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"No," she said "I’l do it" And she did She turned the key in the lock, opened the door, and flipped on the lights Her eyes ached froer in the dark

Papers were everywhere Black fingerprint dust coated several surfaces Blood had dried to a dark brown pool on the bathroom floor Stacie’s blood

Lana squared her shoulders and prayed for strength This was not going to be easy

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Marcus Lark regretted giving Kara his private nuy for his tastes

He lifted the phone from the cradle on his bedside table and shifted his body until he was sitting against the headboard Elaborate carvings dug into his back, but he ignored the discoentle voice He’d learned long ago that Kara was rown up alone on the streets of New York and wasn’t easily frightened

Kindness, on the other handthe wo for the merest scrap of approval or acceptance That trait made her quite useful on occasion

"They found my surveilance equipht like I told you I would" She was out of breath, almost panicked

"Calhtened on the phone in anger at her incoht you wel Is there any trace of you on the equipirl And you wore gloves?" He hoped not It would be easy to erprints available in any one of the A too reckless, too desperate to please hi the CIA overhear that Lana was in danger would be enough to bring theet rid of her so he wouldn’t have to do it hied

"Yes Always"

A stab of frustration made hih Marcus forced hiht, his bed partner needed her rest "Good"

"I always do what you say"

Her sirated on his nerves, but he didn’t let his irritation coirl"

"Did you get the video?"

Marcus did but knew better than to watch it Kara’s taste in entertainment was moreundomesticated than his "It was lovely"

"And the clip at the end?" she asked in a sexy tone "The one of us together?"

Marcus stiled in shock as her words settled in She had video of hih inside he was seething in anger "I’ht now just for you"

He slid froh bed and walked naked across the room to his private office A moment later, he found the encrypted e-es of a young wo in bed with tears strea down her temples Her body was contorted in fear and pain, but she didn’t wake

Kara had done that to her He wasn’t sure whether that ly as it was, had its uses

Then he saw the short clip at the end, which clearly showed his face contorted in the throes of an orgasm Kara was in front of him on her hands and knees, and the camera--wherever it had been hidden--had a perfect shot of his face

He couldn’t let this video get into the wrong hands He’d worked too hard to hide himself--to beco Now that the Sas destroyed, he was able to operate his businessto go back to being a hunted anization

Marcus Lark was tired of being a target

"You naughty girl," he said into the phone "You know I don’t liketo reht At least I have that"

And that video changed everything If Kara was eliminated now, they’d find the video "Come home to me, love I miss you too much to let you stay away"

"I have to finish et the promise I’d rather have you here" Where he could safely kil her and destroy the video

"I’ht, and then I’l come home"

"No!" he said, ently, "You can’t do it now, love She’s guarded now It’s too dangerous for you Just come hoain"

Damn it! He’d made too much of her failure in Armenia He’d rubbed her nose in the fact that Lana Hancock had survived, and now he had to live with that error in judg to happen to you At least wait a day or two They’l be expecting you to make a move now that your equipment was found"

A day or tas al he’d need to have one of his et rid of that video Then Kara could do whatever foolish thing she wanted

"You’re right, as always," she said "I can find a good use for the tito do, love," he coaxed as he sent an e- instructions

"I’ to make you proud"

"I’m always proud of you, love You know that"

He could hear her soaking up the praise "After I take care of things here, you’l be even , unproductive talk with Stacie Cramer, Detective Hart decided to have another chat with Lana It was , and he found her at her office, nearly finished with the chore of cleaning up thebruiser, Caleb, was in the bathrooled, he stepped out, checking to see as there Jacob caught the scent of disinfectant and figured Caleb was taking care of cleaning up the blood rather than leaving it to Lana

Good man

Caleb nodded at him and continued his work, only this time the door was open Jacob couldn’t see any blood on the tile, not even a stain on the grout

Jacob left Caleb to finish cleaning and turned his attention back to Lana She looked tired today, worried, but that wasn’t surprising considering what her friend had been through Her dark hair was puled back in a short ponytail, but a bunch of the slippery strands had worked their way free and hung around her face She was pretty in that natural, girl-next-door kind of way There was nothing exotic in her features, but she reminded him a little of the first wolish teacher Although he’dinstead, Miss Parish had taught his about how his adolescent body worked