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"It wasn’t you" Bottom lip between her teeth, she strode up the last stairs and pushed open a fire door to enter a wide corridor "Everyone found ing her shirt out froes "What do you know about these?" she asked as she held them out "Bill called the pink one an accelerator He said it would let me remember Without an anchor"

Silas’s jaw dropped, his eyes darting froes to her "BillPeri, did Bill inject you with this? It’s not supposed to exist"

His rush of fear hit her hard, and the first tendrils of disappointhtened her chest "He tried to," she said "The blue one is so to stave off the paranoia"

A soft scuff jerked her attention to the end of the hall, but it was only Jack, leaning against the wall to look sexy andSilas had followed her attention to the empty corridor, and she shook her head to tell hi

"Letthe label as he started theain "It’s probably the saraduate classes Opti developed it in the sixties, then shut it dohen everyone in the live trials died of paranoia-induced suicide You say the blue one is a ?"

Fear settled to a slow burn "He called it Evocane?" she said, hoping itto him, but he shook his head "It’s Bill’s latest attempt to convince me to come back," she added, and Silas’s hand clenched around the vial "He thinks that if I don’t have to trust an anchor, I’ll run right hoer that Bill would try to use her again, try to lure her back with promises of her past, the power and above-the-law status she had enjoyed Guilt swars she had doneThere was no rationalization that would justify her actions Ignorance was not an excuse when it illful "He also implied Evocane was addictive," she added softly

"No doubt" Silas jiggled the vial in his hand as they walked, tucking the capped syringes into a shirt pocket "If it’s addictive, you’ll be less likely to draft when your levels are low and avoid any ot a few basic chemical tests in my office Let’s check it out"

"Thanks," she whispered as he stopped before a wide door It looked like a closet, but DR SLEY ritten on a piece of curlingtape stuck to it "Sley?" she questioned as he used a card to unlock it

"My aunt’s estured she go first into the long, narrow roo her son’s social security nu, she gave Jack a look to stay out before going in deeper Everything was organized It only looked cluttered because there was soWhy he was here was obvious, though The end had a roundonto that saht spilled over his untidy desk and rolling chair A stained, e off The space was small, but it didn’t feel cra behind him, obvious "Have a seat," he said as he took a bottle of test strips froe of the desk chair, rolling it back to give hist rising What if it was true? It would o back to Bill even harder

"I knohat you’re thinking," Silas said, his voice holding warning as he rested his rump on the corner of his desk and shook out a test strip "But it was nasty stuff in the sixties, and in Bill’s hands, it’s probably been made worse"

"That’s why I’m here, Doctor," she said sarcastically, her interest sharpening when he carefully decanted a drop frorunted in surprise

She scooted closer to the edge of the chair "What?"

Squinting at it, he frowned "Most neural addictors fall in a narrow pH range, which, I’m sorry to say, it does But the real nasty ones have a faint nitrite level" He pointed to a second test strip "This one takes a while"

She sank back It was like waiting to see whether the pregnancy test strip would turn blue Not that she’d had much experience there In the tank, a diver swa froed, and then she quashed it If Bill had tracked her here, he wouldn’t be looking for her fro on his desk, Silas pushed back until he hit the wall Now it felt cramped, and she scooted her feet under her chair "Sohow have you been doing?" Silas asked

Her eyes flicked froht to her core and settled He still loved her Too bad she didn’t re anyone?"

Seriously? "No, but I stole souy’s car last month for a joyride Does that count?"

Silas chuckled "For you it does Nice?"

He looked couy or the car?"

Shrugging, he took the test strip and compared it to a chart on the bottle "Which one attracted you first?" he asked, the idle question anything but