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Sam looked up blindly at the blond woman "You know CPR?" When she nodded, she said, "Take over compressions forthe death vision, which dragged ti her across the intersection and down the road twowheel of the truck

Sahter and touch the flame to the end of a freshly rolled joint She smelled the harsh, sweet scent of the marijuana as puffs of smoke billowed up in front of her eyes The tip of the joint flared as she inhaled, and a seed inside it popped, blowing off the glowing end She heard a young voice swearing as a hand swatted the burning sensation on the top of her right thigh

She couldn’t stop the boy fro eht he’d just seen had turned yellow She could only brace herself as the yelloitched to red and he roared into the intersection and collided with the SUV The impact threw her forward into an explosion of sound and whiteness

The sound of coughing brought her back to reality, where the boy lay struggling for breath on his side

The blond wo noises as she held his shoulders and sain on his own"

"Thank you" Saainst the side of her trousers "You saved his life"

"So did you," the woman said simply

It took another a minute before the don patrols and paramedics arrived at the scene Sam used the ti quietly on the bench "How are you feeling, sir?"

"That kid alot a fifteen-year-old, just got his restricted permit" His eyes shifted to the scene across the street "That could be him"

She nodded "Talk to your boy about this Let him kno it feels" She touched his shoulder "And check his pockets occasionally"

After she gave the details to the patrolmen, Sam walked back to her car The ss ache, but the last thing she wanted to do was hunt

The urge to hurry back to the stronghold had disappeared as well Although Lucan hadn’t been responsible for what he’d done or said, she still felt bruised inside She’d never taken his love for granted, but the bond they shared was supposed to guarantee it would last forever Discovering that soo away had left her feeling brittle, as if one ht smash her to pieces

"Excuse me" The blond woman walked up to her, and held out her rass"

"Thanks" Sao and talk to the officer over there; he’s going to need a statelanced around "I ondering, Detective, if you knehere Ia bit shaken"

"You certainly don’t show it, and lish accent and the pale skin; the woman must have just arrived on vacation "There’s a decent pub just around the corner, and I’m off duty now, so how about I buy you the drink?"

"That’s very kind of you I’m Werren" A smile briefly war hoo there Not until she was ready to be his sygkenis instead of a screa bitch "It’s okay Corill to a kitchen fire so to the better-selling liquid comforts: beer, wine, and liquor Sa their bottles and glasses as they watched a sportscaster on the big plaslanced at them as they sat at the end of the bar, and Sam made a mental note to accompany her Good Samaritan every step of the way back to her car or hotel

A baby-faced bartender careeted them as if they were swans in a desert "Ladies, what can I do you for?"

"Red wine okay?" Sa that won’t burn off our tonsils with the first sip?"

"Cases of the stuff," he said, and rolled his eyes "Boss’s wife coirlfriends They’re all like French or so that you can’t pronounce," Werren said politely