“That’s right, baby girl. That’s exactly right.”
But they had something stronger than judgment, stronger than fear, stronger than prison walls or suspicious managers or broken families.
They had love. Loyalty. And a promise made in a prison visiting room that no force on earth could break.
“Uncle Bear?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“You’ll never leave me, right? Even if people call the cops again?”
Bear squeezed her tiny hand in his massive one, careful as always of his strength.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away. Hell’s Angels couldn’t scare me off. The entire police force couldn’t keep me from these Saturdays with you.”
She giggled at his fierce tone, not knowing he meant every word. Not knowing that twenty combat missions hadn’t been as important to him as these two-hour Saturday meetings. Not knowing that she was saving him as much as he was saving her.
He linked his pinky with hers, this giant warrior making a sacred vow to a seven-year-old girl in a fast-food restaurant.
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