Page 19 of Torgash

"The problem is people are talking. About you and me, whether you're working with the MC or against us." His jaw tightens. "Either way, you're compromised."

"According to Helen, there's no half on my side anyway."

"Helen's wrong." The words come out rougher than he probably intended. "But it doesn't matter what she thinks. It matters what Royce thinks."

"So the cold shoulder in there was strategy." I match his energy, refusing to back down from the heat in his gaze. "Helen says people are watching."

"Helen's right." He doesn't step back, doesn't give me space. "This town's balanced on a knife edge. One wrong move, one hint that you're compromised, and Royce wins."

"I can handle Royce."

"Can you?" His tone drops lower, rough enough to make something twist in my stomach. "He finds pressure points. People who matter. Uses them."

The implication hits me. I matter to him.

"I've survived worse than Royce Carvello." Memories of Carman surface before I can stop them. "I don't need your protection."

"Maybe not." His gaze softens fractionally, seeing something in my expression I didn't mean to reveal. "But you've got it anyway."

"I didn't ask for it." I step closer, close enough to catch the scent of leather and something like a sweet spice I can’t name but is purely his. "I don't want it."

"Doesn't matter what you want." His voice drops. "Some things just are."

"Like you pretending I don't exist?" I keep my tone level. "That's your strategy?"

"Would you rather I make it obvious? Give Royce's people exactly what they're looking for?"

"There's nothing between us to find."

"You think that matters?" His laugh is dark. "They'll manufacture something if they need to."

I should step back. Should focus on the case instead of the infuriating orc standing too close, claiming to protect me from threats I can handle myself.

Instead, I ask, "Why do you care?"

Vulnerability flickers across his face, quickly hidden behind that mask he wears.

"Town needs a sheriff who isn't corrupt," he says. Too practiced, too neat.

"Bullshit." I step closer, invading his space. "Try again."

Ash goes completely still, predator focus zeroing in on me. For a heartbeat, I think he might say something real.

Instead, he steps back. "You should go. People are watching."

"So that's it?" I keep my tone neutral despite the frustration building in my chest. "You make the call about what I need, and I just accept it?"

"This isn't a negotiation." Final. Absolute. "It's how it has to be."

"No, it's how you want it to be." I clench my fists, fighting the urge to grab him by that cut and shake him. "I've spent my career being managed by men who think they know better. I didn't come here to add another name to that list."

Respect appears in his gaze. "This isn't about your abilities."

"Isn't it? You've written me off as someone who can't handle Royce. That I need your protection whether I want it or not."

"Royce destroys people for less than what he thinks is between us." His tone drops, intensity burning in every word. "Your life matters more than your pride."

The raw admission stops me cold. My anger deflates, replaced by something more dangerous.

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