“Who are you?” he asked.

The figure threw back her hood to reveal long sandy hair and the warm green eyes that Zeerid had never forgotten. The heat and tension went out of him in a rush.

“Aryn? Aryn Leneer? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” she said. She motioned at the door to Nat’s apartment. “I thought I would try your sister-in-law’s—”

“Are you alone? Did someone follow you?”

She looked taken aback by the rapid-fire questions. “I … yes. No.”

“How did you find me?”

“Luck. I remembered your sister-in-law’s name. I hoped she could help me find you.”

“Stay there,” he said, and hurried back down the hall to the stairwell. He looked down and saw nothing and no one. Whoever had been on the stairs was gone.

He told himself that it was probably just a resident coming home.

He turned to find himself staring into Aryn’s concerned face. She looked much as she had when she’d held him while he cried over Val’s death.

“What is wrong?” she asked.

No doubt she could feel his apprehension.

“Probably nothing. I’m overreacting, I think.”

She smiled her smile but he saw something new in her eyes—a hardness. He did not need to be a Force-user to know that something was different.

“What happened to you?” he asked. “I just saw you on the ’Net. I thought you were on Alderaan.”

A veil fell over her eyes and closed her off. He’d never seen it before, not from her, though he imagined his own expression looked much the same when he was working.

“I was. That’s part of what I want to talk about. I need your help. Can we go somewhere and talk?”

“This really is not a good time, Aryn.”

“It’s important.”

He had a flash of fear, thinking the Jedi had caught wind of the engspice delivery, had learned that he was to deliver it, and were intent on stopping him. But she said nothing about engspice.

“It’s a personal issue, Z-man. Not something for the Order.”

He breathed easier, even smiled at how silly his name sounded when she said it. Maybe it sounded that silly all the time. He shot a glance back down the hall at Nat’s apartment.

Closed and secure, like all the other doors in the hall. A blaster shot and an activated lightsaber had not even merited an open door.

He had to get them both out of there. It was no place for a child.

Aryn touched his arm. “Are you all right?”