Page 74 of Dark Side of the Cloth (The Righteous 1)
“Thank you. These are the best.”
“I know that what I do would be hard for most people to accept, but maybe this will help you make up your mind. If you choose never to see me again, I will leave town. Of course, I hope that’s not the case.”
Dean pushed the thick folder on the table over to her. He stared at it like he was unsure if he should show it to her and then removed his hands from the top.
“What is this?”
“This is every person I have punished or am in the process of researching since I completed my overseas tours of duty and joined The Righteous. Each one was a terrible person, like the man that hurt your sister. I make sure that my information is thorough and accurate before I ever decide their punishment for their crime..”
“I don’t know if I want to see this.”
“That’s your choice, but I want you to understand who I am. I have also included a file on my father and some of what was done to me. I don’t like to talk about it, but…” Dean stopped talking and looked away from her eyes.
“Who is The Righteous? I thought it was a term you used to talk about those higher up in the church, but I know now that is not what you mean. So who or what are they?”
“They are who I work for. They’re a secret organization that was a sidearm to the government for a long time. Now they are the same group, but we work behind the scenes of the law to deal with those that have skirted the legal system or hide from it completely.”
“So there are more of you out there doing what you do?”
“Yes. I don’t know exactly how many, but we are many. Only those that are elite in their field are chosen, and we are all given a new cover.”
“This is a lot to take in.” Yasmine rubbed her face, her mind reeling.
Dean reached across the table and opened his palms for her. She took the invitation and placed her hands in his.
“I want a future with you. If you can live with what I must and am sworn to do, then I’ll make it possible for us. I meant what I said, Yasmine. I’m in love with you.”
She couldn’t believe what he was saying. Dean stood and was gone before she could form a sentence. She took a steadying breath. He loved her, and he wanted a life with her. Could she live with a murderer, with a Righteous killer?
Her hands shook as she opened the folder and began to read.Simon Harris:that was the name of the man that took Raquel from this world. Photographs of videotapes, the car, and DNA evidence were all neatly labeled. She chewed her bottom lip, took a sip of her coffee, and settled in to learn what it truly meant if she stayed with Dean.
