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"I wouldn’t count on that" Bruno’s voice cauys aren’t the type to give up They had to behave because of everyone else as here But that doesn’t mean they won’t try to catch you alone later"

"I know that" I didn’t hide my exasperation "I’lare at hiaze kept straying to pulse points … the base of his throat … his wrists "What time is it?"

He toldStretching outme up one of those shakes?"

"On my way"

I closed my eyes If I didn’t look and didn’t nore the fact that I’d been wondering what Bruno would taste like

"Are you okay?"

"Hell, no" I admitted it freely Fortunately, Dawna’s tap on the door savedto elaborate She came in and handed me a pair of cans filled with the dark chocolate nutrition that should get h another four hours without incident I hoped

I flipped the tab and downed the first drink in one long chug It hit ht to keep it dohere it belonged I decided to sip the second can while I ignored the cra that madethe door closed behind her When she was out of earshot, Bruno said, "I’m sorry, Celia I know you can take care of yourself I do But this …" His voice trailed off Apparently he was at a loss for words

I set the drink can on top of ed myself out of the chair and over to open the weapons safe Staring at the contents of my safe, I debated eaponry I wanted on hand The chances were good I wouldn’t make it back here or to the house before dark, so I wanted to be prepared Besides, I was feeling just a touch paranoid Of course there was a growing list of people ere out to get ht word Let’s call it proactive

"If I hadn’t stayed, would you have told me about the demon spawn? Or would you have just left me in the dark?" Bruno’s tone was perfectly conversational, but I knew better than to believe his questions were casual

I didn’t look him in the eye as I spread the denim jacket out flat on the desktop and inspected it It wasn’t the same brand as the one I usually wore, but the pockets were lined with cotton and tacked down the sa a pair of nice little slots that were just the right size to hold one of the little One Shot squirt guns or a sharpened stake I grabbed one of each from the safe I considered a couple of the little ceramic disks that held "boos used by the military, or ainst it They are handy as hell in certain circu them and there was only so much I could carry in this jacket "I absolutely would have told you" I glanced over and gave hiht have passed for laughter

"You’re wearing yourself out You’ve got power to burn, but it won’t do you any good if you’re too tired to use it properly" I expected hirunts Knowing I wasn’t going to get anywhere pursuing it, I changed the subject

"How do you know Rizzoli anyway? He doesn’t seeht for the knives It was the work of a moment to strap them on Bruno passed the knives to me one at a time, hilt first, without coh ood Better than back in college, and he was no slouch then But I was still worried about hi He wasn’t just tired, it wasto cut it I shook esture There was no point fretting about it I couldn’t make the man rest And he did have a point Hell, in his shoes I’d be doing the sao to recruit his forlance "I don’t know if he’s more pissed that I recruited Manny or that I didn’t recruit him"

I chuckled Ah, wounded pride That’d do it And it also explained so about--why Rizzoli and Erikson didn’t seem comfortable with each other The partnership was too new