Trying to understand a normal person was not her forte. Though, truly, someone who found the real Alex attractive was not a normal person at all.

She heard barking outside – it sounded like the dogs were coming back from the barn. She wondered if it was still morning or already afternoon.

She grabbed a set of clean clothes, disarmed the door, and snuck to the bathroom. She didn’t want to see Daniel until her teeth were brushed. Which was stupid. She couldn’t be allowed to kiss him again. That wouldn’t be kind to either of them.

The hall was dark, the bathroom empty. The door to Daniel’s room was open and the room beyond was empty, too. She ran through her ablutions quickly, trying not to spend too long at the mirror, wishing her face were further along the road to healing. Her lips were worse than yesterday, swollen again, but that was her own fault. The superglue had fallen off in her sleep and the darker welt down the center of her bottom lip showed some promise of changing the shape of her mouth permanently.

She heard the TV on as she came down the stairs. When she walked into the big front room, she saw Daniel bending over the console beneath the flat-screen. The front door was open, a warm breeze blowing in through the screen. It ruffled the curls on the back of his head

He was grumbling to himself. “Why does anyone need five different input options?” He ran a hand through the hair that was falling into his eyes. “It’s a DVD. I’m not trying to launch the space shuttle.”

His Danielness stopped her where she stood, and a wave of cowardice made her want to turn around and sneak back upstairs. How would she tell him the things she needed to say? The thought of making him unhappy was suddenly more repugnant than she had been prepared for.

Lola yelped from outside the front door, looking hopefully through the screen at her. Daniel spun around and when he caught sight of Alex, a huge grin lit his face. He was across the room in four long strides, and then he lifted her up in an exuberant bear hug.

“You’re up,” he said excitedly. “Are you hungry? I’ve got everything for omelets.”

“No,” she said, trying to extricate herself. At the same time, her stomach growled.

He put her down and stared at her with raised eyebrows.

“I mean yes,” she admitted. “But first can we talk for a second, please?”

He sighed. “I thought you might wake in an analytical mood. Just one thing before you start…”

She wanted to duck away. The guilt was very strong. But it wasn’t as strong as her need to kiss him back. She didn’t know if she would get another chance. It was a very gentle kiss, soft and slow. He’d noticed the condition of her lips.

When he broke away – him, not her; it was like she had no self-control at all – it was her turn to sigh.

He let his arms fall but took her hand as he led her to the couch. Little zings of electricity buzzed up her arm, and she silently castigated herself for being such a sucker. So what if this was the first time he’d held her hand? She had to get a grip.

Lola yelped again, hopefully, when she saw Alex nearing the door. Alex shot her one apologetic look. Khan and Einstein were both curled up on the porch behind her, Khan creating a massive boulder of fur.

Daniel grabbed the remote out of his way, muting the TV before dropping it onto the ground. He pulled her down next to him, keeping her hand. He was still smiling.

“Let me guess. You think we are being unwise,” he said.

“Well… yes.”

“Because it’s impossible that we could really be compatible, given the genesis of our relationship. I’ll concede it wasn’t exactly a Hollywood meet-cute.”

“It’s not that.” She looked down at his hand. It entirely engulfed hers.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this whole retribution scheme was poorly thought out. There was nothing to stop her from running again. She could make back the money she’d lost. She could go to Chicago, work things out with Joey Giancardi, be a Mob doctor again. Maybe, given what she now knew about the plan to eliminate her, the Family could actually offer her some protection.

Or she could just work a counter at a backwoods diner and live without the extras – like tryptamines and opioids and booby traps. Who knew how long the IDs she already had might last if she kept her head down?

“Alex?” he asked.

“I’m just thinking about the future.”

“Our long-term compatibility?” he guessed.

“No, not long term. I was thinking about what happens tonight. Or tomorrow.” She finally looked up at him. His soft gray-green eyes were just a little confused, not troubled. Yet.

“Your brother will call soon.”

He made a face. “Wow. I hadn’t thought about that.” He shuddered. “I guess it’s better to mention this casually over the phone – by the way, Kev, I’ve fallen in love with Alex – than in person, right?”

She disapproved entirely of the tingles that snapped through her nervous system when he made his facetious practice announcement. That wasn’t a word to bandy around casually. He shouldn’t have used it. But still, the tingles.

“That’s not the part I was worrying about. You remember the plan.”

“Once he’s in position, we send the e-mail. He watches who reacts. Then we meet up with him and…” He trailed off, his brow suddenly furrowing. “Then you both are going to – what’s the phrase? – take them out, right? That’s going to be very dangerous, isn’t it? Couldn’t we just let Kevin handle things alone? It seems like he probably wouldn’t mind. I get the sense he liked his job.”