Page 42 of Redemption
I now understood, finally. Cinnamon didn’t want to tell me she had been a stripper. Saying she wasn’t worth rescuing and some of the other put downs I’d heard from her. Bea had even said something about it, not that I realized this at the time. I still didn’t care about her past. I liked the girl too much. If I admitted it, I could even be falling for her. I sure as hell never had this kind of reaction to any other woman before and that shocked me, but I wanted her to be with me. I knew this much. I didn’t know how she felt, but it did sting that she had just up and left me like that. Like Prophet had said…Usually, I was the one who left the girl. Not very admirable but I always knew what I wanted and what I did not want. Now though, I knew I wanted Cinnamon.
“Hey,” Talon spoke again to break into my thoughts.
I looked up at him.
“Don’t hurt this girl,” he growled.
I glared at him. “I don’t intend to. Why do you think I went after her?”
“I don’t know why.” He stared at me.
I shrugged and admitted, “She already means a lot to me.”
“We’ll see if that lasts,” he said as his eyes glinted at me.
I felt puzzled by this and stared at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Just that we will see if you stick with her. But if she gets her heart broken, you and I are going to have a problem.”
I studied his face and wondered what his deal was. “What’s the story here? With you and her.”
He slowly shook his head and let out an uneasy breath. “She came from nothing but hard times. She had the courage to try to make her life better. She helped me and the Walkers when we needed it and I never forget people who have done that.” He looked away and changed the subject, “I’m hoping we get some information from this asshole that’s injured.”
I gave him a nod. “Well, Jewel said these two men specifically worked for Deacon himself.”
He paused and looked hopeful. “Good. Maybe we can find out where he hides his sorry ass. Then we might find your sister right there with him.”
I focused on that. I admit, I got side-tracked with Cinnamon. But I now thought about poor Glory. Man, if they had hurt her, this Deacon wouldn’t be breathing for long. My brothers and I would never stop hunting him.
“Okay, I’m going out to the barn area.” Talon turned to leave.
I spoke again, “Yesterday, Cinnamon and I listened in on that visit Rip had with his…mother.”
Talon turned around to face me. “Yeah, we caught that on the camera screens. She definitely has a trap waiting for us. No doubt about it.”
“Do you think she will put a stop to the trap?” I asked. “Now that she knows her son will be in the line of fire?”
Talon scoffed. “That psycho bitch only cares about herself, man. She has proven that over the last what? Eight years. The truth is she has been a killer for her entire life. And she started her killing spree with her own fucking parents and her little sister, no less. You think she gives a fuck about Rylan?” He shook his head. “Nah. It’s an act.” He headed through the kitchen and out the back door.
I had to agree with him as the woman was off her fucking rocker. Yet, with the way O had cried and screamed when Rip told her he would be with her at the exchange, it sure as hell seemed real enough. I went back into the living room to see that Cinnamon was gone. I looked around and saw a few of the women on another couch while watching a small baby in a swing. I headed over to them. “Did you see where Cinnamon went? Or Bea?”
One of them looked up at me, Maggie as she replied, “Yeah, Ma took her up to her room.” She cocked her head at me.
I glanced over to the other two, I think one was Ava and the other was Caroline. They both gave me the same curious look.
“Um, can I ask you something?” Maggie asked.
Looking back over at her, I nodded.
“What…” Maggie paused then spoke again, “No offense, but do you really like…care about Cinnamon?”
I stared at her and at the other two as they all wore the same curiosity on their faces. “Yes, I do.”
“The guys said you took off before dawn to look for her,” Caroline said. “I would say you do care.”
I let out a breath and suddenly felt uncomfortable with all of this. “I like her a lot. I was scared for her.”
“You should be,” Maggie said. “When O gets free…Cinnamon as well as the rest of us are going to be in some real shit.”
