Moon wasn’t a stranger though. He was 466, the New Species she’d fallen in love with and had walked away from when he’d needed her. This time she wouldn’t fail him, regardless of what anyone else thought. She’d stand on her head, sleep with him, whatever it took.

One of the uniformed NSO officers waited outside in a Jeep. “Please return me to Medical.”

“I heard what happened.” He waved her to his vehicle.

She shot him a questioning look.

“I was outside Justice’s office until Treadmont came out. He’s not so bad, just old-fashioned. He’s also frustrated. He cares about Moon but hasn’t been able to fix him. That pisses him off and you became an outlet for it.”

“He’s something,” she muttered, climbing into the passenger seat. “I’m Joy, by the way.”

“Flame.” He shoved the key into the ignition and started the engine. “Moon is a friend of mine and he spoke of you sometimes.”

Curiosity gripped her. “What did he say?”

“We were talking about regrets one night. He shared his story of losing you. I shared my story of how I met a human I really liked but I let her go. Sometimes I think about Amanda and wish I had invited her to visit me.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Flame drove, watching the road instead of glancing her way. “She’d have to leave her life to be with me. I did a background check on her and she had a rough life. A male once tried to kill her. They were engaged. She deserved better than I could offer her.”

Joy couldn’t resist probing. “I take it she was interested in you?”

“She seemed to be. She even called me a few times but I didn’t respond.”

“Why would she have to leave her life?”

“We can’t live outside NSO lands. It’s too dangerous with the hate groups and our enemies. She’d be trapped here with me and it would make her a target if she were my mate. She actually would be considered New Species. Mates are considered to be a part of us.”

Mate. He was serious about the woman. Flame parked the Jeep in front of Medical and turned off the engine.

“Here we are.”

Joy turned in the seat to face him. “If you like this woman so much, you should give her a call. I don’t know her or her history but sometimes you meet someone who changes your entire life. There’s a saying that comes to mind. Life is too short. Take a chance, Flame. The worst that could happen is she could say no.”

“I could love her if we spent time together but then she could leave me.” His voice deepened and his pretty catlike eyes held her gaze. “That would be the worst thing.”

“Or she could fall in love with you and stay. You never know until you try. Regrets are a bitch to live with. I know. You should pursue this female if you really like her. It’s worse lying awake nights remembering and torturing yourself with a bunch of ‘what-ifs’ if you’d only taken the chance to see where the relationship would have led.”

He regarded her with interest. “Moon?”

She nodded.

“Why did you quit your job then? You could have come to visit here any time if you missed him.”

“I had no choice but to leave at the time. I guess fear kept me away after Homeland opened. I’m really a chickenshit deep down. I was sure he’d hate me or have moved on with his life, once he was given one. He didn’t exactly have too many choices at site four when it came to females he had access to. Your females were less than receptive and all the guards there were either pregnant or had recently given birth. It was just me and two other women who were single. They were much older.”

“He never forgot you. He even looked you up on the internet.”

That surprised her. “He did?”

Flame slid out of the Jeep. “He did.”

“Did he try to contact me?” She hadn’t been told if he had.

“Not that I know of. He was angry.”

“Because I left him?”

“He said you were doing well without him. There were pictures of you and some males he found.”

She frowned, trying to think of why any pictures of her and some guy would be on the internet. Then she remembered the clinic fundraisers. Some pictures had been taken for the paper. “Those men were coworkers.”

“He believed you were dating them.”

“I wasn’t.” She had gone on a few dates but nothing serious and certainly not with anyone she worked with.

Flame approached her side of the Jeep and waved toward the building. “He waits.”

“Right.” She got out of the vehicle and approached Medical. When she went inside a new officer was on duty. He wore casual clothes.

“Here.” He held up two keys. “The door to the cell and to his restraints. Do you wish me to go with you?”

“No. I’m afraid it would upset him if you did. I can do it.” She glanced at his outfit. “You changed fast. I only left the meeting a few minutes ago.”

“I was nearby when the order came down. I’m relieving the officer since he didn’t have a spare set of clothes handy.”

She gripped the keys in her fist, her fear and excitement clashing. She had no idea what would happen when she released 466. It could go bad really fast. The officer stopped at the elevator and removed a set of keys.

“We’re keeping it on key access only. That way Moon can’t leave the basement. We activated the cameras below.”