Chapter Sixteen—Shower Thoughts

The room was great, with a large bed and expensive furnishings. After today May just wanted to curl up under the covers and sleep.

Glancing back toward the bathroom, she felt a pang of emotion for Miles. The very last thing he had done was contact Kyle and John to tell them she was in trouble.

Miles was a good guy.

A good friend.

These events just meant that taking Strogaus down was that much more important to May. Kyle would want to help her—if not John.

With a heavy sigh she walked into the bathroom. The bright lights flicked on, revealing white marble with pink striations, crystal glass and a massive mirror in front of the double vanity.

She glanced at herself and narrowed her eyes.

I look terrible.

Her latex suit was no longer glimmering. Instead it was covered in scratches and dirt. Her hair was still well intact, though.

She took off her boots and tossed them near the door, then unzipped her outfit down the front. Pealing out of it, May smirked, realizing that when Kyle or John glanced at their recent orders—which Kyle certainly would—he would find out she liked going commando.

She undid the tie holding up her hair. It fell down around her shoulders.

The question was—was May willing to use Kyle to get what she wanted? These guys wanted Strogaus, but it wasn’t personal for them.

Shaking her head, she stepped into the shower. The water came out automatically at the proper temperature. The shower obvious scanned her biometrics and preheated the outpour in a flash-heating buffer.

Very fancy.

As the water ran over her, May hit the manual control for ‘hot’ and closed her eyes. She turned, let the water fall over her forehead and down her body as her skin prickled.

Kyle did like her. For whatever reason, she had no idea.

She wouldn’t use him.

I’ll go it alone if I have to.

Kyle rubbed his face with hot water. In the shower mirror he could see a mild shadow of stubble on his cheeks. He shaved it off, then soaped up and scrubbed viciously.

Man I hate the wilderness.

He still couldn’t believe May was here—in their­ place!

Why was he so nervous? Kyle wasn’t bad with women—in fact, he was pretty good.

As far as you know…

No—he knew he was. May should be no different. Why was he even so taken with her, though? He barely even knew the woman. In fact, her demeanor was different in person. That what he was used to via their usual method of communication.

Entirely different.

Then it wasn’t her personality that he liked. Maybe it was for who she was. She was like them. Fighting the system, tearing it down one overlord douche at a time.

At least, that’s what he had always assumed. But there was that one time they did that Chylaxium gig for the billionaire Jonathan Hess. It was a favor May and her people were doing. That had really pissed Kyle off.

Perhaps because it spoke to a certain mercenary side of May that he didn’t like.

Never did learn the details of all that.

Breathing in deeply, he muttered, “Okay,” as water ran into his open mouth. He opened his eyes. “Just be normal. It’s no big deal.”