Perfect Strangers

by Barbara J. Hancock

  “You? No, not you. You do not want to touch me. And when you do, you regret it.” Silk arranged herself carefully on the hard rock, but the small surface meant that their bodies brushed together.

  Davis didn’t pull away.

  “Harry is touching you because you’re a beautiful woman. He probably doesn’t get too many of those around here.” It seemed like a reluctant confession. As if he didn’t think it was wise to call her beautiful.

  “And you? Why do you touch me, Rule?”

  “Because sometimes it feels like I have to. Like if I don’t hold onto you you’ll just get further and further out there until you’re gone. Wacko. Totally in the clouds.” He sounded almost desperate, almost mad.

  “I only knew one other person in my whole life who treated me like I couldn’t take care of myself.”

  “Me-lows,” Davis guessed. He didn’t sound pleased.

  “Miilos.”

  “I’m not sure what that means.” He was stiff beside her, as if the night-chilled rock was sucking all the warmth from him.

  “It means you make me as angry as he made me when you act like you need to protect me. It means, if you touch me, it should be because you want to and not because you have to. Not because you are trying to save me from something. I do not need saving.” Silk’s own limbs were stiff and cold from the inside out.

  “You need to get a grip on reality, Silk. If we weren’t so busy running for our lives, I would take you to see a psychiatrist.” Davis cupped his hands together and gripped them tight. He sounded like he would rather use them to shake her senseless.

  “If our lives were not in danger, you would not be here with me right now. I am going to face Ronin, and I will need to face him alone.” She was tired of Rule’s disbelief. She didn’t need his support.

  “You’re a strong woman, Silk. A strong person who just happens to be emotionally…tilted…right now. Whoever Ronin really is, whatever he did to you, this isn’t something that you need to face alone. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone by facing it alone.” Davis no longer sounded mad. He sounded desperately persuasive as if he believed the right words would change everything.

  “There was a time when I needed to prove to myself that I could function alone. For months after Miilos died, I had to relearn how to live, how to get through my day-to-day life without him by my side. Most JRs aren’t able to recover. They waste away when their partner dies. I am not going to face Ronin alone in order to prove something. I am going to face him alone because only a JR can stop him. I am the person who can stop him. No one else can.” Nothing had changed. Meeting Davis, getting to know him, did not change the path she must take.

  “So, I guess I’m relegated to Tonto in this little scenario?” Once more, he sounded mad.

  “Ton-toe?”

  “A side-kick thrown in for comic relief.”

  “Side-kick?”

  “An extraneous person without purpose.” Davis spit out the explanation as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “You have purpose, Davis Rule. But I cannot allow you to have a say in my purpose.”

  Silk tried to brush the hair from Rule’s eyes, but he pulled away. He stood and walked several steps away with his eyes on the sky. Once again, the sight of him silhouetted against the night sky gave her pause. If the moment had been right, she would have called him beautiful. But it wasn’t right. It would probably never be.

  There was too much between them and not enough. She wanted to share everything with him, the challenges, the triumphs, the exhilaration, the pain. And yet what she’d already shared had been more than he could accept.

  Silk rose and went back to the silo. There was nothing left to say.

  Harry had risked a slap to the face or a slug from the increasingly grumpy Rule more times than he could count to get the samples he needed. He had wanted a strand of Silk’s hair to run the tests he now monitored on a discreet handheld computer screen. Knowing and knowing were miles apart even for a retired cop who always trusted his instincts. Okay, so maybe he’d enjoyed getting close enough to Silk to get the samples a little more than he should have. Touching Silk was no hardship, and he was a lonely retired cop, after all. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Having one like Silk almost fall in his lap…literally…several times in one night when he’d nudged her with his chair…that was a bonus he was just bored and playful enough to enjoy. Especially when she’d laughed in response. Gorgeous full-throated laughter as perfect and appealing as she was herself.

  It was a sound Davis Rule should be basking in every chance he got, because the amazing alien woman was obviously interested in the frowning agent who was keeping her at arm’s length.

  Harry had made her laugh, but it was the big FBI agent who made her sigh.

  So her laughter and her soft, supple skin against his fingers was definitely appreciated while he took his samples. Couldn’t be helped. Hazard of the job.

  Be sure to guard your heart, man, and your—other things—so you don’t get carried away.

  Even beneath the watchful eyes of Rule, Harry had managed to get a few long strands of Silk’s beautiful silvery hair. He’d used a tiny vacuum in the palm of his hand to snag flakes of skin. He’d even taken her plastic cup after dinner and swabbed where her lovely full lips had pressed again and again.

  If there’d been any doubt before, using the evidence of his eyes, the results on the screen put them to rest.

  Silk wasn’t human.

  She was beautiful and amazing and he’d forget about being guarded if she so much as crooked her finger, but she wasn’t human.

  The dilemma he faced now was whether or not to show the tests results to Davis Rule.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Silk woke from a deep sleep. The floor was hard beneath her. She had refused to share Harry’s bed. It had been more tempting than it should have been under the circumstances. Not that he wasn’t attractive. His scars did not reach to his soul. He was good and honest and strong. He was also gentle and lonely and kind. She had been tempted because of Rule’s rejection. And it would not have been fair to use Harry for warmth and companionship and acceptance. When she had explained as much, he had not been pleased.

  “Use me any way you’d like. I think I speak for every man in America when I say, use me, please.”

  She had laughed. And she had slept on the floor. Davis had slept on another level, suspended above her on what Harry called a catwalk.

  Silk lay very still. The sun was just creeping through the windows. She could see Rule’s blankets and his pallet above her. The middle of the foam pad was pressed down into the holes created by the metal weaving. Rule must be on the pad pressing it down. Farther up, on the third level, she could see Harry’s chair empty by his bed.

  So what noise had she heard? Had one of the men shifted in his sleep enough to waken her?

  Silk held her breath. Nothing. No new noise betrayed itself to her ears. And that was what bothered her most. If some normal, harmless sound had disturbed her sleep, why didn’t she hear it now? The quiet held a menacing quality. As if it waited for her to move, as if someone waited for her to act.

  Silk sighed loudly and snuggled into her pillow. Then she forced herself to resume a regular pattern of deep breathing. In, out. In, out. In, out. She feigned sleep. She listened. She waited.

  Long minutes went by, but she did not sit up. She did not give up. Someone was in the silo. She waited for them to reveal themselves.

  Her eyes were closed, but her ears were not. Finally, a shifting of foot against floor, right at the foot of her makeshift bed gave her an indication of where to aim her attack.

  With a shout, she rolled, kicking out at the same time. A large form came down on top of her, hard. Now that her eyes were open she could see the glowing silver of IL-Bah eyes.

  The monster held her down, and to her disgust she felt the excitement he felt for an imminent kill. She used his excitement to her advantag
e. He was trying to grip her hands, but she managed to keep control of one. She only needed one to grab, twist and squeeze.

  She had thought an IL-Bah death cry was the loudest sound they ever made.

  With all her strength, she pushed the IL-Bah off her body and rolled away, coming up on her feet in one efficient move. Above her, she heard shots fired. More importantly, she saw the blazing flash of a pulse laser discharge. She hoped it was Harry’s.

  Silk ran for the ramp. She hoped she could get to the men before they were killed. The IL-Bah she had injured was already on his feet. But he was moving slowly. Silk made it to the second story catwalk before he grabbed her from behind.

  A large arm wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air. Silk brought her elbow back, once, twice, a third time, but his gut was made of rock. The momentum of her blows took them to the edge of the catwalk. There, Silk knew what she had to do.

  She struggled to bring herself around. Finally, down to her last breath, she faced the rail with the IL-Bah behind her. Letting go of his arm, she gripped the rail with both hands. He held her throat, his weight on her back, as she leaned forward over the rail. Using the strength in her legs, she jumped over the rail in a flipping maneuver that threw the IL-Bah over as well. Taken by surprise, his hold around her neck slipped and he was pitched into space. Silk’s legs dangled as she watched him fall to the cement floor below. This time, she heard the death cry as she went hand over hand to turn and pull herself back up.

  Davis waited at the rail to give her a hand. She took it as a courtesy when she saw the concern on his face.

  She was relieved to see Harry in his chair with the laser on his lap when she climbed over the rail.

  “I shot him. Twice. I don’t think he’s dead.” Harry’s voice was shaky. No doubt the sight of miniature IL-Bah on a computer screen had not prepared him for the real thing.

  “Probably not. May I?” Harry let Silk take the laser. She climbed the ramp to the third level. An IL-Bah assassin lay in a growing puddle of red ooze that seeped from his chest. He was not conscious when she shot him. The monster would never be conscious again.

  Davis Rule stood behind her with his gun in his hand. He looked horrified.

  “You just shot him in cold blood.”

  She had never heard that tone in his voice. “His blood is warm like ours.”

  “Of course it is. He’s a man, Silk. I’m going to have to arrest you now.” He sounded serious and shocked.

  “You did not see his eyes?” Suddenly, she knew it was bad. Davis was an honorable man. He wouldn’t understand.

  “I was asleep. I woke up to that laser flashing and you shouting. I fired at the guy attacking you, but couldn’t get a good shot.” He described his actions by rote, without inflection.

  “You did not see the glowing eyes.” It wasn’t a question. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he hadn’t.

  “I did, damn it. I saw ’em. I’ll never forget it.” Harry had rolled up behind Davis.

  She could see his testimony meant nothing to Rule.

  “If I went over there right now, and lifted up his eyelid, what would I see?” There, finally, some emotion in his voice. It killed her to know she would have to dash his hopes.

  “You would see pale blue eyes. They do not glow in death.”

  “That’s not good enough, Silk, and you know it.” Davis lifted the gun in his hand, slightly showing a deadly serious intent.

  “There is at least one more. Ronin might have sent others. We cannot stand here and discuss this.” Silk wanted the look in his eyes to change.

  “Delusion is one thing. Self-defense is one thing. This is another thing altogether.” He would not be swayed. The aim of his weapon was steady and sure.

  “You will have to kill me to stop me, Rule. Will you kill me?”

  Harry watched them. He looked sick, as if he didn’t know what decision Rule would make. Silk felt ill herself. She didn’t like the look of disgust on Rule’s face. He did not understand that IL-Bah were not normal men. They were killing machines. You could not let one live to kill again.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Silk, but I will if I have to.”

  Likewise. She thought, dreading the need to cause him pain.

  “Okay, big guy. Take it down a notch or two, and while you’re at it, put the gun down too.”

  The laser was no longer in Harry’s lap. It was now pointing at Rule. Harry held it in his right hand. His voice didn’t waver.

  “You saw her pull the trigger. You’re a witness. If you do this you’ll be an accessory to murder.” Davis kept his attention on her as he spoke to Harry.

  “I know the law, Rule. You don’t have to quote it to me.” Harry wouldn’t be persuaded to turn against her. “I also know more than you know. I ran some tests. I should have shown you the results. You wouldn’t trust them or me now. So we’re down to this.”

  Silk moved toward Davis, ignoring the gun he had trained on her chest. She came close, and closer still. She could smell the spicy pine of him. The scent had become familiar. She felt an ache swell up in the very chest he targeted. As usual, his dark curls were messy over his forehead. Not so usual, was the look on his face. Disgust, anger and dislike.

  At this moment he hated her.

  “I don’t have time to convince you that I had no choice. I don’t have any more time to humor your suspicions about me. I have no time for tests, not Harry’s or yours. We have to go.”

  “I won’t go along this time, Silk. Harry will have to shoot me.”

  Silk felt the tip of his gun as she walked right into it. The point of it dug into the soft skin of her left breast. She looked into his eyes and knew that he wouldn’t pull the trigger. She also saw how much he hated that he couldn’t. She saw that some of the disgust on his features was for himself and his inability to shoot her. She also knew that he would give no further. If she forced him to come with them, he would put up a fight. It was a battle she no longer wanted to wage. She would never gain his trust. He would never believe in her.

  “Harry, we will leave now. Rule will keep his weapon. He will need it.”

  She turned away from the gun and Rule and walked down the ramp. Harry rolled after her.

  “Just let me grab a few things—”

  “Now, Harry. We must leave now.”

  “Right. That bag in the corner should do it.”

  Silk shrugged into her backpack and went to the corner to pick up the large black duffel bag that Harry had indicated. It weighed more than she did. She noted that Harry hadn’t taken his laser off of Davis Rule. She didn’t blame him. Rule looked as if he was teetering on the edge of fury.

  “Come this way, Silk. I have a back door.”

  Harry rolled over to a break in the cement floor where a sheet of metal lay. He positioned his chair on the middle of this sheet. Silk joined him.

  “Don’t bother trying to follow us, Rule. This locks on the other end of the shaft. And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about those tests when I had the chance of making you believe in the results.”

  Harry pushed a button on the wall beside them and the floor dropped with a whirring moan beneath their feet. Silk grabbed the back of Harry’s chair.

  “Cool, huh? The elevator was Sol’s idea. Wait ’til you see my Bat Cave.”

  Silk knew bats were flying nocturnal animals. She did not see any of the creatures as they descended or as they stepped into a cavernous room. Lights flickered on to reveal a shiny black van parked several feet away.

  “Rule may try to stop us.”

  “We’ll be driving through about a quarter of a mile of tunnel before we drive outside. The exit is in another field. We’ll take a side road after that. Rule would need a crystal ball to find us.”

  “He knows our plans.”

  Harry rolled onto a ramp attached to the side of the van and pushed another button. This time the button was on a key chain he had pulled from his pocket. The ramp began
to lift Harry’s chair up to sit parallel to the van’s side door. Then he pushed another button. The ramp retracted, taking Harry and his chair into the belly of the van.

  “He’ll try to head us off at the pass,” he noted as he waited for the ramp to stop.

  “The pass?”

  “He’ll try to find us in New York.”

  Silk knew it was true. Rule wouldn’t give up. He was probably already regretting that he hadn’t shot her in the chest.

  “Then we will not go to New York,” Silk decided.

  She pulled the side door closed with a bang and opened the passenger side door for herself. She climbed up onto the plush gray seat and fastened her seatbelt. She watched with interest as Harry rolled up to the wheel and attached a safety harness to himself. He locked the wheels of his chair and attached it as well. The controls were obviously configured especially for him.

  As he started the van’s motor and revved the gas, Harry grinned.

  “Viva Las Vegas.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Piper Jo Harding sat at a gas station just outside of Sharon, Pennsylvania. Solstice had gone inside to pay for gas and grab a few snacks. The place was one of those discount superstores with tons of traffic and a myriad of pumps. So it was pure and simple bad luck when the two FBI agents who had tried to kill her pulled up next to the car she was sitting in to get gas from a pump across the way.

  Piper scrunched down in her seat and watched as both agents climbed out of their car. One, the smaller one sporting a white bandage over his nose, got out and prepared to pump gas. The other one disappeared into the store.

  She was thankful that the tall bucket seat helped to shield her from view. She was also quite glad she had already made a pit stop. If she hadn’t just used the restroom, she probably would have wet her pants.

  Several long moments passed. The agent was only about four paces from her. As he dispensed gas into the car, he looked around. Piper prayed he wouldn’t look her way.

  Solstice came out of the store with his arms full of tiny snack packages and two bottles of soda. He sauntered across the lot, his lips pursed in a whistle. He nodded at the agent as he passed.