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Raphael grinned back at hieance to see to, and then we ht He straightened and faced his new ton, DC, present day

Vengeance It was the first thought Duncan had as he woke the next night He couldn’t bring Lacey back for Emma, couldn’t take away the pain of her death But he could bring vengeance against those who had wronged her

Chapter Fourteen

Falls Church, VA

Eether in her lap It had taken two days to get everything ready Two days to arrange a proper farewell for the only person in the world who’d really mattered to her The funeral director had been very kind, but there were so ht of on her own

But despite the rush, despite the stress of arranging the funeral so quickly, it was all beautiful And perfectly Lacey The music, the flowers, even the casket with its bronze eany wood

The soft swell of some of Lacey’s favorite music muted the murmur of whispered conversations all around her It had been difficult to find the right songs for tonight Lacey had always been a rock and roll kind of girl, her hith the s open and

Emma smiled sadly at the ers She’d worn her best black suit, her gray silk blouse, even the black Jiht on a dare from Lacey and then never worn, because they were too nice for work And since Emma never went anywhere except work, they’d sat in her closet, still in the box, never worn until tonight Lacey would have loved that the Jimmy Choos had been broken out for her funeral

Eht of the casket any longer She’d half expected Duncan to show up, but she was glad he hadn’t She didn’t think she could deal with any va it wasn’t his fault, that blauy next door for what someone across town had done She still wasn’t ready to face him Not yet

The burial wasn’t until tomorrow; that would be private, just between her and Lacey But Lacey had soto participate soested this , but Emma had refused to permit an open casket Lacey would have hated that

E hands, staring at faces she didn’t know as they said all the right things They were Lacey’s friends, not hers Lacey had always been so much more social than Emma She’d made friends so easily

And one of those friends had helped kill her Actually, probably more than one, froht didn’t know that They all thought it was an accident That Lacey had lost control of her car and spun off the road on her way to visit someone back home Of course, Lacey didn’t have anyone back home There was no back home But these people didn’t know that either

E on the bench in the front rohere she’d taken refuge, unable to cope with anyers She couldn’t take onesentle handshake

She wanted to die She couldn’t i with this pain, this horrible eone, and Erief bent her back until she was bowed in half, until she thought it would crush her She’d lost before--her grandmother, her mother, even the father she’d never known

But Lacey wasn’t supposed to die Not Lacey Emma studied; Emma worked But Lacey lived It never mattered where they found themselves or how littleto celebrate, to laugh about, to dance for She was the sister Emma had never had, the only friend she’d ever needed, her faain, afraid if she moved, if she sointo tiny pieces that no longer kne to put theether How could there be an Emma with no Lacey to ht would ever end

She knew the moment he arrived Felt the warm blanket of comfort reach out to her frozen soul, felt the safety of his presence long before he made his way down the aisle to sit next to her He didn’t reach out, didn’t touch her It was alht shatter and disappear

A single tear slid out from under her closed eyelids, and she reached blindly for his hand He took her hand andaround her war as her head sank onto his shoulder, as her tears finally caless words as she cried, holding her together as she shuddered with grief He was an island of calm in a world she didn’t understand any ago stopped crying; her body had no more moisture left for tears Finally, she lifted her head, brushing aside her tangled hair She should have been embarrassed, but she wasn’t He offered her a perfect, white handkerchief She stared at it, then raised her eyes to his Who carried a handkerchief anymore?

He looked back at her "I’ to knohat she was thinking, as always But for soer bothered her It was simply who he was He was Duncan, and vaood man

He kissed her forehead, his lips warm and firm "They’ll pay, Emma," he murmured "I promise you"