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She tried to convince herself it didn’t matter if he survived She didn’t need him anymore She had his truck, money, ashe needed to get to Dabyr and blow it up He’d even unchained her, freeing her to run aithout getting sick

Why had he done that? Because he didn’t want her hurt? Or because he kneas going to die?

Lexi didn’t know She didn’t understand why he would free her when he’d been clear that he intended to imprison her for life

What she did knoas that until she separated the truth from the lies, she couldn’t let Zach die

She put the truck in gear and floored the accelerator Gravel spun out fro in a hurry It careened toward the field, and she ai in the dry corn They were the only two close enough together she could get thelance Zach’s way told her he’d taken care of the first round A second one sprang fro its barbs as it went Zach’s body arched as he dodged the spray, but his shoulder lurched backward as one of the spikes hit its ood

Lexi pulled herself back to her driving just as the front bumper hit the first monster, followed closely by the second The truck ju hiss come from at least two of the tires as the barbs punctured the the truck’s roof, ricocheted froh the floorboards only inches froed in the truck’s headliner

Lexi shrieked, and instinctively jerked away froas, the truck slowed fast, sweeping a wide swath of cornstalks beneath it

She checked the rearview ns ofin wet heaps, twitching, but not getting up

She shoved the accelerator down, pulled hard on the wheel, and turned the truck around for another pass Frantically, she scanned the area where she’d last seen Zach and saw nothing--not evenabove the stalks

Panic took a tight hold of her, hollowed her out, like she was floating just above her body It seeht way

Was Zach hurt? Dead?

The thought left her cold and shaking

She steeled herself against what she was going to do next just as the deflated wheels crunched over the ot up now, she kneas time to run

Lexi pulled the truck to a stop, worried that ZachIf she hit him, she’d never be able to live with herself

She left the truck running and ju sound came from beneath the truck, but she told herself that it was just condensation frouts

Weaponless and desperate, Lexi pushed her way back to where she’d last seen Zach The corpses of twothick, black blood into the soil

Zach was nowhere to be found

"Zach!" she yelled She didn’t even care if any of the people left in the steakhouse heard her The Defenders and her mother had always told her they had to keep all this ive a shit about that right now She needed to find Zach

She called his naht she heard so A deepthe rustle of cornstalks settle around her

There it was again It was definitely aZach’s na he was okay--better than he sounded

He wasn’t His big body was sprawled on the ground, his sword lying a few feet away Blood wet the shoulder of his T-shirt She couldn’t see the barb, and didn’t know if it was eh His dark skin was shining with sweat even as his body shook with chills

"Zach," she breathed as she went to his side

He opened his eyes and the pupils were tiny pinpoints of black Not a good sign "Go, Lexi They can smell my blood More will co you here We’re leaving together"

She pulled on his good aret hiet her shoulder under his and, with his help, she got hiainst the strain of keeping him up The hed that she did

If she didn’t get him into the truck while he could still help, she never would

"Sword," he said, sounding alet another"

"No!" He veered toward the thing and Lexi had no choice but to help hiet there or let him fall Apparently it was too important to leave behind

She steadied him with one hand while she picked the weapon up, but had nowhere to put it Frustrated, she shoved it under her ar she didn’t slice one of them open on the wicked blade