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Dust hung like talcu tasted like burned insulation

I stopped, turned, and looked behind ed black ribbon of asphalt stretched toward the diray in places by the wind, and there was a wreck of a car thrown off to the side Paint gone Nothing but junk

I knehere this was In the thin shade of that wreck was the body of Chaz Ashworth, and I couldn’t be here; this was past, this was long past Oh, God get me out of here, I don’t want to be here

Panic surged along my nerves It felt both over-a like coldfear I was thirsty, overwhelly thirsty, and I ached all over, and I couldn’t be here I had to wake up, wake up, wake

I turned and kept li There was shelter in the distance A tumbled confusion of rocks that pro sun

One agonizing step at a ti, by the ti raw on rock and burning on sand

Time sped up, the way tiainst the cool darkness, shuddering in relief

In the drea, butto drive ht Better to die out there, food for ants and vultures and at the end a clean return to the earth, than go into the dark

But I couldn’t stop myself The part of me that decided to move wasn’t the part that knew the future

I heard the steady, whispering drip of water, and it pulled me on into the shadows I was too weak to pull water from the dry air; badly injured, I needed to drink to survive

I crawled for so; all thatthat didn’t hurt I heard the tinkling sound getting closer, and crawled toward it in the darkness

and was blinded by a sudden hot flare of light

Hands Hands in the dark, dragging s went gray and soft, and in the white flare of his flashlight I sawat the rock

Digging for rescue, like the wo here?

My throat was too dry to do more than croak

Who do you work for?

I couldn’t see hiht, no particular height, no particular build A baseball cap and stained blue jeans The smell of leather and sweat and blood I knew him I’d seen hied ravel and dumped me facedown in a pool of water so cold it shocked asped, breathed water, rolled over coughing, and then turned back to suck down greedybehind ht beaainst the far wall Off of scuttling insects fleeing a false and unwelcome day

The mouthful or two of water I had tih to cure me of thirst, and I eak and exhausted and confused I didn’t even realize he had me until I felt the cold bite of the knife, panicked as I realized it was slicing away the tough elastic ofbra

Cold cave air on my bare breasts

Tell me how much you know

His name was Orry I knew his name, because Chaz had told me in the car I’d delivered myself to the same fate Chaz had intended for me; of course I had, I’d been less than a minute away from the rendezvous when I’d called the wind

I fought The second ti,to me I wanted to leave, to wake up, but it hurt too ht me back to the cave, to the darkness, to the knife

He never runts and the pistonlike sound of his breath I kneas going to kill me; I knew every second because I’d seen what he’d done to the woman in the desert When he was done, he would kill me

Tell me what you know!

I lost hope

I lost myself

And then, when he had what he wanted, he shoved my head into the ice-cold water, and held ht I did, but when ister sound I realized it was just a thin, desperatein the back ofanything The sheets clung cool to rabbed for them and wrapped them closer

Someone in the room My heartbeat hammered fast I licked my lips and whispered, "David?" but I already knew that it wasn’t, it couldn’t be David was far, far away, and he couldn’t help me Couldn’t be with me, any more than he’d been there in the darkness of that cave while hope died

Withoutto, I slid my palht re whispered, and soht flicked on across the roo in a chair, feet up on a rich da glasses on the table next to the lalasses

"Hey" His voice sounded rusty He sat up, blinked at the book as it slid down to flop shut on his lap, and readjusted onbruise "Fine"

"The doc said you had a mild concussion, so somebody should stay with you Lewis needed rest You sleep okay?"

"Fine" Not But I wasn’t going to adrunted and ran a hand over his face Quinn was the kind of rowth of beard stubble, not less "Yeah You alhimper like that in your sleep when you’re fine?"

"Mostly" I kept it cool and distant "Clothes?"

"Sorry, I didn’t figure you’d want to sleep in the three-grand dress It’s hanging in the closet" He was looking at"Lewis took it off you, in case you’re wondering"

"Thanks You can go now"

"And you think I take your orders?" He sat up, kicked away the hassock, and holstered the gun The glasses went into a pocket of his jacket, the book onto the table "Coffee?"

"I want you to go" The panic was co up my nerves like a slow electric shock "Go now"

"Sweetheart, I’-"

"Go!" I screae of panic He froze Watched et out, okay? I want to dress"