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"You’re the Avenging Angel," he said, juer seat "I’ve read about you You’ve been doing a Robin Hood thing…stealing fro the , he was so pleased at having figured it out Then it hit hi anymore "But this is terrible"

"I warned you," she said quietly, driving back to his apartainst ole One Eyebrow The DA is at least as interested in putting you in jail as he is some mob hood Jesus, there’s--didn’t I read souys you’ve been stealing fro

"Well, hell, this is totally unacceptable! The DA should thank you, not issue warrants for your arrest"

She looked at him and, in the poorly lit car, all he could see were her eyes They were huge He tried not to yelp as she ran a red light "What?" she whispered "What did you say?"

"I said, why don’t you let me drive? Seriously Kara? What’s the et another word out of her until they were back at the apartlanced at her watch "Later this et it You’re co about this"

She snorted He looked so stubborn, so deter "Don’t make me throw you out of this car, Jared I’d try not to hurt you…but you wouldn’t like it, just the same"

He wasn’t, she saith surprise, fazed by her threat "If you do, I’ll stand on the street corner, wavingeveryone that Carlotti is the only man on the planet with penis envy That he used to have two eyebrows but quit plucking theto tell the world, take out an ad, ca do you think it’d take for hiet one dry; she sed to force h to do it Fine We’ll go in"

Once inside, he absently locked the front door--not that it would do any good against anyone like her--took their jackets and tossed them on the couch She turned her back to hiain, if she had lost herthis strait-laced doctor a piece of her life?

And why hadn’t he thrown her out, or at least threatened to turn her in? He’d pretended to be appalled because the DA wanted her arrest, not because she stole for a living and that was the biggest, most vicious lie she’d heard froured it out, you’re the notorious AA Was that ain? Was that supposed to make me not attracted to you? Because it failed, failed, failed"

Anger at his obtuse nature flared in her and she gladly ith the e cool when he made her feel the exact opposite

She sla up a set it? I’m not like you, I’ll never be like you I can’t live in your world and you certainly can’t live in mine I wanted to protect you from Carlotti until we neutralize him and that’s fine, but that’s all there is"

"The hell" He started toward her and she stury, if he touched her If he touched her, she was going to forget all about their differences…again "I see your little field trip for what it is You broke into a mansion and did what you liked there…no one could stop you Then you went to a fence, who sure isn’t going to turn you in--he’s probably been profiting off your hobbies for years Then you take hborhood in the city to showwas supposed to prove that you’re evil incarnate and--tell the truth--you wanted to shohat you could do You wanted to show off a little Don’t you get that you don’t have to steal to be worth so?"

"You don’t understand, I knew you couldn’t under--"

He swiftly crossed the roo her as one would a child

His face was blazing, but not with anger With sincerity and passion "You’re precious in yourself, you need prove nothing, you’ve got so much to offer, you are your own self , Kara and you’re not defined by what you steal or who you can beat up"

"I--that’s not--"

"You think I care that you’re a thief? You think I care that you steal pretty stones and give the? You think I give two shits that the DA wants to throw your ass in jail?" Thethe words made Jared’s expression darken "He won’t, not while I’e while I’ you don’t feel it, stop telling yourself you don’t want ain and the as a roar: "Coward!"

She brought the squarely on top of his chest He was still holding her shoulders and she stared into his eyes, dark and blazing "I am a coward," she said softly, less than an inch fro to lose" Then she bent down and kissed hi beneath hers