PREY
Reciprocity
¥
Chapter 9 ¥"I've got my car, Ed," said Sloan without stopping or looking at him as she headed down the stairs.
"Fine," he answered as he used his long stride to catch up with her. Sloan stopped in her tracks at the bottom of
the stairs. Ed jumped down the last two steps and moved in front of her. She looked up at him and saw him put
on a ghost of his usual grin for her as he said, "Then you can give me a ride."
He was always there for her. Always had been.
"Sure," she said and almost managed a smile.
"Great," he said, and put a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, we can stop by the all night deli on the way."
Sloan let out a laugh that was almost a sob and then nodded. "Yeah. Just like old times."
She was so tired. She leaned into Ed and let him put his arm around her shoulders, and felt like this was the one
certainty that she had left. Ed was her friend.
¥
Chapter 10 ¥In a stark and simple bedroom in a facility out in the desert, a cell phone rang. A slim arm shot out from under
the covers to snatch up the phone.
"Yes?...You're sure it's him?... All right... No. Under no circumstances do you get any closer, he might sense you...
This may mean that they're ready to move on something. Tighten the surveillance on the others and advise me of
any changes in their routines... All right. Call me when you have an update."
Alexandra Luthor hung up the phone and placed it back on her bedside table.
So, Tom Daniels was back. Permanently? Reports had speculated that he had returned to Lewis, but that might
have been a premature conclusion. She wondered how this would affect her deal with the other peace group that
had contacted her about lab facilities.It didn't matter. Getting Daniels back was the key to her return to power.
Everything else would have to wait.
¥
Chapter 11 ¥Darcy's mother had never been able to get her up on time for school. Every morning, Monday through Friday,
had been a battle. A long luxurious sleep had been one of the things that she had enjoyed most during summer
vacation. It was strange to realize that her present body would never allow her to sleep more than a few hours
at a time.
She flashed for a moment on her mother's face leaning over her, lips pursed, as she shook her sleepy daughter's
shoulder. The love in that touch, understood even without Dominant senses.
Darcy pulled her silk robe more closely around herself and shrugged off the memory.
She was at the window again, watching the sunrise shift pools of shadow around the manmade canyons of the
city, when the phone rang. She didn't move to answer it. It wasn't her place.
She saw Lynch in the reflection of the window and watched him pull himself out from under the gray silk sheets
and pick up the telephone receiver.
He was nude under the covers, she knew, shivering pleasantly at the memories of last night. She wondered for a
moment what her mother would think of a morning like this.
"Lynch," he answered. There was a long pause, and then, "Really?... No, you did the right thing. Place a watcher on
her and let me know about any further developments... No, I'll handle that personally... Good. I'll expect to hear
from you then."
He hung up the phone and was silent for a moment. Then he looked at Darcy, head tilted to one side. "How are
you feeling today?" he asked.
"Fine," she answered, turning to face him. "What do you need me to do?"
"It appears we may not need the Luthor woman," he answered, throwing back the covers entirely now and
swinging his legs out to stand. "Tom Daniels has returned to the Humans at the Whitney lab."
Darcy frowned in surprise. "How do we know?"
"The monitor I had placed on Luthor's cell phone. She received a call from one of her operatives early this
morning about Daniels' return. They don't seem to know where he's been." Lynch smiled slowly. "She doesn't
understand the significance of his return. I've put a watcher on her so we'll hear of any further developments."
"Lewis will be pissed. Not to mention the Councils," Darcy said.
Lynch smiled.
"Yes, the Council and the High Council. They've followed Lewis' lead for months, with nothing to show for it,"
Lynch agreed. "They'll be re-thinking his position. Which is why we've got to act quickly. Opportunities don't
wait."
As always when he was making plans, Lynch's power crackled around him and made Darcy forget everything else.
He was her reason for being. In his presence her past faded, twisted, and altered, like shadows at sunrise.
"What do you need me to do?" she repeated.
¥
Chapter 12 ¥The golden light behind her eyelids brought Sloan swimming up from the depths of sleep. Bowing her back she
went through a long, sensuous stretch, kicked off her covers and felt her T-shirt ride up across her belly a few
inches. Her upper back and neck popped, releasing weeks of tension, and she collapsed back onto her pillow.
Rolling onto her side, she gave serious consideration to going back to sleep.
A creak. A brush of fabric on brick. Something.
She sat bolt upright in bed, looking around frantically. She was sure there was someone in the apartment with
her. Sloan was reaching for her cell phone without even thining. But, then a hand touched her shoulder, and a
voice soothed her, blue eyes staring into her own. "It's all right, Sloan. It's just me. I didn't mean to startle
you."
Tom.
"You're really here," she whispered and held her arms out to him. He went to her more than willingly, and she
hugged him close even as memories of last night come seeping in around the edges of her happiness.
¥
Chapter 13 ¥Driving back with Ed the night before, Sloan had asked him, "Do you think it was all an act?"
"What?" He'd responded. "Tom's assault on Walter?"
"Everything," she'd said. "His strange behavior after we got him back from the research facility, the way he was
so nervous all the time. Was it all just an act? Something to set up this whole undercover deal for Walter?"
"No," he'd answered with certainty. "There is no way he faked those injuries, Sloan. And the trouble he had
afterwards would be consistent with some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder. I don't think any of that was
faked."
"But you said yourself, this was something they must have 'cooked up' together. Walter knew where Tom was, or
at least where he was going when he left." She'd tried to keep her voice level and calm as she considered the
possibilities. Concentrating on driving helped.
"Well, maybe 'cooked up' isn't the best way to put it. Tom said he needed help we couldn't give him. He and
Walter just took advantage of the circumstances." Sloan had flinched as he'd said it, and she'd known he had
seen when his voice went from the cool clear tones of analysis to the soft tones of friendship. "You know,
medically speaking, he was right. We got him back to a certain point physically, but mentally I couldn't help him,
Sloan. None of us could. We just didn't know enough about his neurology and psychology to even know where to
begin."
"He could have told me," she'd said softly, persistent in her hurt. "That would have been a beginning."
"Yeah, I know."
The ride continued in silence to Ed's apartment.
"Hey, c'mon upstairs. We'll talk," he'd suggested. "I'll make you a sandwich." He underlined his offer by waving
the bag of goodies he had bought at the all night deli.
"No. Thanks anyway," Sloan said and then leaned across the seat to hug him tightly. "You know, I don't know what
I would do without you. You're always there for me."
He squeezed back and said, "And you're always there for me, so we're even."
Ed let go and he got out of the car. He leaned back in for a moment and said, "Drive carefully, OK? And later,
when things have cooled down, talk to Tom."
She'd nodded and waved, not trusting herself to speak. She had driven back to her apartment and had gone
straight to bed. Her last thought had been to wonder whether she would see Tom again and whether he was
missing her as much as she missed him.
And now here was Tom in her arms.
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. His pupils were large with only a thin band of blue surrounding them.
There was worry behind them, and maybe even fear.
He slowly moved his right hand from her shoulder up her neck and then cupped it gently around her jaw, softly
stroking her pulse point. Sloan closed her eyes and nuzzled his hand for a moment, then sighed. She gently took
his hand in both her own and drew it down away from her face. He still stared at her, the concern in his eyes
growing.
"Tell me everything," she said.
Tom sighed and looked down at his hand clasped in hers. Then he started.
"There is a place a place up in Canada called Nead an Iolair..."
¥
Chapter 14 ¥The door buzzer brought Ed fully awake and standing before he even had time to realize where the noise was
coming from. The buzzer went off again.
"Ok, Ok!" he muttered to himself and pulled on his jeans from yesterday over his boxers. He checked the
security monitor and saw Marianna looking impossibly crisp and fresh in a black skirt and sweater, her chestnut
hair tucked up in a twist at the back.
"Good morning," she said into the intercom.
"Hey," he answered, aware that he was blushing for no reason in particular except that she was beautiful. "Come
on up." He pushed the release button for the door to let her into the building.
Glancing around the apartment, he was suddenly aware of the mess: empty and half empty glasses on the tables
and shelves, clean and dirty clothes in various places, and the unmade bed with papers strewn around it.
Damn.
He gathered up what he could off the floor into neater piles on his bed, shucked off his dirty jeans in favor of a
clean pair and was hunting for a shirt when he heard her knock on the door.
"Hang on!" he called as he pulled on a clean T-shirt. Then he went and opened the door.
"Sorry for waking you," Marianna said as she came in.
Ed was always surprised by how short Marianna was. When he thought of her, she always seemed taller somehow.
"S'Okay." Ed smiled as he shut the door. "Should be getting up now anyway, I guess. What time is it?"
She looked him up and down with some amusement. "It's 8:30. And your T-shirt is on backwards."
"Huh?" He glanced down, realized the neck did indeed feel a bit high, and saw that the slogan was missing. "More
asleep than I thought I guess."
Marianna smiled and looked a bit bemused as Ed pulled his arms out and twisted the T-shirt round his neck until
the front was actually facing forward, and then thrust his arms back out. Ed saw her muffle a laugh and when he
looked down he realized that the T-shirt he had grabbed said, Geneticist do it with the best genes.
He felt his face flush. Great. Just great. Way to make an impression, Tate, he thought.
"Heh, T-shirts - always say the wrong thing at the wrong time." He felt himself turning an even brighter shade
of red, and decided to drop the subject. "So what's up? Do you need more medical supplies?" He waved her over
to the couch and they both sat down.
The humor had dropped from Marianna's face and she looked distinctly uncomfortable. "No, it's nothing medical.
I just need some advice." She paused and seemed to be searching for the right words.
"Advice on?" Ed looked at her curiously. Marianna didn't normally beat around the bush like this.
"Buying a Christmas present," she finally muttered, without really looking at him.
"A Christmas present," Ed repeated. "Your people do Christmas?"
"No," she said shortly. "That's the problem."
Ed said nothing, waiting for her to explain.
"I'm working a cover job right now. It brings in cash we need and I have access to certain information. I'm
working as a receptionist at the FBI's Los Angeles branch office." Marianna looked up at Ed and grimaced. "The
problem is that they're having an office Christmas party and we all have to bring small presents and, well, I've
never had any training in that."
Ed frowned. "But, I mean, you've lived among Humans here in America for a long time, right? You must've seen
how we celebrate Christmas," he asked.
"From the outside, yes, but I've never participated." Marianna twisted her hands together in her lap. "If this
were an assignment for Lewis or the Council I would have been briefed and programmed on how to handle the
social situations associated with Christmas. But our faction doesn't have those resources and I couldn't find
anyone among us that had any experience with this. Then I thought of you."
"Whew. Okay. Well, as your basic American guy, I'm happy to help - but I gotta tell you that shopping is not
really my best event."
"Event?" Marianna asked, looking puzzled.
"Joke. Shopping as a sport." He ran a hand through his hair and thought for a moment. "Look, let's have some
breakfast and then I'll call Sloan and see what's going on with her. She'd be the person to ask about this. Can
you do that? You got time?"
"Yes, I called in sick today so that I could take care of this."
"Great!" He found he was grinning and suddenly had enough energy to bounce off the ceiling. He settled for
standing up and heading for the kitchenette. "How do you like your eggs?"
¥
Chapter 15 ¥"... When I realized that Nicholas was right, that he could take my place as Walter's mole and leave me free to
return, I came straight back. When you weren't here, I went and found you at the lab." Tom finished his story,
and his voice trailed off. He wasn't certain what to say or do next.
Sloan had said nothing during the entire narrative, just stared at him, hardly blinking. Her emotions were
intense, but complex: pride, fear, joy, anger, happiness, and suspicion. They all flowed and twisted across Tom's
sensing to the point that he had finally had to shield himself in order to mute the distraction and finish the
story. Now that he was done, he cautiously opened himself fully to Sloan again. What he found was a strange
sense of regret and resolve.
"Well?" he prompted. "Do you understand now why I couldn't tell you what I was planning when I left?"
Sloan lowered her head for a moment. In the glow of morning, her hair shadowed her face and her eyes were
dark. Then she straightened and faced him.
"I understand why you thought you couldn't tell me," she said in measured tones. "And I understand that you
think you made the right decision. But there is something you have to understand, Tom. I can't live this way."
"Sloan -"
She held up a hand to forestall his protest. "Wait, let me finish! I can't live always wondering if you've told me
the truth or not. I can't live with the constant worry that I'll wake up one day and you'll be gone - with no
explanation, no warning, no way of knowing why. I can't live that way, and I won't live that way." She stood up and
walked out to the main room of the apartment.
Tom stood and followed her. Sloan stopped at the window to the fire escape and Tom came up behind her and
placed his hands on her shoulders..
"Sloan, I know it's hard on you, but we're getting into something much bigger than we'd ever imagined!" he
explained. "Lewis' plans could lead to outright war. People - yours and mine- will be killing each other for no
reason except what they are. You're an idealist, Sloan. You don't understand what people are capable of when
they're threatened. If there are times when I can't tell you everything, it's just to keep you safe."
He felt her stiffen at his words and a spike of anger, scalding and bitter, caused him to step back involuntarily.
Her next words surprised him.
"Do you know how my parents died? My birth parents?" She asked, still looking out the window.
"I know they were murdered," he said, reluctant to admit to information that he had collected when he'd been
stalking her.
"I was three, almost four. I took a nap one afternoon and when I woke up, they were dead." Sloan's voice was
flat, but Tom felt the anger, remorse and guilt that the memory inspired in her. "The police were never sure of
the motive. Some things were missing - but it didn't fit the normal pattern for a robbery. One of the detectives
thought it was a hate crime. My father was Jewish, you see, and there are always people out there who think
that religion and race alone are enough reason to kill a person. Especially because he married outside his faith."
She finally turned and looked at him, her eyes wide, pinning him in place. "The police kept asking me if I
remembered anything, someone having a fight with Mommy or Daddy, strange phone calls or letters. But I didn't
know anything."
"You were just a child, Sloan," Tom said softly. He reached out and brushed her hair back from her face. "You
couldn't have done anything."
She pushed away his hand.
"That's right. I was just a child," she said. "And I was lucky. I got adopted by wonderful parents who cared for
me. I forgot all the terrible things that happened that day. I didn't even remember about my father being Jewish until I was a
teenager and my adopted parents explained things. They had known my birth parents and gave me some of their things that they had saved for me. I started looking into my father's family history. That's when I realized that there are people out there that
will kill you just because of what you are." Sloan paused and shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them
again they were hard with resolve. "My parents protected me. But I'm not a child anymore and I will not be
protected by ignorance. I told you once that I'd fight for survival, but I can't do that if I don't have all the
information, if I'm kept in the dark and treated like I can't be trusted. I love you, Tom, but if you can't treat
me as an equal, then we are going nowhere and you might as well leave now."
"You know I won't leave you -" he started.
"Do I?" Sloan interrupted.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Her words said she didn't trust him but all he read from her was love and
sadness.
"It was easier with them, wasn't it?" she said, her eyes searching his. "I can tell by the way you told the story.
It wasn't just the medical treatment that helped you to recover; it was being with your own people. Even with
Lewis. Tell the truth, Tom. You almost didn't come back. You returned to your people and everything clicked back
into place for you, didn't it? If they hadn't asked you to kill, if they hadn't asked for the one thing you won't do
for them anymore, you would have stayed, wouldn't you?"
He shook his head, denying feelings he had not admitted to himself even at the time, but in his mind he saw Av.
It had been so easy, being with her. She had never pried, never forced him to talk about things he didn't want
to. She had accepted his secrets, as he had accepted hers. It was a fact of life among his people, more so in the
Chameleon Program than anywhere else, that there were always secrets for safety's sake. It had been so
comfortable.
Sloan just stared at him, and he wondered, not for the first time, how she could read him so easily when she
couldn't feel his emotions. Secrets were never safe from Sloan.
"I -" he started, but the phone rang.
Sloan went and picked it up. "Hello?...Hi, Ed... No, I'm fine. Just tired... Huh?... Well, actually that sounds like fun.
Sure... OK, I'll meet you there... OK, bye." She hung up and turned to Tom. "I have to go meet Ed."
"Where? What for?" he asked through the door.
"Nothing important, nothing that will threaten the balance of power between Humans and Dominants - I assure
you." Her voice was brittle and Tom could feel that her control was minimal. He wondered if she was crying now
that he couldn't see her. She was trying very hard not to breakdown in front of him.
He stood aside as Sloan burst out of the bedroom and grabbed her purse off the chair. She went to the door.
She opened it and stood there waiting for him to leave first.
Reluctantly he went to the door.
"I'm coming back, Sloan. We aren't finished here."
Tears welled up in her eyes, and he felt her resolve soften. "Good. I'll see you then."
He kissed her then, gently, on the lips, and left.
¥
Chapter 16 ¥Tom got in his car and drove around the block. As he came back around the corner he saw Sloan's car pulling
away from the curb. He wasn't sure whether to follow her or not. He didn't like the way things had been left,
but he didn't want her to think he was spying on her. He was about turn around and head back towards campus
when he felt a threatening intent brush the edge of his sensing range.
He focused, reaching out, stretching as he had in that isolation chamber, taking his sensing to the limit. Then,
the deprivation had intensified his sensing abilities, tenfold and he'd been unable to handle it. He couldn't shut
down and it nearly drove him mad. He had been so alone, but not alone. Too many emotions in his head, no sense
to it all, they were bombarding him. In trying to sense others in the facility, the tank forced his sensing abilities
wide open, painfully. Tom was still discovering how much that had strengthened his sensing. Now there was
almost too much info when he reached out. But, relying on the discipline Lewis had helped him develop while he
was in Canada, he was able to filter out the noise of all the Humans and pick up the threads of the two Dominant
minds following Sloan.
They were hunting.
He threw the car into gear and headed after them.
¥
Chapter 17 ¥Sloan automatically headed for the freeway, negotiating traffic without really seeing it. Her head was full of
Tom.
He didn't understand. Or she didn't understand him. Or both. How could you understand someone from a
different species? How could you have a relationship with someone when you constantly had to translate and
coordinate every nuance? Of course that was also one of the things that she loved about Tom. The way he made
her re-think her assumptions, the way nothing was taken for granted between them, but sometimes she tired of
it. She missed the comfort level of shared expectations.
Of course, it wasn't his fault. He tried. He'd gone so far as to take the geno-genesis serum in his attempts to
understand her and be with her. She was always encouraging him to be more Human, but when had she ever tried
to understand his point of view?
Sloan jerked her attention back to the road as she barely managed to make the turn-off to the mall. Traffic was
backed up trying to get there, and as she sat in the line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot she drifted
again.
Tom's people claimed to have no emotions, but Sloan didn't believe it. So what were their emotions like? Were
they the same as a Human's? Did they process feelings the same? Value them the same? Tom felt things, but he
didn't always understand exactly what he was feeling. She needed to understand what it was like for him. Maybe
then she would know why he had lied like that. Why he had broken his promise and left her, without a word of
explanation.
Maybe if she understood him better, she could trust him again.
¥
Chapter 18 ¥"Don't lose her, stay close!" Aaron urged Darcy as she followed Sloan's car through the Pasadena Christmas
shopping traffic around the mall.
"I won't lose her!" Darcy snapped. "But I don't want her to notice us either!"
"She's Human. She can't sense us," Aaron said." She can't sense us, but she can see us if we get too close!"
Darcy reminded him, and wondered why so many changelings had such a condescending view of Humans. Didn't
they remember what it had been like? Of course, Aaron had made only a moderately intelligent Dominant. He had
probably been a complete air-head when he was Human. But he was very strong, one of the strongest of the
changelings, which was why Lynch had selected him to accompany Darcy on this mission.
Darcy wished Lynch had come with them. Her hands were sweating on the steering wheel. She rubbed them on
her jeans one at a time. Lynch hadn't wanted to risk being recognized. At least that was what he had said. Of
course, Darcy had wondered when she had felt the thin thread of fear that Tom Daniels name had evoked. She
knew that Lynch had felt when Tom Daniels had killed his clone brothers. He didn't want to be next, but he did
want Tom Daniels under his control.
"Sloan Parker is the key to controlling Daniels." He'd said to them that morning as they prepared to leave. "Bring
me Dr. Parker and I can bring Daniels to the Council. Then we'll see whose plan for the domination of Homo
sapiens the Council will follow!"
¥
Chapter 19 ¥Sloan pulled into the mall parking lot and was lucky enough to find someone just pulling out from a space near the
food-court entrance. She parked and got out. After locking up the car, she headed inside and looked for Ed and
Marianna.
"Yo! Sloan - over here!" Ed called out to her just as she spotted him through the flood of holiday shoppers. He
was standing in front of McDonald's with a drink in one hand and a burger in the other and one of his loudest
Hawaiian shirts over a black T-shirt.
Geneticists do it with the best genes.< o:p>
Oh, my.
Marianna stood next to him, one eyebrow raised and glancing back and forth between Ed and Sloan.
Sloan grinned. The Dominant woman looked distinctly uncomfortable. Spending the day with Ed must be quite a
shock to the system for someone trained to be inconspicuous.
"OK, so what are we buying? Or should I say, who are we buying for?" Sloan asked as she came up to them.
"Good question!" Ed said and looked to Marianna. "Did you draw names out of a hat, or are you just buying a
general sort of present that could fit anybody?"
"We didn't draw names," Marianna answered, frowning slightly. "So I guess it would be a general present."
"Oh, dear," Sloan said with a shake of her head. "The worst kind! They could have at least narrowed it down to
male or female. Hmm. Do you have a spending limit?"
"Yes!" Mariana said brightening, "Fifteen dollars."
"OK, so that is pretty typical office party range," Sloan said. "The key is to buy something that looks more
expensive, comes right up to the limit, but doesn't go over."
Marianna's eyes were glued to Sloan and she nodded slightly as Sloan explained the objective.
"Hey, I've got an idea," Ed broke in. "Why not just get gift certificates from Target or someplace - fifteen
bucks'll really stretch there."
Sloan gave Ed a withering look.
Marianna understood immediately and said, "That wouldn't meet the criteria, Ed."
"What?" Ed asked, pulled up short by the frowns both women aimed at him. "It would be the exact limit, and
either a man or a woman could use them - I thought that would be perfect."
"But if you give a gift certificate then the recipient will know exactly how much was spent," Marianna explained
patiently. "Sloan said one of the objectives was to get something that looked more expensive than the limit."
"Plus the fact that, with a certificate, you have to select a store that everyone would like - there are people who
would never set foot in a Target, but if you buy a CD or a knick-knack there and give it to them they never know
the difference," Sloan added.
Marianna nodded appreciatively. "Ahhhh. Of course. That's an aspect I hadn't thought of."
Ed shrugged and gave up. Sloan was amused to see him retreat from the field of battle to his shake and burger.
Then she focused her attention on their plan of attack for the mall.
¥
Chapter 20 ¥Tom had trailed Sloan and the hostile Dominants to the mall, but lost them in the parking lot thanks to a
Mercedes station wagon. Its driver had decided Tom was trying to snatch her rightful parking place and had cut
Tom off to get there first. By the time Tom had gotten out from behind that, Sloan and the stalkers were
nowhere to be seen.
He could still feel Sloan, though, and there was no sign of panic, just a very focused calm, rather like what he
felt right before a mission. He took that as a good sign. Finally he parked the car out in one of the satellite lots
and jogged back towards the mall through the half-mile of parked vehicles.
¥
Chapter 21 ¥"This will be perfect," Darcy said, half to herself. She looked down from the upper level of the mall to the first
floor. Sloan was standing at a mall guide in the food court with two others studying the list of stores. The mall
was crowded. People filled the walkways and the stores, all intent on Christmas errands.
"The others will be here in about ten minutes," Aaron said as he put away his cell phone. "You really want to take
her right here?"
"Where else?" Darcy insisted. "There are plenty of people around to act as a distraction. She's away from all
that security at the lab. It doesn't get any better -" Darcy stopped and cocked her head. Aaron did the same.
"Damn," Darcy muttered
"It's not a changeling." Aaron said.
"I can tell that myself!" Darcy snapped. "Whoever she is, she's strong. Aaron, you'll have to distract her."
Aaron swallowed nervously. Darcy could feel his reluctance, but to his credit, he said nothing, just nodded.
"All right," Darcy continued, glancing at her watch. "Let's calm ourselves. Try to blend in as much as possible.
We'll wait for the others to get here and cause a distraction. Watch for the right moment and when I tell you
to, you take out the female. I'll grab Dr. Parker and head for the car."
"How will I get out?" Aaron asked sliding Darcy a look from the corner of his eyes.
"You'll have to get out as best you can. Then hook up with the others and come back in the van," she told him,
looking him in the eye, daring him to protest.
He just nodded and then asked, "What if they catch you before you can get Dr. Parker away?"
"They'll still be too late," Darcy answered.
She pulled an injection gun out of her jacket pocket and held it out to Aaron. It was loaded with one of the
modified tranquilizer darts that Aaron had seen hundreds of times. On being pressed into flesh, it would
automatically deliver its load.
¥
Chapter 22 ¥Threading his way through the Christmas crowds, Tom tried to keep a fix on Sloan. She was close. He slowed
down so that he would not miss her in the crowd. Just as he turned a corner, however, he sensed a confusion of
emotions and feelings. It felt like a thunderstorm blowing up suddenly and it obscured Sloan as clouds would
obscure the sun.
He'd lost her. He sped up again, running through the mall, trying to get to the storm before it broke. The minds that projected the confusion and the fury were a mix of uncontrolled Human and Dominant feelings, and he was sure they were after Sloan.
********************
