Page 39 of His Virgin Vessel

But Asa shook his head firmly. "Take someone like Joseph. I recruited him to War Cry. I saw his potential and brought him in. If I hadn't done that, if I hadn't brought him into an organization with some structure, then I think he'd be in jail by now. Or dead. That's the road he was on; vandalizing buildings, petty theft, picking fights. I can't walk away from kids like that."

"But kids like that are still on the road to jail as part of War Cry. War Cry breaks the law."

"There's a difference between being in War Cry and being a little teenage hoodlum, busting up shops because you've got nothing better to do and an anger in you that needs to be vented. Protecting businesses from mobsters is a better way of channeling that rage."

"The police deal with mobsters."

Asa scoffed. "The police can try, but they need things like evidence. Your dad knows I'm guilty of some things, but, without evidence, there's nothing he can do. Same is true of people who try to muscle in on Fiona's bar, or any of the other businesses we protect without concrete evidence, all they need is a good lawyer, and they walk. And where do they walk to? Right back to the person who reported them to the police, and that person will never walk again. So, no one reports them to the police. They call War Cry instead. We don't need evidence, and we are a very effective deterrent."

"So, you and my dad are on the same side really?" I suggested. Maybe I was teasing him a little, but there was some truth in it too, or so it seemed to me.

Asa pulled a face. "In a manner of speaking. I doubt he'd see it that way. I don't either, if I'm honest."

"Why not?" I pressed. "You both believe in helping the little guy. You both believe in stopping the bad guys. I know that neither of you would ever hurt someone who didn't deserve it. What's the difference between you and dad?"

Asa squirmed a little in his seat, clearly not liking the question. "I guess ... the law. To your dad, that's an absolute. He'd walk away from something bad happening, if stopping it meant breaking the law. I won't be chained down by what a piece of paper says. I know right from wrong."

"Selling illegal hooch?"

"People have a right to get drunk."

"And go blind?"

Asa looked at me sharply. "Not off my hooch, they don't."

I decided to keep wheedling at him. "But, by selling alcohol cheap, by avoiding taxes, you're screwing someone down the line. The person trying to make a living selling booze by the book, the person who relies on that tax money being spent in their town. I think your definition of right and wrong is a lot more fluid than my dad's."

It was fun watching Asa trying to justify himself before finally settling for, "You know, protection doesn't pay for itself."

We found a place to stay just as night was really starting to take hold. We grabbed a bite to eat and then went back to our room. It had been a long day, and the closest we'd had to a shower was the waterfall the night before, so we went into the shower together. Standing under the stream of hot water together, we made love, Asa lifting me up into his strong arms and pressing me against the wall of the cubicle as he stroked in and out of me. Later, once we had dried ourselves and returned to the bedroom, we lay next to each other on the bed, naked, staring at the ceiling, and sometimes at each other.

I glanced at the clock. "You know, it's not that late yet. This time last night we were just arriving at the waterfall."

"A lot can happen in twenty-four hours," Asa mused.

I reached across and gave his flaccid penis a playful tug. "This thing deserves a medal."

"I think it would settle for a rest," Asa said, with heartfelt honesty.

I laughed, then rolled over on top of him to kiss him. We stayed like that a long time, kissing and staring into each other's eyes, until I could bear it no longer. I had to ask.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"In what sense?" he asked evasively.

"In the sense that—and I'm not complaining—this morning was our last morning together, but it's now evening and here we are on another bed."

Asa looked away.

"I don't want you to have secrets from me," I pressed.

"There are some things you're better off not knowing."

"Tell me."

He couldn't evade my gaze forever, and, when he looked at me again, I could read the guilt in his eyes.

"There are men coming for me. I think. I guess I can't be sure. But if they're coming for me then they're coming for everyone I care about. War Cry can take care of themselves. So can Fiona. You ... I can't leave you when you might be in danger."

---