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“What the hell are you doing?” Emilio mutters when the man steps away, grabbing my arm.
“Helping a fucking child,” I spit back before standing and looking down at the boy. “Come on, Omer. You can stay with me.”
“The hell he can! Get inside, now.”
A few of the townsfolk are watching us and I feel heat rise to my face. I know how most women act, how women are supposed to act by what is apparently today’s standards.
But fuck that.
I take a step forward so Emilio can hear my voice and no one else.
“We will let this kid in with us,” I say firmly, not bothering to vocalize the thread that is laced in my voice. Emilio stares at me for a moment before the corner of his lip turns up.
“Thank fuck, I thought you were losing your touch. Now get the fuck inside.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Axle
Fuck! Cowards and pissants everywhere I go.
Not that I’m surprised.
It’s only mid-morning and The Watch is already tearing Tekir apart looking for Ethan and their missing man. They won’t find the missing man thanks to the relationship I made with the blacksmith, who fortunately has quite the large sized forge. Ethan, though, we need to get out of town as soon as possible.
Fuck, maybe we all just need to leave. As much as killing these fuckers sounds incredible, we don’t have nearly the manpower we need without the added forces of the local guards.
“What would you do if I said that I could free you from The Watch?” I ask over a mug of ale. The two guards, Jon and Pieter I’ve discovered, both look at each other warily.
“‘Tis dangerously close to treason to speak that way,” Jon says slowly, and Pieter nods.
“Funny thing about that,” I say, swirling the liquid in the glass. “It’s only treason if there’s someone around to punish you for it.”
I’m sure it sounded good to them at the time. The violent man passing through their town, offering to take care of the bane of Tekir’s existence.
With The Watch on their back though, cowardice is the word of the day.
And with only half a dozen of us, we can’t do it. We may be able to take them down, but not without heavy losses. I won’t risk Ana, and Ethan isn’t even capable with his leg the way it is.
Making my way back to Emilio’s I take the side and back streets, not ready to run into The Watch quite yet. Fortunately, they’re loud and easy to avoid. They’re only a street over when I finally get to Emilio’s and I sneak in easily.
Stepping into the room my eyes take in everything, assessing what I’ve missed. Ethan is looking better, cleaner and bandaged and looking at Sammi with lovestruck eyes. Brutus is absently picking his nose in the corner but nods at me briefly. I hear Emilio’s faint accent from the other room, but what really interests me is the small boy sitting at Ana’s feet. He can’t be much older than nine and has the grubby look of so many street children. A tray of sweets sits beside them but the boy is practically shoveling some kind of porridge into his mouth while Ana looks on fondly.
“Who the fuck is this?” I ask without preamble and the boy looks up at me with chipmunk cheeks.
“Omer,” Ana answers, “He’s the one who I talked to the other day I told you about.”
I reach over and grab Ana’s arm, pulling her aside.
“And what the fuck is he doing here? You realize he’s seen Ethan now? He could ruin everything!”
“Ah, I see you’ve met your woman's latest charity case,” Emilio says, stepping into the room. I glare at Anna and lean in closer.
“Is this about the thing?” I ask, my eyes dropping from her flat belly to the kid. Her eyes narrow and I can tell I hit a cord but before she can open her mouth a knock sounds at the front door.
“Watch! Open up.”
Everyone in the room's eyes widen and Ethan quickly pulls himself off the couch with Sammi’s help. Cursing his slowness, I take his arm pulling him to the back while Emilio watches, making his way to the door.
