Page 23 of It Should Have Been You

I swallow before licking dry lips. His eyes fall. My heart drops into my stomach.

“A party?” I answer, still unsure.

“Then it’s a party.”

I lean a little closer, unsure if I should ask this question. Will it get me killed?

“Bethany Rose?” he prompts when I don’t say anything.

There’s no sign of a patch on his clothing. “Are you part of a gang?”

Those full lips threaten an actual smile under his beard, but it could be just a twitch. I’m not sure.

“A gang?”

I look around to prove my point. There are men here that look scarier than Logan.

“I’m not in a gang. If I was do you think we would be having a party with a police station a block away?”

I shrug. “I don’t know how gangs work. How else would you close off an entire street?”

“A permit,” he deadpans.

My mouth falls open. “Like a gang permit?”

He throws his head back and laughs.

A real laugh.

It’s like a punch to the gut, but I find myself laughing with him.

In the next breath, he grabs my hand. Our fingers interlock and tingles dance over the skin.

Glancing down at me, his lips thin before his eyes fall to our connected hands. It’s hardly long enough to notice, but I notice.

“Come on.” He tugs the hand he’s holding.

My hand.

He’s holding my hand.

We’re only walking a couple of feet to the shop. Why is he holding my hand?

His name reverberates among us, accompanied by firm slaps on the back—an age-old greeting employed by men as a substitute for the potentially awkward alternative of simply saying hello.

“Ain’t you gonna introduce us to your girl, King?”

His grip tightens on me.

“How about you keep your eyes on something else, Ace?”

The man he called Ace shoots me a friendly wink as Logan finally stops to greet everyone. I try to step away to give him some space, but his hand comes around my waist, keeping me planted at his side. “This is Bethany Rose.” It comes out in more of a mumble. “She’s our photographer.”

“Don’t we already have one of those coming?” Someone pipes up… from somewhere.

I look to Logan for answers, but all I get in return is a blank stare.

“Not anymore.”

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