Skin Deep by T. G. Ayer

spark. He turned to leave. Somehow, his departure seemed wrong. He'd saved my life and here I allowed him to drop me off at my door as if we'd merely been out for a walk.
    "Agent Westin?"
    He turned at the top of the stairs. "You’ll have to call me Logan, you know. Or I'll stick with Miss Odel."
    I nodded. He waited.
    "Would you like to come in? I'm pretty sure a hot cup of something is in order."
    He still hesitated.
    He came toward me and laid a hand on my arm. "You should be okay, Kailin. If you're concerned about being alone, I'll put a car outside. Just say the word."
    I was disappointed. Why, I wasn’t sure. Still, I hoped he'd come in. I shook my head. The great Wraith-hunter incapable of holding a simple conversation. Ridiculous.
     
    ***
     

Chapter 15
    The doorbell rang later that evening and I opened up, expecting to see Logan. He'd forgotten to get me to sign the statement. Instead, I got a smiling Jess. A Jess who'd been over-shadowed by Logan. I'd barely registered the other woman before and got the distinct impression it had been Jess's choice, and not my weak attention span for people in the immediate vicinity of the delectable Logan Westin.
    "Hi. Is Logan with you?" I glanced down the hall, still expecting the brute to follow his partner into the apartment.
    "No. No, I thought we'd better have a...discussion." Jess walked in and made for the sofa. She seated herself before I could suggest it, but I took no offense at all. Her beauty would knock anyone off their feet. And I was certainly knocked.
    Strange she would want to talk to me in private. I scanned her face. No telltale signs. Nothing. At all. How was it possible for a person not to register any emotion in their face? Then I picked up a strange scent. I'd followed her to the living room but remained standing with one sofa between us.
    Sweetness filled my mind, seeping into my skin, intoxicating. Divine.
    I snapped open drowsy eyes that had drifted slowly to a close.
    A Titan. I'd heard of the effect they had on Humans. Clearly, they had a similar if milder effect on Walkers.
    "Don't be alarmed, please." The voice was soft, gentle. "There is something you should know."
    "What do you want with me?" I was a little scared. Titans were massively important in the scheme of things. I was a puny nobody next to a Titan, and having one stand in the middle of my living room was not conducive to my personal calm and serenity.
    "I am here to watch over you, however indirect it may seem." Another enigmatic answer, with a matching smile.
    "Why would a Titan take the time to watch over a mere Walker like me?" As agitated as I was, I still found myself inexplicably calm. Something she was doing to me perhaps? Titans had unknown powers, beyond anything mortals could understand. How far would I get trying to bully a Titan into telling me what I wanted to know? At any rate I needed an answer.
    "You are more important than you realize."
    "So you knew about me then? The first time we met?" She nodded serenely, not commenting on the subject change. "And didn't tell anyone I was a Walker? Why?"
    "It is not my place to become involved with the workings of your life. I am here to guide you when I am required to, to ensure you remain on the right path."
    It took a while to absorb what she was saying. The fact I was speaking to a living breathing Titan was enough to have me breathless, but knowing she was deliberately placed into my life was worse.
    "I came to tell you that you can trust Logan. You can trust him to help you. It is what he is meant to do. It is his purpose."
    "Me? His purpose is to help me? Sounds a bit melodramatic."
    "Kailin, I know you are the Hunter. Ni'amh – it is what we call you."
    "You have a name for me?" I was befuddled and slightly impressed. "What do you mean 'The' Hunter?"
    "Yes. Ni'amh is a Hunter well known in our prophecies." Jess nodded and even the simple action looked wise. "You are the one foretold, who will help defeat the New Army of