Page 24 of Riot's Thorn
The room has gone quiet, so even though no one has moved closer, I know they’re still listening. Whatever. I don’t fucking care anymore. It’s done. They can’t change it, and if anyone tries to get to Parker, they’ll have to get through me first.
“No. Rigger and Killer do.”
Dutch flicks his shaggy black hair off his forehead and looks over my shoulder. “You’re okay with this, bro?”
“He’s a grown-ass man, and I’m not his babysitter,” Rigger says.
“Is she. . . okay?” Dutch asks carefully. “She’s not hurt or anything?”
I think about the marks on her throat, marks I put there. If I told him about that, he might try and take her away from me, so I hold back. “She’s fine.”
“That’s good.” He spins around on his stool so he’s facing the pool tables and leans against the bar, taking on a casual stancewhen I know he’s taking this conversation seriously. “So, what’s your plan for her?”
“Rigger and Killer think I need to marry her to keep her safe.”
The bottle of beer he was holding slips from his hand and falls to the polished cement floor. The glass shatters, and beer splashes all over the fucking place.
“Prospect,” he calls out, and seconds later, our newest prospect, Dillon, appears with a rag and drops to the ground. At thirty-five, he’s the oldest prospect we’ve had in a while, but he’s spent the last seventeen years in the Army, some of that as a Ranger. “Get me a new one when you’re done.”
“Sure.” Dillon wipes up the mess.
“You’re not really going to marry her, are you?” Dutch asks.
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Yeah, anything other than you marrying the girl you abducted.”
“That’s not helpful,” I say.
“Oh, you were being serious?”
“That’s why I asked.” I don’t usually ask anyone for their opinion since this is my life and mine is the only one that matters, but I’ve also never been this confused before.
“Do you like her?”
“I don’t know.” I can’t find the right words to explain how I feel about her, so I tell him a few facts instead. “She stands up to me even though she knows I’m in charge of her fate.”
“A challenge is always good. Are you attracted to her?”
“Her looks are appealing, but she’s a virgin.”
He chokes on his fresh beer. “She told you that?”
“She thought I was going to rape her, so yes, she told me she didn’t want that to be her first experience.”
He sighs loudly. “Fuck, brother. I’m not nearly drunk enough for this conversation.”
“I’m not a rapist.”
“Of course not, but I’d work on making her like you before tryin’ to get her nakey.”
“It doesn’t even matter when she hates me for killing her dad and wants to get away.”
“I mean, that’s valid, right?” he asks.
“Her dad was a trafficker. He bought women and kids and then charged admission for his friends to fuck and abuse them.”
“Goddamn.” He looks around. “Do you know where Bones is? I’m gonna need a joint after this.”
