Stepbrother. Part 2

"Will you come with me?" he asked softly, for her ears only.

"Yes," she sighed, unable to say anything but. His hand pulled hers under his arm and he helped her down the two steps that her brother had forced her up, gliding almost carelessly back into the foot traffic that clogged the streets as people hurried home.

"Where are we going?" he asked, his eyes on her face.

"I-I don't know," she admitted, her eyes seeking the comfort of his face.

"Don't you think we should take you home and inform your father of that man's attack upon your person?"

Kendra shook her head frantically, pushing a tress of her red hair out of her face. "He ... He ... he is my brother," she was finally able to say, feeling his cold fingers hook the unruly lock of hair behind her ears. "My father is dead."

"What of your mother, then?"

"Stepmother, his mother." She sighed, seeing the comprehension on his face.

"And she'll believe anything he tells her." He didn't n