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"You don’t look so good" MacEwan studied her with a frown "Maybe you should go downstairs and let one of the doctors take a look at you"

She gingerly shook her head The last thing she needed was to be prodded and poked She was fine Mostly

"Then at least let et someone to drive you home" They both turned sharply at the sound of the exit door opening More police officers She sighed in relief

"The cavalry, at last," MacEwan commented dryly

"Too late, as usual" She rubbed at her teo away? It was a white-hot fire, eating at her brain

MacEwan gave her a wry look and waved his men over "Would an earlier arrival have saved us? How many men does it take to kill a zombie?"

Only one-- if you’re a vahed, a startling sound in the hushed night "Probably" He turned as an officer approached

"Jenkins, drive Miss Ja officer nodded MacEwan turned back to face her "I dare say ht"

"You knohere to find lanced across at Jake, still safe in the shadows of the chiet a doctor up here for Jake, as quickly as possible?" MacEwan nodded and spoke into his handset Nikki waved away the young officer’s offered arm and walked slowly towards the stairs Every step she took sent lances of fire shooting through her brain She bit her lip and fought the urge to sit and howl like a baby It hurt, sure, but pain, in one for she’d learned how to handle Soht alone

"Nikki?" MacEwan called as she neared the door She glanced back at hiive me a call"

So you can do what? It was only thanks to Michael any of the else, just wanting to get hoaze on her back long after she’d left his presence

Michael watched her walk away His heart ached with her pain, yet there was nothing he could do to help her Nikki had to get over her problems without interference from him Until she did, there was no hope for the Maybe he was a fool to ever think otherwise He’d long ago stepped past the threshold of hu o back?

When she walked through the exit, he turned and ed, but otherwise appeared unhurt He’d hate to think how Nikki would react if he died now, after all she’d been through to save hiri at all honest, it also made him jealous Which was another huht bitterly That and love Several hospital staff ca them bustle Jake onto a stretcher As they took hiinning to stretch golden fingers through the night So much had happened, yet so little time had passed At least Nikki was now safe Jasper wouldn’t attack her with dawn so close He would be on the run, searching for a place to wait out the day

Michael turned and walked back to the stairs It was tih her brain, its touch evil, full of menace Nikki twisted and turned, desperate to escape But there was no running fro her dreams Not even when she awoke

She sat up on the sofa and studied the living rooh theshe could see the red and gold tendrils of sunrise spreading across the storlanced at her watch She’d been asleep for littlethrough the air, filling her ht in her throat, and sweat broke out across her brow Jasper was co for her She rose quickly For an instant the rooht The spinning eased but not the knife-edged pounding in her brain Jasper was co, and she ithout any for her throat andit difficult to breathe I can’t do it I can’t face hilea But the thought of facing the young vao dry She had no idea if the knives even held enough silver to hurt Jasper And he could so easily take it from her, without any effort, without any movement All he had to do was co else She sat back down and quickly dragged the boots on, tucking the knives close to her shins Again h the silence She clenched her fists against a wash of hopelessness

You areit is useless Maybe it was Maybe she should just give up She bit her lip at the thought She could have given up thirteen years ago, when her parents had died, but she hadn’t She could have done it when Tommy died Maybe part of her had, and that hy she couldn’t trust herself to simply love Michael and let the future take care of itself

But she sure as hell wasn’t going to give up against Jasper Maybe he was right, hter slipped around her, as cold as ice She resisted the temptation to flee Jasper would find her, no matter where she ran, no er perhaps than the link she shared with Michael She closed her eyes and tentatively tried to reach out to hi back tears In saving Jake, have I destroyed that part of myself?

And did it matter? Jake was alive, and in the end, his survival ifts that had caused soelse she could do

Open the door

The co The urge to do as he asked stor her fist, she rose and backed away Jasper was just beyond the front door She could feel his heat, the sense of depravity that was his essence Hope flared slightly If she could feel that, then her psychic senses weren’t as dead as she feared Her head ht pound every tiht be able to defend herself

Do not ignore me Open the door

No Never She reached down and slid one of the silver knives froainst her resistance Where was Michael? Why wasn’t he here to stop Jasper?

I have arranged a diversion for your lover He will not arrive in tinore hisconfidence Jasper couldn’t harm her unless she allowed hi

The zombies will delay hiain hope stirred The zombies were dead So where the hell was Michael?

The trail is long and twisted

His a twisted around here was Jasper’s mind I will never be yours

You areShall I prove it to you?