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Chapter 26

It was 3:34, Fridayweek Of course, when hadn&039;t it been a long week this year? I had told Bert to hire more help He hired Larry Why didn&039;t thatfor the right monster Please keep him safe, God, please I&039;d had about as ht I could handle

The hallway had that ht feel to it The only sounds were the hush of the heating vents, theIt was too late for hbors to stay up, and too early for theet privacy

I opened larproof lock and stepped into the darkness of hts and flooded the white walls, carpet, couch, and chair with bright light No ht We&039;re creatures of the daylight, no

I threw my jacket on the kitchen counter It was too dirty to toss on the white couch I had mud and bits of weed plastered all over ht

I was slipping out of the shoulder holster when I felt it The air currents had h them Just like that I kneasn&039;t alone

My hand was on the gun butt when Edward&039;s voice came out of the darkness of my bedrooers touching the gun "And if I do?"

"I&039;ll shoot you You know I&039;ll do it" His voice was that soft, sure predatory sound I&039;d seen him use flamethrohen his voice sounded like that Smooth and calun Edould shoot me if I forced him to Better not to force it, not yet Not yet

I claspedfor hi a cooperative prisoner Naw

Edward stepped out of the darkness like a blond ghost He was dressed all in black except for his short hair and pale face His black-gloved hands held a Beretta 9un?" I asked

The ghost of a smile curled his lips "Yes, like it?"

"Beretta&039;s a nice gun, but you knowfan," he said

I s shop

He pressed the gun barrel againstfrom me "Lean and spread it"

I leaned on the back of the couch while he pattedto find, but Edward didn&039;t know that He was never careless That was one of the reasons he was still alive That, and the fact that he was very, very good

"You said you couldn&039;t pick ht better tools," he said

"So it&039;s not burglarproof"

"It would be to most people"

"But not to you"

He stared at me, his eyes as empty and dead as winter&039;s sky "I am not most people"

I had to sain"

He frowned at me "Give me the un never wavered My Browning stuck out of the front of his belt I hoped he&039;d remembered the safety Or maybe I didn&039;t

I opened ive Jean-Claude over to Edward I was the Executioner, but the vampires called Edward Death He&039;d earned the naht"

"I went ho you raise the zombie Guess I should have stayed around Who bloodied yourto tell you a bloody thing You know that"

"Everyone breaks, Anita, everyone"

"Even you?"

That ghost of a sot the better of Death? Tell, tell"

The smile widened "Some other time"

"Nice to know there&039;ll be another time," I said

"I&039;hten or torture ht?"

"Right," he said, voice soft and low

"I was hoping you&039;d say wrong"

He aled "Give o away"

"You know I can&039;t do that"

"I know you have to, or it&039;s going to be a very long night"

"Then it&039;s going to be a long night, because I&039;ive you shit"

"You won&039;t be bullied," he said

"Nope"

He shook his head "Turn around, lean your waist up against the couch, and put your hands behind your back"

"Why?"

"Just do it"

"So you can tie my hands?"

"Do it, now"

"I don&039;t think so"

The froas back "Do you wantto just stand here while you tieup doesn&039;t hurt"

"It&039;s what comes after that I&039;m worried about"

"You knehat I&039;d do if you didn&039;t help me"

"Then do it," I said

"You&039;re not cooperating"

"So sorry"

"Anita"

"I just don&039;t believe in helping people who are going to torture h I don&039;t see any bamboo slivers How can you possibly torture someone without bary

"Stop what?" I widened my eyes and tried to look innocent and harhed, a soft chuckle that rolled and expanded until he squatted on the floor, gun loose in his hands, staring up at me His eyes were shiny

"How can I torture you when you keep h?"

"You can&039;t; that was the plan"

He shook his head "No, it wasn&039;t You were just being a smartass You&039;re always a smartass"

"Nice of you to notice"

He held up his hand "No h until you beg for mercy"

"Just tell hter drained fro out of the sky I watched the humor, the humanity, slip away, until his eyes were as cold and empty as a doll&039;s "Don&039;t make me hurt you," he said

I think I was Edward&039;s only friend, but that wouldn&039;t stop hi et the job done If I forced him to torture me, he would, but he didn&039;t want to

"Now that you&039;ve asked nicely, try the first question again," I said

His eyes narrowed, then he said, "Who hit you in the mouth?"

"A master vampire," I said softly

"Tell me what happened" It was too uns

I told hi that had happened All about Alejandro Alejandro who felt so old inside my head, it made my bones ache I added one tiny lie, lost in all that truth I told him Alejandro was Master of the City One of my better ideas, heh?

"You really don&039;t knohere his dayti place is, do you?"

I shook ive it to you if I had it"

"Why this change of heart?"

"He tried to kill ht All bets are off"

"I don&039;t believe that"

It was too good a lie to waste, so I tried salvaging it "He&039;s also gone rogue It&039;s hi innocent citizens&039;&039;