her weigh

silence, the drunk's hand hung in the air an inch from his face, an

looked at the woman in the doorway the way a man looks at someon

g around her boots. She looked at exac

. He straightened, dropped h

re you? This is

d nuts from her pocket, shook

Security's going to drag you out of he

ce dropped, which was

from the

grinned. "You gonna protect the d

out without quite deciding to, ringing her the way men do who hav

hands closed o

tight. He had already decided that if one of them put a hand on her, he would kill the man with

see what she

an reached f

grab slide past, and caught his wr

g a crab. He went to his knees, screaming, and then he cou

r stopped mov

hooked a boot behind his ankle and put him

h of them. Her breat

wet, and she could not have told you if it was fear or relief or something he had d

so they were

you h

Slow. Careful. As

*, the fingers unsteady, and - God help her -

rubber grips. Her knuckles were scu

t you out

anything, and let

ng him, as though a man in a chair needed steadying on flat carpet. Her palm came to rest against the base

pulse was going l

der the curiosity, something warmer and a great deal less convenient - and on

did not intend to

k her h

and the coat she was wearing smelled like vanilla

tened themselves against

idre looked ove

ar him again, I'll brea

im out into

ay from the woman pushing his chair

minutes she had broken a man's shoulder for him and laid her hand on his throat,