Page 45 of Caught By Menace

Hallie tapped the upper corner and the screen changed from green to a picture of a man. With his face down, only his dark-brown hair was clearly visible.

“I haven’t seen many of these guys with dark hair.”

Hallie smiled. “Darker hair is common in the men who have mothers who were taken in Grabs.”

The man on-screen lifted his face. Naya winced at the sight of such a scarred face. One eye had been totally gouged out and was nothing but a puckered scar. A gash like a lightning bolt marked that same side of his face. “What happened to him?”

“Terror was attacked on a mission. Vicious had to sew him back together.” Hallie touched her arm. “Please don’t stare at him.”

Naya glanced at the scarred man on the screen. “I won’t.”

“Thank you.” Hallie walked to the door.

“Is he like Vicious and Menace? You know, scary on the outside but soft on the inside?”

Hallie shook her head and grabbed the door’s handle. “No, Naya. He’s even scarier on the inside than he looks on the outside.”

With Hallie’s frightening assessment ringing in her ears, Naya hung back and waited. Hallie stepped aside and Terror entered the apartment. His gaze moved to Naya and then back to Hallie again.

“I should have known your little welcoming committee would have reached Menace’s new woman first,” Terror said. “Have you finished interrogating her or do I need to drag her down to a holding cell to get her life story?”

Hallie dared to thump his arm. “Be nice, Terror.”

Naya didn’t find his teasing remark very funny. She warily watched Terror as he strode toward her. He had an air of mystery around him. The way he carried himself reminded her of the secret police who had terrorized her so many times. Her internal alarm pinged instantly. She knew the type. He might have Hallie fooled but this guy wasn’t what he pretended to be.

Terror stopped a bit too close, purposely invading her personal space, and extended his hand. “I’m Terror, a good friend of Menace.”

“Naya.” She quickly shook his hand and tried to let go but he held tight. His fingertip rubbed her wrist, right where her pulse beat wildly. She wasn’t amused and yanked her hand free from his.

Terror’s one eye narrowed. “You’re from Connor’s Run.” He wasn’t asking. “I hear you ran a pawnshop down there. I can only imagine what kinds of interesting things came through your front door.”

Naya’s gut clenched but she schooled her features. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to deal with some slick government type trying to get her to incriminate herself through friendly conversation. “I had a unicycle come through the front door once. That’s about as interesting as it got.”

“A unicycle?” Oblivious to Terror’s subtly aggressive questioning, Hallie interjected herself in their conversation. “From the circus three years ago?”

Naya dragged her gaze to Hallie. “You remember that? Did you get to go?”

Hallie shook her head. “We didn’t have the money but I got to see the animals and some of the performers from afar.” She tugged on the sleeve of Terror’s shirt. “Would you like some tea? I have cookies.”

Terror nodded. “I’d like that. It will give Naya and me time to get to know one another a bit better.”

Hallie hesitated. “You won’t be rude?”

Terror laughed, the sound dry and harsh. “When have you ever known me to be rude?”

“Oh I don’t know. How about last week when we had lunch on the observation deck?” Hallie arched a dark eyebrow. “If you make my guest uncomfortable in my home, I’ll make sure that Vicious makes things very uncomfortable for you, Terror. Got it?”

He actually smiled at Hallie. “Yes.”

Naya wanted to run after Hallie but didn’t move. She wasn’t about to show this frightening man one glimmer of weakness. He couldn’t possibly know anything about her past. Even if he had somehow gotten his hands on her police reports, there wasn’t anything concrete in them. She’d never been formally charged after her arrests.

“Let’s sit.” Terror gestured to the seating area. Naya calmly made her way to the closest chair. Terror took a spot across from her, probably so he could watch her every move. “You must have been very scared when your number was pulled in the lottery.”

“I’m not sure scared is the right word.” Naya didn’t miss the peculiarity of that question. He asked it almost as if he knew she hadn’t been on the original roster.

“What word would you use? Excited? Determined?”

Now she knew something was up. “Resigned. Hopeful.”

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