The guards opened the gates and pushed back the protesters to give her access to the street. Someone threw something and it hit the side of her car. She flinched but drove away without checking to see if they’d caused any damage. That was the least of her problems.

* * * * *

“You did the right thing.” Justice put his hand on Fury’s shoulder. He stared at the gate his friend had been watching for nearly forty minutes. “I know it was difficult for you to let her go.”

Fury fought his emotions, a complex thing to do, and met his friend’s concerned gaze when he turned his head to end his vigil. “I did as you asked when you informed me she’d been fired. I allowed her to walk away. She’ll be safer now that she’s not at Homeland, in case more ass**les attack us.”

“Our enemies could have killed her,” Justice reminded him. “I know this is difficult for you.”

“I can’t imagine never seeing her again,” Fury admitted. “I feel pain.”

Regret tightened Justice’s features and he squeezed the shoulder he gripped once more. “I didn’t know it was that strong.”

“It is.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I realize she’s better off in her world than here. She said she has no home though. What will she do? Maybe I should have asked her to stay. We could have forced the director to keep her on at the dorm.”

“We can’t make waves right now, Fury. There’s a time and a place for everything. You did the best thing for our people. I’m sorry that it comes at such a price since she means so much to you. The only thing I can say is you can offer her a job again when we’re ready to totally take control of Homeland.”

Some of the pain eased inside Fury’s chest. “I want her to come back.” He needed her. To never see her smile again or hear her voice―that concept left a bitter taste in his mouth. A bleak future loomed in his mind’s eye. “I believe she was fired for standing up for us. It doesn’t feel right not to do the same for her.”

“Then definitely offer her the job she held as soon as you’re able to. It won’t be too much longer. We just need to learn enough to do things right. There’s so much though that we don’t know yet. Every day brings us one step closer to controlling our own destiny.”

“What if she doesn’t want the job? What if she never wishes to return? She could find another job out in her world.” A flash of grief sliced through Fury. “I might never see her again.”

“Then you let her go, Fury. You try to get over your feelings.”

Fury said nothing but the burning pain inside his chest spread. He didn’t want to let Ellie go and he sure didn’t believe he could ever get over the emotions he experienced when it came to her. She was in his blood, a part of him, but now she would no longer be a part of his life.

“Come,” Justice urged softly. “We’ll take a walk together. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

Fury hesitated, glanced at the gate, but knew she wouldn’t be back. He nodded.

“Thanks.”

* * * * *

Ellie cursed viciously while staring at the spray-paint job on her car, knowing that one of the protesters must have followed her to the motel. She’d looked for a tail but hadn’t seen one after she’d left Homeland four hours before. Those ass**les are sneaky, damn it. And obsessed jerks. They knew what motel she’d checked into and had vandalized her car because of her association with the NSO. She really hated bigoted idiots.

Ellie stomped to her room, angry that she’d have to call the police, file a report, and contact her insurance carrier. She sure couldn’t drive a car around town with those bad words sprayed in large letters along the side of it. It would make for a really bad impression when she showed up at job interviews. She snorted and gripped the bag of fast food tighter as she fished for the motel-room key in her back jeans pocket.

Ellie pulled the key out and tried to shove it into the lock but something prevented it from going inside. She bent to peer at the small keyhole, her eyes narrowed as she examined what appeared to be green gum crammed where the hole should be, and wondered what kind of troublesome kid would go around screwing up doors that way. The door next to her room suddenly banged open.

She turned her head in time to watch three big, mean-looking men step out onto the walkway to glare at her. Fear slammed her when she realized they were totally focused on her. She released the handle of her door and stumbled back. Ten feet of space separated her room from the next one, not nearly far enough, in her opinion, from those guys, and it was confirmed when the lead man lunged fast.

“We got you,” he gasped and grabbed Ellie when she tried to run.

“Drag her in here, Bernie,” one of the men muttered urgently.

“What the hell is your problem?” Ellie latched onto the railing with both hands while panic gripped her as tightly as the cruel hands on her hips. “Let me go!”

“My problem,” the man hissed against her ear as he slid his arm around her waist and jerked, attempting to yank her free from the rail, “is we got word you’re screwing one of those animal things and we’re going to save you. You’ve been brainwashed.”

Save me? At least they weren’t trying to kill her. That’s something, she thought. The idiots believed she’d been forced to change her way of thinking. She screamed and kicked hard at the bigger man. Her gaze frantically darted around, seeking help. She saw a few people lingering in the parking lot below and they gaped up at her. Someone yelled from the distance for the guy to let her go.