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But not any with her by taking away everything Everything but Lacey If she lost Lacey, tooShe convulsed in a fresh round of shivering, and turned the heater up another notch

So awful had happened in that house Duncan was aon his face, but his very stillness told her it was bad If he orking that hard at keeping it inside, it had to be very, very bad

And she was terrified

The vaaze riveted over the top of her car, around the right side of the house E? Was it whatever awful thing lived in that house?

She caught a flash ofaround the house and into the backyard Curiosity won out over fear, and she opened the car door enough to put one foot on the ground

"What is it?" she asked her guard "Have they found soht away, his attention wholly focused on whatever was happening beyond the house Eed her back into the car "You should stay inside," he said tightly "It’s war his face, knowing so Not in the house, but behind it She’d been back there before Duncan arrived, and there was nothing there except a strip of covered patio Beyond that was a wide patch of dead lawn and then open field What had they seen that she hadn’t? What could there be--

Eht as pain squeezed her chest She uard reached out to her, the look of sorrow on his face confir her worst fears

"No," she whispered "No!" she screauard and throwing hi she’d never uard’s vampire speed would catch her and stop her, but she ran anyway She had to see, had to know

The guard grabbed her before she’d gotten two steps down the side of the big house, scooping her up and wrapping her tightly in iron hard arainst her ear "Trust o of her, Baldwin" Duncan’s voice was hard as he walked toward theive izing for--letting her get away or holding her too tightly, but whatever it was, she didn’t care "Tell me what you found," she told Duncan "And don’t lie to me"

Duncan closed the distance between theh embrace "Emma," he started, but she pushed away froile floho can’t handle life I’ve been taking care of myself since I was eleven years old, so don’t you do that Tell hed "A body We’re--" E up to her mouth as if to trap the sound inside Duncan paused "Eht You don’t--"

"Don’t tell me what I want! Is it a wohtly, as if listening to as happening in the yard When he turned back and aze, she knew "Yes," he said unnecessarily

"I want to see If it’s--"

"No That’s not necessary We have a picture of Lacey, and they’ve buried her things with her We can identify--"

"I want to see," Enized as being her own "It’s ht, Duncan She’saway for athe hot tears rolling down her cheeks "Mine"

Duncan clearly didn’t want to give in, but he just as clearly believed that what Eht to be the one, her right to lay claim to Lacey, and no one else’s

"Very well," he said unhappily "You un You nize Lacey even if it’s her"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>