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“Does he look hurt?” I pointed to the ceiling. “Let me guess? He’s disheveled because he was availing himself of Lisette’s hospitality. How many women were there with him?”
“Three—and that is not the point!”
I pressed my palms together, pleading with her. “I know I lied, but I never thought I would develop feelings for you. When I saw you again at the fights, I couldn’t help but take advantage of the opportunity.”
“What do you mean, when you saw me again?”
Only the truth.
I dragged in a deep breath. “I saw you once outside the mission on Fifty-Second Street. About seven years ago, I suppose. Your father was giving a speech and you were watching him.”
She cocked her head. “Seven years ago?”
“Yeah. He called me and some of the other boys vermin. You were with him. I was going to slip a dead rat into his carriage, but then I found you inside.”
“I don’t recall that.”
I wasn’t surprised. I would’ve been another dirty street kid, one of thousands in this city. “I hadn’t thought of it in a long time, not until you walked into the fights.”
She appeared unimpressed, her mouth flat. I kept talking. “You deserve to escape that big house, Belle. To wear your scandalous undergarments and live the life you want, not the one your father wants. You deserve the truth—and all he did was lie to you.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist, as if protecting herself. “Did you think I would fall to your feet in gratitude after you’ve ruined my father’s life? Ruinedmylife? You lied and deceived me.”
“No, but I thought you would be reasonable. Don’t you see? I want you to stay with me. I want to give you everything.”
She gaped at me. “You’re from a completely different world than mine. One with kidnappings and lies.”
Shame scalded the back of my neck. “There are no different worlds in this city, not like that. The only thing that separates the criminals uptown is their address. Trust me, they’re criminals just the same, Belle.”
“I’m not a criminal,” she hissed. “And my father doesn’tkillpeople.”
“Oh, so there are some sins you’re willing to accept. Just not mine.”
“Your flippancy is misplaced. You are perfectly aware of what I mean.”
“I hear you making excuses for that bastard upstairs, a man who has ignored you his entire life.” I thumped a fist against my chest. “I would lay the entire world at your fucking feet, but you can’t forgive me because my sins are somehow greater than Honest Dan Kelly’s?”
“If you expect gratitude from me, you’ll be waiting until Hell freezes over. I barely know you—and what I do know, I don’t like.”
I was losing her. She was slipping through my fingers like sand. My voice tightened, fear turning my blood cold. “Horse shit. You know me, almost better than anyone else. And you were happy in the saloon with me and my men. Tell me you didn’t love every minute we spent together until you learned about your father’s kidnapping.”
She blinked several times, her eyes glassy, and I grabbed her hand. “Please, Belle. I will make it up to you.”
“You can’t. You just want to corrupt me. The perfect uptown princess you can set free and drag downtown into your world. But you don’t have the faintest idea of who I am or what I want.”
“Wrong. I know you—”
“No you don’t, Bax. I’m more than what yousee. I also have thoughts and feelings. We metthreedays ago, for goodness sake!”
“Then stick around. Give us a chance to get to know each other.”
“I’d rather not. I used to trust you. Not anymore, however.”
My face fell, the words like a dull knife between the ribs. “Let me change your mind.”
“Why must I do all the accommodating whenyouhave hurtme?”
“I’ll make this up to you, I promise.”
