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I dug led ave aze to ht he would move to put some distance between us, that he would shift uncomfortably Stark was a man who exuded masculinity and he was surrounded byfor having their sexuality or vitality called into question, especially by a bunch of nosey strangers, but Stark didn’t seem phased by it In fact, he moved so that his arm was behind me on the seat and lowered his head so that his lips almost touchedyou out I get focused on a task and lose track of the real world I didn’t nore you or make you feel like you aren’t a part of this, but I can’t stand the idea of Goddard getting his hands on you again" I felt the tip of his tongue touch my ear and itI earing "He’s never going to be able to put his hands on anyone again e’re done with him If you feel like you need to take steps to make that happen, then talk to me, smack me upside the head, stomp on my foot, or maybe pull all your clothes off and stand in front ofaround o around ers squeezed the back of my neck and I had to close my eyes and forceif you would notice if I got naked" I meant it as a joke but there was a thread of uncertainty in my tone I couldn’t hide
He swore under his breath and leaned over so that his forehead was resting against ht take led and sticky It’s a trap, and once soet it free I noticed you from the start, Noe I see you, even when you’re dressed like a boy"
His mind was like a spider web, beautiful, complex, and deadly I couldn’t stop the little thrill that raced through ht up in those silken, delicate threads that et "I appreciate you wantingI’ve ever been" Living a life on the run was never benign "I’ve learned a lot of tricks in my years on the streets The least I can do is make sure kids like me know all my tricks, so they can learn from my mistakes" There was no Robin Hood in the Point No one was showing up to steal froive to the poor, so those of us ere poor and were going to reether
His breath was hot and tickled the side of ave a nasty look to an older wo us with unblinking disgust If I really were a gay man and Stark really were ment and censure on her wrinkled face
"We don’t have to be e’ve always been So better" The words were sweet, but they were also shtful I only wished he could apply it to hi to get and that has to be enough" You took what little you had and made do
He cocked an eyebrow and sat back in the narrow seat, soh the hurricane that blew through his eyes "And sometimes you find the person who makes you want ive"
Da and a knack for ht I’d known This was exactly why I never asked for help or let anyone else in Once they had a piece of you, they thought they were entitled to the whole damn pie I didn’t want to think about how hot and liquid the idea of feeding so for affection and a connectionwith Snowden Stark at all
Stark
"More bad news for our currently embattled mayor"
I looked at the TV as Booker turned up the volume The pretty news anchor had a practiced look of concern on her face as she prattled on about Goddard
"After an anony documents to the voters of this city and variouscall for mayor Jonathan Goddard to release his financials and justify where he was spending our tax dollars On the heels of the outrage over thelook at Goddard’s taxes was also released and quickly spawned an intensive investigation by the IRS The oing investigation He clai him up, but the police can find no evidence of a coone above and beyond his original agreeet into Goddard’s computer The detective went back in after I had what I needed and wiped away any sign that I’d ever been there He liked rattling Goddard Liked putting thedirty to knoas on to them He wanted them to be afraidjust like the people who called the city they ruined ho that fact The house of cards was starting to fall, and Titus was getting a kick out of watching everyone scrae on the screen shifted to theGoddard as he was escorted out of City Hall He had his pale, thin hands over his face, but there was nohis scowl or the stiff set to his shoulders Flash bulbs illuile and weak I wanted to feel satisfied in a job well done, but I didn’t This wasn’t even close to the bastard suffering enough
"In the wake of the financial scandal, you et much worse for the for turn of events, several recordings featuring young, underage women who utilized Goddard’s pet project in the Point, an after-school prograned to help at-risk youths, ca accusation that Goddard had inappropriate relations with thee of sixteen and claiers The recordings have not been verified at this ti for any accusers willing to substantiate the clai for a payday He clai wo to capitalize on the foration that ill be following until the conclusion The police have opened an investigation and are looking for anyone to coainst Jonathan Goddard"
Booker snagged the remote and turned the channel when the anchor went on to ra to be shitty It was always shitty in the Point
He leaned back on the couch and lifted his ar body He’d been popping by the loft a lot the last few days At first I was annoyed, thinking he didn’t believe I could keep Noe safe onup onout had nothing to do with us and everything to do with the fact Race and his girl were back, and Booker was going out of his way to avoid the fair-haired duo His apart out
I didn’t ask hiured if he wanted me to know, he would tell me, and I didn’t mind his presence It was a solid buffer betweenmy entire life apart She’d been moody and unpredictable ever since we left that dilapidated building that held Goddard’s dirtiest secrets She toldto what Goddard did to those girls, the way he collected the theood chunk of her defiance was gone Instead of telling one silent and see others bleed had opened her old wounds and they were festering, weeping, and leaking out the kind of poison that could kill anything good I’d been giving her space to work through it Taking the coward’s way out Again, I figured if she wanted h her head and her heart, she would tell ure it all out She had to knoould never shut the door on her again
She got the girls to talk to her, to tell her their stories, but she couldn’t convince a single one of theainst the asshole who stole their innocence and childhood They were scared of backlash They were terrified someone would make them pay back the measly monetary amount Goddard had forked over to keep the to stop Goddard for what he’d done to Julia Grace and to her, she felt like she needed to stop hiet to have their own taste of revenge She was consuot up and stomped out of the room as soon as the story was over; I could tell she didn’t feel like Goddard’s fall froh down, either