Page 16 of Sinner's Sacrifice

He sighed with theatrical flair. “No, actually, you haven’t been doing it by yourself since the night...we met.”

“What?”

“One of my men followed you, discreetly, every time.”

Surprise smacked her between the eyes and her jaw dropped open. A million questions stampeded through her head, but the biggest one was why.

“I...you...” She sucked in a breath and fought to keep from screaming. After locking her jaw, she spit out, “You don’t own me.”

He inclined his head slightly. “I do not. I am, however, your employer. Your skills are valuable, and your courage is as deep as your compassion. That’s a combination both rare and worth protecting.” He leaned toward her. “Protection that is non-negotiable.”

Sam’s hands curled into fists. “I’d like to punch you right now.”

“Save it for later.” He shoved away from the door. “Come on.”

She growled and followed him down the hallway. “Are you going to stay out of sight?”

He considered that for a moment. “No, but I won’t get out of my car unless I have to.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. People are going to notice if a car is following me. That’s going to make anyone I approach very nervous.”

“How did you make friends with these people in the first place?” he asked.

She patted her messenger bag. “I give away free medical supplies.”

He stopped walking and turned to her. “Like what?”

She opened her bag and showed him the contents.

Both his eyebrows went up. “Where did you get all that?”

“There are a couple of free clinics who give it away. I know some of the staff and since they know I have contact with street people, they give me all this stuff, so I can pass it on to anyone I think might need it.”

“Free clinics?”

“Yeah, they’re staffed by volunteers. Everything is paid for by a charitable foundation.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, times are tough, and one of the clinics is going to have to close soon. Not enough donations coming in.”

“I see.” He met her gaze. “This is a good thing you’re doing.”

He was serious, no trace of his usual sarcasm. “Thank you.” Surprise softened her voice.

“As long as no one bothers you, I won’t interfere.”

That was probably the best deal she could get out of him.

“Okay.” She thought about it some more. “If one or more of the women agree to talk to the cops, they might want to go with us immediately. Their pimp will hopefully think they’re out on a full night call. Would you be able to pay them so they don’t get into trouble?”

He slanted her a look. “You are too kind, you know that, right?”

“I think the world would be a much better place if more people were kind, don’t you?”

“There are always going to be those who prefer to enhance their own wealth and social standing on the backs of others. Greed and lust are part of the human condition.”

She snorted. “You sound like a psychology textbook.”

“You sound naive for someone who’s seen a fair amount of horrible behavior.”

“I have hope that things can get better.”