BONDS OF JUSTICE

Sophia allowed herself to lean against the garage wall once they’d exited onto the quiet street outside. She wasn’t concerned about setting off alarm bells if caught on surveillance—even Psy sometimes lost the perfect posture that had been drilled into them as a symptom and indication of control.

Max braced himself with one arm on the wall beside her, his eyes ablaze though he kept his distance. His earlier touch everyone would discount as a human action inspired by the emotions of the moment. But if he touched her now, Sophia knew she wouldn’t be able to resist crumbling into his embrace.

“You okay?” Rough tone, violence contained.

She wanted so much to crawl into his arms, to hold the solid reality of him to her until she believed he was alive, was safe. “Yes.”

Lines bracketed Max’s mouth. “This has to be connected to the work we’re doing for Nikita.”

“Not necessarily.” Realizing that he was focusing his anger into work, she kicked her sluggish brain into gear. “Bonner is very wealthy, and Bartholomew said that he has many groupies.”

“I’ll have his visitor logs and mail records checked out. But fact is, he likes playing with you—I don’t think he’d have you killed.”

“He has no way of knowing I’m working with you on another case,” she said, her hands clammy inside her gloves, her heartbeat erratic, “especially if this particular plan was put in motion before we met. He considers you his adversary, doesn’t he?” She’d seen the notes, notes Bonner had sent to Max while he’d still been an unknown serial killer. Each had been a taunt, a declaration of his superiority.

But then Max had caught him.

“Fuck.” Blowing out a breath, Max clenched his fist against the wall, the rough texture of the plascrete rubbing against his skin. He wanted nothing more than to grab Sophia and drag her to his chest, to crush her close until the thudding fear of his heartbeat decreased to something less agonizing.

“Max,” a soft word, a warning from a J with eyes full of remembered terror.

Shoving his other hand into a pocket to stop himself from reaching for her, he said, “Bonner likes to get up close and personal.”

Sophia nodded, her hair lifting in the breeze that sent a discarded soft-drink bottle rolling down the otherwise empty street. “Yes, a bomb is something more apt to be used by those of my race—especially if the aim was expediency.”

“Let’s see what the bomb squad has to say.”

They had to wait fifteen more minutes before the squad called an all-clear, having removed the device and placed it into a blast-proof container. “High tech,” the female member of the team said. “Nothing your average malcontent could make on his own.”

Max hunkered down beside her, aware of the two males giving Sophia the once-over. If they so much as smiled wrong in her direction, those faces would be hitting the old-fashioned concrete of the garage floor—he was not in a rational mood right now. “Someone wealthy?”

“Sure. The rich can source anything, but they’d have to have some fairly strong contacts—this stuff is Defense grade.”

“Is it from a Psy company?” Sophia came to stand so close beside him, he could’ve reached out and curved his hand around the smooth temptation of her calf. Though he forced himself not to touch, her proximity soothed the clawing edge of his protectiveness.

“Can’t tell from a surface look, but they’re the leaders in explosive technology, so I’m guessing yeah.” She locked the box. “You want me to call forensics?”

“Thanks.” Rising, he said good-bye to the bomb experts just as two uniformed officers arrived to hold the scene secure. “Detective Chen is on her way,” one of them said.

Grabbing Chen’s number from them, Max made a call to her, then one to Bart, telling him of the incident and asking him to have his people go over Bonner’s mail and visitor records.

“I’ll organize it,” Bart said. “Glad you’re safe.”

“Thanks.” Ending the call, Max made another one asking for a ride to the airport.

“Shouldn’t we stay for the investigation?” Sophia asked.

“No point.” Max wanted Sophia out of here, wanted her safe. “I know Chen, and she’s a hell of a detective. She’ll keep us in the loop if they discover something—and she’s okay with taking our statements over a comm link.”

“And if this is connected to Nikita rather than Bonner,” Sophia said, “then we need to be in San Francisco.”

“Yeah, because even Psy sure as hell wouldn’t attempt to blow up a cop five minutes from an Enforcement station unless they were planning something damn spectacular. Either we’ve gotten too close to something—”