Being Sapphire. Sylvia Ryan

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      Jordan’s jaw dropped open a second before she lunged forward and pulled Patrick over the threshold into her apartment, closing and locking the door behind her. Her knee-jerk reaction to protect him from being seen outside her door was significant. Apparently, her subconscious had already made its decision whether Patrick was dangerous or not.

      She turned and eyed him by the light spilling from the bathroom and attempted to clarify her confusion.

      “No. Not Patrick,” she said. “Who are you?”

      The man smiled at her. “Shane O’Connor. The older and more handsome version of Patrick.”

      She couldn’t prevent her lips from quirking up at his remark. “Also the slightly skinnier version.”

      “Ah, yes. I miss my ma’s cookin’.”

      “Twins?”

      He nodded, smiled and then gave her an obvious once-over. “Patrick was right. You’re very pretty.”

      She looked at the floor, not sure how to respond to his compliment. In her life, compliments were few and far between, and when one was given, it was usually related to work, not the way she looked.

      Realizing she stood there wearing only a towel, she walked to her dresser and pulled out a nightshirt.

      “Now don’t be getting dressed on my account,” he said with a more serious tone than she’d ever heard Patrick use, even when they were in danger.

      “Ah, and there it is, that O’Connor humor. It must run in the family.” She noticed his Amber designation tattoo and the slightly more aged patina his face presented compared to his identical twin. “Why are you here, Shane?” she asked softly, assuming he was there at Patrick’s request, but not knowing exactly why he stood in her apartment in the middle of the night.

      “Patrick commed me. His message was cryptic, but I got the gist. Your roommate was killed?”

      Jordan nodded and looked away from him, not wanting to reveal weakness. It was an automatic behavior more than an indication that she didn’t trust Shane.

      “Patrick wanted me to stay with you and make sure you’re okay.” He shrugged. “He didn’t want you to be alone.”

      Jordan sighed, then nodded. “Thanks. I was settling in for the night.” She motioned toward the far side of the bed. “You can sleep on that side if you want to join me.”

      As she climbed under the covers, she didn’t care whether Shane was friend or foe. She was too tired.

      Shane sidled over to Dennis’s side of the room and removed his shoes.

      “I don’t know what I’m going to do about that brother of yours,” she murmured into the shadows created by the wedge of light escaping through the partially closed bathroom door.

      “Can you fill me in on exactly what’s going on? Like I said, our communications are kind of cryptic.”

      Jordan lay on her back, looking at the ceiling. She didn’t know where to look while he got ready for bed. God, already she missed Dennis with a desperate urgency that scared her. With him, awkwardness about that kind of stuff vanished years ago. The two of them were comfortable with each other. He was the only person in the world she ever experienced that odd sensation of comfort with. Jordan’s throat tightened and she swallowed hard to push down the fear that was already returning.

      The bed dipped as Shane slid in beside her. He reached out and clasped her hand in his.

      Her breath caught and her heart squeezed. He couldn’t possibly fathom how grateful she was for that tiny span of his skin touching hers.

      “Okay. Enlighten me on my brother’s escapades.” His voice was rough and his words didn’t echo that almost nonexistent accent of Patrick’s musically lilting speech and ever so slightly rolled pronunciation of the letter r.

      “I’ll give you the headlines. We can fill in the rest tomorrow morning.” She turned to look at him.” Your brother has just joined the Amber Resistance. I’m his contact.”

      Shane unclasped their hands and lifted himself on his elbow. “He did what?”

      “He saved me the other night after the Sterilization Center fire. He kept me from getting caught. He likes me, I think.” She sat up. “I got a note. You can help me decipher it.”

      “No problem, Patrick’s encrypting is my specialty.”

      She handed him the paper and watched him squint in the low light, reading the small script.

      “Okay, translated from cryptic to English, it says, Don’t eliminate him because you’re an Amber and he’s a Sapphire. He thinks the resistance movement will be successful, and the two of you will be successful. That’s what this…” He pointed. “I think everything we do will be successful means.” Shane lifted his gaze to Jordan’s. “He’s got it bad for you.”

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