Page 74 of His Reluctant Savior

“If I do this—”

“Youaren’tdoing this.”

“If Idothis, changes will need to be made.”

He stopped trying to push me away and finally met my eyes. “What do you mean?”

“We’re not going to kill all… willy nilly. You can’t just kill innocent people just because you get paid enough. Make The District the outlier. You all already stand out with your queer members. Be the organization, which still does what it does, but it now takes out the bad guy—the man who fucking gets away with everything because he’s wealthy or has connections. Take out a leader of a sex trafficking ring. Make the world better while hidden in the shadows. There are plenty of other organizations that kill for profit. Be different. Be better.” I gripped his doubting face. “I wouldn’t even suggest this if you didn’t give a shit about how I live my life. But youdo. Somewhere deep inside this killer’s heart and mind is a boy who wishes he had a different life. A boy who could havehada different life had he not been surrounded by evil. I would never ask you to change who you are. I’ve accepted that already. All I’m asking is that if you’re going to do this, make a fucking difference in the world.”

“How will it help? My family won’t go for it.”

“They will. Not only will it reduce competition, keeping Owen and me safe, at least from other syndicates, but your family won’t want to pass up a real live FBI analyst on their team, someonewho has inside knowledge. But I’m not going to do jobs that kill anyone innocent. The District will need to be reworked. You’re going to have to do thorough investigations into your clients. Sometimes the clients are worse than those they wish to eliminate. Protecting their privacy is one thing, but you need to protect yourselves. You all not investigating clients is what got you into the mess in the first place.”

Sid huffed a humorless laugh. “Mess? But I wouldn’t have found you had we not accepted this job.”

“Well, I’ll give you that. But really, knowing who is handling the money is vital. When you want to reach the top of the bad guy chain, always follow the money. This will allow you all to take on more worthwhile jobs. Jobs where we know damn well the justice system has failed us.”

Sid rested a hand on my cheek. “See, you’re already changing. You’re starting to sound like me.”

I placed my hand on his. “You weren’t wrong. Too many leaders get away with things that everyone else would end up in prison over. If this situation has taught me anything, it’s that our government is fucked up, and it’s failing its citizens. I don’t know… maybe it’s always been that way. But with all the data we have today, we’re able to really dig deep to see what a cesspool it really is. There are some good people out there trying to do real good in this world, but they’re constantly trampled on by those whose only motivations are greed and power, and they have a lot of money behind them. Being with you will allow me to fight back without red tape and roadblocks. Maybe I can do somerealgood, and so can The District.”

Sid smiledand pressed his lips to me for a quick kiss. “That’s some speech, Boy Scout.”

I chuckled and rested my hand over his heart. “When you were a teen, there was a reason I wanted to take a chance on you—a chance I never got to give you. You have good in you. You were desperate for it, which I now know why you were so drawn to me. Life dropped you into this world of death, but you now have the power to do something different. I’m not saying don’t kill. I’m saying… kill therightpeople. No matter what I believe in, I won’t shed a tear if Speaker Rush is suddenly unalived.”

“I’m still not sure my family will go for this.”

“Does that mean you’re willing to consider it?”

Sid nodded. “Yes, but…”

“Aren’t you half-owner? What you say should hold a lot of water.”

“While true, I also betrayed it. There’s a lot of trust lost within my family.”

“Then we fix it… together. Let’s get you to your family and repair the damage. Then we’re going to fucking end this mess once and for all.”

Sid rested his forehead against mine again. “There’s a chance they could kill us. I can’t…”

I swallowed, closed my eyes, and nodded. “I know, but I’m taking a gamble for you, as you would, and have for me. We’re going to take this risk because if anyone comes at my son again, I want the means to fucking stop them. And…” I looked at his denim-blue eyes, full of pain, doubt, and worry. “And because I love you, too.”

He shook his head, looking angry suddenly. “No, it’s too fast. Why? Don’t just tell me that, Dalton.”

“But it wasn’t too fast for you?”

“I’ve always had strong feelings for you. Sure, they dampened with time, but they came flooding back as soon as I saw you again.”

“Let me tell you something. When they had me bound to that chair, beating me, forcing me to answer questions, I knew I would die if you didn’t come. There were only two people I thought about as I got close to death… Owen and you. I didn’t want to live without either of you. When you find your person, you do what you can to make changes, sacrifices, and compromises. I’m doing this because I love you.”

Sid pulled me against his rock-hard body, squeezing the hell out of me. “But I don’t want you to change… at least not too much.”

“And I won’t. I’m still and always will be your Boy Scout.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “Let’s do this.”

I unlocked the front door to my farmhouse, which I never thought I’d see again. I was grateful Easton talked me out of burning it down. While I didn’t spend much time there, mostly living in my condo in Washington, DC, this was still the safest place for now.

We planned to stay here for only one night and then head to The District tomorrow morning. First, Dalton and Owenneeded more rest.

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