Eternal Flame

~18~

"Here we are," Katherine said as she and Ruben pulled up to the huge building that was the safe spot.

Ruben gazed up at the building that would be his new home until further notice. He inwardly sighed, already missing his house in the woods. He was positive living in that building would drive him crazy.

"Are there a lot of people here?" he asked.

"Well, yes. But you'll have your own living space," she hastened to add. "And your parents are here as well."

He sighed, thinking of how his sanity would be tested when he'd be forced to be around his parents. Lovely, he thought to himself, my parents will be questioning everything that's been going on about my life and pointing out all the small things they don't like.

He loved his parents, and while they didn't baby him and left him on his own for the most part, they always nagged on him that he didn't have either a mate nor kids yet, something they both desired for him. That was the one thing they'd questioned him relentlessly about that and that he needed to find someone and have kids before he got any older.

He grimaced. While thirty-four wasn't the youngest age, he still had time, and kids were never on the agenda for him, but his parents wouldn't hear it. The only girl that was for him was possibly dead and--

"Ruben?" Katherine said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," he said and scrambled out of the car. After that little moment when that deer walked into the road, the car ride had been completed in awkward silence and he was more than happy to get out of that confining space with her.

He grabbed his suitcase from the backseat and followed her to the building. He eyed the huge building as he walked behind her. They walked up to a double glass door with two tall men and black suits with sunglasses standing guard in front of him, reminding him of characters from Men in Black.

The men nodded to Katherine as she and Ruben approached. "Afternoon, Agent Greene," the man on the left greeted.

She smiled at him. "Afternoon. I'm just escorting this man to the safe spot."

Ruben inwardly cringed, hating to sound like he was incompetent and needed to be taken care of.

The agent smiled back and opened the door for them. "Well you have a good day, Agent Greene. Oh, and Agent Rakers needs to talk to you about the case."

Katherine nodded. "Will do. Thanks."

"What case is he talking about?" Ruben asked as they walked in.

She jabbed her elbow into his stomach and gave him a sharp look. He grunted and gave her a dirty look. "What?"

She leaned in a whispered through clenched teeth, "No one is supposed to know I told you about the case on the Lewis's and Wayne's."

"Oh," he said, inwardly cursing himself for his stupidity. "Sorry."

She rolled her eyes and continued walking forward. He sheepishly followed her, feeling his face start to grow red. He followed her over the polished tile floor to an elevator. He stepped in after her, she pressed one of the buttons, and the doors closed. They rode the elevator in silence.