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"You were right" Michelle’s voice cracked when she said the words "She is dead and she wasn’t really ht in the eyes and said, "Bullshit" I kept talking,sure that every as emphatic as I could make it It wasn’t hard "You may have been adopted But she was youryou" There’s a da birth And I was sure that Abigail Andrews had been a mother every minute of her life since Michelle had come into it

"You don’t know that" Michelle wouldn’t look at ularly uniht-for-life, nothing interesting

"The hell I don’t," I said with enough heat that she turned to glare at me "Listen to me, kid You would never have made it out of the airport if yourShe didn’t" Iout so that I didn’t have to aze "They probably would never have found you if you hadn’t co for me They’d seen yourto see if you’d make contact And you did"

"You don’t understand"

"Oh, really?" I turned to face her "Let uess You think your whole life was a lie That you can’t trust any of it"

She flushed, giving her skin the first hint of real color The e in her pulse She glared at ry for words

I backed down "Look, I’m very sorry for your loss I truly am"

"You didn’t even know her"

"No But I respect what she did"

"Lying to , someone I’m not?" It was the outburst of a wounded child Physically Michelle was an adult, but emotionally she wasn’t there yet, certainly not when under this kind of stress

"Did you ever think to ask yourself why?"

"The detective said it’s because of my bloodline That I’m the last member of a clan that iped out in soaze locked with e I’hosts, and I’h to stay rabbed the tissue box and went over to sit on the edge of the bed She cried hard, but not for long When she was done, she took a couple of tissues, wiped her eyes and blew her nose

I ee of subject "Personally, I’ve always thought channeling was pretty cool My sister was a ghost I would’ve loved to be able to talk with her Instead orked out a code with her turning the lights on and off One was yes Tas no"

"I could help you talk to her if you want," Michelle said "You saved my life It’s the least I could do"

I smiled at her "Thanks I really appreciate the offer, but Ivy finally o" I took a tissue from the box where she’d set it on the wheeled tray that fit over the bed I wasn’t actually crying, but I did seem to have the sniffles all of the sudden

Michelle’s next words were so sad "Did you get to say good-bye?" She looked atwith tears "I can’t believe ood-bye, didn’t get to say ‘I love you’ or anything"

I was about to say so when the temperature in the roo back in her head For a second the machines connected to her body went nuts, then settled back to a nornized the voice, even though I’d only heard it once, for a few e It was so weird, it was Michelle’s body in the bed, but it obviously wasn’t her using it "Abigail Andrews"

"Elena Santiago, actually My birth nairl you know as Michelle was ed to raise her as my own"

"Ah"

"She needs protection from both Connor and Jack Finn The son is awithout the consent of his father, but he is still dangerous They seek to wipe out the last of the Garzas Their sources have told the members of the bloodline"

"Three?" I blinked at that "But the spell killed everyone Lucia only lived because she was born postmortem, after the spell was over"