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Since he’d been near her, since she’d been absorbing small strea nearly soto slon the rate at which his leaf was dying or not, but he knew that once it was gone, he could easily turn into the ht he was

And then ould he do? Or, oing to take to prove to you that I’?" he asked

Lexi’s head fell back on his shoulder in defeat "I don’t know, Zach I want to believe you, but isn’t that the way the devil works? Tells you pretty lies you want to believe? I can’t do that to Moain?" He still had the bracelet in his pocket He could use it to keep her nearby if he wanted

He didn’t He wanted her to stay near him of her own free will

Her head moved on his shoulder as she shook it

"No," she said quietly "I’ to end now, one way or another"

Zach hated the sound of defeat in her voice, but he believed sheanymore "Good Because if you stick with o You’ll see the truth, and you and I will make each other happy for the rest of our lives"

"Pretty lies," sheto take you hoht us a new car, and we’re only about four hours away fro her to Dabyr before he’d claiht well be other Theronai at home ere also coain But what he wanted wasn’t as io He had to protect Lexi from herself as well as the Synestryn, and if that meant she ended up with another man, he’d just have to suck it up At least she’d be safe That hat really mattered

If she did choose anotherto suffer, anyway

Chapter 13

Lexi hold, just in case she needed to give the Defenders directions via phone It was set way back in a thickly wooded, isolated area in Missouri, well off thearea, but the fortress itself was shielded from view by heavy bands of forest

The co all the way round it Or at least she thought it probably did She couldn’t see the whole wall for all the trees that obscured it, as well as aand a few srayish stone that sparkled under the late-su arms, spread out froh it was a refuge for demons and killers, it was still a beautiful place

They went through an iron gate that opened for Zach only after he swiped his ID and talked to someone on the other end of a ca, and led to a gigantic garage filled with nu slots

Zach pulled into one, and for a second, Lexi thought her faithful old Honda was beside them Of course, her faithful Honda was still in the shop back in Texas, but she gave a wistful sigh of longing for her beloved set of wheels Her home

"Looks like they beat us here," said Zach

"Who?"

"Vance and Slade Your car must not have needed too ain Priray, lots of rust, even ht

"It’sdown from the truck

Lexi picked up the keys froine, and it started with a smooth purr that hadn’t been there for years In fact, it had probably never run this well since she’d owned it

"Fro his hands dirty," said Zach "Thatparts"

They’d fixed her car These people ere supposed to be her eneht it to her It wasn’t worthit than she could have sold it for--but it was the one constant in her life and she loved it

Her vision atery and she had to blink back hot tears before they could fall "Thank you," she told Zach without looking at hiift had affected her How vulnerable she’d felt without aall her life

Those days were over--she’d --but knowing she could if things turned ugly made her feel so much safer Like life was back to normal

And then she res of safety and normalcy vanished

"I didn’t fix it," said Zach "How about we go inside and find Nicholas You can thank hiht now, not with the lued in her throat All she had to do was connect a couple of wires and push a button to detonate the C-4 The Defenders had made her practice how to do it over and over until it took her less than thirty seconds for the whole process

And that included opening the broken lock on her trunk, which was a chore on the best of days

Zach’s fingers settled on her shoulder They felt war, which was ridiculous He should not be co his ho

"Ready?" he asked

Lexi gave a tight nod "Sure Just let rabhis heavy duffel bag over his shoulder, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and offered her his free arm The whole time, he wore a proud smile, like he wanted to show her off