Chapter 6 part 3

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"Tell me more."  Bryan leaned forward in the chair.

"Blind women, or deaf women...women that people would call disabled are often targets for men who have something actually wrong with them.  Men who are hesitant about trying to date...normal women.  They see us as more attainable somehow."

Bryan paused before answering.  He'd been caught off guard by her when he first saw her.  The solid white of her eyes had been startling, but more striking than anything else.  He rarely noticed these things anymore, but she was pretty.  The solid white of her eyes, oddly enough, only made her more so.  But he also realized that he was what she was describing...a man who had something actually wrong with himself.

He tried to put aside the thoughts about how she looked and the sound of her voice and think about the work he had to do.  "Makes sense.  William was like that?"

"William had always presented himself as whole, as normal.  It hurt to learn the truth about how damaged he was.  Imagine not being able to see anything and finding out that your fiancé sees and hears things that aren't there," she said.

"A bit of a shock."

"More wound than shock." 

Bryan nodded to himself.  "Do you think he might be angry with you?"

She was quiet.  He saw her give him a nod.  His hand moved to his watch, but only turned its face up so he could check the time.  He'd been here over an hour.

"I'll see if I can get a patrol car stationed outside.  At the very least, we can have one drive by regularly.  And please call me.  Let me know if you...if you hear anything."

She laughed.  Deep and uninhibited, he liked it.  "Not see anything.  Very nice.  You learn fast."

"Thank you."  He noticed he was smiling as he rose.  He decided to let it rest on his face a moment, even though the muscles in his cheeks weren't used to it.

She followed him up.  "You'll find him?"

He knew a promise was inadvisable, but this was only a missing person case, well within Bryan's abilities to handle, no matter what his lieutenant thought.  "I will.  You have my number.  Please stay in touch."

She smiled as she reached out, felt for his hand and took it.  "I will."

Bryan left her apartment and walked through the double doors to the outside.  The night air hit him, cool and refreshing.  With fall, the sunsets were coming sooner, the nights colder.  It was a nice break from the heat of the summer.  He stopped, realized that he hadn't considered the weather or how it felt for a long time.

He stepped down to the sidewalk and to his car.

 *

William gasped in another breath as he watched the man pause on the front steps of Jess' building.  After the fight, the voices had faded away and he had hurried back.  Without their assistance, the trip had drained his withered muscles to exhaustion. 

He ducked back into the shadows of the alley as the man walked down to his car. 

The man was familiar, but everything before the hospital seemed so far away.  He wasn't sure if he even wanted to remember where he'd seen this man before.

He is watching her, The Caretaker said.

So is he, The Hunter said, pointing.

William followed The Hunter's arm to the corner of Jessica's building, where a shorter man knelt, a caulk gun in his hands; a maintenance man who watched intently as the visitor opened his car door and got inside.

William watched both men, unsure of everything except his need to protect Jess from whatever was going to happen.

 *

(Author's note:   Remember the woman that William rescued from Baldy and Limp?  You're going to see her again very soon.  And...does it seem to you like Bryan and Jess are getting a little cozy?  Thank you all for reading and for the votes and wonderful comments!)

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