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“It’s nice to meet you, but I don’t accept drinks from strangers.” She used two fingers to slide it back in his direction.

“Smart girl, but no one will dare mess with your drink here. Warriors don’t tolerate that kind of shit.” He picked up the glass she’d slid his way and took a sip. His face puckered slightly as he set it down.

“I’m Cypher.” He held out one hand. She took it and shook it.

“Lauren.”

“Nice to meet you, Lauren. Now we’re not strangers. How long have you known Jenna?”

“I met her a couple of months ago.” She didn’t say how or that she’d spent far more time with Lacey and even Joker than with Jenna, even if Joker hadn’t said much and often didn’t stay in the room during her sessions with the teenager anymore. And she wouldn’t. She considered that part of her doctor-patient confidentiality.

Cypher frowned.

“A couple of months?”

Lauren nodded and looked away again. She’d been introduced to several people when she first arrived, but Cypher hadn’t been one of them.

Now, she wondered how much longer she needed to stay for propriety’s sake. The ceremony was over, as was dinner, and music and dancing had started a while ago.

“What’s your last name?” Cypher asked, drawing her attention back to him. She glanced his way and found him frowning, as if trying to remember something.

“Callahan, yours?”

“Morales.”

Lauren tilted her head, intrigued.

“Cuban? Puerto Rican?”

Cypher shook his head. “Mexico, but a couple generations back.”

“Oh. Are you from around here?” she asked.

“I am now, but originally, Arizona.”

Lauren felt her eyes go wide. “Wow. Mobile is a lot different than Arizona. What brought you out here?” She knew she was being nosey, but she couldn’t help herself.

“The Warriors. I served with Roadkill for a while. When I separated, he invited me to come check the place out. Since my brothers don’t need me to help with the ranch, I stayed.” He tipped back his glass and sipped the dark liquid he’d been swirling for the last couple of minutes. “You’re from up north somewhere, but I can’t place quite where.”

She gave him a small smile. “I’m from outside of Chicago.” She knew enough about people to know they considered all the suburbs and surrounding towns as part of the city, so she’d long ago stopped bothering to tell people she was from Joliet. No one knew where it was anyway.

“Got sick of the cold winters, huh?”

Lauren shrugged. “I came down for school, originally. I got into a fellowship program at one of the hospitals in Mobile. I didn’t intend to stay, but after two years, I found I liked it here. In reality though, the work and the patients are the biggest reason I stay.”

“Fellowship, so you’re a doctor?”

She nodded, not telling him she wasn’t an MD, but rather a PsyD. There was a lot she did, but also a lot she couldn’t do. She was good with it and overall, not being able to write prescriptions made her feel safer. There was less reason for anyone to break into her office or threaten her if she couldn’t give them any of the drugs that were far too commonly abused.

Cypher took another sip of his drink as he let his gaze play across the room again. This wasn’t the first time she noticed it. Even here, with all his friends around them, he was aware of everyone and everything around him. She got the feeling he was never unaware of what was going on around him and wondered if it came from his time in the military or if he’d always been that way.

Feeling more relaxed and less on edge, she opened the clutch she’d brought and pulled out one of the test strips she kept there. After dipping the strip in the drink he brought her she propped it across the top of the glass to wait.

“Smart move,” Cypher said with a nod. “Never occurred to me to make sure someone carried those. They’re not foolproof, but they’re better than nothing.” He nodded down to the glass. “It’s clean by the way. That’s why I took a sip.”

Lauren shrugged. “I’ve seen too much to trust anyone.” She glanced down at the strip and saw that nothing had changed. The strip was negative. Dropping the used strip into her empty cup, she took a sip. Vodka soda with lime, just like she’d been drinking before.

“Did I get it right?”