Fallen

by Claire Delacroix

  He leaned in the shadows opposite, his arms folded across his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. His collar was turned up, his eyes smoking, dark and mysterious. He looked long and lean and observant, a predator pretending to be relaxed. Lilia wasn't fooled—and for the first time since arriving in New Gotham, she wouldn't have minded being on the menu.

  He smiled at her and Lilia decided her day was looking up.

  Montgomery's secretive smile hinted at knowledge of places beyond the view of the Republic's many eyes, and what activities would be best practiced there.

  Lilia had a few ideas of her own.

  The obvious conclusion was that by-the-book Montgomery had an evil twin. If so—or even, if not—he was Lilia's first choice to solve her chastity problem.

  The one that hadn't been bothering her until the night before.

  The streets were busy, filled with people walking to work, the crowd interspersed with bicycles and rickshaws. Those on bicycles wove in and out of the bustle. It was chaotic and noisy, but mercifully everyone seemed to be headed in much the same direction.

  Downtown New Gotham.

  A vendor was shouting into the crowd, waving a newspaper feed. "Get your morning edition of The Republican Record! Thirtieth-anniversary commemorative ceremonies planned for Gotham! Mount St. Helens erupts and ten thousand believed dead! The president set to head home from successful treaty discussions in China! Get the details in today's download!"

  Montgomery's twin straightened and headed toward Lilia. En route, his smile broadened slightly. Dangerously. Attractively. He looked roguish, unpredictable and irresistible. That must have been what made her palms go damp and an icy trickle of sweat meander down her spine.

  It couldn't really be Montgomery; Lilia was certain that the impassive cop was incapable of showing so much emotion.

  She wouldn't have put the sex appeal past Montgomery, though. And the gleam in his eye revealed that they had met. He moved toward her with purpose. He wasn't even going to pretend that he had run into her accidentally.

  It had to be Montgomery. He might be off-duty and out of uniform, but he was a straight arrow through and through.

  There was something to be said for honesty.

  All the same, Montgomery had a lot of nerve to show up after what he had done, or had ordered to be done, the night before.

  Lilia held her ground and waited for him, telling herself that it was simply for the pleasure of telling him off.

  "Good morning." That voice could easily lead Lilia into temptation, as well as give her ideas of what to do once she arrived. He bowed before her and offered his elbow, as if they had agreed to meet.

  The man was smooth, she'd give him that. And just being in the presence of so much testosterone made Lilia weak in the knees.

  She needed to get herself a date.

  Or loosen her corset.

  A twinkle appeared in his eyes, as if he guessed her thoughts. Lilia took a deep breath, knowing from the pounding of her heart that she was in big trouble. She put her hand into the crook of his elbow and felt the muscles of his arm flex under her fingers. Even the man's arm gave her shivers.

  What she really needed to get was some sex.

  Lots of sex.

  Soon.

  She'd find out where New Gotham's pleasure fringe was before the end of the day and buy herself a treat. She pulled her hand from his elbow, missing the contact immediately, and simply walked beside him.

  That made her hot enough.

  "Sleep well, Lil?" His use of her name was every bit as alluring as it had been the night before.

  Unfortunately, his words reminded her of her suspicions.

  "Should I have?" she asked, not caring that her tone was sharp.

  Montgomery fell into step beside her, but Lilia hadn't really expected otherwise. This was the kind of man who would always get what he came for. He'd come to talk to her apparently, so barring nuclear disaster—which was never out of the question in the late twenty-first-century Republic—he'd talk to her before he left.

  Lilia admired that determination, though she'd die before confessing as much to him or anyone else.

  "Not taking the conveyor?"

  "It's better exercise to walk."

  "Depends how far you're going."

  Lilia said nothing. She'd let him work for it.

  He cleared his throat. "How far are you walking?"

  Lilia smiled sweetly. "I don't know. It's such a lovely day and I'm sightseeing."

  His skepticism was evident. "I thought you'd come to New Gotham for other reasons."

  "The conference, of course."

  "That's not all, Lil. If you're going to Breisach and Turner this morning, it's about eight blocks, off to the right. Maybe the conveyor would be a good choice."

  ♥ Scanned by Coral ♥

  VI

  Lilia's heart stopped at both Montgomery's accurate guess and his conviction, then galloped ahead without her. He had guessed the real reason for her trip.

  It shouldn't have been a surprise. Gid's name had probably flashed along with her name on his desktop. Montgomery was smart enough to have made the connections, even if his desktop hadn't helpfully hotlinked them for him.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," she lied. "I'm just out for a walk."

  "Good choice," he said under his breath. "No one will be able to overhear us this way."

  There was a surprising comment, given its source. Lilia wondered what Montgomery might have to discuss that he didn't want recorded by the Republic's many cameras and recorders, gossips and spies. She glanced up and saw that he wore no ear stud.

  Why had he come looking for her? What didn't he want anyone to witness? Her heart began to beat a bit faster. "Where's your monitor?"

  "I must have forgotten to put it in this morning."

  "I thought they were surgically embedded."

  He shrugged. "Sometimes they're loose."

  Lilia halted. "I thought it was against the law code of the Republic for a police officer to willingly remove his ear monitor. For your own protection, of course."

  That half-smile touched his lips again, launching a chain reaction under Lilia's skin. "The Republic doesn't need to know everything about me."

  Lilia was surprised. Montgomery hadn't impressed her as a rule breaker, but here he was, breaking a rule.

  A big one.

  "I'm thinking that's a sentiment that could get you fired."

  He gave her no more than a steady look in response.

  Lilia suddenly had a bad feeling. She realized there were some things the authorities might prefer to not have recorded and archived. Montgomery was the type who would remove his monitor on command, not as a rebel.

  Lilia had enough experience with being in deep trouble to recognize the view when she ended up there.

  She spun away from Montgomery and walked a bit faster, not liking that whatever he intended to say—or do—to her wouldn't be observed. He, of course, easily matched his steps to hers, taking a long stride for every three of her mincing steps.

  Lilia tried to walk faster, despite her heels. "I suppose you've come to confirm that I've been persuaded to your view?"

  "Of what?"

  "That being on the wrong side of the Republic is an undesirable situation."

  He was visibly surprised.

  A more gullible woman than Lilia might have believed him innocent of any involvement in her little welcome wagon. Lilia, though, suspected that he was faking his surprise. "Don't pretend you don't know about my exchange with S&D last night."

  "What exchange?"

  So much for honesty. "I was roughed up by S&D and don't pretend you don't know it. It was a warning to play by the rules in New Gotham, just a little emphasis of the verbal warning you gave me, and it wasn't appreciated."

  Lilia marched onward. Montgomery strode beside her, making her whirlwind pace look effortless. She was hot and angry and afraid, and he was impassive. It made her want to ki
ck him.

  "Were you hurt?"

  She gave him a lethal glance. "Don't pretend to be sympathetic when you ordered it."

  "It wasn't my fault."

  "No? Then who else?"

  He frowned. "Sumptuary & Decency report to no one. And you have to admit that you took a risk in being seen in your pseudoskin. I expected you to be more sensible—"

  Lilia was not going to endure a lecture on that incident being her own fault, or any intimation that she had gotten what she deserved. Her mother had taught her everything she knew.

  "Oh, bull." Lilia interrupted Montgomery with a force that clearly surprised him. "Look around you! This is a tourist area, filled with people from afar, happily filling the city's coffers, as well as middle-class taxpayers trotting off to work, which also fills the city's coffers. This isn't the usual stomping ground of S&D. It's bad publicity to beat up tourists and taxpayers."

  Lilia saw the barest flicker of doubt in his eyes. Then right before her eyes, he morphed into Montgomery, police detective.

  Which was too bad, because she much preferred his evil twin.

  "S&D does their rounds everywhere, without warning..."

  Lilia hadn't slept well enough to be particularly patient. "Time for some plain talk, Montgomery. They were waiting for me, which means that someone tipped them off, which had to have been someone who knew not only when I was coming back to the hotel but what I was wearing." Lilia spread her hands. "Sorry, but there aren't a lot of eligible candidates for Tipster of the Day here. You win. Thanks for nothing."

  His eyes narrowed. "I didn't do it, Lil."

  It made Lilia even more angry that she was tempted to believe him. "I suppose you came around to see my bruises, but I'm not inclined to play show-and-tell, even if that sort of thing does make you strain your pseu-doskin." He flushed ever so slightly. "Have a great day, Montgomery."

  Lilia spun, flicking her skirts, and carried on. She would have left him there, but Montgomery wasn't having any of that.

  Big surprise.

  She heard his steps, then he caught her elbow in his hand and pulled her to a slower pace. She would have liked to have fought him, but she knew that she would lose. Lilia was tall, but he was taller. She was buff, but he was more buff.

  He was irritating in oh-so-many ways.

  Worse, Montgomery wouldn't have let her win, as Gid so often had done. There was, after all, not going to be an erotic bonus awarded for chivalrous behavior.

  That soured Lilia's mood even further.

  "Damned heels," she muttered and he made a sound that might have been a chuckle. A ghost of a smile touched his lips before it was dismissed from active duty. She allowed herself a small rant against the Decency Code. "You would never have caught me otherwise."

  "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

  "They slow me down, which is the point, of course." Lilia knew she sounded like her mother and she didn't care. "No one wants women to be able to run. None of you might ever get lucky again."

  "And here I was going to compliment you on your appearance."

  This time Lilia was skeptical. "You don't fool me. You liked the pseudoskin better."

  Montgomery chuckled. It was indisputable. Lilia looked up in disbelief, only to find him grinning.

  "Guilty as charged," he said and winked.

  The evil twin was back.

  Lilia could tell by the leap of her pulse. She wasn't nearly as immune to his so-called charm as would have been prudent.

  Never mind demure.

  It was startling how much younger Montgomery seemed when he smiled, but maybe not very surprising how much more sexy he looked. The prospect of flirting with him—of doing more than flirting with him—was much much easier to entertain when his evil twin was in town.

  Montgomery leaned closer and his voice dropped low, down to a timber that launched little earthquakes in Lilia's belly.

  Or maybe the earthquakes were a bit farther south.

  "I didn't send them, Lil." He lifted her veil to the brim of her hat, as if he seduced women in broad daylight all the time, and Lilia only wanted him to hurry. She couldn't even tear her gaze away from his.

  "I swear it to you." He touched his chest over his heart with his gloved fingertips, his eyes gleaming with sincerity, and brushed those fingertips across his lips.

  Then touched his fingertips to her lips.

  Right there in the street.

  Lilia's heart stopped cold. He held his fingertips against her lips, his gaze knowing. All of the air left her lungs. She went sweaty then shivery in rapid succession. Worst of all, she couldn't even blame the unfamiliarity of her corset.

  It was Montgomery doing this to her, on purpose, and she couldn't stop him. She felt the smooth faux leather of his gloves eased across her lips, smelled his skin, saw the way his dark lashes spiked around the unbelievable green of his eyes.

  She was sure he would kiss her.

  She wanted him to kiss her.

  Montgomery would have to say her name like that. Lil. It threw her game completely. It ought to be illegal for a man to roll a woman's name across his tongue, like a caress, or a purr.

  Like they were lounging in bed together, sheets knotted around their naked bodies, after a night of physical exertion of the best kind.

  She had to get away from him, so that she could think.

  She reached up slowly and took his gloved hand in hers, lifting his fingers away from her lips. Her move didn't work as well as would have been ideal, because Montgomery kept the connection. He turned his hand and caught her fingers in his, as if they were lovers. His hand closed around hers and his eyes darkened, giving him the intent look of a man on an erotic mission.

  Was he?

  Lilia felt herself blush, watched him smile, and knew she was sinking fast. He gave her hand a little tug and she fell against his chest, looking every inch the fainting heroine she wasn't. Before she could step away, he bent and brushed his lips across hers.

  It was a light kiss, a teasing kiss, a kiss intended to leave her hungry for more.

  Lilia wished it hadn't worked quite so well.

  But Montgomery, she was sure, had played this particular game before.

  Then again, so had she.

  "Okay," she said, trying to sound indifferent, collected and unaffected by either his kiss or his proximity. "Let's pretend for the moment that you didn't send them. Just for the sake of argument. Why weren't you surprised when I mentioned it, then?"

  His lashes swept low, dark, and thick and hiding the emerald of his eyes. He looked sleepy yet intent, and Lilia was fascinated when his voice dropped lower. "The line-item charge showed up on your file late last night."

  She was so busy looking that it took her a moment to understand what he had said. Before she could reply, Montgomery leaned closer and kissed her again.

  This time, it wasn't quick or teasing. He tasted her, savored her, left her gasping. Lilia closed her eyes when he lifted his lips from hers, swallowed, and fought to think straight.

  Of course he'd seen the charge on her file. As a cop, he had access to the central databanks, where the government stored all its tasty titbits about all of its loyal citizens. Even the titbits about disloyal citizens like Lilia were there.

  "I thought you had just been fined, Lil, not that you had been assaulted." He took her hand to his chest, so her fingertips were over his heart. Her hand was flat, pressed against his chest, trapped under his much larger hand.

  He was pretending they were a courting couple, maybe to distract attention, but Lilia melted when she felt the pounding of his heart under her fingertips. It was beating as quickly as her own. She wondered how far he would take his amorous assault, and was ready to find out.

  Not just because it would be cheaper than going to the pleasure fringe either.

  Lilia tried to focus on the business at hand. "And why were you looking at my file last night?"

  He leaned even closer and whispered. "To decide what the ch
ances were that you were lying."

  His breath brushed her cheek, stirred her hair, jangled her equilibrium. "How?"

  Montgomery studied her, his gaze warm. "By examining your history, and whatever deeds of yours have been recorded. By looking for behavior patterns."

  It made sense, and Lilia was already beginning to understand that Montgomery was a creature of logic. Well, she'd been married to one of those and had survived to tell about it.

  "And? How'd I do?"

  He averted his gaze, thoughtful. His thumb slid across the back of her hand, launching an army of shivers even with the faux leather barriers between them. "I think you believe what you told me about the shade. And I think that you were frightened." He paused and Lilia glanced upward, sensing there was more. "I also think that you're not telling all of the truth about the reason for your visit to New Gotham, Lil."

  "Me?" Lilia feigned surprise, probably pretty well. Practice should have made perfect. "What makes you think such a thing?"

  "Because I've read your file."

  "What's there?"

  His tone turned officious and he stepped away from her. Lilia immediately felt the absence of his body heat. "It is not the right of any citizen of the Republic to have full access to the data maintained by the Republic for its own protection upon that citizen or any other citizen ..."

  "If you had any idea how infuriating that is, you'd know better than to spout law code to me," Lilia growled. This time, she was the one matching her pace to his. "It's bad for your health, Montgomery."

  "You're usually the one spouting law code to me."

  "I'm getting over it."

  He arched a brow, his expression wicked. "How do you intend to affect my health? Are you carrying your laze this morning?"

  "What do you think? Did you leave yours at home?"

  He looked Lilia up and down, and she had the sense he'd been waiting for an excuse to do that. "I can't see it."

  "Surprise. What does the S&D Code say about women visibly packing heat?"

  He shut up, but he smiled. That alone told Lilia that he wasn't going to confiscate her weapon. He kept walking beside her, as if giving her time to remember what he had said and to consider it.