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"Who the hell put you in charge of me?" Hawk roared

Tavis’s own burr thickened as his temper mounted "Your mother, you bletherin’ idiot! And even if she hadna askedyourself, lad, but I’ll no’ be having you torturing Lydia while you’re doing it!"

"All I’ a wee bit of a drink," Hawk protested

"You’ve been having a ‘wee bit of a drink’ for over a uzzle yourself to death If you canna put down the bottle, then just get the hell out Go piss the night away in a snowdrift where the people who love you are no’ forced to watch"

Tavis kicked open the doors and tossed the stu back in until you can be nice to your iven up the bottle, you can return But not until then!" Tavis roared as the Hawk struggled to pull his head out of a drift

When Hawk finally ly when he saw the ht of as a uards to stand wide-legged in front of the door, crossed ar him entrance into his own castle

"Just stay out!" Tavis belloith such voluh the castle’s heavy wooden doors

Adrienne hadn’t realized how thoroughly she hated winter

The pale face of the clock above the mantel chimed once, twice, then lapsed into silence Two o’clock in theawake couldcreature left in the world And Adrienne did feel that way, until Marie silently entered the library Adrienne glanced up and opened her e of words flooded out despite the daly erected

Marie tucked herself into an arhan across her lap

Adrienne poked at the fire and opened a bottle of sweet port while she told Marie a story she’d never told anyone The story of the orphan girl who thought she’d fallen in love with a prince, only to discover that Eberhard Darrow Garrett had been a prince of organized cris across the border in her luggage, her car, sewn into her clothing And how, since she had always been packed and unpacked by his attendants, she hadn’t known She’d sie her nose at the Franciscan nuns in the old orphanage on First Street How she hadn’t known that the FBI had been drawing its net around hihter She’d seen that a wealthy, undeniably attractive ht at the tiet a series of shipments out of the country She’d never suspected that she was less than nothing to hi woeon

Until the day she’d overheard a terrible conversation she’d never been meant to hear

She told Marie in a hushed voice how she’d turned state’s evidence and bought her own freedoed to miss after all, had come after her in earnest

Marie sipped her port and listened

She told Marie hohen she’d finally been trapped by hi and being afraid, she’d done the only thing she could do when he’d raised his gun

She’d killed him before he could kill her

At that point Marie waved an impatient hand "Eees not real story Why you tell ly

Adrienne blinked She’d just told the woman what she’d been afraid to tell anyone That she’d killed a ranted, but she’d killed a s she’d never trusted to anyone before, and the wo her time "What do you mean, Marie? It was real," she said defensively "It happened I was there"

Marie ruht words "Yes yes, señorita May be ees real, but ees not iotten And ees not why you weep like world ees ending Tell me real story Who cares where you come from, or I? Today matters Yesterday ees skin on a snake, to be shedmoment as a chill worked its way down her spine and into her belly The hall clock chiazed at Marie with new appreciation