“I’ll have a hamburger and a Blue Moon. They have the greatest hamburgers here, really thick and juicy. You want a hamburger?”

“Don’t eat meat.”

The waitress flashed a sparkling grin.

“Me, neither. The veggie nachos are killer, and I love the Corita salad.”

“Beer’s fine. Corona.”

As the waitress left, Dru slumped back in her chair and grinned.

“Dude. You totally look like a carnivore.”

Pike checked the vendors and the people strolling past. Checked the beach and the people beyond the palms. Habit. He checked Dru Rayne. Round face, one front tooth overlapping the other, a scar on the bridge of her nose that matched the lines beginning to cut the corners of her mouth. Not a kid, but still in her early thirties. Ten feet away, bikini-clad skater chicks, hard-bodied swimsuit models, and beach bunnies out for the sun flowed past, but Dru Rayne held him like a magnet.

She touched his arm.

“Thanks. For helping Wilson, and the rest. Really, thank you.”

Pike nodded. When he offered no conversation, she filled in the gap.

“I’m curious—what is it you do? For a living, I mean?”

“Businessman.”

Dru burst out laughing, then held up a hand, apologizing as she laughed, and covered her mouth with her free hand.

“I’m sorry. Laughing is bad. I shouldn’t be laughing.”

Pike liked her laughing. It was strong and confident, as if she was completely at ease. Pike liked her familiarity. He had spent most of his life seeking and maintaining control.

Her eyes grew shy, as if something had been on her mind and now she was going to mention it.

“May I ask you something?”

Pike nodded, watching her.

“The detectives who came to the hospital, remember how Wilson said they asked about you?”

Pike stared past her, now watching the water because he knew where this would go.

She touched his arm again, and Pike was pulled back to her.

“They told us you used to be a police officer, but you left because you were dangerous. That detective we saw, the one with the big belly—”

“Button.”

“He said he can’t count the number of people you’ve killed. He said you like killing people so much you even went off to be a mercenary, and we shouldn’t have anything to do with you.”

Her saying these things reminded Pike of his conversation with Miguel Azzara, only this conversation left him feeling open in a way he did not like. Pike had killed men. He had placed himself in situations where death was inevitable, but knew most people would not understand his motives or reasons. He rarely spoke of these things.

She said, “Is that true?”

“I used to be a police officer. I was a professional military contractor after I resigned. The part about the killing, that’s what people like Button want to believe.”

She nodded, and he wondered what she was thinking.

“Are you dangerous?”