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“Yeah, it’ll make her feel better.”
“It will?”
“She likes to know I can protect myself.”
I pursed my lips at his words. “Question, did you ever, before I came into your life, I mean, need to shoot a gun?”
“Once or twice.”
That had my eyes widening, and I stopped, taking a moment before I started the ignition to twist toward him. “Once or twice?”
He shrugged. “Once when we were in Mexico. Someone tried to kidnap us. It was nuts.”
“They tried to kidnap you?” I intoned, and I knew he sensed my anger because his shoulders hunched.
“Yeah. Like I said, insane. Mom got shot in the belly. After she healed up, the guy Mom was working for brought us into his compound even though, before then, she used to insist on having her own place. She wasn’t happy, but it was a big job and she was totally mental over it.”
“What do you mean?”
He hummed under his breath. “You know, when she goes gaga over a piece?”
“I’ve never seen her like that.”
“Give her time,” was his wry retort. “This is probably the longest she’s gone without something driving her. She gets really involved in stuff. Forgets to eat, never knows what day it is or time it is, things like that. ”
I knew how that went…once upon a time,I’d been at the center of that focus. And now that I thought about it… I’d seen her scar there. It was small, and when I’d seen it, I’d been going down on her so my focus had been elsewhere.
Shit. She’d almost fucking died.
Anger and distress made my voice husky as I demanded, “What was the other time?”
“It was a mugging that went wrong. Mom isn’t very good at just handing over her purse. She almost got pistol-whipped, and would have done if I hadn’t grabbed her gun and shot the guy in the foot.”
“Good job, kiddo.”
He pulled a face. “I was aiming higher.”
Despite myself, I had to laugh. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. I was meaner back then.”
“Probably because you thought it was only for pissing out of.”
He bit his lip, but I knew he wanted to laugh. “You swear a lot, don’t you?”
Unoffended by the question, I told him, “Yeah. But…” I paused as I tried to figure out how to say what I wanted to say. “They’re just words. Only as powerful as you make them. For me, it’s part of the role I play. I’m so used to playing the role, I use them more than I like.”
“Why play a role at all?”
“I don’t have a choice. I never did.” I tipped my head to the side. “You, on the other hand, will always have choices.”
“Why?”
“Because you met my father. I’m not him. Plus,” I said with a shrug, “Aela raised you well. She raised you to be different, and I like what I see. If we’d been together when you were born, I don’t know if things would be the same. As much as I hate that I’m a stranger to you now, I’m almost glad if it means your path is different than mine.”
He blinked at that, and I knew I’d surprised him with my answer. “I-I think that’s probably the nicest thing you could have told me.”
“It’s the truth. I want what’s best for you,” I said, and I meant it.
