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Silent, sure, but his presence eighty This was a Shifter, for crying out loud, big, tough, able to break tiny young women like Jillian in half with one hand Yet he stood there looking down at Jillian in the bed as though soehammered him between the eyes and he hadn’t remembered to fall down yet

"I don’t have a lot of time," Jillian said, her voice a faint whisper A far cry froirl who’d balanced on top of a rail fence at the rodeo a year ago, screa for her favorite bull rider She’d slept with him too Men usually took one look at Jillian and becaift for you," Jillian said

She held out her hand, and Spike reached down and took it He didn’t hold her hand aardly--he closed it between his two big ones, as though trying to comfort her

"What?" he asked, his voice a quiet ru presence of the hospital room

"Myka will show you Myka and ht?"

Jillian pressed down on his hand, the movement so weak that Myka saw it only because a tendon moved on Jillian’s wrist

Spike nodded What was in his eyes, Myka couldn’t see, because his gaze was fixed on Jillian

"Myka, go get my mom, okay? I asked her to wait down the hall"

Myka didn’t want to leave Jillian alone with the Shifter Jillian let her stare go steely, which she was good at, even while dying "Myka? Okay?"

Spike turned his head and looked at Myka, and for the first tiaze Spike’s eyes were dark brown, his pupils black, s into nothing

No, not nothing An intense so Myka saildness inside hied a bear four ti anied where his Collar had shocked him, but the shocks hadn’t slowed him down a millisecond This was an animal who looked for his prey’s weakness and went for it

Myka did not want to leave him alone in here with Jillian

But Jillian had hours to live, not days, the cancer taking away the last of what she had been

Mykarapidly down the corridor to the little roo machines, a television that blared a news channel, and other tense people who’d coot rapidly to her feet and followed Myka out "Daarette Jillian kicked o outside with" She wriggled her ar

"I don’t like this," Myka said

"I know But it’s what Jillian wants, and I think she’s right"