Page 88 of The Price of Love

Without thinking it through, I reach out and take her arm. Her quick intake of breath tells me I shouldn’t have, but it would be weird to pull back now, so I say, “I’m sorry I put you in this position.”

“Don’t give it another thought. I’d do it a hundred times over.”

I take a deep breath, knowing I need to voice what we’ve been avoiding. “But you know it puts your status in jeopardy.”

She nods. It’s almost so subtle I don’t see it. “And I’d still do it a thousand times over.”

I smile. “But you just said you’d only do it a hundred times over.”

She returns my smile. “I misspoke. I’d do it a million times over.”

My concerns weigh too heavy to give her the laugh she’s aiming for. I shove my trembling hands into my jacket pockets.

“I’ll never be able to forgive myself if Frost blackballs you.”

“Ain’t nothing to forgive. I made the choice, not you.”

“How can you be so calm about it?”

“I learned not to sweat the shit I can’t do nothing about. And this is one of them.”

“But what’d you do if you don’t patch in?”

She grins, and her intense eyes lock on mine. “I can think of something.”

Is that why she seems so calm? It’d free us. That can’t be it. She might want to get me into bed, but she wouldn’t throw away her chance of earning her patch for me.

“Ya gonna say something?” she asks.

“I’m not worth it,” I blurt out, hating myself for saying it.

“Something else you can’t decide for me.” She gives me a sad smile. “If I thought it’d make a difference, I’d turn in my cut right now, but I know Storm’s your girl.”

“What? No!”

Jazmin laughs. “I didn’t mean it that way. She’s your homie.”

We both laugh, and the tension lowers. “Yeah, okay, she’s my girl. We prospected together, and that’s a bond that nobody can break.”

Sadness flashes in Jazmin’s eyes before she smiles.

I point at her. “What’s that about?”

She shrugs.

“Tell me.”

“I ain’t got that with Nadine. She’s nice and all, but we come from different worlds. The connection just ain’t like what it is with you and Storm.”

“I hear you. I wish you would’ve prospected with us.”

Her smile lights up her face, and she puts her large hand on her chest. “I’m honored.”

“You should be. I’ve never said that to anyone else.” I gaze into her eyes for several beats. “But you’re right. With Frost stirring up shit with the girls and making them afraid, especially the newer ones, I can’t do anything that’d hurt Storm.”

“And hanging out with a former prospect that laid down their colors would reflect bad on her.”

I drop my gaze to the floor. “Unfortunately, yes.”