Flame looked down at the hand touching them.“You don’t trust me?”
“There’s no such thing as trust, boy.Just people waiting for a chance to stab you in the back.”
“Quite the pessimistic outlook you have there,” Flame murmured.
“Call it what you like, but I know the way of things.”
Gator reached behind him, hauling a woman out from where she was hiding and shoving her forward.
“Here—watch her too.”
She staggered, nearly falling.Flame caught her before she could.
“Careful there,” Flame warned.
“Ain’t that sweet.Instant lust,” Gator sneered.
Jin perked up once he got a good look at the woman’s face.Even covered in bruises as it was, he’d know those angry eyes anywhere.
“Maggie!”
Flame glanced curiously at Jin as Gator withdrew, slamming the hatch shut and locking it.“You know each other?”
Maggie shoved out of his arms, her features creased by lines of angry confusion.“Never met him before.”
Ah, that’s right.She wasn’t familiar with this form.She wouldn’t know who he was.
That might not necessarily be a bad thing.
For the first time since he’d woken up in this body, Jin enjoyed the anonymity of his new face.
“Don’t touch me,” Maggie snapped when Flame tried to steady her when she wobbled again.Gingerly, she hobbled over to the wall, putting her back to it before sliding down into a seated position.
“Are you okay?”Flame asked, watching her carefully.
“She’s fine,” Jin said airily.“Aren’t you, Maggie?”
Maggie glared.“Whoareyou?”
“Someone familiar enough with your mode of operation to not be deceived into feelings of sympathy.What’s the matter?Did they metaphorically stab you before you could them?”
Her truculent expression made Jin throw his head back on a laugh.“They did.That’s priceless.”
“Again, who the hell are you?”Maggie demanded.
“I think I’ll let you figure that out for yourself,” Jin answered.
It’d be more fun that way.
“Now, moving on to something more interesting.”Jin gave his attention to Flame.“You’re not like these others, are you?”
Belladonna had let a snake into its flower garden.And it was clear they had no clue.
“Something tells me neither are you.”Flame lowered his voice to a register Jin’s spawn had to pick up.“J1N.”
Jin’s expression changed.No normal human would have made such an outlandish leap of logic.No matter how obvious it should have been.
The look in Flame’s eyes was sly as he tapped Jin’s forehead.“Those in glass houses, my friend.”
