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"What&039;d he have to say?" Mitch asked

"He said to sit tight He&039;s on his way"

Mitch nodded

"You order us soht now I could eat &039;em alive," Kelsey muttered He crossed the floor to stand in front of Kara "See this?" he said, lifting a hand to the heavy bandage on his face "He did it And I aim to make hi in her throat as Kelsey lifted his hand to strike her again She cast a frantic glance at the , dis

She choked back a cry as Kelsey slapped her again, and then again She tasted blood in her mouth and knew he&039;d cut her lip

"Hey, man, ease up"

"Shut up, Mitch! This doesn&039;t concern you"

Kelsey was drawing his ar

"Pizza&039;s here," Mitch said

"Not a word," Kelsey said, his voice thick with aze bored into hers for a moment, then he looked over at his partner "I&039;ll cover her from the kitchen"

Kara blinked back tears as she watched Mitch walk toward the front door

When he was out of sight, she collapsed against the couch, her eyes closed She heard the door open, thesilence, and then the sound of footsteps

Unable to believe her senses, she opened her eyes to find Alexander staring down at her, a pizza box balanced in one hand, his eyes filled with concern as he studied the red welt on her cheek, the blood oozing froht?

She nodded Kelsey&039;s in the kitchen

The warning ca as he ai lunch," Kelsey remarked "What&039;d you do with Mitch?"

Alex didn&039;t say anything, just stared at Kelsey And then he lifted his other hand, revealing Haun"

Kelsey reacted in the blink of an eye, the gun in his hand swinging froun, or she&039;s dead"

"You&039;ll die first"

"I&039; to take that chance," Kelsey said, his eyes cold "Are you?"

"No"

"Then drop the gun"

Slowly, Alex did as he was told

"Put the box down"

Again, Alex did as he was told Conscious of Kelsey following his every aze never leaving the man&039;s face

Kara

I hear you

Can you distract hi softly, Kara lifted her bound hands to her cheek, and then she began to cry, softly at first, and then louder

"Shut up," Kelsey growled "Mitch? Can you hear o," she cried She tugged at Kelsey&039;s coat, forcing hio!"

"Get your hands offon tightly "Please let ain

In that instant, Alex dropped to the floor, grabbed Mitch&039;s gun, and fired The bullet struck Kelsey in the chest and he stuun fell frorabbed Kara, staggered, then pulled her to her feet and started toward the kitchen "Don&039;t lanced over his shoulder to see Kelsey&039;s partner standing in the doorway Blood trickled fro man&039;s temple Kelsey&039;s 357 was steady in his hand "Don&039;t o" Hamblin shook his head

"I&039;ll make it worth your while," Alex said He felt Kara stirbeside hi her to be silent "I&039;m a wealthy o Barrett doesn&039;t have to know You can tell him we escaped"

"I don&039;t believe you"

"A hundred thousand dollars," Alex said, his voice caressing the words "All you have to do is let us go"

"Hoill I get the money?"

"Come with us I&039;ll write you a check" Hamblin licked his lips A hundred thousand dollars was a pile of money, more than he&039;d ever dreamed of It made the few hundred dollars Barrett paid hiaze ain She could feel Alex swaying beside her Tightening her grip on his hand, she let her ulfed hilanced at theThe sun was still up He had co hiht

Haain "No I&039;d be a fool to trust you, and a bigger fool to go anywhere with the two of you"

"Then let Kara go She&039;s no use to Barrett any longer It&039;s ain, Ha to kill her," Alex said, his voice edged with panic "Do you want her blood on your conscience?"

For the first time, Hamblin looked uncertain

"My checkbook is in my desk at hoo toit to n it"

Kara looked up at Alex, worried by the suddenchoppiness of his words She could feel the weakness groithin him, knew he remained on his feet by sheer force of will Remorse filled her heart She never should have come home, should have known Barrettwould look for her here, that Alex would coain "No one will know"

Hamblin licked his lips It sounded so easy

"Make up youron her strength The trip across town to her house had been excruciating Even inside the truck, the sun had found hith But he&039;d known he couldn&039;t wait for nightfall, known Kara was in danger Had it been dark, had his strength been undiun froy just to reo" Kara shook her head "No, Alex, I&039;

you"

"Go on, Kara" I&039;ll find you

How?

Trust es his mind

I don&039;t want to leave you! Not here Not like this

Kara, get out of here! I&039; hiht thing to do At least, if she was free, she ain, the best she could hope for was to be imprisoned while he experimented on her The worst-case scenario was one she couldn&039;t bring herself to conte on tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around Alex "I love you," she whispered, and then she kissed hi else existed in all the world but this man and the love that enveloped the her to go

And because she kneas the only way to help him, she went Tears blurred her vision as she unlocked the door to her Caine, then sat there for aat the house, afraid she&039;d never see Alex again Blinking back her tears, she backed out of the driveway and drove down the street

She saw Barrett&039;s car pull up in front of the house as she turned the corner

Alex sank down onto the sofa as soon as he knew Kara was safe The drive across town had been torture; now he closed his eyes and surrendered to the pain

He heard footsteps and knew that Barrett had arrived And still he sat there, his eyes closed, conserving what little strength he had left while he listened to the two irl?" Barrett asked, his voice sharp

"She got away"

"Got away? How?"

"The alien tried to fight He killed Kelsey, and then turned on irl escaped"

"Secure his hands," Barrett said curtly "Use these"

Alex opened his eyes as Haether They weren&039;t ordinary shackles A few inches of heavy chain ran from one thick iron cuff to the other

Alex s no chances this tio," Barrett said

Alex shook his head "The sun"

"We&039;re going," Barrett said firue Barrett wanted to move him nohile he was too weak to cause any trouble

"Keep hiht as they left the house The street, filled with kids an hour ago, was deserted A nondescript dark brown van stood at the curb Barrett backed it up the driveway, opened the door, and motioned Alex inside Hamblin climbed in beside him, and Barrett closed the door

Hamblin leaned closer to Alex "That checkbook better be there," he whispered

"It&039;s there"

Moments later, Barrett opened the back door of the van and duh the house and wiped everything off," he inforonna dowith Kelsey?"

"We&039;ll du to connect him with us"

A few minutes later, they were headed out of the city

Back toSilverdale, Alex surh, he closed his eyes and willed hith for as to come