Free The BlackBurne Legacy (The Bloodlines Legacy Series Book 1) by Apryl Baker

touchy subject for him.
    He lets out a slow breath. “Apologies, munya . The Romani have been…ridiculed for ages, our heritage becoming joke.”
    I know enough from history to know the Gypsy people had been ridiculed, persecuted, and made to be less of a people. It derived from their moving from place to place, inspiring fear and suspicion. When humanity doesn’t understand something, that uncertainty turns to fear and then to hate. Just because they are different doesn’t mean they deserve to be treated as outcasts.
    “So do they all wear bright colors?” I glance up to judge his reaction to this question. All I’d seen him in was darker colors.
    “You truly wish to understand?” He looks at me curiously, his expression mystified.
    “Yes, I truly wish to know about the Romani.”
    “Why?” Suspicion radiates from him.
    “Why not?” I throw his words back at him.
    “You are a strange creature,” he says at last.
    “Yeah, I’m pretty weird.” I flash him my best grin, and he shakes his head. He can’t hide the laughter filling his eyes, though.
    “Bright colors. Yes, we love colors. They are like emotions. We free people, happy in our life, and the bright colors we surround ourselves with show that.”
    “Then why do you wear so much black?”
    His face closes off again, and I want to kick myself. I had him talking.
    “My father and my sister die. Nothing I could do, and I feel the pain, so I wear the dark.”
    “I’m so sorry.” No one should lose those they love.
    The strangest expression mars his face, like he’s in pain, but at the same time, he’s determined to rip off the Band-Aid.
    “Your mother?”
    “She and my brother in Romania still. I am here to help them.”
    “Help them?” Maybe getting a good education could better their lives or something, but I don’t think that’s the case.
    “There is things I must do to keep them safe.”
    If there was ever a cryptic remark, that’s one.
    Before I can question him further, his head turns and he frowns. “Did you walk, munya ?”
    “Yeah, the apartment isn’t far from here, and walking is good for me.”
    “Today is no good for walking.” He pulls out his wallet and then lays a twenty on the table. “Come, I take you home.”
    “I don’t know…”
    “I no bite, munya , and you are safe with me for now.”
    For now? Meaning I won’t always be safe with him?
    Don’t go with him. The voice is back in full volume. Run. Run now .
    Not real, not real, not real, I repeat to myself.
    “Come, Alexandria.” Impatience is clear in his voice.
    I glance up, and he’s staring down at me, his eyes cold and hard. Arrogant ass. “I think I’ll walk back, thank you.”
    A sly smile sneaks across his lips. “Scared of me?”
    “Of course not,” I scoff, and oddly, I’m not. Everything in me says I should be, but I’m simply not afraid of this man.
    “Then why no let me take you home?”
    “Because I want to walk home.” I let my own irritation flare in my voice.
    “But I do no want you to walk home,” he counters, his green eyes warming up with a hint of laughter. “Come, I will see you home.”
    “You’re bossy.”
    “You’re stubborn.”
    “Is there a problem?”
    We both look up to see Beth Anne aiming a hostile glare at Luka. What is it with these local people and their suspicion of outsiders? It’s bordering on creepy.
    “No, no problem.” I stand, and Luka’s grin widens. “Luka said he’d walk me home.”
    “You can walk a car, munya ?”
    “Not unless it’s magically grown toes,” I say dryly. “The fresh air will be good for you.”
    “You wish me to walk you home, then all the way back here for my Explorer?”
    “Or I can walk home alone.” I give him my cheekiest grin.
    “No.” He grabs my hand and drags me behind him as he weaves through the diner and outside. I half-expect him to toss me in his SUV, but instead he continues down the street, heading toward our apartment complex.
    “Slow down!”