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He flashed her a brief, amused look "Why not?"

"Because I don’t sleep with men I don’t trust"

"You could learn to trust me if you let yourself"

When hell froze over, maybe "Not likely"

His hand wrapped around hers, holding it against her thigh A swar her body buzz Her head fell back against the headrest and she let the giddy feeling sweep over her

"We’ll just have to work on that," he said, but she could barely oal now, and I’oal-oriented kind of man"

She just bet he was She doubted there was ht now, that was her A loud, crazy part of her was cheering over the news, so she told it to shut the hell up

Lexi needed a distraction So just what kind of lover he’d be Goal oriented, indeed It was enough to make her squir it running and back inme trust you"

A slow smile warmed Zach’s face He was too handso "It’s already taken care of I left your keys at the Gerai house, and as we speak, our ine Once they’re done, they’ll drive it to Dabyr and you’ll have your wheels back"

Unless they found the explosives hidden in her trunk

They weren’t obvious, and soings to find the locked box filled with C-4 And then they’d have to break the lock to get in and see as inside

The good neas, if they did that, she’d know the Sentinels weren’t as trusting and helpful as Zach led her to believe She’d know for sure they weren’t on her side, and she’d have no trouble blowing theot the chance

At least that hat she kept telling herself

Zach was giving her a funny look "What? Isn’t that what you wanted?"

"Yes"

"So why do you suddenly look sick?"

"I’ to distract him

"What?"

"I want steak" She hadn’t had it in years, and thanks to hih money to pay for a nice meal Lexi staunchly refused to think of it as her last et out of this mess alive and ith Helen and Miss Mabel in tow

He laced his thick fingers through hers and said, "Then steak it is I know just the place It’s a little out of the way, but ot there, she was going to call Jake Morrow, her contact in the Defenders, and let him know she hadn’t abandoned her mission

Chapter 8

Joseph looked up fro his doorway His black eyes sparkled under the bright office lighting, but his face was a blank, impassive mask He waited in silence, even after Joseph had noticed hi?" asked Joseph His eyes burned, and he kneasn’t going to sleep again tonight There were too s to be done and too many dreams to haunt hi on hireat leader Didn’t they all knoas just one singlehis people alive than any other Theronai?

For what seemed like the millionth time, he cursed his position even as he accepted it He would not fail The lives of countless souls depended on him

"I heard a rumor," said Iain His deep voice was quiet, but carried easily across the office

"See around these days"

"Not like this one"

Great More problems "Spit it out, Iain I’m busy"

"Are there Synestryn with the faces of hu around the bush there Too bad, too Joseph wasn’t ready to publicly acknowledge the spin that news had put on the war He still wasn’t entirely sure the Sentinels hadn’t already lost and just didn’t know it yet Between that, the broken wall and slow repairs, the news that the European stronghold was cru pain in his head that s were looking pretty bleak

"Yeah It’s true," said Joseph, "but I’d really rather you not help spread the rumor any farther than it already has"

"Where?" asked Iain

"Where what?"

"Where did they find these things?"

"There was only one," said Joseph

"I’ to make sure there are noI need you here, at least until the wall is back up"

"If I wait, it will be too late," said Iain

"Too late for what? Gilda and Angus already took care of the threat"