Page 89 of Zirkov

“Shot the door lock. What did you suspect him of doing?”

“He gave me a yellow rose when the og’dals wanted to speak with me. It was a signal to go up to the roof. I didn’t figure that part out until I was in the stairwell and had a memory, a flash of climbing the stairs to the roof. I never expected to encounter an og’dal up there.”

She sank back onto the bed and touched the scrape at her temple. As he reached for her, she waved him off. “I’m just lightheaded from standing up too fast.”

“You should eat.” He darted into the kitchen and prepared a tray of all the foods he knew she liked. He’d had Stenikov deliver them yesterday while she was sleeping.

When he set the tray down on the nightstand in the bedroom, he noticed the sheet lying on the floor and heard the shower running.

“Maggie?”

No answer.

He barged into the bathroom, hoping she hadn’t tricked him, and left. To his relief, she was precisely where she said she’d be. Showering.

Frosted glass didn’t hide her figure as she threw her head back under the water. Long limbs and a toned body moved in a graceful dance as she washed.

“Hey, a little privacy! Unless you’re offering to soap up all those hard-to-reach places.”

If he got any closer, he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. He turned his back to give her privacy.

“I’ve been thinking. You said earlier that you’d do anything to protect me. What if you can’t protect me without violating the law? I mean a crime that endangers the DAA or Galactic Intelligence.”

“I will do what I learned as a warrior.”

The water shut off. “And what is that?”

The shower door creaked open.

Don’t picture her naked. Wet. Water sluicing down her breasts. Don’t—

“Zirkov?” She stood in front of him, with a towel wrapped around her. “Maybe you’re the one who should stay behind and catch up on some sleep. I asked what you learned as a warrior.”

“To protect, at any cost.”

“But I’m not one of your witnesses. If you can’t see us as equals, then we have a bigger problem. Don’t we?”

“If we were mated, you would understand.”

“And I’d have an equal right and obligation to protectyouat any cost, wouldn’t I?”

“Yes,” he conceded.

“Which means I’d have the right to walk away from you and tackle this case on my own if I thought that was the only way to protect you.”

His horns pitched forward before he gained control of them. “Using convoluted logic will not deter me.”

“What will?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, then I agree to your terms.”

“I didn’t give you any terms.”

“Then make some up, so I can agree to them.”

“What game are you playing, Magdalena? ”

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