Free Forged in Steele by Maya Banks Page A

loyal to the Kellys. But then no one he knew was anything but staunchly loyal to the close-knit family.
    Rusty glanced up, as if she’d felt his gaze. She looked briefly alarmed, and that didn’t sit well with him. He might not give a fuck, as a rule, what people thought about him or what impression he gave them, but he didn’t get off on scaring teenage girls. Though she was barely a teenager anymore.
    “How’s school?” he asked her.
    It was a lame question, especially since her semester had ended weeks ago. But then he hadn’t seen her nor had he had the occasion to speak to her. Ever.
    She smiled hesitantly, almost as if she were testing the waters to see if he was going to bite her.
    “It’s going really well,” she said softly.
    “What are you studying?” he asked politely.
    Confusion crinkled her brow and she cocked her head sideways. Not that he could blame her. He wasn’t a polite guy. He also wasn’t into casual, polite conversation. But what the hell else was he supposed to do in a standing-room-only waiting area surrounded by anxious, celebratory people all waiting for newborn babies to ooh and aah over and say stupid shit like, “Oh my God, look how cute!”
    As if any newborn was ever cute.
    They were wrinkled, red and noisy.
    They were definitely
not
cute.
    “Uh, well, I’m still kind of deciding,” she said in a low voice.
    Even as she spoke, she glanced around as if she were worried they would be overheard and she was bringing up a sore subject.
    “You have plenty of time. Freshman year is more about getting your feet underneath you and figuring out the lay of the land.”
    She blinked in surprise. “That’s kind of what I thought, but . . .” She broke off and jerked her thumb in the direction of the Kelly brothers. “They don’t exactly see it that way. They think I’m a fuckup because I didn’t know what I wanted to study before I ever set foot in a university.”
    Steele lifted an eyebrow at her choice of words. Not that he was remotely offended by profanity—as if! But the Kelly men had thawed considerably in their treatment and opinions of Rusty. He doubted they’d voiced those exact words or called her a fuckup just because she hadn’t declared a major yet. It was more likely she was sensitive—overly sensitive—about the issue and worried that they looked down on her for not being more decisive.
    “Have you narrowed your choices down at all?”
    Rusty bit her lip and again shot a glance to the side, but this time her gaze lighted on Sean. When she spoke, it was in lowered tones as if she didn’t want anyone to overhear.
    “I’m really interested in criminal justice, but Sean thinks it’s a terrible idea and I can’t imagine the guys would like it either. They’d probably have a cow at the thought of me doing anything remotely dangerous.”
    There was a note of frustration in her voice that told Steele she was serious, even if the way she said it was meant to be flip, like she didn’t care or that she wasn’t strongly considering a career in law enforcement. She just didn’t want to be shot down and was already steeling herself for the possibility. Nobody liked to look stupid or to be made to feel stupid.
    “Doesn’t matter what Sean thinks,” he said bluntly. “Or the other Kellys, for that matter. It’s your life. Are
you
interested in law enforcement?”
    She blinked in surprise and her lips parted, forming a small O. “
You
don’t think it’s stupid?”
    He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what I think either. That’s a choice you have to make for yourself. No one else can make it for you.”
    She bit into her lower lip, a clear sign of her frustration. She wanted—needed—guidance. She was still young and impressionable.
    “But if you’re asking my opinion, I think you’d make a fine law enforcement officer. I’m of the mind that you can be damn well whatever you want if you apply yourself and stick to it.”
    Her eyes widened.