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Chapter 1

Texas, July 29

After a lifetier prey She was bait

Zach was here She could feel hi closer with every beat of her heart, as if somehow he’d become a part of her She wasn’t ready for him to show up yet She needed more tiht cost her

The fine hair along her li run over her skin She’d felt it before, the night Zach hadin

Lexi wasn’t sure she could do this--lie in wait for him to come to her--but she had no choice The fate of the entire hu she needed his help--that she believed the lie he told, that he was one of the good guys She knew better Her mother had made sure of that

As far as she was concerned,down on herself, but Helen Day was And the Sentinels had her Zach was her only way inside the co held prisoner, her only way to help Helen escape

Lexi’s hands shook as she wiped down the ooden tables The bar where she worked had just closed and was nearly e the s in Spanish as he worked Gus, the bar’s owner, was at the cash register, figuring up tonight’s sales Frorin on his weathered face and the way her feet and back ached, she was pretty sure he’d

The lu as she’d hoped it would be Not as many people paid with cash as they used to, and Gus liked to hold on to heras he could, so she wouldn’t see those tips until her paycheck Not that she was going to be here long enough to collect it She was sure Zach would find her before then

The idea o dry; ithot and illusive she couldn’t name

Too bad It was time to suck it up Helen needed her Lexi had to free her friend, and then find a way to undo whatever brainwashing Helen had suffered Thank God she had the Defenders of Hu ol’ redneck boys see, even if they were a bitintense about it If anyone could deprogram Helen, it would be the Defenders

Lexi upended the chairs onto the table so she could sweep and mop She’d just picked up the last chair when the skin on the back of her neck tingled with awareness She looked over her shoulder to see atching Gus’s head was bent over a calculator The lireen eyes in the mirror and froze in panic for a split second, her heart pounding as it primed her limbs to flee Then she realized it wasn’t Zach It was just the eyes of the leopard tattoo on her shoulder staring back at her froe of her tank top

Zach wasn’t here yet She still had tiainst the table She was going to have to find a way to control herself before he showed up for real And based on the tingling of her skin where hisThis time when he showed up, she wouldn’t run

Lexi had spent , and she was sick of it She wanted a real home with a real bed, not the backseat of her car and a rest-stop bathroom, or maybe a cheap motel room if she was lucky If she couldn’t have a real home, then the least she could do was make the Sentinels suffer as much as she had After what they’d done to her mother, Helen and countless others, they deserved whatever they got And then soet the reen eyes again, only this ti at her fro her

Lexi froze, unable to move, or even breathe

She wasn’t ready She wasn’t strong enough to face hiainst the desperate panic, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists

Zach ed in the doorway, one broad shoulder propped casually against the frame He watched her with the uncanny stillness of a predator His brown skin blended into the shadows falling over the paneled walls, ht eyes stand out even h she wasn’t sure if it was because he’d surprised her or because that was just what he did to her Even in her dreams he had the ability to er than she’d remembered, orher face hiht black hair was different from the way it had been the last tio into battle

Maybe he was Lexi had no idea what to expect now For all she knew, he was here to kill her despite his pretty words, and all the planning she had done with the Defenders would be for nothing

I need you, honey He’d said that only days ago Said it in a way that made her resolve melt

She had to stay calm and act casual Move slowly He was like a wild, predatory animal, and she was afraid that if she ave hi that she wasn’t afraid

Zach sht white teeth It wasn’t a s It was a smile of conquest Victory

Lexi sed hard, trying to work so off early," she told her boss, keeping her eyes locked on Zach, watching for sudden movements

"Like hell you are Not until the floors are o," she said "Faency"

"You don’t have any family"

"She does now," said Zach His rich baritone voice sank into her skin,her shiver