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Given a choice between taking an irrevocable step toward corruption and keeping Jared safe…no contest

Okay One of Carlotti’s girls was living at Mag’s pross house Mag owed her several favors It was a good place to start

Kara stepped down fro the cab at the end of the block

"I don’t know if he’s here for sure ," the prostitute repeated nervously The woarbue, Kara put her at ht The street was tough on faces and the average pross had a shelf life slightly longer than yogurt "And I don’t knoe had to come here nowI told you, if he co her purse over one bony hip and glared at Kara She was a tall woleaaze that watched avidly for disaster The woh to skin both knees bloody and had laughed so hard she’d stumbled off the curb Kara hadn’t commented, but did walk over and assist the child to his feet, brushed him off and sent him on his way She wasn’t surprised, by either the child’s misfortune or Krystal’s cruelty The prostitute with a heart of gold was a ery and indifference Their lives were so hard, who cared about anyone else’s? Kara didn’t like it, but she could understand it

"I appreciate you showing me the place," she replied absently The warehouse was close to the train depot and she i shipoods and black et a tape of ato occur toof an idiot"

"Huh?" Krystal replied, her ratty gaze darting all over the e about?"

It had taken Kara hours to seek out Krystal and talk the wo her directions to the warehouse Krystal’s insistence on acco her should have been the first tip-off Noas past lunchtime and Kara remembered that, as usual, no one knehere she was, or when she was expected back She’d been led to an abandoned warehouse by an untrustworthy wohed at a child’s pain And she only had Krystal’s word that Carlotti wouldn’t be here for another six hours

The oldest trick in the book, Kara thought, shaking her head as she heard the bolt fro them both inside And I fell for it Because I wanted to rush and get this over with so I could run away froirl Now pay the price for your cowardice

A few boxes tumbled to the floor across the roo toward her, flanked, as always, by severalKrystal’s rin The wo Carlotti She’d been nervous that Kara would smell a trap and va ot us a thief in the house"

Krystal cackled dutifully, watching avidly while Carlotti slipped black leather gloves over his huge fists

Kara kneore them when he planned to beat someone to death It was a special murder saved for special occasions: rivals, traitors Hated ene someone to death hurt his hands, broke bones, so he didn’t do it often

"Gosh," she said , "lucky me" She knew her expression wasat her foolishness; she had stoppedsuch mistakes by her eleventh birthday Jared had shaken her in more ways than one, but she couldn’t blame hi

And what a uys,Carlotti

But there were five total and, judging by the bulges in a few jackets, three of the realization that she was going to die, that it was going to take a long time, that they would probably strip her of her valued control before it was over She didn’tJared--but above all she wanted to die well And she was pretty sure that wasn’t going to be possible

Worst of all, she had left Jared unprotected Once she was bleeding her life out on the filthy warehouse floor, Carlotti could pick Jared off at his leisure All it would take was one phone call--come quick, Dr

Dean, your lady friend is in trouble And Jared, blessed do-gooder, would coe that she had killed Jared with cowardice was too ed closer--cautious, even on his own turf, surrounded by his own people--she decided she would have to take Carlotti with her She could do that much for Jared

While she pondered how best to kill her killer, Carlotti had crossed the rooainst the table She shook off the blow, blew her hair out of her face and asked with irl, too?"

Carlotti reddened and raised a clenched fist Kara gathered herself for the fight of her life…and his Ti moment and then there was a brisk knock