Page 55 of Caught By Menace

He nodded. “She’s with Flare now. I think they’re a good match.”

Naya grinned. “Better than us?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

She started to say something else but her gaze fell on the entryway table. Shock slackened her face. “Where did you get that?”

He brushed his fingers across the well-worn leather. “A friend of yours.”

“Friend? Jennie?” She sounded so hopeful.

He shook his head. “I met a man named Dankirk tonight.”

“Danny was the fixer on the job tonight?”

“He was.” Menace held her gaze. “I suppose I don’t have to ask if you were a member of the Red Feather?”

“I was.” She didn’t even try to lie. “We—they’re—just political dissidents. They bring medicine and technology to those who need and want it. They work to keep elections in The City as fair as possible. They help get sick people to hospitals in the colonies and aid in immigration efforts.”

“Illegal immigration,” he countered. “It’s illegal to move people from your planet to the colonies without visas and proof of sponsorship from legal citizens of those colonized installations.”

Naya crossed her arms. “Are we really going to have a political argument at four in the damn morning?”

“No.” Menace sighed. “Here.” He picked up the bag and held it out. “It’s been searched and cleared.”

She hesitated before walking toward him. “My pistol?”

He shook his head. “It’s been confiscated. I’ll petition to have it returned as soon as possible. If we get it back, it goes right into my gun safe, understood?”

“Yes.” She took the bag and hugged it to her chest. “I never thought I’d see this again.”

“Your friend seemed determined to get it back to you.” Menace couldn’t help himself. “Was he your lover?”

“What? Why would you ask me that?”

“Was he?”

“Why? Are you jealous?”

“Naya—”

“Yes, once,” she answered angrily. “Danny and I had sex once. More than a year ago,” she added. “It wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful. No, he didn’t make me come. There! Are you satisfied with that answer,master?”

She spat the word so harshly that he flinched. Realizing he had been an absolute jackass, Menace wiped a hand down his face. “I’m sorry, Naya. I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“Why the hell do you even care, Menace? Didn’t you tell me that the past is the past?”

“I did.” Reluctantly he admitted, “Maybe I am jealous. That man knows you so well. He knows your secrets. He’s spent a lifetime with you. How the hell do I compare with that?”

“You don’t.” She tossed the bag back onto the entryway table. When she slid her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest, Menace couldn’t breathe. “We’re building something new and different. What we had or didn’t have with other people doesn’t matter. This right here?” She squeezed him. “This is what matters.”

His eyes closed briefly as the tension in his gut eased. Her correct assessment of the situation calmed him. Menace cupped her sweet face and captured her mouth in a tender kiss. Remembering his earlier promise, he swept her into his arms. “I’m pretty sure I said we were going to pick up right here.”

She squirmed in his arms. “Maybe you could get undressed first. I’ve got the handle of a pistol jamming right into my butt.”

Menace snorted. “I’ve got something I’d like to jam in your—”

Naya clapped her hand over his mouth. With narrowed eyes, she warned, “Finish that sentence and you’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

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