Dean.”

“Thanks, I’ve got a million of ‘em.” Pause. “How did you know my name?”

She smiled. It was a nice smile, warm, with no condescension. “It wasn’t hard to find out.”

“What’s your name?” he asked boldly. He should have been nervous about the locked door, about the threat to his life. He wasn’t. Instead, he was delighted at the chance to talk to her, after a day of thinking about her and wondering how she was…who she was.

“Kara.”

“That’s gorgeous,” he informed her, “and I, of course, am unsurprised. You’re so pretty! And so deadly,” he added with relish, “you’re like one of those flowers that people can’t resist picking and then—bam! Big-time rash.”

“Thanks,” she said, “I think.” She blushed, which gave her high color and made her eyes bluer. He stared, besotted. He didn’t think women blushed anymore. He didn’t think women who beat up thugs blushed at all. He was very much afraid his mouth was hanging open and unable to do a thing about it.

“Dr. Dean—”

“Umm?”

“—I’m not sure you understand the seriousness of the situation—”

“Long, tall and ugly is out to get me,” he said, sitting down opposite her. He shoved a pile of charts aside; several clattered to the floor and she watched them fall, bemused. “But since you’re not the hitman, I’m not too worried.”

“Actually, I’m your self-appointed bodyguard.”

“Oh, well, then I’m not worried at all,” he said with feigned carelessness, while his brain chewed that one… bodyguard? …over.

“You could take on an assassin with one hand while writing a grocery list with the other. You’re certainly a match for whoever that guy sends after me. So, do I pay you? Should we even be talking about money? What’s the etiquette here?”

She blinked. “Uh…that won’t be necessary. Dr. Dean—”

“Jared.”

“—may I say, you’re taking this remarkably well?”

“Work in an E.R. for a year,” he said, suddenly grim. “You learn to recover your equilibrium pretty damned quickly.”

“Touché,” she said quietly.

“So now what?”

“Now you don’t get killed.”

“I mean, what happens now? What do we do?”

“We?”

“We’ve got to sic the cops on the bad guy, right? Do we—er—drop a dime on him?”

“No cops!” she said, startling him. She hadn’t been this rattled when Ugo had been trying to smash her face in. “We’ll keep you out of trouble until this blows over. End of plan.”

“Blows over?” he practically shouted. “I have to— we have to put our lives on hold until ole’ One Eyebrow goes away? Forgive me, but I thought you were a little more pro-active than that.”

“You’re right,” she admitted, “but when the law is involved, I can’t be as pro-active as I’d like.”

“But…aren’t you in trouble, too? Won’t Jerkoff try to kill you?”

“Oh, he’s been trying,” she said casually, as if a large, frightening, ugly man trying to kill her was of as much consequence as a threatened spring shower. “For years. He’ll never get me. Too dumb. Too slow.”

“Too lame a bad guy, sounds like,” he muttered. “It’s almost embarrassing to be on his shit list.”

She frowned. “This is serious. You’re a sitting duck because you’re different.”

“You mean because I have two eyebrows?”

She giggled into her cup and he was absurdly pleased with himself. “I mean, you’re a citizen. A taxpayer, one of the good guys. Not like Carlotti.”

He pounced. “Not like you?”

The smile vanished, poof! “You ask a lot of questions, Dr. Dean.”

“Jared. And you’re still in trouble from this guy, same as I am. Who’s going to look out for you? I mean, if you get sick or hit by a car or have chest pains, I’m your man, but if a hit squad starts shooting at you to shut you up, I’ll be the one cowering in the corner with my hands over my ears.”

She smiled and tried to hide it, but he saw it and grinned back at her. “Carlotti knows he has nothing to fear from me in court,” she explained, getting up to refill her cup. She disdained the sugar locker and drank it black, making an appreciative face. He couldn’t believe it—of all the things to happen this evening, beautiful Kara enjoying the hospital’s interpretation of coffee was the strangest. “I can’t testify against him.”

She didn’t elaborate, but Jared was able to figure that one out. There were only two reasons not to testify against anyone: fear—which Kara didn’t seem to know the meaning of—and having something to hide. You didn’t testify for the D.A. if the D.A. had something on you as well.

He wondered what she had done.

“So let’s go see the D.A.,” he said, seizing the bull by the horns.

“You may, if you like,” she said quietly, “but you’ll go alone and I would prefer to wait and see what happens.”

Which meant she knew a lot more than she was telling. He had the feeling if he insisted on seeing the D.A.; he’d for a fact never see her again.

He instantly decided that was an unacceptable course of action. Screw the risk to his personal health!

He had to get to know this woman.

“So…what?”

“We wait until Carlotti is arrested. It shouldn’t be long. A lot of people are looking for him.” She said that with cool relish and he made a mental note to never get on her bad side. “When he’s arrested, you’re out of danger.”

“Doesn’t he have hench-thugs who could still get me?”

She nodded. “In theory. But they won’t make a move without him breathing in their ears. You can see the D.A.—his name is Thomas Wechter, by the way, second floor of the courthouse, take a left past the water fountain—and tell him your story, tell him you’re willing to testify, ask to see the rest of his case. If he has one.”

“What about you?” he asked, trying once again, even though he knew it was useless. The same tenacity that made other doctors literally pull him off a DOA wouldn’t let him back away from this. “You were wronged by Carstupidi. You should testify that he tried to kill you! I mean, Jesus—that big bully, if you hadn’t cleaned his clock, I would have.”

She snorted and he raised an eyebrow at her. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “I was just picturing you and Carlotti—but you were talking about the D.A. I can’t testify. It’s all up to you.”

“What are you afraid of?” he asked boldly, sure she’d rebuff him, or deny fear. Instead, she just gave him a level look.

“Nothing I could explain to you,” she said quietly, then got up, poured the rest of her coffee down the sink and walked to the window. She took the cup with her, he noticed. After a moment, he got it: she was so paranoid, she wouldn’t take a chance on leaving fingerprints behind. Interesting. “See you around, Dr. Dean. I’ll be in touch.” She stepped up to the windowsill.

“It’s Jared ,” he yelled, darting after her, “and use the door , for God’s sake! Look, it’s right here.” He rattled the doorknob invitingly; she ignored him. “I can walk you to the main entrance. Ha! Some bodyguard!” he practically screamed and that got her attention; she paused and turned, looking at him over her shoulder, one foot already on the ledge. “Leaving me here to rot! I’m easy pickings for Carlotti’s henchmorons.”

She smiled. “Hardly. I’ll be close. Good night.”

“Wait!” But the window closed firmly and when he darted to it to look out, it was so dark he couldn’t see her anymore.

* * * * *

Ten hours later, he let himself into his apartment. A long shift, but a busy and rewarding one…only one death and that one a DNR, an eighty-seven year old woman who had been praying for death for the better part of a year, according to her calmly tearful daughter. Tough, but it could have been so much worse. Was so much worse, frequently.

He often wondered how he had ended up where he was—a physician, someone who dealt with death every day. In school he’d been an amiable goof-off, the class clown, never taking anything or anyone seriously. Strange that he had been drawn to a career that was, at times, absolutely the furthest thing from humorous.

It wasn’t that he’d lost someone close to him, had been marked forever by the death of a parent or close friend. Hell, he’d never had so much as a pet die on him. But in college he’d taken an EMT course and as part of the training he had to volunteer at a busy metro hospital.

Looking at the suffering around him, he watched the doctors and nurses ease that suffering, pull off miracle cures, reunite families. He remembered thinking, That looks a helluva lot more satisfying than working in an office or going out to L.A. to do stand-up. Making people laugh is one thing. Giving them their lives back is another. He had gone home that night and applied to five pre-med programs.

His father, seeing his slack-ass son filling out college applications instead of watching Friends re-runs, had nearly wept with relief.

He was walking past the couch, intent on the kitchen and a sandwich, when he saw Kara was deeply asleep on his couch, curled under a yellow fleece throw. He nearly walked into the end table.

He turned around, tiptoed back to his front door and examined the lock. Absolutely no signs of tampering. Then he walked to the windows, which were all locked on the inside. The woman was a marvel, a ghost, a—a rich woman if she ever decided to use her powers to aid the forces of evil.

He went to stand over her again, wanting to talk to her, but also wanting to let her sleep. If she had stayed close, as she said she would—and he didn’t think she would lie to him—she’d had a long day, most of it probably spent huddled on ledges. She hadn’t heard him come in through the door and he hadn’t been taking particular care to be quiet. Clearly she was exhausted. He would let her sleep.