Finn had the night workers head over to the brewery floor to do their jobs.
Then the brewery offices became command central for the men that gathered for the takedown.
Arthur told them he would be back in the morning.He gave Darleen a fatherly kiss on her cheek then he left.
Will took Darlene to a separate area, a small lobby with a couple of couches.Kneeling, he took her shoes off then checked her ankle which she hurt when she fell hours ago.It looked a little swollen, but she just sprang it.
He stood and looked around.Spottong a stack of blankets, he went over to get her one.When he came back, he covered her up.
She smiled at him.“You are a really nice guy.”
He chuckled.“Yeah, some say that.My brothers may not agree as I can beat them at billiards, basketball and soccer.”
She laughed “That doesn’t mean that you aren’t nice.”
He shrugged.
“Unless you rub their noses in it?”
He grinned at her.“That, I do.Competition is high when ya got brothers.We all gotta have something we do better than the others.”
Reaching out, she took his hand.“I got lucky that you caught me this morning.”
He shook his head.“Nah, I think I’m the lucky one.I like you, Darleen.I like you a lot.”
Hert cheeks went pink.“I feel the same way.”
He smirked.“Oh?You like yourself a lot, do ya?”
She laughed again.
He nodded.“That’s a great laugh you got there.I would love to hear it a lot.”
More blushing.
He snickered.“Anyways, I wanted to...”He sighed.“I wanted to offer you...well...I don’t want you to be homeless anymore.”
Staring at him, she studied his face.“What do you mean?”
“I want you to stay with us.I’m surprised that you haven’t been hurt or worse on those streets.”
“There’s been a few close calls, but my friends were there to help me.One time a man saw me and he kept following me.Then one night, he grabbed me, saying he wanted me to work for him.”
Will narrowed his eyes at her and asked, “Doing what?”
“Just what you’re thinking.He was a pimp.Man, I never fought so hard in my life.”
“How did you get away?”
“Arthur came along and he had other men with him.They scared him off.”
“Yeah, but was that the end of it?”
Shrugging, she replied, “It was.Somehow, that pimp had his whole operation busted up.He even went to jail.”
“Well, I think you found today out what thatsomehowis,” Will suggested.“Arthur has connections.”
She smiled and gave him a nod.“I can see that now.He never bragged about it or took any credit.He’s the closest thing I have to family.”
