“I didn’t,” he confirms. “Not until…” He glances at me again, and I think I see one of his hands go to the pocket of his coat before he clears his throat and puts his hand back where it’d been, empty. “After I killed him, I thought if I helped other people...helped other good folks who’d crossed paths with the bad in the world...”
I think of Clayton back in Soldana, how adamant he had been that Aiden was a hero for something he’d done for a familyhe knew. As well as, I suspect, why Aiden didn’t have all the “earnings” from his time as a gunslinger, the ones Maddock believed he’d already spent.
“Did you charge them? A fee?” I ask, already knowing the answer even before Aiden’s head whips in my direction.
“No,” he snarls, as if the idea is abhorrent to him. “They’d already lost enough without someone trying to make a profit on it.”
I nod, pleading uselessly with the stars again before I fall back against the roof. “Thought that was what you were going to say.”
“Do you?” Aiden asks, looking down at me while I stare up at him with what can only be described as pining devotion. Not that he notices. “Do you ever charge? For the people you kill?”
“Nope.”
“But you keep the money you take from them?”
“Sometimes,” I tell him truthfully. “I keep some of what I win. Use it to keep up appearances. To get myself from place to place. To getusfrom place to place,” I test.
That full mouth of his presses into a thin line, but he doesn’t correct me before he asks, “To buy watches?”
I grin. “On one occasion…”
Aiden rolls his eyes. “And what do you do with the rest of it?” He pauses, hesitating. “What did you do with the money you took tonight?”
I frown, wishing I’d been the one to bring it up first. “Tom tell you?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“And you’re concerned I’m keeping it from you?”
Aiden considers. “Strangely enough…no, I’m not. Figure we had more pressing issues at the time, but I’d like to know now.”
“It’s hidden in the barn along with Maddock’s money, stashed behind the loose sideboard in the empty stall,” I tell him, relieved he chose to trust me on this at least. “Of course, half ofit is yours, so I wanted to discuss it with you before I do what I usually do.”
A cautious look comes over his face. “What is it youusuallydo?”
“You might not like the answer.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“All right.” I take a bracing breath. “I burn it.”
His mouth falls open. “You what?”
“Iburnthe money.”
“Why?”
“I’ve heard it’s the root of all evil.”
He snorts, shaking his head. “Thought you weren’t religious.”
“I never said that.”
“Oh?” He arches an eyebrow at me. “You’re telling me you believe in God?”
I cock my head, still staring up at him, and I really could get used to this view. “Why? Still wondering when you’ll be able to see me on my knees?”
“Fuck’s sake.” He huffs out a laugh then drops down next to me, still close but not so close that we’re touching as we lie side by side. “You ever think about what’s coming out of your mouth before you say it?”