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Christ, she was gorgeous, looking at home here in my domain. She fit in perfectly. Unafraid and with no airs whatsoever.
Belle pouted when I reached her. “You made them all leave. We were having fun.”
“I bet.” Moving in, I touched her jaw, letting my fingers linger on her silky skin. “What are you doing out of bed, widow?”
“I was awake and bored, so I decided to come down. Everyone was very nice to me. I was asking them about you.”
No doubt this was true. The men were probably falling all over themselves for her attention by telling stories about me. “Yeah? So what do you think?”
She glanced around, taking in the saloon. “It’s nice. Nothing like the rumors.”
“The rumors?”
“Things people say. You know, about you. About the gangs. My father—” She sighed and shook her head. “My father tells these stories in his speeches about the gangs and the destruction they cause. Snatching children off the streets to sell to brothels, forcing opium onto unsuspecting women. Murder and violence everywhere they go. But this is nothing like those tales. All the men are . . . sweet.”
Sweet, sure. I’d just sliced a man to ribbons one floor below us. But I was glad Belle liked it here. I wanted her by my side for as long as I could keep her.
“You changed your clothes.” She ran her hand over my shoulder. “Why?”
I gestured to Asher behind the bar. A half glass of bourbon appeared in front of me, and I downed the liquid in one swallow.Only the truth from now on.“We found the man who attacked you and I made him pay. In the process my clothes were soiled.”
“Oh.”
Our eyes met and I braced myself. I expected to see horror or condemnation.
What I didn’t expect to see wasadmiration.
She stared at me like I could do anything, a hero to slay her dragons. I wanted to rip my beating heart out of my chest and place it at her feet. At that moment, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
And she was beginning to see the truth, how her father had lied about men like me. Now she needed to know everything. It was time.
I jerked my head and Asher disappeared, leaving Belle and me alone at the bar. “There’s something we need to discuss.”
She trailed her fingers over my chest and down to my stomach. “Does it have to do with returning upstairs?”
I grabbed her hand before she could distract me. “Not yet.”
“That’s a shame, because I’m not sore any longer.”
My cock twitched, pleased at the news, but I ignored it. “It’s about what you said. About your father and the stories he tells in his speeches.”
She straightened, her eyebrows drawing together. “What about him?”
I paused. I wished I had more time before starting this. My stomach clenched as I searched for the words. “Some crusaders, they don’t really believe what they say. But they like the attention it brings, the notoriety that accompanies their words. Often it brings money, as well.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with my father, though.”
“Yeah, it does, sweetheart. Turns out Honest Dan Kelly ain’t so honest after all.”
“That’s nonsense.” She pulled her hand from mine. “The whole city knows of all the good he’s achieved in the last seven or eight years.”
I plunged ahead. “And there’s some of us who know the truth. That he blackmails criminals and lines his pockets through graft and bribery—”
She sucked in a breath, her expression wild with panic. “You’re lying. Why would you say these horrible things about my father?”
“I’m not lying, Belle. I have the evidence upstairs. Come with me and I’ll show you.”
CHAPTER11
