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You knohat you have to do

Yeah, he did, and he’d get to that Right now, he had to finish his tatts They ht not help hiotten to that

He’d discovered thisAIR He’d been desperate, having triedfood journal on the off chance the proble Then he’d read somewhere that once upon a ties ht, why not, and had done the sah the first round of ink, he’d liked the fact that he could judge his heat factor with a single visual sweep So he’d tried again, peppering his arms with different symbols for peace He’d soon learned the Celtic one lasted the longest, helped thethese ever since

If any of his coworkers had ever noticed that the ink was soht, sometime dark, or that the symbols sometimes linked in new places, they’d never said He never let anyone study them, anyway, and everyone knew never to touch him

When he finished, he cleaned both arms and applied antibiotic ointloves and no one at AIR would know

Mia had a case for hiirls had been found in a warehouse They were around the sah each was a different race and unable to speak English They weren’t as undernourished as the three before theht in translators, but even still, the girls had given very few usable details All they’d knoas that they’d been home one moment and in the warehouse the next Unfortunately they hadn’t seen their captor--or didn’t res could screith anyone’s memory, and they’d each had fresh track marks on their veins Trackabout

They’d been trapped for three days, and no one had come for them They’d beaten at the walls and screamed for help, but no one had heard them Understandable

After the hu had to be rebuilt Most buildings were now comprised of shield-armor, and most walls were soundproofed steel Even in warehouses

Great if your planet was going to war Bad if you were a woman locked somewhere you didn’t want to be

Mia had found them only because she’d received an anonymous tip The same way she’d found the others Hector planned to do a little digging and learn what he could about Mr--or Miss?--Anonyirls and see if they’d re back He would try to be gentle, but his voice was gruff nofor, and his appearance alone usually scared the fairer sex

Maybe that’s what the girls needed, though Maybe they were still afraid of their captor(s) Maybe they needed to know an AIR agent could be just as frightening, and that someone like Hector would protect them with his life

And he would He had a weakness for the young and the daed, and worked that type of case harder than any other Which hy he had to be top shape tomorrow

Determined, Hector made hih the thing was tasteless and settled like lead, then downed a glass of water All right, then He’d taken care of two needs His ar the inside of his cheek, he picked up the phone and dialed Happy Endings

Eight

THE DOORBELL RANG

Hector had been waiting for that shrill ding dong allto go back to bed and risk another drea to do but think of Noelle Of her lips pressed against his, of her tongue battling his, of her body arching into his Of her accepting hi him, all of him

If ever there had been a woman created solely to tempt him, it was Noelle Her beauty, her scent, her taste, her … everything She appealed to him on every level

Noas like a junkie in need of a fix, worse off than before He couldn’t go to work on edge like this And yet, he wished like hell he’d never s

You want to accidentally hurt the otherworlders you’re supposed to interview?

No He didn’t

Ding dong

He stalked to the ID panel and gritted, "Open" The front door obeyed,inside from out

Air laced with car exhaust, sunshine, and thick, cloying perfume drifted to him He didn’t look at his visitor’s face; he didn’t care what she looked like and actually preferred not to know He looked at her arms No track marks He looked at the pulse at the base of her neck Good, strong, and steady

She wore a loose white blouse and a well-fitted black skirt, as if she were headed to the office rather than the bedroolinted off the dark, nondescript sedan she’d parked in his driveway He scanned the houses across the street from his Tall but narrow, each was built with a different color of brick--froether None of his neighbors were outside Even though they’d never be able to tell what the girl did for a living by her car or appearance, he was glad

To his left was a dentist, and to his right a fausted if they kneent on behind his door He was

Hector moved aside and motioned the woman inside

She soared past him without a word So She knew his MO Either she’d been here before, or the girls who’d been here had talked and told her what he "liked" Zero couest rooht shot out

"Close," he said and once again the door obeyed He didn’t turn around Didn’t follow the woman as she clicked and clacked down his hallway He just stood there, looking around as if his home was new to him

He had no holophotos, not of himself and certainly not of his family He would have liked a few of Dean, if any had ever been taken or if Dean had still lived They hadn’t He didn’t

There was no clutter No vases, no colorful but useless bowls or other shit women seemed to like Just the basics A couch, a loves eat, and a coffee table An entertainment bureau, and a few plaques for "heroic" behavior on the job

The fabric on the furniture was synthetic and worn, the table cheap stone rather than real wood, and the TV as basic as electronics ca through between cases

What would Noelle think of his stuff?

The answer didn’t ? You’re a menace This is necessary

Necessary How he hated that word Hated how it took away his freedom of choice

Why couldn’t he be like every other man? Able to touch a wo all kinds of devastation Instead, he was a killer with undetachable weapons strapped to his body

Rage at his own helplessness suddenly exploded through hi roo across the rooistered the sting