Two of a Kind Read Free

interrupted Gideon’s night with Felicia. Or rather the following morning. A polite way of saying they’d busted down the door and Justice had insisted on taking Felicia with him. Gideon had tried to go after her, but Ford had held him back.
    Gideon hadn’t seen her again until today. When she’d been fighting marauding spiders.
    “She was pissed at Justice?” he asked.
    Ford shook his head. “Leave me out of this. We’re not in high school, and I’m not passing notes in study hall or asking her if she likes you. You’ll have to do it yourself.”
    Gideon was tempted. That night had been memorable. She was an intriguing combination of determined, sexy and geeky. But he knew he wasn’t her type—he wasn’t anyone’s. To the untrained eye he looked as if he’d healed, but he knew what was underneath. He wasn’t a good relationship risk. Of course, if Felicia was looking for something less serious and more naked, he was all in.
    Ford finished his beer. “Mind if I bunk in an empty office?”
    “There’s a futon in the break room.”
    “Thanks.”
    Gideon didn’t bother mentioning it wasn’t that comfortable. For a guy like Ford, a ratty futon was just as good as a four-star hotel bed. In their line of work, you learned to make do.
    Ford dropped the bottle into the blue recycling bin, then headed down the hall. Gideon put in a CD, then searched until he found the right track.
    “You Keep Me Hanging On” began to play.
    * * *
     
    FELICIA HURRIED TOWARD Brew-haha. She was late, which never happened. She liked her life to be organized and calm. Structured. Which meant she always knew where she was going to be and what she was going to be doing. Being late was not part of her plan.
    But ever since she’d seen Gideon the day before, she’d been out of sorts. The man confused her. No, she thought as she walked by the park, her reaction to him confused her.
    She was used to being around physically powerful men. She’d worked with soldiers for years. But Gideon was different. The result of their sexual history, she thought. Percentage-wise, a single night was such a small part of a person’s life, yet it could have lasting impact. A trauma of any kind could stay with a person forever. But her time with Gideon had been wonderful, not traumatic. The memories of that night along with their meeting yesterday kept swirling in her head. As a woman who liked her brain as tidy as she liked her life, she was unprepared for being so unsettled.
    She paused to wait for the light so she could cross the street. As she stood, she saw a young mother with two small boys. They were maybe two and four, the youngest still a little unsteady as he ran across the grass. He came to a stop, turned and saw his mother and brother, then smiled broadly.
    Felicia stared greedily, absorbing the pure joy of the moment, the unselfconsciousness of the happy toddler. This was why she’d come to Fool’s Gold, she reminded herself. To be somewhere normal. To try to be like everyone else. To maybe even fall in love and have a family. To belong.
    For someone who had grown up as a whiz kid on a university college campus, normal sounded like heaven. She wanted what other people took for granted.
    The light changed, and she crossed quickly, aware of her lateness. Mayor Marsha hadn’t said why she wanted to meet and Felicia hadn’t asked. She’d assumed her skills were needed on a project of some kind. Maybe setting up an inventory system for the city.
    She walked through the open door into the coffeehouse. Brew-haha had opened a couple of months before. Hardwood floors gleamed as sunlight spilled through the big windows. There were plenty of tables, a nice selection of pastries and delicious caffeine in all forms.
    Patience, the owner and one of Felicia’s friends, smiled. “You’re late,” she said cheerfully. “I’m excited to know you have flaws. There’s hope for the rest of us.”
    Felicia groaned as her friend pointed to a table