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She was soaked to the skin, chilled to the marrow of her bones, by the time she reached Nana&039;s The house was dark, the front door locked Her Camry was parked in the driveway Nana must have had it towed ho her way toward the rear of the house, Kara took the key fro place underneath a flowerpot and let herself in the back door

Not wanting to alert anyone whothe house for her return, she h the dark house toward her bedroo the wet blanket, Alex&039;s t-shirt and socks, she pulled on a black sweatshirt and a pair of fleece-lined sweats, thick cotton socks, and a pair of running shoes

She was feeling her way along the top of her dresser, looking for her co Inside, she found her wallet and car keys, which she shoved into the pocket of her jeans

She towel-dried her hair, ran a coh it, then went into the kitchen andblack coffee

Where would Gail and Nana go?

She pondered the question as she finished her coffee; then, setting the cup aside, she went into the bathroo on the night light

Ever since Gail had learned to read and write, she had loved to leave notes for her sister Usually, the notes had been silly jokes, so Kara&039;s make-up Gail had always left the notes in a blue and white tin container that had once held perfumed bath salts Kara had kept the canister because she liked the design, and it had beco to hope, Kara picked up the canister and re a silent prayer, she withdrew a rolled-up piece of paper

"Kara, I locked Barrett&039;s watchdog in the hall closet Nana, Mrs Zi away Idon&039;t knohere we&039;ll go We&039;re taking Mrs Zimmermann&039;s car I&039;ll call Cherise every day at four and every night at seven Her number&039;s in the book Don&039;t worry about us Nana is feeling ht, Kara left the bathroo to the clock on the ht

She poured herself another cup of coffee, then sat at the kitchen table, wondering if it was safe to spend the night in her own bed, or if she should go to a ainst the aluminum patio cover No doubt Alex would think she had left hih to accept the sacrifices she would have tocould be further from the truth She had left him because she did love him, because she couldn&039;t bear to see the pain in his eyes and know she was the cause She knew in her heart that if anything happened to her, Alex would never forgive himself

But, oh, how she yearned for the comfort of his ar when she ith hi, invincible With Alex at her side, she could face anything Anything, except knowing she was the cause of his sorrow

Feeling heavy-hearted and more alone than she&039;d ever felt in her life, she went into her rooathered up a blanket and her pillow and cliht Too to Cherise&039;s house and wait for Gail to call

Dale Barrett paced the floor of the lab, his fists jammed into his pants pockets He cursed softly, unable to believe his bad luck as he glared at the twohunched over the table

Mitch Hamblin looked sullen; Kelsey&039;s expression was impossible to read Most of his face was covered with a thick bandage The chain wrapped around the alien&039;s fist had done a reo hoo home"

"I&039;ll find her," Hamblin said

"No, I&039;ll find her" Kelsey stood up, his eyes narrowed "I want him, and he&039;ll be with her"

"I want hiaze bored into Kelsey&039;s "You can dispose of the girl if she gets in the way Do it in front of the alien," Barrett said, exposing a sadistic streak fe he possessed "That should be vengeance enough for what he did to your face But I want him alive I need him alive"

"And I want hie on his face His nose had been broken; it had taken thirty stitches to sew up the gash that ran up his left cheek to his hairline

"He&039;s no good to us dead," Barrett re you want to hi?"

Barrett nodded "Within reason But I need him alive, at least until I&039;ve obtained a sufficient quantity of his sperent in his blood And then" He shrugged "And then he&039;s yours"

Kelsey nodded "I&039;ll go with the kid to "

"I don&039;t need a nurse

"Take Kelsey with you," Barrett said "He can et yourself locked in another closet, and you can s the alien back alive"

Mitch and Kelsey glared at each other a moment, then left the rooht, this time he would have it all

Alexander woke to an intense sense of loss and knew immediately that Kara had left the house And in that sa up, he buried his face in his hands She had touched his ht, felt his fear, his pain, and she had run away to spare hi the weakness that had overwhelht before, he rose fro the door, he stepped inside, and her scent e around him like an invisible web fashioned of her very essence

"Kara"

Crossing the floor, he sank down beside the bed and ran his hand over the sheet

"Kara, what have I done?"

He pressed his face to theher scent He&039;d been a fool to run away from the lab, a fool to be afraid, when the ansas so simple Kill Barrett Destroy his notes Dispose of the blood sa else Barrett had that related to Alex&039;s existence

So si Barrett sickened him He had been banished from ErAdona because he had shed a man&039;s blood And yet, what other choice did he have? So long as Barrett lived, Kara&039;s life, and his oould be in danger

Rocking back on his heels, Alex stared at his hands Strong hands with long capable fingers

Hands that had killed before Hands that could kill again

He stared at theIt wasbrightly

"Kara," he ive me" Restless with the need to see her, to hold her, he wandered through the house Never before had it see known her, having tasted her love, how had he ever thought he could live without her? She had offered hiiven him her love, taken him into the deepest part of herself She had saved his life, restored his hope, his reason for living And what had he done? He had offered to let her stay with hi children, if she would submit to an operation she found repulsive

She had loved hi in return She still loved hiht she was causing him pain

"Oh, Kara, natayah" Hoould he ever make it up to her? Would she even let hi his naain

He stared at the , at the lethal sunlight kept at bay by a layer of heavy draperies And in his ed with desperation

Alex!

Kara cowered in the attic, listening to the voices below The inertia that had held her in its grasp the night before fled as adrenaline puh her veins How could she have been so stupid as to stay here? Why hadn&039;t she taken her car and gone to a nized Kelsey&039;s voice, but not that of thefor her She could hear the inside closets

Fragments of their conversation drifted upward

"not here"

"Have to wait"

"Barrett could be wrong"

Kara pressed her ear to the floor, straining to hear more And then the voices were directly below her, and she could hear everything they said

"Barrett said to wait, so we&039;ll wait Might as well ry?"

"Yeah, I could eat soo order us a pizza? I&039;ll call Barrett on my cell phone and tell hi away

Kara released the breath she&039;d been holding, only vaguely aware that she&039;d been repeating Alex&039;s na hope and strength in the name of the man she loved

She sat up, her back to the wall, and drew in several deep breaths She had to get out of here, tonight, before they discovered the attic

She closed her eyes, felt the sting of tears behind her lids She had to get to Cherise&039;s house, had to talk to Gail, to assure herself that Nana and her sister ell They&039;d arrange to meet somewhereand then what? Spend the rest of their lives hiding, running?

"Oh, Alex," she whispered "What aht clawed at his mind, relentlessly, without pity She was in trouble, and it was all his fault

He prowled the house, as restless as a caged lion, as he waited for the sun to go down Imprisoned by his body&039;s weakness Tor captured, tortured Because of hiht fled his mind

They&039;d found her! Kara held her breath as the trapdoor swung open

"I&039; up here," Kelsey said He struck ainto the darkness

Not daring to breathe, Kara pressed herself against the wall, hoping Kelsey wouldn&039;t see her in the shadows

"See anything?" Mitch asked

"No I&039;lanced around the attic, her gaze searching for so, that she could use as a weapon

Kelsey&039;s footsteps were very loud in the sers, then quickly lit another

And then he was there, staring at her, his eyes ith surprise and satisfaction

Kara hesitated a moment, startled as a face as white as a sheet appeared before her With a cry, Kara grabbed a heavy brass candlestick and swung it at his head

Kelsey jerked his head out of the way, and the candlestick landed with a dull thud against his shoulder

"Why you" With his free hand, Kelsey struck her across the face Hard Twice

Kara reeled back, her ears ringing, her cheek throbbing

Kelsey snatched the candlestick fro her by the arm, he shoved her toward the attic entrance

"Mitch!"

"Yeah?"

"Co on the sofa, her hands securely bound, while Kelsey called Barrett

"We&039;ve got her" Kelsey said He nodded "Right Uh-huh" He glanced out the"I don&039;t think that&039;s a good idea There&039;s a bunch of kids playing outside, a couple of wo Yeah Okay Well wait for you here"

Kelsey hung up the phone