Page 39 of God of War

“I meant there’s no cameras or anything fucked up,” I say quickly. I fold my arms across my chest, silently daring her to say something.

Delaney clears her throat, her cheeky smile softening.

“Okay, so what do we do now?”

“How much cash have you got?”

Slowly, like she’s not sure she can trust me, she puts her backpack on the table and fishes out an envelope from inside. She hesitates, then hands it over. There’s not much. I do a quick calculation in my head and hand the envelope back. Surprise at behind handed back her money flashes across Delaney’s face, then she squirrels the envelope deep in her bag.

“I had more,” she says. “A lot more. But Aaron— Deputy Flores went through my room.”

“He go into your room a lot?”

Delaney stiffens. She whirls away from her backpack, eyes shooting daggers at me. “Are you calling me a whore?”

“No, of course not—”

“Because I’m not, despite what everyone in town thinks about me.” She fixes her shoulders and crosses her arms firmly under her tits. “And if I were a whore, I wouldn’t fuck a deputy. Ever.”

I hold my palms up in surrender. “Your brothel is gonna be strictly for firefighters, got it.”

Delaney’s shock makes her pause, then her lips curl. “I’ll just call it ‘Hose’. For the double meaning.”

“Not Hole Patrol?”

Delaney’s laugh is unexpectedly loud. She throws a hand over her mouth and snorts. I grin back. Triumphant warmth pulses in my chest. Making her laugh feels like a reward, like a badge of honor.

After a moment she takes a breath and looks around. Grabbing her backpack, she walks past me and places it on the queen bed furthest from the door. Good, she’s learning.

“You cool if I take the first shower?” she says.

“Actually, can I ask you something?”

She turns back, wary again. Wary of what I might ask, what secrets I’ll pry from her.

“Do you know how to defend yourself?”

She narrows her eyes. “I can take care of myself.”

“That’s not what I asked,” I say, taking a deliberate step closer. She backs away, her legs hitting the edge of the bed. “Okay, there. First thing, you’re showing fear.”

“What? Like hell I am.”

“You backed away.”

“Because you came closer!”

“And that’s supposed to deter me? I want you, Delaney.”

Fuck. Take back the words. Shuffle them around in my head to get the right ones.

“Pretend I want to hurt you,” I say carefully. “Can you defend yourself?”

Her breathing is coming sharper now, her cheeks burning pinker. Her eyes dart around the room, before landing on a spot by my feet.

“Can you show me?”

I blink. I was expecting a fight or at least a little more pushback before she agreed. I nod and step back. Swallow around the nervous lump in my throat.

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