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"We've only been here an hour What's your godda the door "Letfor you at the cottage Aht?"

"Lance is not scrawny"

"What's he weigh? One-seventy soaking wet? I don't knohat you see in hiht, he'd snap like a matchstick"

Oh, David Would you be surprised Lance is a vaht, he'd be the one doing the snapping I force a smile "He's lean, David, not scrawny" Co a carb in the last fifty years "Not every man is a pituitary case like you"

A flash of irritation tightens the corners of his , true, but a former football player who's kept in shape He's my partner and friend, and he didn't deserve the crack

I rub at my eyes with the palms of my hands It's this damned headache

I have a headache now?

How can a vaet a headache?

David swivels his stool away from me and focuses his attention back to the door-a deliberate cold shoulder Not that I blaate his snit Instead I focus on whatever the hell is going on inhum and the stomach quiver into a clenched fist Granted, I've been a vaet the flu

Which is what this feels like

I rub atto focus This is a biker bar-a real biker bar-on the outskirts of Lakeside in east San Diego County Run-down, no flashing neon beer signs in the s to attract customers No s at all No back door Probably be in violation of a hundred fire codes if it wasn't classified as a "private club" Sawdust crunches underfoot, absorbing spilled beer and the occasional body fluid So code of "F" above the bar

Meels' chapter slouch at the bar or shoot pool under the glare of a green-shaded light The only reason David and I have been left uned is because we know the president of the club We did hi the debt

He was only too happy to oblige The guy we're after isn't a biker He's a pain-in-the-ass wannabe who robbed and shot a dealer in LA and skipped bail He's been hanging around the bar, bragging about his score, thinking it ain him access to the club Trouble is, the prez knows it's only a matter of tiet hi with Curly Tom

Good for us Better for Curly Tom

With us, it's a payday and he'll end up in jail With the club, it's self-preservation and he'll o desert

I let htest bit of attention Most knoe're here But I feel-so Anxiety Apprehension Dread

Why? Over this jerk, Curly Tom?

Makes no sense

David and I are bounty hunters We've done jobs like this a hundred tiuys than this joker And that was before I becath and speed tends to boost one's confidence

So if I' over Curly Tom, what is it?

The huer

That's when it hits me

The last ti like this, a witch was behind it

A witch

The thought propels s David to his feet, too He looks around, right hand un under his jacket

"Is he here? Do you see him?"

I shake my head "No He's not here"

I look around

But so is