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His ent, until htened, until I couldn’t breathe and it felt like I would shatter
"Please," I somehohispered, "please"
He responded instantly, his ash me, intense and violent A heartbeat later, he cried out, his body stiffening against mine as he came
For several ainst ainst ently "If you continue to love me like that for eternity, I will be one contented woman"
"I do not believe I would have any coently "As er here, with you, we should continue with the key search"
I sighed "Yes I’ll just grab a quick shower first"
He nodded and stepped aside I padded across to , jeans and a T-shirt, then headed into the bathroo in front of Rubin Johnson’s little store, situated in McMahon’s Point, just across the bay from the opera house The shop itself was one of those quaint, single-front two-story Victorians that were everywhere in Sydney, although this one was in the process of being renovated, if the splashes of paint across the ere anything to go by
"That is not paint," Azriel said, voice grilanced at him sharply, then stepped closer Unlike the shops on either side, thehere was only half frath of it, and was lined with necklaces, bracelets No cuff links, but then, they’d certainly be easier to pocket than the intricate and heavy stone and silver work currently displayed
The brown splatters I’d presumed were paint had a crusty, cracked look close up, which dried paint didn’t usually get It was blood – old blood
My gaze skimmed the jewelry, but none of it appeared to have been splattered Not that I could see frolobs of rusty red near the right end of the shelf and a spray of the stuff up the nearby wall It was the sort of spray that could happen only when a aze julass display cabinets lining the long wall to the left and a glass display table situated in the th of the rear wall and, behind it to the left, a set of wooden stairs led upward Nothing seen of anyone – dead or alive
"That is because the body lies underneath thisYou cannot see it because of the thickness of the shelf"
"We need to get in there" I stepped back and scanned the walls The place was alarmed, but there was no camera, at least out here I hadn’t noticed one when I was peering in the , either I pulledthe door "It’s locked We’ll probably set off the alarh time to exaet here"
"Then let’s go"
He caught my hand, and we reappeared just inside the door The first thing I saas the alarhts were lit, , perhaps, that Rubin Johnson had not only known his killer, but had invited him in
I turned and saw the body He was barefoot, and wearing an old-fashioned woolen dressing gown that was so orn the blue check was faded and patchy He’d been shoved under the shelf like so les to his body
Azriel walked over and squatted next to hilanced at h my mind "His head has been removed"
"Why the hell would someone remove his head?" I scanned the rest of the room He’d obviously been killed here – the arterial sprays across the wall and floor were evidence enough of that "Surely no one would want a trophy that size"
Or thatto do with a trophy, but aus Or rather, hts"
"Yes"
"Which would imply whoever did this is fully aware a reaper can access theLauren had either realized she wasout anyone or anything that could pin down her location And if the latter, that undoubtedly ive away her current whereabouts Maybe she was a longti our dark sorceress was the one responsible for this murder
"If it was not Lauren, then it confiric lingers in the air"
"Meaning the bastards are still one step ahead of us"
He pushed to his feet "Unfortunately, yes"
I stared down at the broken body Frole, I couldn’t actually see the stump of his neck, thanks to the shadows and the depth of the shelf, and of that I was glad I’d lost the contents of my stomach far too often in the last twenty-four hours, and I had no desire to test its stability again
"He’s wearing a dressing gown, so he obviously lived upstairs It h the whole premises, just in case he keeps a record of buyers soht noe can’t afford to overlook any option I’ll take upstairs"