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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Marcus knew exactly where to find Kara She was nothing if not doggedly determined to finish what she started

It took a bit of time to find Lana Hancock’s address The woman protected her privacy and had an unlisted nuenius hacked into her medical records and solved the problem with only a short delay

Marcus abandoned the car he’d used while disrupting Kara’s transportation, just in case one of the guards lived long enough to ID it He was now behind the wheel of a distressingly average four-door sedan, blending in with al the others

His face was nothing special, and even though he kept his body in peak physical shape, his specialy tailored clothing helped conceal both his size and build He could hide in plain sight No one would look twice at him No one would suspect he was a ot in his way

Fear made Lana clumsy Slow She reached behind her for the door, but Kara stopped her

"Oh, no you don’t No s"

"You’re going to kilso hard she was sure Kara could hear it

"Of course That’s the way it has to be You should be happy"

"Happy?" She wished she had a cel phone Maybe she would have been able to cal 911 or Caleb

"You’ve had a year and a half longer than you were "

Lana’s eyes darted around, looking for a weapon Al she found nearby were bits of wood that had once been a chair--the one Caleb crushed when he forced his way in

She was going to miss him so much

"I promise not to tel anyone who you are Just leave Disappear"

Kara laughed It was a rich, elegant sound that un with her left hand "It’s too late for that"

"Just tel ure out what to do How to get out of this She didn’t want to die

"Why what?"

"Why me? Why did you want to kil me in Armenia?"

Kara frowned as if truly puzzled "What makes you think I need a reason to kil?"

"Because you like to watch people’s torment too much to end it without a reason If they’re dead, you can’t enjoy their suffering"

"You make me sound like some sort of lunatic Torture is an art Do you think that any of your friends would have suffered nearly asto die? Hadn’t had proof?"

"So, each death was only for the purpose ofthe next person more afraid?"

"And to isolate them" Kara cocked her head to the side and dropped her voice as if trying to seduce a lover "Tel me, how did it feel to be the last one alive? To know you were al alone? In the dark No one was co to save you No one was there to hear you cry You were the last Destined to suffer and die al alone"

Lana found herself speeding back to that place against her wil She could sh cloth over her face

Black, suffocating terror sweled up inside her, spiling out until she could feel it crawling along her skin, inching up her nose, leaking into her ht You were the best work I’ve ever done"

Lana’s body tensed up She struggled to pul herself back to the here and now

"Sometimes," said Kara, "I think there wil never be another like you So helpless in your fear So consuenetic Maybe your sister has the same trait"

"Jenny" The word slipped out in a nearly desperate plea

Kara shuddered in pleasure

"And she has a son A husband So many people to lose So much pain to bear"

No! Lana couldn’t let that happen She couldn’t let her family endure the torture she had She loved theht This evil had to end, and Lana was the only one here to do it That thought gave her the strength to crawl back to reality, shrug off the terror of her past, and face Kara without fear for the first tiun, and Lana stil hadn’t found a weapon, but she couldn’t let that stop her

It was going to end here Now She had not fought her way back fro to survive, just so she could die now As long as she was alive, there was a chance she could keep her fa as she was alive, there was hope

Kara had tried to steal her life in Ar here to toroing to end up like Phil, lying on the couch with a bulet in her head She was not

Lana lashed out using one of the brutal raceful motion of limbs like soly and effective She went for Kara’s eyes, sweeping the gun out of her way as she moved inside her reach

Kara didn’t expect her fearless attack, and she was thrown back on the floor Lana caainst Kara’s neck, bearing doith al her weight and fury Kara gurgled and slaht spots flared in Lana’s sight, but she didn’t stop fighting Adrenaline er made her ferocious She screa off her air

Kara’s body heaved in a desperate attee her, and Lana was roled to the side, her back slas, and she couldn’t pul any back in, but she didn’t care Her rage was burning too bright to be put out by soen She tried to push to her feet but onlyheavy and hard on one of the lower shelves, and she bashed it against Kara’s head