Free The Other Side Of Gravity (Oxygen, #1) by Shelly Crane Page B

sigh burst out of me. “Pritchard. Dude, you can’t sneak up on people.”
    “Why so nervous, Maxton?” He eyed Sophelia, which had me perking up. “Is it this piece here? You trying to show her a good time?” He slapped my arm so hard I was sure I’d have a bruise. Pritchard went too hard on the steroidal elements. “You right lucky son of a b—bloke.”
    I smirked. “Been downloading the Old World’s language software again, have we?”
    He grinned. “If I didn’t get caught by the profanity sensors so much, it would be bloody fun, too. Those Old-Worlders cursed like pirates.”
    Sophelia tensed beside me and her head jerked over, but she said nothing, thankfully. I wondered what in the world that was about, but it had to be saved for later.
    “And it’s worth all that silver to have your brain hacked just to talk like an Old-Worlder?”
    He puffed his chest and gripped his non-existent lapels. “Don’t I sound like a gentleman now?”
    “Wouldn’t know. Never met one.” I slapped his chest with the back of my hand and he swatted me back. Dude…I tried not to rub the spot. Guy had to lay off the elements. “All right, Pritchard, we’re outta here. See you later, yeah?”
    I took Sophelia’s hand to tug her and guide her along. That’s what I told myself. It wasn’t because her hands—though they had little calluses on them from her work—were soft and small and gripped mine with blind trust.
    “Good to see you finally taking in with a female, Maxton,” he said. I looked back at him and glared my best glare. He just chuckled, knowing exactly what I was doing, but his tone had been so sincere. “Ah, pull your fangs back. You know what I mean.”
    And now Sophelia knew that I never took other girls for strolls along the pier, from which she could conclude that I never did much of anything else with them either. I chanced a glance at her and she was looking at me from under her lashes, her smile was small and shy and…dare I say relieved?
    “We’ve got to go,” I said, but it sounded off. I tugged her further along, but she came willingly.
    “Bye, Max! You crazy kids have fun.”
    I looked back at him. “Bye, Pritchard,” I said and waved to him, knowing it would be the last time I ever saw him.
    “I’m sorry,” I heard beside me in a small voice. I looked at her and she looked sorry. “It’s my fault you’ll never see him again.”
    I sighed, squeezing her fingers gently. “No, it’s not,” I said, the words gruff and jagged. “It’s mine because I should never have—” I stopped. I didn’t want to go into this with her now. I shook my head. “Let’s go.”
    “Finish it,” she commanded softly, calling me on my earlier command of her to finish it.
    I took a deep breath and put my arm around her back to guide her as I went forward, leaning in just a little so only she could hear me. “If I had never taken in with this crowd, I wouldn’t have known him to begin with. He’s a good guy, but…he’s a thief. That’s what he does.”
    “That huge guy is a thief?”
    “He’s the muscle, to make sure the job goes smoothly. Everyone out here—at heart, they’re good people, but on the surface, they’re convicts. Someone asked the question what would you do to save your family, and they answered. Anything .”
    Her eyes held that same answer, but she had no one else to save as she looked away from me.
    I waved to another merchant who smiled at me as he watched me go by. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes.
    “So Havard?” she asked and looked up at me once again. Her face was close and she noticed it, too. She leaned back, putting her hand on my chest to push me back, muttering a sorry.
    “No, Havard doesn’t have any family. He’s in this business for himself. His father worked in the mines and Havard swore he was never going to live that life.”
              “So not everyone is a saint in convict’s clothing.” She smiled small.
    I tossed my