Chapter 2

The woman stopped a few feet away from him. Her eyes drifted down his torso in a dispassionate way that he was clearly meant to notice. “Hey there, stranger.”

Her voice was deeper than Rob had expected, warm and thick, though he was sure the playful greeting was not meant as a true welcome.

Rob cleared his throat and flashed what he hoped was a winning smile. “Hello,” he answered. “I’m Rob Wilson, and I, um—”

“What’s your angle?” the woman interrupted.

Rob’s jaw dropped in surprise. “I…What?”

The woman smiled in a way that was more polite than friendly. “You don’t seem very bright. I can read you like a flashing neon sign. So let’s skip the cryptic back and forth, yeah? You’re not going to be good at it. Who sent you?”

Her smile widened as Rob gaped at her, thrown off by the insult and the brashness. “I, um, was looking for—”

“Didn’t ask who you were looking for,” she interjected lazily. “Don’t care why you’re here. I asked whosent you. Pay attention and answer what you’re asked. The why’s don’t matter if the who’s are wrong.”

Rob had met others like him before, and they had always been confusing, but this was pushing his limits. “Um…I don’t know who sent me.”

“You don’t know?” She raised one eyebrow delicately.

“No.” Rob felt off kilter under her burning gaze. Guilty, like he was hiding something, though he told the truth. “He didn’t tell me his name.”

Her other eyebrow met its mate at her hairline. Neither of them spoke. Rob wasn’t sure what to say. He needed to explain the situation, but had no idea where to start.

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve got to know something.”

“I don’tknow.” Rob shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “He said…he was like me. Like you, too, I guess.”

“No one’s like me,” the woman said with amusement. Her smile seemed genuine now. “You’re definitelynot like me.”

Rob scowled. His excitement was quickly waning as the woman’s teasing increased. “Whatever. Look, I haven’t met a lot of us. Me. People like me. I can…you know.”

“I probably do,” the woman agreed. “But you’re going to have to elaborate. I’m not a mind reader.”

Rob doubted that was completely accurate. He took a step closer and leaned in. “I can—”

“Not here!” she snapped. Her casual demeanor slipped into a more defensive stance as she looked around surreptitiously. Rob fought the urge to roll his eyes. The few families that had braved the June chill were too far away to hear anything.

The woman sidled up next to him. “What’s wrong with you?” she hissed. “Don’t you have anyfinesse at all? You’re too old to be this green.”

“Am I?” Rob asked angrily. Most people took him to be somewhere in his mid to late twenties. This had been the case for longer than it should have. His hands reached up to curl tightly around the straps of his backpack. “I don’t fucking know,because I don’t even know what I am! And none of you ever tellme anything!”

“Whoa, there.” The words were smooth and soothing. “Simmer down.”

Rob bristled. “Don’t tell me to simmer down—”

“Simmer. Down.” The soft words cooled into ice. “Didn’t I tell you to pay attention?”

Rob pressed his lips together and bit back the snide remarks that had bubbled up. This woman might be prickly, but she hadn’t sent him away yet. He forced his shoulders down a bit from their hunched position. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

The woman shrugged and stepped backwards. “Wasn’t asking for an apology. I willask again. Who sent you?”

Rob made sure his words were clear and even as he answered. “No one sentme. I found you on my own. I heard about you in Santa Cruz. Northern California. A man, or…someone like me.”

He eyed the woman carefully for the first time since they’d started talking. She was striking, with bold features and heart-shaped lips, but that was to be expected. If he had to guess, he’d say she was just past thirty. “He was about your age, maybe older. Or, well…I don’t know how to, you know. Calculate. Or um, guess at ages.”

The woman remained quiet, unblinking. Rob decided to take her silence as encouragement. He ran his fingers along his backpack straps and continued.

“Anyway…He wouldn’t tell me his name. He was a white guy, tall, built. Blue eyes, blond hair. He didn’t want to tell me anything, but I guess he took pity on me. I asked him where I could find others like me, who could help me with…He told me to look for someone named Alex. Said last he’d heard, Alex was hiding out in some place called Driftwood. Then he left. Didn’t tell me anything else.”

The woman showed no sign of recognition at the name Alex.She seemed to be waiting for Rob to keep talking, but Rob wasn’t sure what else he could say without getting lectured about sticking to the questions asked. He stared back at her defiantly. After a few minutes, she nodded once, slowly.