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  Annnnd that was the voice of Randy. He was definitely there and he sounded good and drunk. Mei-Li massaged her temples where a really good tension headache was trying to take hold. So he and Angry Mom were reenacting their old, toxic dance all over again. Under the shouting, Mei-Li thought she could hear crying. Probably Kristin or her little sister, Megan, upset by the fight.

  This had to stop before it went any further but Mei-Li knew perfectly well she couldn’t break it up all by herself—it wasn’t safe. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in Claudia’s number.

  “Hey, boss lady—remember how you said you’d back me up if I needed it?”

  Claudia gave a long suffering sigh. “Seriously Mei-mei? It’s almost nine at night and I was just settling down to catch up on Gray’s Scandal. I have two juicy episodes all saved up and I was about to pour myself a big glass of red wine.”

  “Well, there’s plenty of juicy scandal going on down here at Kristin Hill’s house if it makes you feel any better,” Mei-Li said dryly. “Randy Dungston is back with a vengeance and he and Angry Mom are airing their dirty laundry loud enough for everyone in Tampa Heights to hear it.”

  Claudia was immediately all business.

  “Okay, I’m on my way and I’ll call a squad car too. He’s breaking the court order to keep him away from the girls so we can have him hauled away at least for the night.”

  “They might take awhile to get there—this is Friday night, not exactly one of their down times,” Mei-Li pointed out.

  “They’ll get there, I’ll make sure of it,” Claudia said grimly. “In the meantime, you just stay in the car with the windows rolled up and the doors locked. Do not go into that house alone. Okay?”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Mei-Li said dryly. “I’ll sit tight and wait for you.”

  “Good. Be there in twenty. Fifteen if traffic cooperates.”

  “Got it.”

  Mei-Li hung up and turned her attention back to the scene going on in the little house across the street. The angry voices had risen from shouts to screams and then she heard the sound of glass breaking.

  “Stupid cunt,” Randy was shouting. “Don’t be yelling at me! Like you ain’t never fucked around. I know what you were doing when I was in County. I know you were fucking around—spreading your legs for anything with a dick!”

  “No, I swear, Randy…” Angry Mom’s voice was somewhere between a shriek and a wail. “I never…I never…”

  “Lying bitch!”

  More breaking glass and more shrieking had Mei-Li on the edge of her seat. She knew it wasn’t safe to go inside and confront the angry drunk by herself but she also didn’t want to just sit here and listen to Randy beat the crap out of Angry Mom while Kristin and her sister witnessed the whole messy scene.

  Then she heard something worse.

  “Not my mommy! You leave my mommy alone!” The piercing, high pitched voice was unmistakably Kristin’s. Mei-Li could see her small shadow in the lit front windows rushing at a much bigger form which had to be Randy.

  “Get back you little bitch!” Randy grunted as the big shadow grabbed the smaller one. “Or, I swear to God I’ll slice you up while your fucking ‘mommy’ watches.”

  That was it—Mei-Li knew it was dangerous but she couldn’t wait any longer. She couldn’t sit in her safe, locked car and wait for the police while an innocent little girl was maimed and possibly killed. No matter what happened, she had to go in.

  She was out of her car and across the street almost before the thoughts finished flashing through her mind. The door was open and she ran into the house without knocking or calling, holding the pepper spray straight out in front of her like a gun.

  What she saw when she got to the cramped and cluttered living room made her cold all over.

  Randy Dungston had Kristin’s in a choke hold, one beefy arm around the little girl’s thin throat. In the other hand he had a broken bottle, its jagged green shards of glass poking out of his meaty fist. Kristin was gasping and turning blue, her eyes bulging with the effort to breathe as Dungston brought the glittering, razor sharp glass closer and closer to her face.

  Angry Mom was standing helplessly to one side, shouting something that Mei-Li didn’t even hear and Kristin’s little sister, Megan, who was only four, was wailing inconsolably as she watched her sister about to be maimed.

  Mei-Li was so angry she felt like she could have exploded with rage but she knew if she made the wrong move she might cost Kristin an eye.

  “Randy Dungston,” she said in a low voice that quivered with fury. “Put Kristin down and drop that bottle now.”

  Randy looked down at her, sneering. He was a big bully of a man with red cheeks and a nose that reminded Mei-Li of a snout. He stank of sweat and scotch and cigarette smoke and his piggy little eyes were bloodshot.

  “Well, if it ain’t the little chink social worker,” he grunted, making no move to either release Kristin or drop the jagged, broken bottle. “The same little chink bitch that got me kicked out of my own home and sent to jail.”

  “This is not your home. You lost the right to call it that when you hurt and tortured two helpless little girls—just like you’re doing now. You let her go right now or I will spray you!” She held out the pepper spray, her arm trembling, wishing she had something more lethal like a tazer or a gun.

  To her consternation, Dungston just laughed.

  “I been to jail, bitch—you oughta know since you’re the one who sent me there. You think I’m afraid of a little pepper spray? Besides, you spray me, you’re gonna get her too.” He nodded at Kristin who had almost stopped struggling now. Her face had gone from blue to almost gray. It was an alarming color and Mei-Li felt panic begin to gnaw at her throat. What if he killed the little girl while she stood here helplessly and watched?

  To one side, Megan was still wailing and Angry Mom was wringing her hands ineffectually and crying but neither reaction was having any effect on Dungston. An evil grin had spread across his porcine face as he watched to see what Mei-Li would do.

  She hesitated, uncertain of the best course of action. It was true that spraying the pepper spray might get Kristin too because Randy would doubtless have no qualms about using the little girl as a human shield. Mei-Li thought about lunging forward to try to drag the little girl from his grip but she was afraid he would cut Kristin with the bottle if she did.

  “Let…her…go!” she insisted, trying to keep her voice steady.

  “When…I’m…ready,” he sneered, mocking her tone.

  “Release the young one.”

  The deep, cold voice behind her nearly made Mei-Li jump out of her skin. She saw Randy’s eyes widen in surprise and fill with fear. She couldn’t help glancing back to see what could provoke such a reaction in a hard man like Dungston.

  And there he was. Six. Standing there looking just as he did in her dreams from the glaring red light where his left eye should be to the metallic left hand to the bulky black armor which made him absolutely huge. He seemed to fill the whole living area and suck all the air out of the room at the same time. Or maybe that was her, hyperventilating. Seeing him in her dreams was bad enough—she’d never really expected to see him in person.

  “Who’re you?” Randy sneered, obviously trying to cover his fear with bravado. “Some kinda Robo-cop wannabe?”

  Despite his tough words, he was clearly shaken. So much so that he allowed Kristen to sag in his grip, giving Mei-Li a clear shot at his face.

  She was still pretty freaked out about having the big Kindred from her dreams suddenly appear behind her but the pragmatic part of her was screaming that she didn’t have time to be freaked out. She could have hysterics later. Right now, she had a chance to save Kristin and she had to take it.

  Aiming right for Dungston’s eyes, she squeezed the button and fired a powerful stream of pepper spray right in his face.

  “Agh—God! My eyes!”

  As Mei-Li had hoped, Randy stumbled backwards
clutching for his eyes. He dropped both the bottle and Kristin in his blindness as he cursed and flailed.

  Mei-Li ran forward to grab the little girl at once. She was so focused on Kristin that she barely even noticed when she sliced her knee open on a piece of the broken bottle. The pain was sharp but her fear for Kristin was sharper.

  “Kristin?” she said, patting her cheeks. “Kristin, come on, honey—be okay. Please be okay!” She was feeling for a pulse when Kristin coughed weakly, her eyelids flickering.

  “Mizz Hastings?” she slurred, focusing on Mei-Li.

  “Kristin!” Mei-Li hugged the little girl to her, a wash of relief sweeping over her. “Oh, sweety, you’re all right!”

  “Get your Goddamned hands off my child, you bitch!” Angry Mom was suddenly pushing her away. “You done enough damage for one night.”

  “I did damage?” It wasn’t professional but Mei-Li couldn’t help herself. “I had to come in because you let this…this monster back into your home and into the lives of your children.” She gestured at Randy who was still pawing at his eyes like a wounded bear. Six was also still standing there, looming over all of them but Mei-Li didn’t feel ready to deal with him yet. She might never be ready to deal with him.

  Angry Mom’s eyes shifted uneasily. “Randy’s fine as long as you don’t go riling him up! If you hadn’t come in waving your stupid pepper spray—”

  “I don’t believe this.” Mei-Li shook her head. “You’re still defending him? After what he just did to your daughter? What is wrong with you?”

  Angry Mom got a stubborn, hateful look on her narrow face.

  “The only thing wrong with me is that I need a new case worker. And I’m gonna ask for one first thing in the morning!”

  “Good,” Mei-Li said evenly. “You can call and ask as soon as you get finished talking to the police.”

  “The police?” Randy muttered. His eyes were still streaming but he appeared to be able to see again—at least somewhat. “I don’t think so. Fuck this shit—I’m out!” Keeping a wary eye on Six who was still standing there mutely, he edged out the door and ran into the night.

  “Hey, come back here!” Mei-Li exclaimed but she wasn’t about to run after him. Not while Kristin and her little sister were wailing and Angry Mom was shouting expletives at her. The noise in the little house made her head throb and her sleep deprived brain felt like it was going to burst. She looked up at Six angrily. “Why did you let him get away?”

  “I didn’t come here for him.” He gave her a long, level look from his one normal eye which was steel gray. “I came for you, Mei-Li.”

  Hearing her name in that deep, frightening voice made everything seem more real somehow. Oh my God—this isn’t a dream. He’s real and he’s really here. He’s come for me—come to take me away!

  The realization scared her to death—which made her angry.

  “Now, you listen to me,” she said, standing up and limping towards him—God, her knee really hurt and she could feel a warm trickle of blood running down the inside of her calf. She wanted to get away from Angry Mom and her crying children before having this conversation so she went into the small entry hall by the open doorway. Six followed her obligingly. “As I was saying,” Mei-Li went on. “I don’t care—”

  “You’re wounded,” he interrupted. Suddenly he was kneeling in front of her, like a huge, black boulder that had somehow lodged itself at her feet. “Let me see.”

  “What? No!” Mei-Li protested, moving away. “I’m fine—I’ll deal with that later. Right now I need to deal with you.”

  “Very well.” He was still kneeling in front of her so he looked up—not that he had to look very far. God, he was even bigger in reality than he had been in her dreams!

  Mei-Li felt disarmed, both by his nearness and his apparent concern for her but she refused to show any weakness.

  “What I’m trying to say is I don’t care how many light years you traveled to come to get me,” she said firmly. “I can’t go with you. I won’t go with you.”

  Six rose slowly to tower over her again. “And your reason for this refusal is…?”

  “Did you see that man? The man you just let get away?” Mei-Li demanded, poking him in the chest. She had to reach up to do it since he was so huge but she managed just the same. The rational part of her brain told her it wasn’t really fair to blame the big Kindred—apprehending criminals wasn’t really his job. But she couldn’t stop the fury that rose inside her when she thought of Randy Dungston getting away only to come back and hurt Kristin and her sister again.

  “I saw him,” Six said neutrally.

  “Well he’s going to keep coming back—keep hurting these girls until the day he dies unless I’m here to stop him! I can’t go running off with you to a galaxy far, far away while he’s on the loose. I can’t.”

  Six gave her another long look and then nodded shortly.

  “Understood. I did not really come to claim you anyway—I only wished to ascertain that you were safe and able to take care of yourself.”

  “What?” Mei-Li demanded. “Able to take care of myself? Why would you think I couldn’t take care of myself? Because I’m a woman?”

  “No. Because you are so tiny.” He frowned at her—the first vestige of any kind of emotion she’d seen from him. “Look at you—I could lift you with one hand and hold you for hours without tiring.”

  For some reason the thought of being lifted by him and held against that broad chest made her feel hot and cold all over. It also scared her to death which made her mad as hell.

  “Well, you’re not going to get a chance to try that, buddy, because I’m not going anywhere with you!” she snarled. “What you are going to do is get the hell out of this house and off my case now! Got it?”

  To her surprise, instead of getting angry and shouting back, the big Kindred simply nodded.

  “Understood,” he said again. “It is clear that despite your diminutive size, you are well able to care for yourself. I will leave you in peace.”

  “Thank you,” Mei-Li spat sarcastically. “It’s really kind of you to forgo dragging me off in your alien spaceship so I can get on with my freaking job.”

  His one normal eye narrowed and there was a soft whirring sound from the red scope where his left eye should have been.

  “Be cautious, Mei-Li. Though I am not subject to irrational emotions, I do not take pleasure in sarcasm.”

  “Well, I don’t take pleasure in you showing up when I’m trying to work,” she snapped. “Or showing up in my dreams, making it so I can’t get more than a few hours of sleep a night and I’m so brain dead I can’t think straight.”

  “The dreams are troubling to me, too,” he protested. “I didn’t cause them—I wanted them to stop. And I certainly had no intention of coming to claim you, no matter how insistent they became.”

  “Oh yeah? Then why did you come here?” Mei-Li demanded recklessly.

  He frowned. “I told you—to be certain you were protected.”

  “Well, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

  “Yes, I see,” he said shortly. “And so I will be going.”

  “Good.” Mei-Li crossed her arms over her chest. “Go back to your starship and leave me alone!”

  “That is my intention,” he growled and for a moment she almost thought he looked angry. Then his face became a perfect, emotionless blank again and he made a short, stiff bow in her direction. “Goodbye and may Fortune favor you.”

  “Oh, uh…goodbye.” Mei-Li was suddenly nonplussed. She had shouted at him and said things she normally wouldn’t have said to anyone. Sometimes it seemed like she spent her whole life being professional and polite. But the minute Six showed up, she just lost it. Mostly because being scared made her mad but still…

  She wondered if she ought to apologize but he was already turning to go. He stepped through the narrow doorway, turning sideways to fit his broad shoulders, and walked past the dirty rattan couch. Despite the black a
rmor that covered his body, he moved smoothly down the sagging steps of the front porch although how he kept from smashing through the rotting wooden steps with his massive black boots was more than Mei-Li could understand.

  That’s it then? she thought as she watched him leave. That was all I had to do to get rid of him? Just tell him off and send him away?

  It seemed ridiculously easy. Maybe insultingly so. Probably he had realized that she wasn’t his type the moment he laid eyes on her. One look at her nonexistent breasts and hips and he had no doubt decided he had made a mistake coming at all. Her shouting at him like Angry Mom probably didn’t help either.

  Abruptly, Mei-Li felt ashamed. He had said he’d only come to make sure she was safe. Was that really such a bad thing? She’d been frightened and angry because he had showed up so suddenly and he looked so big and scary in person. But really, he had behaved like a gentleman—not at all like what she had expected.

  What had she expected? That he would throw her over one broad shoulder, caveman style, and carry her away? The idea seemed ludicrous now. Instead of acting primitive and possessive, Six had spoken politely, if somewhat coldly, and had gone when she asked him to. And in return, Mei-Li had treated him like the world’s biggest jerk.

  Manners! whispered her adopted mother’s voice inside her head. Where are your manners, Mei-Li? That poor man came all the way from another planet just to meet you and you snubbed him! What is wrong with you?

  Abruptly, the guilt became too much. She stepped out onto the porch and opened her mouth to say something but Six was already almost out of eyesight—nothing more than a black dot in the night. As she watched, he disappeared completely though Mei-Li couldn’t tell where or how. He was just…gone.

  There was still screaming and sobbing coming from inside the house. Mei-Li was aware that there was a lot to do but now that Randy was gone, Kristin and her sister were safe. And she just couldn’t bear to go back in the shabby little house and be shouted and cursed at any more.