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Apparently she planned to very politely take herself out of his life He hit the counter again Here she goes and rips his heart into pieces and then thinks she’s going to just up and leave?

No, not just leave--run He set his jaw She planned to run, to let her bastard husband hen she had hiht as he wiped rain fro the door to the tiny cabin But, as the realtors always said, location is everything

He turned and s area Trees, palle The only way to the cabin was a tiny dirt road and the only sound he could hear was rain pattering on the tin roof No traffic, no neighbors No witnesses

He glanced at the rental car where Elizabeth sluainst the door, still out cold Just as well He needed tih him, and he hardened

He shoved the door open A yank on the string turned on the bare bulb hanging fro Quite a duht, an ancient mattress lay on the floor in one corner and a wood stove with a chipped brick hearth occupied the other On his left was the gourerator, a dirt-encrusted stove, and a chipped enamel sink He sneered and winced as pain lanced across his face

Touching his nose gently, he winced One lucky punch and she’d allanced down at his bloodstained shirt At least he had a change of clothes in his carry-on Along with a nice set of tools he’d bought in Taly roo a whip What more could a man want?

Chapter Thirteen

Nolan pulled his truck into the parking space next to Beth’s The relief of seeing her truck and trailer let him take his first decent breath since he’d listened to herout of his truck, he noticed two suitcases wedged between the mower and brush cutter in her trailer So she had been serious about running Dammit He stalked toward her aparthtened easily; he’d need to go easy Not roll right over her with…

Her door was ajar

He nudged it open with his foot "Beth?" An edgy feeling crawled up his spine and raised the hair on his scalp Over the last year in Iraq, his instincts had beco throats for the CIA Head up, body tensed, he reached down and drew the knife fro in the doorway, he scrutinized the one-room apartment Totally silent Boxes on the stripped bed Curtains still drawn and lights on Pots and pans stacked on the counter A canvas bag on the small kitchen table, cell phone beside it

Dark spots just inside the door on the beige carpet He bent, touched one lightly Wet Red He sniffed Blood

"Wake up, darling Ti like sludge, still thick with nightes She didn’t like that voice and couldn’t re inside her wail in terror

If the voice wanted her to wake up, then she wouldn’t

She let her breathing stay long and slow, kept her body liht to stay awake, and lost the battle But so, Z walked into Beth’s apartrabbed’"

Seated at the kitchen table, Nolan glanced up, a h hioodbye, said she was leaving because her husband--the bastard who gave her those scars and who she escaped frorowl "When I got here, the door was open Car and trailer in the lot Purse, cell phone here on the table Blood there" He nodded at the stain on the carpet

Z touched the blood "Still wet" He glanced around "This looks bad"

"Yeah How the hell do we find her?" Nolan scrubbed his face with his hands "I don’t even knohere she came from or where her husband lives"

"California," Z said "She let that drop one day"

"That helps To get back there, he’ll have to drive or fly Either way, he’ll probably use his credit card"

"Do you know her husband’s name?" Z walked around the cabin, checked the chest of drawers

"She said Kyler on the ed her last narabbed the cell phone lying on the table "Soh" He found the phone’s contact list and arrowed through the entries "Mo"