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Then she’d otten into a fist-fight Second day, they’d kissed and made up, and the little tart had leaned into her and said, "Why do you ss from that day on

God, she missed Ava already

Ava should be here Ava should partner her on this case

Should, should, should Sighing, Noelle slid into the booth at the back of the The Last Stop, a s Hector to slide in beside her He did not He sat across from her, and Dallas claimed the space beside him

And of course Dallas was back to hisand muscled as they both were, they consumed the entire bench The tabletop pressed into the hard ropes of their stomachs Their shoulders rubbed

They’d rather be uncomfortable than touch her Awesome Well, she would rather they were unco her She dipped low in her seat, stretching out her legs, ensuring one of her knees wedged between Hector’s legs and the other wedged between Dallas’s

They stiffened in unison, and she fought a srin

"That’s bad for your posture, you know," Hector said in that gru tone he just loved to use with her "Sit up Now"

How cute he was, issuing commands as if he were her boss "I don’t think I will And if ar-sweet tone she loved to use with her enee it better, so you can stop hinting that that’s what you want to do"

He scowled at her She s hih slitted lids His mouth hovered between a fierce frown and a twist of abject terror

What was his deal?

Well, she wouldn’t worry about him Only the case mattered, she reminded herself They’d dropped the witness at AIR before coh withdrawal so they could talk to him

A harried waitress approached, a co impatiently from one sneakered foot to the other She was older, with frizzy salt-and-pepper hair and ink stains on her hands But she wore a necklace ave a lurch

She’d o Madari ani, not pasta," she’d said "Besides, we don’t want nasty insects getting into the house, noe? No, we don’t So throw this thing away, and we’ll go buy a real necklace"

Noelle shoved the memory deep inside her, where a thousand others just like it resided

"I’ll have coffee," Dallas said "Black, strong Fine, just go ahead and bringwith his voice Gone was the char asshole "Oh, and about a thousand painkillers, if you’re serving theed up as she focused on Hector

"Just coffee for aze landed on Noelle She hadn’t even glanced at theon the side wall, but she’d been to places very similar to this one and knehat they served Except for one tiny yet important detail "Do you have real meat or do you only use the syns and clones?"

"For God’s sake" Hector, gru

Noelle never reaze from the waitress "Well?"

"Syns and clones You want real, you’ll have to go soured that was the case; she was disappointed nonetheless

During the war, things like water, ani delicious had been contaet the real thing, you had to pay--and pay out the ass Only a few shops in this district catered to people like Noelle, ereto bend over

"Oh, come on," the waitress said, what little patience she’d had vanishing "You want so or you don’t Which is it?"

The attitude could use a tune-up, but its rust and lack of shine wouldn’t diminish her tip In fact, she could mess up Noelle’s entire order, spit in her food, whatever, but the s, over medium, with a side of hash browns, and don’t skimp on the butter or whatever variation you use I want four strips of bacon, two sausage patties, and four hotcakes I don’t care what kind of syrup you bring, just make sure it’s warm Also, I want two pieces of toast, but don’t put any butter on those And I want jelly, whatever you’ve got"

An astonished, "That’s it?"

"For now"

A h She wandered off, and Noelle noticed that both Hector and Dallas were staring at her with equal ry I didn’t eat before, during, or after the wedding"

"Yeah, but you just caruesome murder scene," Hector, Mr Obvious, said

"And that means I should starve for the rest ofthat looks like the dead guy’s chest," Dallas snapped "Now can the two of you stop flirting with each other? It’s annoying"

Seriously, rong with him? "How about this," she told theestive proble , your radar , I feel sorry for your girlfriends"

No response was forthco a grin

She snuggled deeper into her unco in as left of her savaged dress She couldn’t wait to shower and change Alone Without Hector

Avoid, avoid Any topic was safer than the h the smoke-hazed room There were about twenty booths, nearly all of theents, some in uniforhter, when it caruff

There were two TVs posted in the far corners of the rooalory, tall, strong, as pale as a h the air so quickly the camera couldn’t track it