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"So, you’re a friend of Luci’s?" Liz asked doubtfully

Cyn nodded "Fro forwith I’lanced at her friend for confir over a scarred wooden chair for Cyn to do the same

"Jabril actually hiredthe uncomfortable seat "But then I met Mirabelle and, well, hell, Ifor you Lucky forforbecaan to relax

"Yeah I uy with short white hair?"

"I think so I didn’t see hi That was before--" She looked away, unco out to take Liz’s hand in both of hers

"It’s okay, sweetie None of that matters now, and Cyn understands Don’t you, Cyn?"

"Sin?" Liz said "They call you Sin?"

"Cyn with a C Y," Cyn said "I always hated the name Cyndi and Cynthia sounds soI don’t knowproper" Luci snorted and rolled her eyes, surprising a little laugh out of Liz

"My parents always called ht I hated it too," she added wistfully

Cyn knew enough about the girl’s parents and their untie the subject "So tellfor you all over the place"

"Yeah, I heard You sounded okay, and you gave those food coupons to all the kids But I didn’t knoho I could trust" She stared down at her hands, held tightly by Luci "And all those girls were dying" She looked back up,around He does a lot of stuff with the street kids, basketball ga to h he’s kind of old and out of shape for a guy who plays sports He wears those big striped shirts all the tiuys do? But all the kids seeed

"When he found out I was from Texas, he said he had fa And I told hi, and how if I could just hide out untilwould be okay, because then I’d have my own money So he said, why don’t I come stay with him until then, you know, ‘cuz it was only like teeks away" She paused to give Cyn a forlorn look "He seeuy," she repeated

"So what happened? What e your mind?"

"He never touched me Not like that I would have been out of there if he had, because he’swell, like forty or so really bossy Like I had to tell hi And then I got theshe was here and we shoulde boards and stuff He works at night soo out after dark, plus it was a good time to try to reach Mirabelle and let her knoas safe So anyway, I got thisshe was here in California, and it seemed weird I mean ould she be here? So I wrote back to her hoasn’t sure and how did I knoas safe? And she told uy, that he’s not like dickhead Jabril or anything, and she’s living in a nice place and I can come stay with her"

Cyn nodded She’d already heard most of this from Mirabelle

"Anyway, so I’ out about vampires and especially Raphael, and he tells irls and he doesn’t wantto do with hi va vaet to me because I’m his type And I said, what do you mean I’m his type? But then he says I don’t have to worry because I’irls"

"Not like the out with vaed a look with Luci "What’d you say his name was, Liz?"

"Todd Todd Ryder He lives down near the beach, but in that kind of scummy part where it’s really crowded Venice, I think they call it Someone told me they have canals there like in Italy, but I never saw any"

"I’ll show them to you sometime," Cyn said absently "So what happened then?"

"The fucker tried to lock ued, I like storot up, he’d locked the bedroom door! And all the s have those like jail bars on theone to work and left !"

Luci looked over her shoulder at Cyn with a pleased grin "My girl Liz here broke the door down," she said