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Sout Seth did not exaggerate "What happened to her?"

"That is not

"Perhaps in ti such a prick, she will entrust you with it All I will tell you is that, though externally she is perfect …"

Another disturbing facet Marcus had struggled to ignore Aamation of cute and beautiful

"Internally, her trials have driven her to develop a rather unique subconscious self-defense mechanism that she is helpless to control"

"Chronic inso

Seth nodded "She can’t sleep if she doesn’t feel safe"

Guilt slithered through Marcus’s insides, leaving a sour feeling in his stomach, as he recalled the petty satisfaction he had felt upon seeing the dark circles beneath her eyes "Are you saying she’s afraid of me?"

Seth pursed his lips "It isn’t fear It’s …" An adequate response see new people is difficult for Ami It is one of the reasons I decided to name her your Second She needs stability And, as you are aware, I never know from one day to the next where I will seek my rest, how many immortals or members of the network I will have to ht drop byher ather at his side Once again, Marcus wondered at the extent of their relationship "So you thought assigning her to an ie would provide her with the stability she needs?"

Seth scowled "I trusted you to get your shit together and accept her, not pull a Roland"

"If I had pulled a Roland, she would have run screa from the house ten minutes after you left her"

For some reason, this seemed to amuse Seth "Don’t underestiers and have what soht classify as a unique form of post-traumatic stress disorder, but she can kick your ass"

"Not possible," Marcus scoffed

Seth smiled "I wouldn’t test her were I you Just suck it up, accept her as your Second, and everything will be fine" He pulled a pocket watch out of his slacks and flipped it open "I have to go Xavier is waiting for o?"

"Do I look like a roup will take up valuable hunting tied "Not one

Marcus tried to draw in a breath to sigh, but a bolt of pain shot through his chest like lightning and cut it short

Grunting, he muttered, "You should’ve asked him to fix your bloody ribs, not your bike"

The sounds of insects, frogs, and other night creatures gradually resumed as he retrieved his cell phone fro toward his busted-up Hayabusa, Marcus paused in the ht (the Busa had opted to continue straight and plow into two trees fused together at their bases) and dialed Chris Reordon’s number

Seth had--over the centuries, if notand developing a network of hu the their existence (and that of vaifted ones) a secret from the rest of society Chris Reordon ran the East Coast division of the network in the United States and was ruent, pri places There wasn’t a law enforceency he had failed to infiltrate He had even ed to provide real-ties last year when Marcus, Roland, Seth, Étienne, and Lisette had descended upon Bastien’s lair

"Reordon," a male voice came over the line

"Chris, it’s Marcus"

"Hey, reat I wrecked my bike"

"Ah, hell Not the Hayabusa"

"That’s the one"

"Please tell e "I’h the debris, one or two pieces will have scratches on them"

"Damn, man What about you? Are you okay?"

"I will be"

"What’s your position?"