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--Advisory letter to Sophia Russo from the

J Corps Medical Division

Sophia was unprepared for the visual impact of Max Shannon, no matter that she’d met him previously He was the kind ofrun across such females in the course of her career several times They would see hi that they were atteh Max was beautiful, what saved hi the line into a more delicate prettiness was the obdurate hardness of his jawline, the unflinchingly adult expression in his gaze Those eyes said that Max Shannon had looked into the void--and come aith a piece of it in his soul

Then he spoke, drawing her attention to those well-shaped lips "Sophia" He’d braced one hand on the doorjamb, didn’t pull it down to offer to her

She appreciated the gesture--many humans took it as an insult when she refused to shake their hands, never realizing that the coht I should let you know I’d arrived I’ve been placed in the apartht "That’llelse

"I won’t be spying on you, Mr Shannon" Soe she read in him "To be quite frank, your personal activities hold no interest for either ht not care about Max Shannon’s personal life, but Sophia found herself coe of a smile touched Max’s lips, but it was his eyes that lea her everyskills, is that it?"

She didn’t kno to respond to the patently nonserious question--she’d been dealing with humans her entire adult life, but she’d never dealt with soun with the way he looked at her but was noholly independent thing And the fact that it was already so strong so soon after a reconditioning, meant she had far less time than she’d previously believed before her telepathic shields sheared forever

So his arm from the doorjamb That hen Sophia saw the two other individuals in the room A human female and a male as clearly not human She took a step back and to her left as the couple exited to stand to her right

"Clay, Talin, this is mypartner"--a pause she knew had been intentional--"Sophia Russo"

The ave a nod, while the woman smiled "Nice tohow this Talin could stand with such calm beside the male as unquestionably a predator And since this was San Francisco there were only two possible conclusions--only one once you factored in the way the green-eyed man had moved, with a fluidity at odds with the muscular size of him "You’re members of DarkRiver?"

"Youback her hair to reveal an ear adorned with a dangling earring lass beads in the colors of autunize Clay"

"I’ve been to San Francisco before," Sophia replied, intrigued by the odd shapes of the beads, the way they’d been put together There was no conformity, no perfection "However, I deal als had authority over all crimes that involved just those of their race

"Sophia’s a J," Max said, leaning one shoulder against the doorjamb

She noted the corded forearms revealed by the rolled-up sleeves of his vivid blue shirt, noted, too, the easy grace hich he ht, was built along the sleek lines of the low-slung cars preferred by so aze clashed with his at that moment, and the question in the fro the contact--which felt oddly, inexplicably intimate--she took a step to her left "I’ll leave you to your visit Detective Shannon, if you’d just let me knohen you’re ready to start--"

"We can start now," he interrupted, still in that lazy position against the doorjaht have been fooled into believing him "safe" But she had seen him in that prison Not only that, she’d read the file that chronicled his stubborn, relentless pursuit of the Butcher of Park Avenue She knew the danger that lay beneath the languid charm

"We’ll leave you to it, then" The woman na Sophia’s line of sight "But I was hoping you’d have dinner with us," she said, turning to include Sophia in the invitation

Max glanced at his watch even as Sophia curled the fingers of her left hand into her palm What Talin had just done, that easy contactit had been ordinary Huulf between her and this cop whose presence, whose watchful eyes, fanned the fires of rebellion in her

"It’s almost three now," Max said, his voice low and sainst Sophia’s skin, "so how about dinner around seven? We should be ready for a break by then anyway" A glance up at Sophia from those eyes that saw far too much "That work for you?"

She didn’t knohy she said, "Yes, that’ll be fine," when she should have demurred from the social invitation As her response to Max demonstrated with manifest clarity, she’d failed in her attempts to be the most perfect of Psy But she was in no way similar to a human She was, in all probability, even less "hu been worn away by the corrosive acid of the iood-bye then, his voice deep against Talin’s softer tone As the couple left, the leopard male’s hand on his mate’s lower back, Sophia found herself the sole focus of Max’s perceptive near-black eyes, the eyes of athe most deeply buried of truths "Co froo over the details, le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>