Page 8 of Enthraller
Katil hadn’t known anything about his mysterious lady, although she’d been interested enough.
When he’d described her, he’d sensed Katil stiffen, and she’d tipped her head, as if trying to remember something, but had let it go with a genuine shake of her head.
If something about his mystery woman rang a bell, it was a faint one.
He trusted Katil would tell him if she did know. He’d saved her son in a terrorist attack on Demeter during the Faldine War, back when he was still with the Special Forces unit, and she’d kept in touch with him ever since. She’d even been an expert witness once for one of his cases.
Ed lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. It felt tight, and he had a sudden need to spin around and change direction.
He stopped.
Turned slowly.
He had intended to head back home.
Captain Ethan Hyt might well be waiting there for him with a new pair of manacles and a grievance, but until a minute ago, he hadn’t cared. He just wanted a cold glass of hirtsu and a couple of hours rest.
Now?
He probed his mind. What did he want now?
The answer was, he wanted to go off on a tangent to his original course. To cross the road and walk into the narrow alleythat lay between two shops, both with fronts shaded by brightly-colored awnings, their exotic wares displayed on beautiful stands.
His first instinct was to resist the compulsion.
He could, he realized. He was strong enough to fight whatever enticed him to cross the street.
He noticed that he didn’t feel so full of rage, and that the thought of the woman didn’t trigger a painful, deep longing for her any more. He felt loss, yes, but the feeling was back in a normal range. As if someone he loved had died or left him years ago.
Maybe psychlock wasn’t in his future, after all.
So now, with choice almost fully restored, should he follow the compulsion, or ignore it?
He started across the street toward the alley.
There was always the chance she was luring him in for a top-up of whatever she had done. He remembered she’d touched his skin before he went completely off the rails, and he decided to keep his distance this time.
But his curiosity was too strong to let it go.
If she knew a little about what had led them both to that docking station, surrounded by Hyt’s units and a sniper, he would like to hear it.
As he reached the entrance to the alley, he realized he was walking faster in anticipation, and forced himself to slow down. Perhaps the closer he got, the stronger the sense of longing was. It may be fading, but it was still potent enough to make him feel like a pet with his tongue hanging out at the thought of seeing her again.
He forced himself to stop completely, just to prove to himself he could.
He caught a shadow of movement a little way down the street, in the direction he’d just come from, and he pretendednot to notice it. He took a step into the alley, again forcing himself to stop, to let his eyes adjust to the gloom.
He was being followed.
He didn’t know when they’d picked him up. He thought he’d managed to slip out of Hyt’s station without attracting any attention, but either he’d been wrong, or they’d been tracking him some other way.
He suddenly recalled the standard VSC anti-laz suit he was wearing.
His only excuse was that it had been a trying day, and he hadn’t been himself for much of it.
He stripped off his shirt, bent and pulled off his boots before pulling down his pants. He ripped at the tabs, and the thin mesh suit fell from his shoulders. He pushed it over his hips, hopped from foot to foot as he tugged it off and then tossed it behind a cheerful red waste disposal. The little chip in the shoulder pad blinked green at him.
Someone deeper within the alley cleared their throat in a very delicate, very feminine way, and he lifted his head.
