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Chapter One

Georgia

Ben Lancaster walked into , just after three o’clock on a sunny afternoon He’s lucky it happened in Old City, Philadelphia and not somewhere in Texas, because in Texas people have been shot for a lot less

In Texas you don’t just walk into so a suys at Oak Run, a hospital I’d stayed at, toldjust that Some homeless man wandered into his house and the uncle blew hiun

But on that particular afternoon I was standing in the corner ofwas perfect, staring at a blank canvas in front ofissues was an understate for nearly twenty minutes could have accounted for my late reflexes, because I didn’t hear hi until he spoke

“Hey, sorry to bother you but is Matt here? I was supposed to hook up with him”

His voice was low, hitting a tiht to hit Especially when he’s standing in theback at hi but my white boy briefs and a threadbare white tank top with no bra The fact that he could probably see h the tank top didn’t botherat my ass before I turned around and let’s face it, half ofout

Suecompany

I think irls would have screamed, but since I’d spent six ers and besides, when you’ve stared into the belly of a monster not much scares you But still, his surprised dark eyes settled onheat pressed low in my belly

He wasn’t like any of the inues above them

I grabbedit nearly half an hour earlier and shrugged into it, trying itch by souy

“Who the hell are you?” The words shot out of my mouth as I stared across the open space “Haven’t you heard you of a doorbell?”