She sipped her tea. “I do.”
“Do you remember what happened?” His voice rumbled low. Intimate.
She inhaled the scent of peppermint herbs, remembering him well as a handsome, lost, pissed-off kid from Scotland. “You beat the ever-livin’ shit out of them, Deacan.”
He nodded. “Aye. What happened then?”
She frowned, studying him. “Well, nothing happened.”
“Exactly.”
She set down the cup. “It’s different.”
“No—it’s the same. We have a weapon; the world knows we’ll use it if pushed, so they don’t push, and we don’t use. Simple as that.”
Yeah, and that was why they’d never see eye to eye. “We’re going to end up on opposing sides.” She’d destroy the bacteria when it was no longer needed, and that might even be illegal, according to current law. Who knew?
He lifted an eyebrow. “Your best friend works for the government. Have you thought about that?”
“Yes.” But Nora knew Lynne, and she was a healer, not a killer. “I trust her.”
“Hmm. You may not know her as well as you thought.”
Nora frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Ask her.” He paused while the waitress refilled his coffee. “How did you two become friends, anyway?”
Nora smiled. “Oh, we weren’t friends the first semester of grad school. Didn’t like each other, actually.”
A grin split Deke’s face, masculine and way too handsome. “Don’t tell me. You two competed. Big-time.”
“Yes.” Nora blew on her tea. “In every class, on every quiz or test, one of us earned the top grade. We saw each other constantly at the library or in class, and we pushed each other.”
Deke settled back. “And then?”
“Lynne’s a klutz. A serious, should be bound in bubble-wrap klutz.” Nora chuckled, memories assailing her. “One night, we were the last two in the library, and she needed a book on the top shelf. She climbed it, no big deal, but then . . .”
Deke winced. “She fell?”
“Yes. The entire shelf started to come down, and I just reacted.” Nora shrugged. “Moved without thinking, tackled her, and got her out of the way.”
Approval mingled with amusement in his green eyes. “So you saved her?”
“I broke my right wrist.” Nora sighed. “Which wasn’t a huge deal, because in most of our classes, we could use recorders during the lectures. But in Dr. Mobsey’s advanced biology class, the complete dickhead, no computers or recorders were allowed. Taking notes was tough.”
“And?”
“After class one day, I was trying to decipher my left-handed notes, and Lynne sat down with a typed set of hers.” Nora shook her head and heat tingled into her face. “I told her to stuff it, that I didn’t need her help, and thanks anyway.”
Deke chuckled. “And?”
“She said I probably couldn’t understand her notes because she’d used big words.” Nora chortled. “We laughed, and she shared her notes. Then we started to study together, and before second semester was over, we were best friends. Still are.” They’d seen each other through breakups, job problems, and good times. Yet now Deke hinted that Lynne was keeping secrets. He had to be wrong.
His phone buzzed, and he read the face. Tension gathered along the sides of his mouth.
Nora leaned toward him. “What is it?”
He slipped the device back into his pocket. “We’ll have to finish talking about us later.” He slipped a series of bills on the table. “The president just slipped into a coma.”
