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Gonzales’ hand strayed toward her belt, but of course she wasn’t armed Guards never were, inside the fence

"Where are your supervisors?" she asked

She er in her voice--trying to control the situation, trying to avoid any hint she was vulnerable

Stirht in there, ma’am"

Gonzales frowned She took a step toward the vestry Then her eyes locked on sootten the shank

She stepped back, too late

Zeke crushed her windpipe with the soldering iron as she tried to screarabbed the front of her shirt, pul ed her down, Gonzales gagging, digging in her heels, clawing at Zeke’s wrists

Stired her into the corner where they taped her mouth, bound her hands Zeke slapped her in the head when she tried to struggle

Pablo just watched

He was a statue He couldn’t do a da heavy

"Bind her feet," he told Zeke

"In a ed at Gonzales’ belt He started pul ing off her pants

"Zeke," Stir her"

Gonzales groaned--dazed but stil conscious

Zeke got her pants around her thighs Her panties were blue

The phone in the vestry rang

"Zeke" Stirht, huffing against the tape on herthe shank into Stirined the back gates opening, himself at the wheel of the Reverend’s SUV, the plains of South Texas unfolding before him, Zeke’s and Wil Stirman’s cruet back to his wife

The vestry phone rang again

"Zeke," Stirman said "Get off her"

"Only take aof his prison pants His hands, arms and neck were pale sweaty animal muscle

Pablo took a step forward

Stirman’s kidneys, he told himself Then Zeke’s carotid artery

Stirman turned He saw the shank, locked eyes with Pablo

"Give e "I was just"

Stirman held out his hand, lifted his eyebrows

Pablo handed over the shank

Stirman walked behind Zeke, as now in his underwear, straddling Gonzales’ huge bare thighs

Stirrabbed his cel ht down the shank in one efficient thrust

It should have ended there, but soain, spitting cuss words, then again, cursing the na that he had tried, he had fucking tried to forget

Afterward, Gonzales lay with her clothes half off, her gold-rilasses freckled with blood Zeke’s body tre to happen

"Get the phone," Stir

He stumbled into the pastor’s office, picked up the receiver

"Damn, man" CC’s voice "Where you been?"

CC said the as clear They’d taken doo ate, one in the watchtower The keys to the arun, and several hundred rounds of a for the SUV

Pablo put down the receiver His hands were cold and sweaty Some of Zeke’s blood had speckled his sleeves He took one last look at the bound supervisor, Pastor Riggs, Grier’s body slumped at their feet

No other choice, he told hi next to Officer Gonzales, dabbing the blood fro Zeke’s dead ar as Stir to hurt her