Lacey's Luhpynes(4)

"I know." He shoved a hand through his black hair. "I'm just feeling on  edge, damned full moon's in three nights and always makes me a bigger  ass than normal. Ignore me," he muttered, moving toward the bins of  collected evidence. Crouching, he began to dig through slowly, looking  at everything, turning it over and then either setting it on a lid to  the side or dropping it back into the bin.

Placing her hand on his shoulder she gave him a light squeeze and said,  "Don't worry about it. It's all good. Just wanted to make sure that you  knew I wasn't trying to be a bitch." She then said, "Wait, stop." She  tugged at his shoulder, impossible to move him but had to get his  attention. "Don't touch another thing, Zhubin. Look," she whispered and  touched her ear. "We need bomb squad, now." The small device was hidden  under what looked to be trash and if Zhubin had moved one more piece,  damn. "Back up, please." She added the word that she typically didn't  use.

Moving his hands slowly he stood and, arm out in front of her, backed  her up. "Get the squad," he told her, moving back to the tub. "I'm not  going to touch it," he said when she grabbed his arm. "But I need to get  a scent and can't with yours mingling in and distracting me. Get them,  I'll be moving my ass back right fast," he promised, looking her in the  eye, "Go."

"Don't you dare. I will be mightily pissed off if you get yourself hurt,  Zhubin. I mean it." He might not want her as what she was to him, but  she didn't want him hurt regardless. He meant far too much to her for  that. "Don't touch it. Scent is fine but not touching. I mean it. I will  kick your ass from here to hell and back if you do."

"You and what army?" he asked, cocking a brow. "Go, the longer we stand  here the more chance the thing has of going off. And if it's from one of  the realms, the Gods only know how much damage it can do. I'm going to  sniff and then retreat to an extremely healthy distance." He turned and  then stilled, his head tipping slightly. "Fuck!" Spinning, he scooped  her up over his shoulder and ran. "Everyone out, now!" he bellowed.  "Bomb! Bomb! Bomb!"





Chapter Four




Lacey lifted herself up, the silence the first thing that caught her,  and then the white blinding light only a moment before they flew in the  air. She was sure she screamed, but when she finally landed she hit a  little harder than she would have liked, blacking out as she bounced her  head on the concrete. Her last thoughts before the darkness closed in  were, "Zhu," she whispered and was out.                       
       
           



       

There was a low groan and then a weight lifted. Someone hit her face.  "Lacey, open your eyes," his voice, Zhubin's voice, called to her. "Come  on, Lacey, open our eyes and look at me. Lacey, come on little one,  eyes open, focus on me, come on damn it."

"Geez Louise, did someone get the number of that planet that hit me?"  Lacey didn't open her eyes but she lifted a hand to her eyes, covering  them and shaking as she did so. "Zhu, shit, you okay?" she asked and  blinked her eyes open, forcing herself to focus on at least one of the  three Zhubins that danced before her eyes. "And you said I had a hard  head." She snorted and closed her eyes again. "Damn that hurt."

"I'll survive," he told her, moving his fingers to gently check her  head. Hissing out a breath just as she cursed he winced, "You are going  to have one hell of a bump. The medics are going to need to look you  over so do not move. Not one inch and do whatever the fuck they say,  clear?" Turning he waved at the EMTs, not once acknowledging the  shrapnel sticking out of his back and shoulders.

Lacey frowned, his image before her dancing around but she raised to her  elbows, wanted to hurl but reached out. "Son of a fucking bitch." She  swatted at the first medic to reach her. "Fucking hell, don't touch me.  He's the one hurt." She grumbled and grabbed Zhubin's hand. "Don't  fucking play macho hero. Let them look at you and then I will let them  have a go at me. I mean it," she muttered. "Just let them get it out and  bandaged so that you can start to heal. I mean it, Zhubin." She  growled.

"What?" He frowned at her and then looked over his shoulder. "Shit," he  breathed out long and low. "I didn't even feel that." Sitting down next  to her he shot her a look. "Obviously your vision's getting better if  you managed to actually focus to see that."

"There are like three of you but yeah, I see it," she muttered and  reached out a shaky hand to find his. "But the blood kinda gave it away  too." She leaned back and sighed. "That's going to hurt like hell when  they pull it out, squeeze my hand if you need to or yell, either one,"  she added with a smile.

"We have a higher pain threshold than humans do. And if I squeezed your  hand I'd likely crush the bones," he reminded her. But he didn't pull  his hand from her grip, just shifted the hold slightly and cradled it to  his thigh. The EMT began to yank out the shrapnel as he sat looking  down at her, his thumb rubbing slowly over her knuckles.

"Thanks," Lacey whispered. "For saving my ass. Thank you." She then did  as the EMTs instructed, opening her eyes and wincing at the light they  shone into her eyes. Finally she pushed them away and shook her head.  "We have a killer to catch. I will take some Tylenol when I get home for  the headache. For now, we have a case." She had to put her thoughts,  her feelings to the side or she would wallow in the feeling of having  Zhubin holding her hand close, the feeling of the heat of his body  close. Nope, she had to focus on the task at hand, catching a killer.

"You're going home and resting," Zhubin told her as he got to his feet.  Scooping her into his arms he looked at the EMTs. "I'll make sure she  rests and I'll even poke her once an hour to ensure she still knows what  happened and who she is. Back off." He growled at them, sending them  running. Snorting, he headed toward their vehicle. "Humans," he muttered  under his breath, rolling his eyes at her. "Scared of the big bad  wolf."

Lacey patted his chest and laughed. "Yeah, most of them are scared  spitless of you. I bet that you and Ansell just don't know what to do  with me because I'm anything but scared to death of you guys." She felt  far too much for them to be afraid of them. If anything she was only  afraid of them learning her secret and pushing her away faster than they  could move.

"We'd much prefer if they acted somewhere in between the two extremes,"  he said, ducking under the tape. Stopping by the vehicle he eased her to  her feet. "We want them to remember we're not human, but we're not the  beasts they think we are." Unlocking the door, he helped her inside and  got her buckled up. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"Yep, if I go there I will have mountains of paperwork to fill out and I  honestly don't want to deal with it. I just want to go home, take  something for my headache and rest. It's not the first time that I've  been hit in the head, likely won't be the last either."                       
       
           



       

"And you wonder why I comment on how hard-headed you are?" He shook his  head. Shutting the door, he walked around the vehicle but paused before  he opened the door. For long moments he didn't move and then he slid  behind the wheel. "You do realize that pretty much all of our evidence  just blew up in there right? And what didn't is either long gone or  ended up buried in my back, contaminating it all."

"Yep but someone fucked up." Lacey didn't open her eyes, just spoke.  "They tried to kill us. Knew that we were coming. The paper you lifted  had my name on it," she told him quietly. "So I have a pretty good idea  who it is. And no, before you ask I don't have a name." Just a case long  since buried, a case buried before she even came to be an AEDA agent.

Turning his head he pinned her with bright Luhpyne eyes. "What aren't  you telling me, Lacey?" He growled softly. "And don't say nothing  because that would be a lie. Which given someone just tried to kill us  and my current mood wouldn't bode well for anyone. So spill it, now."

"When I was fresh from the Academy, before I joined AEDA," she began  softly. "I was attacked." She pulled her scarf that she always wore from  her neck and bared her neck to him for the first time, pretty much  ever. "He had me by the throat, was going to kill me, but I was able to  get my pistol up and between us. I was able to shoot him but not before  he shook me like a rag doll and left these pretty scars for me to  remember him for all time. Yep, good times. I just know that it's him. I  don't know how I know, it's just a feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Could be because he called me some very strange things but he knew who I  was, and who else would know me like that? No, I'm positive that it's  him."