With Dauntless Abandon

Chapter 2

"You should stay away from me then," he says. Then he moves back toward the door so the guard can escort him back to his cell.

~~~

She is in shock as she drives home. That logo... she has seen it before. It is the symbol for a gang. Dauntless. The people that are responsible for more than half of the illegal firearms in this city. If a criminal owns a gun, it more than likely came from a Dauntless. Dauntless are also known for... special assignments. There have been everything from bank-robberies, to murders committed in this town with the Dauntless mark attached. They are almost their own species of militia. And frankly, why would any gang get their hands dirty when the Dauntless are guaranteed to get away with it, not leaving even a trace except for their flame at the crime scene.

She is attracted to a gangbanger. Is she out of her damn mind?! Has he participated in any of those things? Is he a murderer, or a thief, or a gun slinger? She has the feeling that the answer to those things is no, but she is still terrified of him.

She wants to agree with him. She should stay away. She should leave him alone. But she won't. She can't. As frightening as it is to be near him, to be attracted to him, there was something else that was going to keep making her come back, and it had nothing to do with the fear, or the magnetism that had happened between them the second their eyes met.

And there had been magnetism. He'd looked at her with lust that lit her on fire. She is still burning, and she doesn't know how to feel about that. He is a prisoner, for godsakes. He is a criminal. He was so closed off with her, even though she could see that he wanted her. That is what frightened her, she realizes. She wants to know this man—and not the biblical way, necessarily. She wants to know him, but he would never willingly show her his true self.

She decides to see Uriah again. He will know what to do.

He looks up from the car he's working on, a red Nissan, and smiles. "Hey Short Stuff. I wasn't expecting to see you today."

She grins. "Hey. How's your ego after I killed you in Capture the Flag?"

He smirks. "Recovering. How's yours since you won the game for your team—you know, again?"

"Inflated," she says with a roguish grin.

He reaches out to poke her, but she dances out of his way. "I want to talk to you," she says seriously.

"About?"

"Shady boyfriends," she mumbles.

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"I met someone that makes me... feel..." She swallows, and goosebumps race across her skin.

"But?"

"He's never going to love me," she mumbles.

"You don't know that."

"He's... he's special, I can feel it. But he's never going to let me see it. Do you know what I mean?"

"Not really," Uriah says with a frown. "How did you meet this guy, anyway?"

"He's... he's in prison."

Uriah tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling. "Have you lost your mind?" he says tonelessly.

"Apparently," she snaps. "Look, I don't know what to do!"

"I would tell you to forget him but you aren't going to do that, are you?"

"It gets better," she mumbles. "He's... got a flame on his neck."