For so long as he could remember he had looked just like this.

 

Not his features. That was obvious enough.

 

No, it was the look in his eyes.

 

Haunted. Crippled. Hungry for something I’ll probably never get. “Paul?” He

turned to see Davis rise and start dressing. “Yeah?” “I need to get home.”

“Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.” She climbed into the passenger seat. As he started

the van she reached over and kissed him on the cheek. “What was that for?” “Do I

have to have a reason?” “I guess not.” “We need to do this again. Really soon.”

“You think that’s smart?” “I don’t care if it’s smart. It’s what I want.” She

gave him directions to the destination. He didn’t know if it would be the rental

on the beach or the fortress where the owner had taken a dive into expensive

cobblestones.

 

It turned out to be the fortress.

 

As they neared the destination, Rogers began to panic a bit. What if Jericho was

here? What if, despite all the years, she recognized him?

 

When Davis directed him to the front gates he said, “Damn, after what you said

about the problems with your parents, I wasn’t expecting something like this.”

“It is a little much. But I hit the jackpot. The people who adopted me are

really, really rich.” He stared at her, dumbstruck. Ballard had adopted her? So