It was a little after midnight when Eliza finally made it home. She didn’t see Ares’ ship in the other hangar, but all she really only cared about getting inside, stripping herself of the evening, and taking a long bath to relax her muscles. Once she verified that Ares still wasn’t home, she did just that. She dropped her dress on her bedroom floor, along with her undergarments, after she tossed her heels aside. As the hot bath water filled her tub, Eliza wiped off her makeup and took out all of the pins in her hair. She already felt more like herself again. All it took was for her to sink into the steaming water to wash away the stranger she was that evening. It was so nice.

It was even nicer to know Mae Valen was getting what she deserved. If she was lucky, she’d rot in her cell while Eliza laughed at her. She deserved it for what she did and for her sketchy work in the drug world. Eliza closed her eyes with a smile and sank under the water. Eliza could relax for just a moment.

Thirty minutes went by when she heard the sound of Ares’ ship before it landed in the other hangar. She regrettably left her liquid cocoon to get dressed before he could come barging into her room asking questions. Except, he never did. All was quiet after she dressed.

Eliza thought she heard the door shut as he came in, but there was no sign he was in the apartment. She expected him to come barreling into her room and demand an explanation. Eliza slowly opened her bedroom door to peek out, to check the silence. Ares was on the other side, standing patiently. His shirt was back in order again, to her relief.

“You knew her.”

She opened the door all the way. “Yes.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“It’s a little late to be telling stories, don’t you think?”

Ares’ eyes hardened, the gold color shifting to a dark copper. “I’m not in the mood for games. We could have been compromised if she recognized you.”

“I’m aware of that but we weren’t, so there’s no reason to be this way.”

His hands used her doorframe to help him tower over Eliza. “Why did you accept the request if you knew her? Did Donovan even send in the request?”

Her green eyes stabbed through him. “No, he didn’t, and it was time for her life to catch up to her.”

“What do you even mean by that? How do you know her?”

Eliza gripped her doorknob so hard that her knuckles lost color. “Mae Valen has been a thorn in my side since she took my future and crushed it in her perfectly manicured hands.”

Ares dropped his intimidating stance, “Please just talk to me so I can understand what the hell you were thinking tonight.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Ares.”

“Well, I do.”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter.”

“If you want me to stick around, it does.”

“I-I can’t talk about it.” Her voice was so quiet.

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Since it’s late, I won’t argue anymore about it. But I expect an explanation because what you did wasn’t your best idea. If you won’t tell me, then I’ll be having a chat with Mac.”

“He won’t tell you without my permission.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be too happy to hear how you took a bounty he didn’t authorize.”

Eliza rolled her eyes and tried to shut her door, but his foot stopped it. “Let me go to bed. I’m done talking with you.”

“Am I going to have to talk to him?” Ares wasn’t giving up. Anger shined like a candle in his eyes, the flame only getting bigger. He didn’t want Eliza to be the source of it, but the more she fought against him, the brighter it got. What she did was stupid and unlike her.

“I don’t care. Just leave me alone. I don’t want to think about her anymore. It’s finally done.”

He saw the moisture in her eyes pooling at her lower lid. Any anger he had was instantly extinguished. He pulled his foot out and she shut her door without hesitating. The lock clicked, shutting her away from him completely. It felt like the progress in their friendship suddenly jumped back to the beginning. Ares was sure he’d never get an answer from her, so he was going to have to talk with the only person Eliza seemed to trust completely.

Mac was sitting at his desk at the station, enjoying the late-night silence. Working overnight wasn’t ideal, but for the peace, it was well worth it. Donovan checked the time and stood to do the rounds around the holding cells before doing the paperwork for the day. The front door suddenly opened, and Ares came walking in. His face was tense, and his eyes were trained on Donovan.

“Hey, Ares. What brings you here so late?” Mac smiled, trying to ease the palpable tension surrounding the hunter.

“How do Eliza and Mae Valen know each other?” he asked.

It was Mac’s turn to go serious. “Why are you asking?”

“Eliza accepted the bounty on Valen’s head with some sort of vendetta, and now she won’t tell me why.”

“She did what?” Mac began mumbling about Eliza’s childish actions and rubbed his forehead. “Were you successful?”

“Yes, but if Eliza was spotted before we could get Valen isolated, we would have been in serious trouble.”

Mac sighed. “Do you like coffee?”

Although Ares turned down the coffee, he and Mac ended up in the breakroom. They sat across from each other while the cop nursed his black coffee. Ares thumped his fingers on the tabletop while he stared down the cop expectantly.

“Does Eliza know you’re here?”

“I’d be surprised if she didn’t. I warned her I’d talk to you if she refused to explain.”

“Well, this story is hers to tell, but I’ll explain what I can,” Donovan frowned. “Mae and Eliza were friends before all this bounty hunting business. Eliza used to smile more and let loose. I think Mae had a huge part in that along with Mae’s older brother, Luke. It wasn’t a surprise when Eliza and Luke got together. They were inseparable. I’d never seen her so happy since we lived on Earth.

“Eventually, Mae started to dive into the drug business, which is why she became so powerful in Nemesis. Long story short, she got Luke involved despite Eliza’s warnings. It wasn’t long before Luke found a new love in his sister’s world only to get himself killed when he tried to usurp Mae. His own sister killed him. Eliza shut down after that. She started hunting. I’m sure she really only started hunting to get closer to Mae.”

Ares let the new information swirl in his mind. It made sense, he guessed. All her trust died when Mae killed the man he presumed Eliza loved. It’s why she fought so hard to keep him out of her life. She didn’t want to trust someone else only to lose them. It made sense. He didn’t like it, but it explained a lot about his partner.

“I’d never seen Eliza so mad, Mac,” he said. “She wanted Valen dead. I could see it in her eyes when she found her.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Mae turned Liz into someone she’s not, someone she can’t go back to. That Eliza from before is gone.”

The bounty hunter leaned back in his chair in thought. He wanted to show Eliza he would be there for her as long as he could without making her feel that he pitied her. That’d only make the wall she put back up thicker. He’d have to find a clever roundabout way. Ares couldn’t keep his sigh in any longer.

“She shut you out again, didn’t she?” Donovan asked.

Ares nodded. “I asked for an explanation. I admit I wasn’t exactly cheerful when I talked to her. When she shut her door, it felt like she was shutting everyone out.”

“Liz will do that if she sees no way out, which means she will enlighten you eventually. She just needs a little time to accept that the one person who destroyed her is in custody.”

“I hope you’re right. It’ll be tough hunting with her until then.”

Mac smiled, “Yeah, but you’ll both be grateful in the end.”

She heard when he came back. The apartment was eerily quiet while he was out, making the click of the front door louder than necessary. Eliza had a feeling he did exactly what he threatened, and she knew Mac told him the parts of the story he’d need to know. Despite all that, she wasn’t ready to talk about it. Part of her wanted to let Ares in, but that meant trusting him. Trust always ended in betrayal or hurt. Donovan and Lauren were exceptions. Donovan was in her life from the start and Lauren wormed her way in after humans started living on Mars. She was as determined as Ares but there was something that attracted Eliza to the doctor. She assumed it stemmed having a female friend since she lived on Earth. It was new and a relief to have another woman to talk to. Ares was something different.

Letting herself trust him reminded her of the past, her loss. She didn’t want to suffer from that again. It was bad enough she allowed him to be her partner, to have him live with her. Trusting him, for her, meant she depended on him. Eliza Kane didn’t depend on anyone, well, she tried not to depend on anyone.

A large groan lifted from her lungs and out of her mouth as she covered her face with her pillow. Thinking about it caused more problems than helped. Her life was complicated enough without Ares.

There was a soft knock on her door. She froze.

“Are you okay, Lizzy?” Ares’ voice was gentle.

She couldn’t bring herself to speak. If she did, he’d definitely want to talk.

“You’re probably still pissed so I won’t bother you anymore, but I’m here when you need me. Just knock.”

Eliza remained still until she heard his steps fade away and the door to his room shut. The breath she held finally released. She uncovered her face and stared at her ceiling. It’d be so easy to seek comfort from him, too easy. To receive a simple hug would be nice. It’d also open that stupid door she wanted to keep shut. Why was she so damn frustrating?

Turning on her side, she looked at the clock reading at 3 a.m. Sleep wasn’t going to happen, but she closed her eyes anyway. She hoped Donovan would spare them and let them rest, let her rest. She’d need it to deal with her roommate.