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"Only a few" Her voice was barely above a whisper "Only … when I couldn’t bear the hunger anyrowl

She straightened her shoulders and shifted slowly to face us, keeping her hands where we could see theuns "Yes, but only becauseasshole" The steel was back in her voice This wasn’t the addict speaking now This was the scorned and vengeful wife "I illing to tolerate his indiscretions to a point, because being ot stupid and killed Carol He was screwing his daughter-in-law" Her voice dripped with disgust, and I had a hard ti her sentiment toward Harris Roth "Then he called Davis in a panic--"

"But you ith Davis, having a little revenge affair of your own," Ryan said

"It was only fair," she said, shrugging "But Davis turned out to be a pathetic whiner Threatened to go to the police Moron"

"But he’d told his wife everything," I pointed out

"Another moron," she said with a derisive sneer "You knohat she wanted fro had happened Wanted me to make sure she’d still be ‘accepted’ Useless bitch She could have taken me doith one phone call, but she didn’t have the balls"

I sed back a knot of anger "But why kill Brian?" I deure out some other way to cover up Carol’s death?"

Rachel’s lip curled "I wanted Harris to suffer I knew that would kill him" Then her expression shifted to a sad and haunted smile "Besides, Brian wouldn’t have wanted to live anyway if he’d found out what they’d done"

"You have a healthy dose of crazy going on in there, lady," Ryan said

The look she shot hi hate "I’m not crazy I did what I had to do But …" She took a deep breath as if to steady herself "But I didn’t realize how ht there at the very instant the essence was released, especially when it was … violent None of it escaped hty, but it felt so good" Her eyes closed in re, felt so perfect Then when Davis toldto the police--"

"You took care of him too," I finished for her "As well as the Galloways, when they were stupid enough to try to black "That was pretty stupid of them"

"And Ron Burnside," Ryan said quietly, "the public defender as going to run against Harris Roth Did you take care of hiery all the tiedy" But I could see the satisfaction in her eyes

My thoughts whirled in barely ordered chaos How are we going to stop her? Is there some way to reverse it? Strip her of the ability? We can’t exactly stick her in handcuffs and put her in jail

"Why did you come here?" I asked I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but at this point I needed to get soaze tothere, but she was still alive I knew she’d been injured during the incident with the Symbol Man, so I decided to find out as so special about her" She tilted her head "I drove past this house every day for teeks, never quite able to get et in and look around"

The aversions and protections at work, I thought The good ones

"And then one day I just … felt like trying"

Yeah, that would have been when I had the da in was fairly simple, especially since there was already a brokenin the back I ca--a little Tinker Bell thing It attacked rabbed it" She shook her head "I don’t really rehty, it was like consu a dozen lives at once I think I passed out … but when I caer" Her voice dropped to a whisper "Hungrier" A shudder racked her, and I could see a sheen of sweat on her forehead "I don’t want to have to kill anyone else I swear But I don’t kno lance at the warded portal "It caure if I can find another one of those things, then that could hold me for a while Maybe I could just feed on those and not have to kill anyone else But nothing’s co "You have to help s out Please!"

I shook my head slowly "Rachel, I can’t do that It would only s worse I’m sorry"

Her hands shook as she clenched and unclenched them "No, you’re not sorry You want me to starve to death"

Would that work? Could she be weaned froure out another way to help you"

"No! I don’t have ti out!" She licked dry lips "If you won’t helpelse What? You think you can stop ed with hysteria "You can’t shoot me"

"And what makes you say that?" Ryan asked calht wife of a recently deceased judge, who came to see you only to find out littered "You don’t have any proof that I killed anyone!" She took a step toward us

"I don’t fucking care," I snarled "Take another step and I will shoot you" Better to risk losing my career than let her touch ed "Well, let’s see how that goes then, shall we?" she said cryptically I was still trying to figure out what she meant when she leaped toward us, hands outstretched

I fired at the sa spaser Spots of blood bloomed on the front of her shirt, but unlike in the movies, the shots didn’t throw her dramatically across the room Rachel sturabbed his gun hand even as he pumped another round into her chest

Ryan screaain and he dies!" Rachel rasped, clutching at Ryan’s hand as he dropped his gun and went to his knees, his eyes wide and agony spas across his face