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I start to walk away, but Nora stops h," she says withto talk withto hide, even I have done things I’m not particularly proud of, but what do you think Victor’s secret could be? What is he afraid of?"

"Victor isn’t afraid of anything," I say, turning to look back at her

She nods reflectively

"That may be true," she says, "but it makes you wonder what his secret is, just the saain And it’s working

I hear the door click unlocked

"Do you still want to killthe door

"I will kill you when this is over," I say, and walk out with her undaunted shts

14

Izabel

Victor and Woodard are in the surveillance roo athis head as if to say I never should’ve done that; Woodard can’t meet my eyes and he looks embarrassed forthere is soood," Victor says "We know a lot more about her than we did before"

I look away fro my back to all three of them

"Yeah, thanks, but I don’t need anyone’s sympathetic pat on the back"

I pour coffee into a small paper cup I don’t really even like coffee all thatto do to distract rows quiet and then Victor says, "I need to speak with Izabel alone"

Without a word, Niklas and Woodard take up their things and head for the exit

The second they’re gone, Victor drops the professional mask and is the man I know on the inside He steps up behind me and I feel his hands hook about my waist

"Is that what you think, Izabel?" he says "That no one here respects you, that you’re just here to share ht now, Victor"--I drop two teaspoons of sugar into in to stir it with a plastic spoon--"Dina is all that et her back If Fredrik doesn’t show, I’ll never forgive him"

Stir Stir Stir

Victor places his hand on top of mine and forces ue about it, but I don’t look at hianization," he says, turning me around He looks into o that it will take you the rest of your life to learn all there is to know And that rasp But you’re still an asset"