Page 34 of Liberty
“And Talon made him pass out?”
“From what I heard, yeah.”
I shook my head in disgust. “You need to back out of this fight.”
“Belle, we already went over this,” he said. “Even if I wanted to and I don’t…A real man never backs down from a fight.”
“A real…” I rolled my eyes. “Why do men care about this alpha shit so much? Look, Jewel just warned me about your fight with Talon. She said at the very end, Talon gave Prophet this stun thing to his neck and it made Prophet pass out.”
“Yeah, that’s the Cartoid Slap. Talon must have been desperate.” Liberty chuckled. “Damn, I would have loved to have seen that fight! I knew Prophet is as strong as a fucking bull, but wow.” He shook his head and added, “That slap isn't allowed in regulation fights but in a street fight, anything goes.”
“No, anything shouldnotgo, Liberty. Can’t you see this is all sort of dumb?”
He stared at me. “Defending you is not dumb, Belle.”
I opened my mouth to reply then shut it when I realized what he just said. “Defending me?”
“Yes, haven’t you been paying attention?”
I honestly didn’t know what to say. I now saw Liberty in a different light and I felt sort of lost. “I just don’t like this.”
“Well, I didn't like coming in and seeing him twisting your wrist like that either.” He reached over and took my hand, raising my arm a bit to study my wrist. “Yeah, see it’s gonna bruise.”
I shook my head. “It is not.”
He kept a hold of my arm as our eyes locked. I knew he was thinking about that kiss, cause I sure as hell was. When I first met him, I never in a million years believed we would ever…
Dropping my hand, he took a step back. “I’m gonna go change clothes. I will see you after the fight, ok?”
I nodded. He would see meatthe fight, but I wouldn’t be telling him that. I watched him as he walked away. Why didn’t I notice that walk of his before? It seemed like he glided along, not stomping or strutting. It had to be his training as a fighter. I suddenly felt warm all over again, like I did in the pantry when I kissed him. I shook myself. This whole thing was insane.
“When it hits, it is mighty. When you fall, it is deep. There aren’t many events in the world that can compare to when you fall in love.”
Turning, I stared at a woman about my age. I smiled at her. “Are you talking to me?”
Nodding, she smiled at me. “I was.”
“That was beautiful. Is it a song?”
“No, I sort of write poetry in secret.” Placing her fingers to her lips she added, “Shhh.”
I laughed at this. “So are you?”
“Am I what?” She stared at me.
“In love?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but he won’t see it. Too many obstacles in the way. But I really said it because I saw the look on your face when you were watching my brother.”
I raised my brows as I realized who she was. “Glory?”
Nodding, she smiled. “I see my name precedes me.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “From what I was told, you are the whole reason that your family is even here.”
She shook her head. “Yeah, in a way. But I’m not the reason they stay.”
I smiled at her. I liked the way she talked.
