Her eyes widened and she glared at him. “Miller? Is that what this is about?”
“Who’s ready to see the city again?” Miller asked, overly jovial.
“I’ve seen enough of the cities to last me a while,” Broussard stated. “I need to find a…” He paused, then turned to the pair. “A bar.”
He turned and marched away, leaving Carol and Miller staring at his back. “What’s his problem?” Miller asked.
Carol shook her head. “I wish I knew.” She glanced back at his retreating form. “This is not like him.”
Miller scoffed. “I barely know the man, but he seems awfully full of himself.”
She gave him a confused look and shook her head. “Quite the opposite, really. He’s one of the most humble people I’ve ever known.”
“Well, three’s a crowd, I always say.”
“Go ahead.” She turned and trotted after Broussard. “I’ll catch up.”
Miller watched her jog away and opened his mouth to yell, then closed it. He turned and mumbled, “I don’t even know where I’m going yet.”
Carol caught up to Broussard and grabbed him by the arm. “Hey, I wasn’t done talking.”
He sluffed her grip away and continued walking. “I was.”
She stepped in front of him and planted both hands against his chest, pushing him to a stop. “I said wait!”
He looked down at her, his mouth a tight line. “What do you want?”
She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I want you to tell me what’s wrong. What’s eating you?” She stepped back and gave him a softer look. “We’ve been friends for far too long. I really thought we could share anything with each other.”
Broussard fought back a thousand ideas that fought to the front of his mind. Instead he looked down at her and counted silently to three. “Where’s your new best friend?”
She gave him a confused look. “What are you…wait. Do you mean Dr. Miller?”
Broussard raised a brow at her. “No. I mean my ever-trusty shadow here.” He pointed to his guard. “Of course, I meant Miller.”
She shook her head, her mind still not connecting the dots. “He’s not my best friend. You are.” She shrugged and gave him a goofy grin. “Actually, you’re, like, my only friend.”
He nodded at her. “Friend.” He glanced at his guard who shrugged. “Well, it’s nice to know that we’re still friends.”
“What?!” she practically screamed. “I really don’t understand what’s got your panties in a bunch here, Andre.”
Broussard blew his breath out slowly and squeezed his eyes shut. “Tell me you aren’t this blind.”
“Blind to what?”
He pointed over his shoulder. “Miller just wants in your pants.”
She gave him a blank stare. “Duh.”
Broussard blinked at her repeatedly. “Huh?”
“I said, ‘duh’. It means, yeah, I already know that.”
He shook his head slightly then glanced to his guard again. “Am I missing something here?”
“Don’t talk to him. Talk to me.” She grabbed his jaw and pulled his face around to hers. “Yes, I know that Miller wants to be more than friends.”
“More than friends,” Broussard repeated. “We’re friends. He wants to be more than friends.”
“And?”
Broussard glanced to his guard again and the man groaned. “Friend zoned. Sucks to be you, doc.”
“Oh. My. God,” Carol muttered. She looked at him, her face a mask of surprise. “You want—”
“Nothing,” he interrupted. “I want nothing from you.”
“You’re jealous,” she said, a lilt in her tone. She glanced at the guard and repeated herself. “He’s jealous.”
The guard grinned. “To quote a smarter person than me, ‘duh.’”
“I most certainly am NOT jealous.” Broussard felt his cheeks go hot and he turned from her, stomping off.
“Oh yes, you are,” she quipped, quickly jumping into his path again. Her face was nearly aglow as she teased him. “You are jealous of Dr. Miller.”
“I am not.” Broussard sidestepped her but she stood in his path again.
“Are so.”
“Christ, this is like watching two eighth-graders,” the guard growled. “Will you two just get a room already?”
Both researchers turned and stared at him, their mouths agape. “That was rude,” Carol chimed in.
“Maybe. But it was accurate.” The guard crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the two. “Are all nerds this…nerdy? Just slip him a note that says, ‘do you like me, check yes or no’ and be done with it.”
Broussard felt his face redden even more and he turned to face the guard. “You should stop now.”
“Or?”
Broussard felt his hands tighten into fists and he took a step toward the guard. Carol quickly jumped between the two and grabbed Andre by the head pulling him to her level. She planted a kiss on him that froze them both.
The guard grunted and turned his back. “It’s about damned time.”
Lana slowed the car and pointed through the windshield. “What about something like that?”
Simon studied the house through the open passenger window. He shook his head. “Too hard to defend.”
Lana raised a brow at him. “From who? The cagers?”
Simon sighed and glanced at the other, seemingly abandoned, houses. “From anybody. We can’t be certain that all of the Quee are…” He shrugged, not sure what term to use. “Not Quee anymore.”
She nodded slowly, seeing his point. “At some point, we’re going to have to assume that—”
“That somebody who wants what we have will try to take it,” he interrupted. He turned and gave her a tense smile. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep nights unless I knew you were safe.”
She felt her cheeks flush and she put the car back into gear. “Okay then. What should we be looking for? A castle?”
Simon chuckled. “I wish.” He continued to stare out of the window. “We need something with at least a fence. A wall would be better.”
“Neither one would stop somebody who really wanted inside.”
Simon nodded. “Trust me, I know.” He sighed and laid his head back.
