Page 51 of Shades of Silver City

“The night after we found that girl in the alley…” He shifts his weight, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets. “A photo of you went up on the UIS.”

My heart skips a beat or two. For a second, I can’t speak. “Of me?”

He nods, holding my gaze. “We got it down…but another one went up a few days ago.”

“Why was I on the UIS?” I ask, my voice small and hoarse. The Urban Information Screens only share shit that the city finds important. If I’m up there, then that means I’m in the public eye. And I have a feeling it ain’t for anything good.

“Wanted…” He swipes a hand over his jaw, shaking his head slightly. “For murder.”

My body jolts. “For…murder?” I yell. He winces, an apologetic look crossing his face. “Murder?”

Fear like I’ve never felt before floods my chest, and I begin pacing, trying to catch my breath.

No. No. No.

This isn’t happening.

I’ve never harmed anyone in my life, let alone murdered someone!

“Why?” I ask, throwing my arms up.

“I don’t know,” Archer says, his voice low and soothing. “The first photo was of the night we met. The second photo was of you with the bat…chasing those men down the alley.”

“I didn’t kill them!” I whirl on him, my pulse rising. “The fucking Reaper did!”

“They can’t see him, Tasia.”

“So they blame me? Without any proof or evidence or anything?! What about you? You were there both times. And if someone was watching me, taking photos, then surely they saw when you…” I wave a hand toward him. “You know.”

“I—” His cheeks turn pink, and his eyes shift to the side. “I don’t matter. You’ve made an enemy of someone. Someone powerful.”

“How the flying fuck did I possibly do that?” My throat aches, and I clear it a few times to alleviate the pain. “I go to work. I go home. I go to work. I go home. Rinse and repeat. Every fucking day!” Glaring at him, I raise a finger in his face. “I swear to the Gods, if you scold me for my language right now, Archer Acciai…”

The bastard grins. It doesn’t last long before his somber expression returns, but I saw what I saw.

“You’re safe,” he says.

“Safe?” The Scouts are going to kill me—just like they did my parents. And there’s nothing I can do. I’m well and truly screwed.

“Stay with me, and I’ll protect you.”

Freezing, I simply stare at him for a few moments, trying to gauge the implication there. The only thing that keeps me from laughing in his face is the fact that his wanted photo has been in my bar for as long as I can remember, yet he’s evaded the Scouts.

“I’m not dying,” I say. “I’m not letting the Scouts get me.”

“They won’t get you. My team intercepted the photos and took them down the moment they went wide.”

“But what if someone saw them before then?”

He shakes his head. “All photos of you in the city’s system have been altered.” He opens his mouth to speak before clamping it shut so tight that a muscle in his jaw twitches. There’s more he’s not saying—I can tell by the way he’s fighting his own words—but I don’t press him. After a few seconds, he says, “If you stay with me, I can and will protect you, Tasia.”

The way he says it sends a bolt of heat through my body. The heat only intensifies when he continues to stare confidently, unwaveringly into my eyes.

“Fine,” I say hoarsely. “If I have to choose between you and the Scouts, I choose you.”

“I’ll need you to trust me.”

“That’s a big ask.”

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