Dark Sexy Knight (A Modern Fairytale)(41)
Verity’s willpower not to Google Colton’s name lasted until she and Ryan boarded the bus for his house an hour later. Plagued by the thought that he could have killed another human being, she made sure that Ryan was happily settled with his banged-up iPod and a Baggie of Goldfish before opening the Internet browser on her phone.
Typing in his name, she pressed enter and waited as about thirty thousand random entries popped up. Her lips twitched and she added the word Georgia to her query, hoping it would narrow the results, and sure enough, the fourth entry (and several more below it) read “Colton Lane, Atlanta, Georgia, acquitted on charges of battery.”
She scrolled down the screen, looking for the words murder or manslaughter or anything else that might verify her coworkers’ outlandish claims, but there was nothing, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. He hadn’t killed anyone. Goddamned bitches! Thank God.
Then again, a charge of battery in his past wasn’t something to cheer about either.
She glanced at her brother, reassuring herself that he was content, then leaned forward and clicked on an article as the bus hummed along toward the house that Colton was selflessly sharing with them.
The article had been published nine years ago, when Colton was eighteen years old and a senior in high school. Apparently some fellow seniors had been harassing his cousin, Melody Spindler, and he’d beat them both unconscious. He’d been acquitted based on a defense argument that Melody, who had special needs, was unable to protect herself and Colton was protecting her in the same way that a parent was allowed to protect a child.
Special needs. Hmm. Her eyes lingered on the words, and she considered them for a moment, sliding her eyes to Ryan, who was enthusiastically mouthing the words to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” beside her.
Looking back at the article for clues about Melody’s particular special needs, Verity couldn’t find any. Because Melody had been only fifteen at the time, and a minor, details about the exact nature of her disability and the harassment she’d endured had been withheld.
And then Verity remembered: Melody suffered from seizures.
Of course. The harassment probably had to do with her seizures. She’d been a target because of her disability. Poor thing.
Verity’s heart surged with affection as all the puzzle pieces came together. Just like Colton had come to Ryan’s rescue, he’d protected his cousin in high school. A dark knight. An avenging angel. A superhero. A righteous vigilante. Someone who fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, who protected those who were vulnerable.
If that was his crime, she applauded it. She welcomed it. It raised him up in her estimation, and the next time a couple of troublemaking bitches at work threw around words like murderer or killer, she’d be ready. Oh Lord, would she be ready.
Satisfied that Colton was every bit as wonderful as she’d believed him to be before her restroom run-in, she sighed and closed her browser, sitting back in her seat and thinking about their short interlude in the janitor’s closet this afternoon. After they’d reconfirmed their plans for Sunday, she slid her hand aside and rested her ear directly over his heart, listening to its strong, even pounding, praying that the rumors she’d just heard were false. He didn’t kiss her, just held her close until she’d tested Beverly’s patience enough and decided she had to go back. She pulled away from him, and without a word, he opened the closet door, checked to be sure the coast was clear, then gave her a crooked grin before stepping into the corridor.
She rested her head against the bus window.
Right now, Sunday felt like a million years away.
CHAPTER 10
Verity and Colton had worked opposite shifts on Saturday but they were both scheduled for the matinee shift on Sunday, so Verity woke up elated at the prospect of spending most of the day together, humming “Whistle While You Work” as she made French toast for breakfast.
While the skillet warmed up a lump of butter, she looked out the back door at Ryan, who was sitting on the grass, enjoying the cool morning before the sweltering heat of the day moved in. He leaned back on his elbows, grinning at the sky, and it occurred to Verity that she hadn’t seen him so carefree since they’d left Camilla. A wave of happiness made her smile as she raised a coffee mug to her lips, watching her brother through the back door window.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.”
She glanced left and found Colton standing at the mouth of the hallway that led back to his bedroom, staring at her with an expression somewhere between pain and pleasure.
“In my old bathrobe with no makeup on and my hair in a granny bun?”
“In anything,” he said softly, like it was true.
“Good morning,” she said, grinning at him because she was so happy and because, in her eyes, in every way that counted, in every way that mattered, he was beautiful too.
He stepped forward in a slightly stiff morning swagger, his bare feet padding softly on the linoleum. Bending down, he pressed his lips to her forehead, then leaned back to look at her. “Now it is.”
“You ready to finally win today?” she asked, her heart aflutter from the touch of his lips. She crossed the kitchen to take a piece of egg-soaked white bread from a bowl and place it in the sizzling pool of melted butter.
He leaned against the back door and looked out at Ryan for a moment before turning back to her. “I’ve got a date with you tonight. I already won.”