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Richard drove his 4 X 4 to the Circus I sat beside hiht as well not have been there at all He never looked at h He kneas there

Cherry and Zane rode in the back seat It had surprised me when Cherry slid into the car Her eyes flashed white, eyelids fluttering like a nervous tic She looked like she was going to faint Zane was his usual self; s, eyes secret His usual self? That was almost funny I&039;d known him less than twenty-four hours I didn&039;t knohat the hell was "usual" for hi herself She was slowly curling into a little ball I&039;d known her less time than I&039;d known Zane, but this wasn&039;t normal for anybody

I turned as far as the seat belt would allow and said, "What&039;s wrong, Cherry?"

Her eyes rolled to ht She shook her head and huddled further into herself There was a fresh bruise forht have had it when I first saw her I just wasn&039;t sure

"Zane, what&039;s wrong with her?"

"She&039;s scared," he said His voice was neutral, but there was sory

"I told her this was strictly voluntary She doesn&039;t have to come"

"Tell that to Mr Macho," he said He was staring at the back of Richard&039;s head

I turned in the seat until I was staring at his profile He wouldn&039;t look aton, Richard?"

"She&039;s co," he said, voice very quiet

"Why?"

"Because I said so"

"Bullshit"

He glanced at ry "You&039;re my lupa, but I am still Ulfric My word is still law"

"Fuck that You are not dragging her into this because you&039;re ht enough for me to see it "They both deserted their people Now they are both going to ht" His voice was still quiet, low, and careful, like if he wasn&039;t very careful he&039;d lose control He spoke like people talk when they want to yell

"Look at her, Richard She&039;ll be worse than useless She&039;ll just be one more victim we have to keep safe"

He shook his head "You don&039;t leave one of your own behind, not for any reason It&039;s the law"

"Pack law, but she&039;s not pack"

"Until you stop being s to ant prick"

He s of teeth,to take the edge off"

It took me a second to realize what he meant, then I was embarrassed But I&039;d be damned if I&039;d sit there and explain that I hadn&039;t meant it literally He knew I hadn&039;tto embarrass me Fuck it "Did you hit Cherry?"

He was suddenly very interested in the road, but his hands s wheel He didn&039;t like that he&039;d hit her Neither did I

"You wanted ot your wish"

"There is a difference between being strong and being cruel, Richard"

"Really? I never could tell the difference"

I think that last was , and then I just get s to you, then it works the other way too"

He glanced at"What do you mean?"

I liked the unease in his face I enjoyed turning his logic back on hiry at hiround, but I hadn&039;t turned cannibal either Maybe I did have soround, after all

"If you can force Cherry to go with us, then I can order the pack to guard Stephen I can order theh to make them do"

"No," he said

"Why not?" I asked

"Because I said so"

I laughed then, and even to ed yell of frustration and anger "God, Anita, God"

"We&039;re going to cut each other up if we don&039;t work soain His eyes weren&039;t angry any with the va to work out"

"The three of us are bound to each other for what could be a very, very long ti to have to find a way to live together"

He laughed, and it was bitter "Live together? You want a house for three with Jean-Claude down in the basement and me chained out in the yard?"

"Not exactly, but you can&039;t keep hating yourself like this"

"It&039;s not me I hate It&039;s you"

I shook my head "If that were true, I&039;d leave you alone But you hate your beast and your beast is you"

He pulled in front of the Circus "We&039;re here" He turned off the engine and silence filled the car "Cherry can wait here"

"Thank you, Richard," I said

He shook his head "Don&039;t thank me, Anita" He s his fingers through it The gesture showed his are He&039;d never been aware of howhe did had ot out of the car

I told Cherry to stay low I didn&039;t want the her while ere inside rescuing the others It would sort of defeat the purpose of the entire trip

Zane kissed her on the forehead the way you&039;d calht, that I&039;d keep theht

28

Afor him I reached in the coat pocket and clicked off the safety on the Browning because I knew him

Zane, as very close behind ?"

I shook my head "Hello, Jamil"

"Hello, Anita" He was just shy of six feet, wearing a white tank top almost the twin of the one Richard wore Except that Jamil had cut out the neck, arms, and chopped out the middle of the shirt so that his slender waist and cobblestone abs showed The white tank top was in startling contrast to the rich solid brown of his skin His hair aist-length, worked in thin corn rows intertwined with bright beads He earing white sweat pants and looked like he&039;d just coym