Metaltown by Kristen Simmons Page A

been dyed. He had stubble on his jaw and chin, and a cockeyed smile that made all sorts of warning bells sound the alarm in her brain.
    He must have come out of one of the dented metal doors that lined these rain-stained walls, or climbed down the fire escape from a window above them when she wasn’t looking. Surprised, her mouth gaped, but she shut it quickly.
    â€œExcuse me?” she asked.
    â€œYou don’t have to excuse yourself,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot worse.”
    â€œI … no,” Lena said, shocked by his forwardness. “I’m sorry. I’ll say what I like.”
    â€œSo why are you apologizing?” He moved toward her with long, confident strides, slowing when she took several quick steps back and nearly tripped over a broken chair someone had discarded.
    â€œStop right there. Please,” she added, pulse flying. If she backed up any more, he’d push her right into the crowd, and she’d be swallowed up.
    He stopped, grinned. “Since you asked so nicely.”
    Irritation heated her blood. She was not about to be undermined by a cocky boy from the factory district. She set her feet, set her jaw, and stood up as tall as she could. Even in her boots she didn’t quite reach his shoulders. “If you’re trying to intimidate me, it won’t work.” She tugged at her gloves. “What’s your name, anyway?”
    His head tilted to the side, and as he gazed slowly down her body, a flush rose in her cheeks. Whoever had taught this boy manners had failed. Miserably.
    â€œTell me your name, and I’ll tell you mine,” he said.
    She gawked, but quickly pulled herself together. A Hampton remained composed, even under the most trying of circumstances.
    â€œLena,” she said, cursing the waver in her voice. “It’s Lena.”
    He held out his hand, calloused fingertips extending through the holes in his woven gloves. “I’m Colin.”

 
    10
    COLIN
    She was pretty enough, he’d give her that much. Pretty, and definitely in the wrong place.
    Her smooth, honey-colored skin and soft, clean hair stuck out just as much as those high-society clothes. Girls in Metaltown dressed for the cold outside and the heat inside the factories—layered up so bulky you could hardly tell their shape. Their faces were pale from long hours of work, and they certainly didn’t wear makeup. Not unless they were working a corner. She’d been the last thing he’d expected to find when he’d come up from the basement apartment, and he’d been caught so off guard that he’d glanced back inside just to make sure he’d dumped Hayden in the right place.
    Once he’d figured out he wasn’t crazy, he settled in for the show, entertained by her nervous pacing and the curvy shape of her thighs. She was little, but full in all the right places, and something about the way she spoke made him think of the way kids balance on a curb, teetering faster and faster right until the moment they fall off.
    â€œSo,” he said, “how’s your stay so far in Metaltown? Has the staff been helpful?” Obviously she was lost, but for some reason he didn’t want to point that out. She was probably from over the beltway. Bakerstown, maybe, though if that were true, he had no idea what she was doing here.
    One gloved hand rose to smooth her perfect hair. “I’m fairly certain no one would come here for vacation.”
    He smiled at her condescending tone. “I don’t know. Metaltown is full of secret hot spots, you know. If you wanted a tour—”
    â€œI’m here for work.” Her eyes darted to the flow of people outside the alley, then quickly back to him.
    The muscles in his chest clenched, just for a moment. A Bakerstown kid, clearly out of her element, looking for a job. Something about that story rang familiar.
    â€œWhat a coincidence, so am I.” Colin took