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Yet I told un knew He couldn’t be a good man, or he wouldn’t be on Montoya’s payroll Good men didn’t break into hotel roo in their beds Determined, I threw off the blanket with Shannon hot on my heels Since ere both fully dressed, I only needed to snatch Butch and hurry out the door I took the stairs two at a time, an athletic feat that surprised round floor, I broke into a jog

They had security here, but they wouldn’t say anything about registered guests exercising on the property in the ht, so Shannon and I offered our best iuard we passed just raised a hand in greeting; I could i anything worse, we’d be fine

I ran through the parking lot and doard the lake before doubling back toward the temascal hut As she was taller than h the fire had gone out I set Butch on the ground

"You’re an i "If anybody co distance, bark twice I mean it--you can’t wander or be distracted by a bird"

He lowered his head I could al: Not fair, that only happened one ti he understood hiswould permit us to escape undetected

We sank to hands and knees to crawl inside; it was dark and close and there were stones inside that could be heated to inflict excruciating pain In short, the place was ideal for inflicting physical and psychological daht out the candles she’d tucked into her pocket Kel hadsome from the patio tables for our purposes now She lit the candles and eerie little fla our faces a deainst the clay backdrop

The killer lay like a Christoose, bound with arms over his head and ankles securely fastened Atflounder No threat--and if he moved with too much enthusiasht, he ran into Kel and his blades

"Bring hiht seem cruel to start with physical pain, but this o away if I asked him nicely These men played hardball and I had to prove I understood the rules of the gauardian produced a knife, made a shallow cut, and then sprinkled salt in it Incredible: The man could create a torture kit out of items found on a room service tray In the saunazed up at us, eyes wide

Kel addressed him in Spanish "You work for Montoya, yes?"

Not surprisingly, the killer kept quiet He knew his life orth less than nothing if he talked He couldn’t have been e build Sweat daleahtened child’s--probably because Kel’s skull tats glowed faintly

The guardian played with his knife, letting it hit the candlelight just so "You jeopardize more than your life," he said quietly "If you die unshriven, it also imperils your immortal soul"

Since Mexico was a predominantly Catholic country, he played that card well I read soul-deep fear in the gun here without talking to a priest one last time We could do worse than draw a few cuts, of course We could unleash the spirits on hio that far if we didn’t have to At this point, it was iht do, or what could happen if they broke free I wasn’t eager to relive that terrible night in the woods outside Kilmer

Shannon added softly, "That wouldn’t be so bad, if you’d led a good life But you haven’t We know the things you’ve done for Montoya"

I was proud of how quick she’d picked up Spanish Like ht before she spoke--doing mental translations--but by the way theStill, he wouldn’t break

Kel carved a fresh line on hi hot over the killer’s forearm With exquisite, awful artistry, he sprinkled round it against the cut I clapped my hand over the killer’s mouth and tried not to pity him as he ate his own screa him with the threat of asphyxiation

This man tried to murder you You will not feel sorry for hi this, and loathed Montoya forit necessary, even as a colder part ofstranger struggling beneath my skin The cartel hit man thrashed beneath our hands, but Kel held hi on the clay tiles, oxygen deprivation shorting his logic His breath caed pants

"Do you know thisthe sketch I had worked with Kel to refine the iger, and the candlelight was sufficient for our suspect to get a good look

His eyes widened until the rolling whites shone Clearly he did, but he turned his face away and bit down on his tongue I worried that he’d chew through it to keep hi

"Physical pain alone won’t break hihtened, but he fears Montoya and his sorcerer ood reason," I muttered "All we can do is kill him The sorcerer can summon demons to eat his soul and use his body as a puppet" I recalled the hBefore, you said the warlock orking on his own, and you took him out So I suspect Montoya will keep his caster close this time"

I considered "Yeah Likely So if we find Montoya, we find the sorcerer We can take theunman "And he knohere to find them"

"We have to break his had to be done "If not physical pain, then we move to plan B"

Ti into her bag for the radio