He reached inside his suit jacket and drew out a small ID card. She studied the photo and eye scan, and then glanced down at his name. Gabriel Stern. Assistant Director, no less.
She handed back the card. "Not a good photo, Mr. Stern."
"They never are. And please, call me Gabriel. I prefer less formality."
She raised an eyebrow. He'd have to be the first SIU officer in history to ever say that — most were sticklers for regulations, and regulations said no first names. She'd never understood why. She doubted if anyone else did, either.
"So why didn't you back up my story about Jack and that creature? You were chasing the thing, for Christ's sake."
His eyes gained an intensity she suddenly found unnerving. Her breath caught in her throat, and for an instant, it felt as if she could simply reach out and touch his thoughts, his soul.
And for some reason, she found that a more terrifying thought than anything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
"I have my reasons," he said after a moment, and looked down to her feet.
She suddenly found herself able to breathe again. Damn, maybe she did need more psych tests.
"These are pretty bad burns," he commented into the silence.
The men from the SIU were observant, no doubt about it. "No kidding? And here I was thinking about running a marathon."
He glanced up again. This time the slightest hint of a smile touched his full lips, softening the impact of his eyes. "Maybe tomorrow."
He seemed in no great hurry to move, which was odd. She knew from past experience that SIU breezed in and out of situations before you had time to blink. Him squatting at her feet simply didn't make sense. Unless, of course, he had a motive for doing so.
Her heart began to beat a little faster. Maybe they'd discovered something about Jack's case, something that implicated her. But if that was the case, why didn't he simply arrest her?
Swallowing to ease the sudden dryness in her throat, she asked. "What are you doing here?"
He rocked back on his heels slightly. "Direct. I like that."
"I don't care what you like, mister. Just answer the damn question."
If her tone was less than civil, who cared? If he was here on official business, she had the right to know. And if he wasn't, well, what in hell did he want?
The slight smile tugged the corners of his lips again. She had an odd impression it was something that didn't happen often. Which would be a pity since even a slight smile transformed his angular features into something worth a second look.
"The SIU have assigned me as a temporary guard. We believe your life might be in danger." He glanced up the stairs, then back at her. "Looks like we were right."
"And just a little late to prevent major damage being done to my apartment."
"We've never claimed to be perfect."
She snorted softly. "Yeah, right. Am I able to get back in?"
He nodded. "I haven't set the monitor yet."
So he had been waiting for her. Interesting. "How bad is the damage?"
He shrugged. "Structurally, nothing much."
Which surely meant there was a shit load of damage to everything else. "I want to go have a look."
He didn't argue, simply rose to his feet and held out his hand. She grabbed it gratefully. His fingers were warm against hers, his palm slightly callused. He wasn't just a simple desk jockey then, which again, was odd. There weren't many Assistant Directors who could claim that.
Nor were there many A.D.s who opted for bodyguard duty. Again, she had an odd sensation that someone was setting her up. For what was the question she had better start finding the answer to.
She'd barely stood when the pain hit her, sliding up her legs like a leech, sucking away whatever strength her muscles had left.