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He chuckled "You would’ve left whether I was here or not Amanda and Theresa talk about you a lot I’d like to think I’ve gotten a pretty good feel for what kind of person you are, and you would’ve gone anyway, for them because you know the less they’re around you, the less they’re involved with that life"

He was right I felt a tear slipping down ain, but I had to leave I had no words And I didn’t think I could talk anyway, so I turned and went

I had no idea how I ot in, huddled in the corner, and bent my head down I couldn’t keep the tears at bay anyot out, I wasn’t at Carter’s place I stared up at a three-story brick e, white posts flanked the front door, stretching all the way to the roof I glanced aroundfor me to enter the house They wore black winter coats and stoic expressions The guy closest to ht ahead None of them made eye contact with ht, a shiver went down my spine, but I was locked in A brick wall surrounded the house, and a thick wrought-iron gate had closed at the end of the driveway I couldn’t scale it, and I didn’t think I could climb over the wall either

"You work for Cole Mauricio?" I asked theain, and a sick feeling for uy rabbed uard rounded the back of the vehicle to help hiainst o back Is Carter here?"

They didn’t answer

The guard picked me up and carried me to the front door The other two followed behind him as the car pulled away I tried to twist around I wanted to see the car leave Maybe there was a code for the gate? I could escape and use that to get out? But no The car paused in front of the gate, and it opened a beat later That’s when I saw the caate That uards and I entered the house, passing between the two large posts, I looked up and saw more cameras I counted five, all pointed at different directions This place was a fortress And okay, my fear officially started to spread The shivers had been a forewarning Now, full-blown panic My lips started to go numb, and my hands shook

"E as he studied the guys withed, and I couldn’t stand Thank god My lips ht those words, but they didn’t come out I couldn’t talk, but I was so relieved to see Cole

He stopped halfway down and tilted his head to the side, still studying the men Then a wall came over his face, and he was unreadable His hand lifted froanme said

At that moment, a door down the hallway opened A iants They iants around ht ahead The guy leading them stopped in front of ether, and my eyes traced the scar that went across his forehead Five of the other men went around him and walked past us to the stairs

"Gene?" Cole didn’t nition flickered in uy I’d seen with Carter before I never liked hiht he’d been killed After Carter killed Frank Dunvan, this guy never ca the robots around hiuy in front of , and why is E enough I ets out of hand"

"Out of hand?" The men escorted Cole down the stairs As he walked past me, he asked, "And E to her Carter will find out He’ll kill you"

Carter trusted Gene I remembered that now He was his ht away Still, that couldn’t be this guy He’d been wary of me before, but now his features were cold, a look of impatience on his face--like he needed to deal with us before he could go ho nothing, Gene stepped aside and the men led Cole and me into a back room He followed behind The room was massive Bookshelves lined the walls, with a set of couches and a chair at one end of the space, and a desk and two chairs at the other A largeoverlooked a backyard covered with snow I searched for the brick wall that surrounded the house, but I couldn’t see it A row of trees blocked --there --Gene walked over and closed the curtains

We were in complete privacy now

The men shoved me into one of the chairs by the desk and Cole into the other A flicker of sympathy flared in his eyes before he shut it down and turned to face Gene, who now stood behind the desk Everything about Cole was stiff Gene wasn’t He leaned forward, resting his hands on the back of the desk chair and let out a deep breath, looking frole" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">