She leaned against Smiley. “What’s he doing?” She jerked a thumb toward Wager.

“He’ll make sure we aren’t followed and he has a weapon at ready in case it’s needed.”

Vanni regretted asking the question. “Weapon?”

Smiley took her hand and clasped it. “It’s standard procedure.”

“I have a weapon too.” Jericho unfastened the strap on his Kevlar vest and reached inside, pulling out a handgun. He showed it to her and then returned it, replacing the strap. “The safety is on. We’re well trained.”

“We sometimes hide them in public when we leave NSO lands.” Smiley squeezed her hand.

“You’re not on duty?” She’d noticed everyone in both SUVs, except Smiley, wore NSO uniforms.

“No. This is our outing and it’s their job to protect us.”

She was glad Smiley wasn’t carrying a gun. They scared her. “Do you think it’s really necessary for them to be armed? I mean, we’re just going to a clothing store, right?”

“Standard operating procedure.” Slash spoke from the front. “We need to be prepared to defend our lives at all times when we’re not at Homeland or Reservation. A lot of the officers carry weapons at Reservation though, even when they are off duty. The walls are vast and always expanding. It’s possible an intruder could breach one but Homeland is smaller and more secure.”

It saddened Vanni that they had go to those extremes. She couldn’t imagine living in a world where the majority of society had to keep guns strapped to their bodies. Smiley lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. She stared up at him, a little awed. He did the sweetest things when she least expected.

“We have no crime within our society. When we encounter it, it usually involves humans. It’s rare to have anyone breach our walls. It’s more of a precaution.”

He could read her too well. It was kind of nice though. “I just hate that you have to live like that.”

“It’s our way of life and we enjoy the freedom. That’s the cost of it. There are a lot of humans who don’t wish us harm.”

Flame chuckled. “The mate hunters.”

“What are those?” Her interest was piqued.

“Never mind.” Smiley shook his head. “Just humans who are a little too friendly.”

“Or wish we were.” Slash chuckled.

“Now I’m really curious,” Vanni admitted.

“They are females who flash their breasts at our officers.” Jericho snorted. “They think we’ll be driven insane with lust and take them home.”

“Oh.” Vanni had no idea the NSO had groupies.

“We tend to ignore them.” Smiley lowered his voice. “They aren’t the kind of humans you take home.”

“Why not?”

“They are crazy,” Jericho answered. “One of them is a ninety-six-year-old female. She’s a regular at the gates. That is a sight I could have lived without.”

Wager laughed. “She wore nothing and opened her long coat to flash Darkness. He ordered one of the task force members to take her a warm cup of coffee. It seemed to him that she must be cold.”

Smiley’s chest rumbled and she liked that cute sound when he was deeply amused. A grin lit up his face and she smiled back.

“What about you? Have you been flashed?” She didn’t really like the idea of women chasing after him.

“I stick to the outer-region walls when I walk them. The humans tend to gather at the main gates.” Smiley shrugged. “I mostly do interior duty.”

“Smiley is good with humans,” Flame offered. “He’s had some very important assignments and is respected by all.” He released the wheel with one hand as they exited the main gates and tapped Slash. “Tell her.”

Slash turned in his seat. “Smiley is a great guy. He’s intelligent and very tame.”

“Enough,” Smiley ground out.

Vanni glanced between the two men. Smiley seemed angry. Slash faced forward and muttered something under his breath that she didn’t catch.

“I don’t need help,” Smiley stated.

She bit her lip and fought a laugh. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were talking him up to her.

“I would never use the word tame.” She couldn’t believe that came out of her mouth. She darted a glance at Smiley to see his reaction and felt heat rise in her cheeks at the way he his eyes widened. “I wouldn’t,” she insisted.

“What word would you use?” Smiley arched an eyebrow.

“Amazing.” She was flirting with him and enjoyed it.

He smiled. “I like that one better.”

She ducked her head and rubbed her thumb against his. Holding hands seemed like such a silly thing but it felt good. He’d brought over clothes to stay with her. The note he’d left implied he wanted more than just sex. Walking into that bar might have seemed like a nightmare right afterward but she was almost grateful she’d been the one to sit next to him. It had brought Smiley into her life. She didn’t regret it.

At least not right now.I hope I still think that next week or next month. She pushed back the negative thoughts. No relationship was a guarantee to a happily-ever-after. She’d learned that the hard way, twice. It had hurt deeply to know the first love of her life was a cheating bastard who’d led her on for years with no real intentions of settling down or being the type of man who’d make her happy. He’d just been an excellent liar and actor. Losing Carl hadn’t hurt though. It had taught her never to settle for someone just because she was lonely.

She lifted her chin and peered at Smiley. He was watching everything they passed. She studied his profile. He was a handsome man but even better, he was a good one. They’d gone through a traumatic experience together and he’d seemed more concerned about her welfare than his own. It showed strong character and a good heart.

A slow burn of anger built inside her. Carl and his father wanted to hurt New Species. She glanced forward at the two men in the front seat then at the one next to her. They were scary-looking, admittedly, with their altered features and muscular bodies. That didn’t make them bad people. They were all there to protect her, a stranger. She hadn’t met too many people in her life who would take risks for someone they didn’t know.

Vanni realized how bad things could have been if the other woman had taken the seat next to Smiley that night in the bar. The Woods Church would have made him out to be some rapist who drugged his victim. They’d spout those lies to anyone who would listen, damaging the NSO, who’d all been nothing but kind to her and didn’t deserve to be slandered.

She debated whether the media would believe her if she told them what had happened when she’d returned the engagement ring to Carl. Gregory Woods and men like that horrible Bruce shouldn’t get away with their evil deeds. It wasn’t right. They could do it again and pull some innocent into it as they’d done with her. No one should ever go through being locked up overnight and threatened with death.

“Vanni?” Smiley reached over and caressed her arm.

She stared up at him. “Yes?”

“Are you okay? Don’t worry. Your safety is my top priority. I wouldn’t allow anything to happen to you. This will be fun.”

“I believe you.”

“We’ll buy you clothing. Don’t look at price tags. Money isn’t a concern.”

“All right.” She’d pay them back though, if she ever got her wallet and credit cards returned. She made a mental note to cancel them later. She’d been too disorientated to really think about those things until that moment. The last thing she wanted was the Woods Church charging purchases in her name.

“We’re almost there.” Smiley squeezed her hand.

She glanced out the windshield and realized Flame was driving the SUV into a shopping center. Her musings had left her unaware of how far they’d traveled. It put her at ease when she saw the name of the store they parked in front of. She had worried they’d take her to a fancy dress shop but this was one of the chain stores where she normally bought clothes. There weren’t a lot of cars in the parking lot since it had just opened.