Page 5 (1/2)

Maybe because he wasn’t yelling at her

Yet

"What do you think you’re doing?" he de a feeet treats" Her heart sped into a too-swift rhythm I will not come on to him "How did you find me?"

"Should I, uh, call the cops?" the server said from behind her

"He is a cop," she mumbled

Frost appeared in Hector’s eyes, a snowstorm of menace "You think AIR doesn’t monitor that tunnel? You think they’d place a hatch in town and not watch it? You were tailed the second you hit the alley, and I was notified"

The crack house, she thought Stupid, stupid, stupid Why hadn’t she considered the possibility of caht? And why hadn’t she sensed the tail?

"That’ll be, uh, twenty-one seventy," the server said now

The frost thickened in Hector’s eyes, his spine stiffened

Nibbling on her botto her ultra-thin money card from her pocket, flashed it in front of the scanner and added a twenty-dollar tip

A bright s teeth "Thank you, thank you so rabbed the box and returned her attention to Hector

He hadn’tshe wouldn’t try to fight her way out, or that she would plead for mercy he wouldn’t show As if! She raised her chin "You kicking ram or what?"

If he does, I will have failed Ava Her sto around like clothes in an enzyme washer I can’t fail Ava

He popped his jaw before reaching back and shoving open the door With a tilt of his chin, he motioned her out Well, well He must not want a witness to ould happen next

The acid burned a path up her chest Still, Noelle strapped an iht She didn’t look back to be sure Hector followed, and she didn’t wait for him, either She headed back the sa to move out of the way as pedestrians approached; she simply barreled past the car engines and inane chatter too loud

Hector caught up with her quickly enough, his booted feet sto into the concrete "I take an

O-kay Not the direction she’d anticipated "Why?"

A crackling pause "Did you really just ask , but because she was curious about hiritted out "I save lives"

And didn’t that just h

"Why do you want to be an agent?" he asked "And don’t give ally"

So Jaxon had told him about that

Hector went on, "I believed it before, but I’ve seen the way you push yourself"

He’d seen--and been iet her hopes up on that front "To be honest, I just want to spent more time with Ava" No reason to lie If AIR had decided to can her, she would be canned, no matter what she said

A beat of silence Most likely her bluntness had stunned him That happened a lot With her family, her friends, everyone but Ava "Well," he finally said, "your reason sucks, and it won’t get you anywhere"

"Why would a girl like htest trace of bitterness escaping

"Don’t do that"

"Do what?"

"That girl like ot deter it with sarcas She had to be dreaent?"

Another beat of silence, as if he had to gather his thoughts And that was answer enough, wasn’t it

Knew better than to ask Also, good thing she hadn’t gotten her hopes up

"I’ and hard about whether or not you’re right for this," he said "It’s hard and it’s dirty"

Even as she fought the urge to punch hi like that, she forced her voice to go low and husky "Hmm, hard and dirty Just how I like , hurried to right hie unit with three otherworlder females trapped inside They had been taken as prisoners, wereyou can handle?"

Yeah, she could She could handle anything Rather than answer him, however, she asked a question of her own "What happened to theot them medical care Now they’re on the mend, both mentally and physically"

Ire rose on behalf of the females "You catch whoever put them there?"

"Not yet, but ill"

The words held a proe the weak His sexiness factor jacked up a few more notches, and she shivered "You really love your job I mean, you more than take it seriously"

"Of course" He sound astonished that she’d think otherwise "It’s my life," he added