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Raven nodded "Okay, maybe you’ll have better luck I’m worried about him"
"Us men are complicated creatures Sos out"
He winked, then strode out to the back, tight denih "He’s so hot"
Raven sighed with her "Yeah, I know"
"So is he, like, your boyfriend?"
The question was sie student, boy crazy, and looked at the world with a touch of shiny-eyed optimism Raven wished for one moment she could just say yes Dalton would be her boyfriend, and they’d go on dates together, sleep together, and head toward so beautiful and maybe pered to get past their faer than a few beautiful weeks or ret
"Too bad You guys see Raven in surprised silence
Dalton followed the trail of sainst the back wall in his usual spot, puffing away His white uniforrease, one of his sneakers had a hole in the side, and his clean-shaven head shone in the trickle ofto kick someone’s ass
Dalton thanked God that someone wasn’t him
He hoped
"Hey, Al What’s up?"
The cook didn’t answer His fingers tightened around the cigarette
Dalton kept talking as if they were having a tay conversation "Amanda’s worried about you So is Raven Seeot hiled with the gunht you’d be a bit ht you’d be threatening to kill that asshole if you ever laid eyes on hi in his eyes With a lol, he practically spit out the words "She doesn’t need me around here to protect her! She proved that to all of us, didn’t she? You know, I asked her if she wanted ht, but she insisted she didn’t need ht Stupid to think an ex-con could do anything around here to help"
Whoa The rage shaking Al’s body was nized well Al hadn’t been there to help Raven In his own code of chivalry, he’d failed her, and he couldn’t stand living with it
"Yeah, you’re right" Dalton leaned back against the wall and shook his head "That’s why I’aze with suspicion "What are you talking about?"
"You kno crazy I’ve been about her, right? She was finally giving me a chance, but then after she proved she didn’t need ood for her Let’s be honest It’s hu for me to admit she kicked some jacked-up criminal around with her bare hands What if I had been there? Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to save her as well as she did herself"
"That’s theI’ve ever heard!" Al yelled "I told you she’s not looking for soht her battles She can do that on her own! She needs so just because she takes care of herself doesn’t ht?"
Al jerked back, shock on his face The psychological twist seeusted with hi on "Son of a bitch I’ for that crap My situation is not the same I look out for my crew, and I let thearette The butt glowed bright in the dark
Dalton nodded Oh, yeah, he got it Being a guy anted to protect the women he cared about was hard today Al had probably seen a lot in prison If the guniven himself
Neither would Dalton
But he’d learned the hard way there were no guarantees when you loved soot in a car and never came back One day they just went to work and confronted an asshole with a gun