosity that was almost child-like. She constantly stopped at different vendor stalls to look through the items, though he noticed she favored handmade and colorful things, more so than the vendors trying to sell knock-off high-end brands.

“Oh!”

For the first time since they’d entered the market, Evelyn darted away from Connor’s side, the skirt of her blue dress flying wide around her bare legs. Though she certainly couldn’t go far enough that he wouldn’t see her, he still followed close behind, making sure to keep an eye on the faces in the crowd.

The second he saw someone he recognized, they were gone.

“Do you like those ones?” the woman behind the vendor stall asked.

Connor saddled up to Evelyn’s side as she pulled down one of many dream catchers hanging from the ceiling stall. Several different colorful strings made up the inner design of the dream catcher, while beads had been woven into all sorts of places.

Evelyn didn’t pay attention to any of those things. Her focus seemed to be solely on the multi-colored feathers hanging from the dream catcher on several leather cords. The woman behind the stall continued chatting away, explaining how she made the item, their purpose, and a bunch of other nonsense.

Evelyn only nodded in response as she toyed with the feathers between her fingertips. “Do you think I captured the feather properly?”