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Fear flashed in his eyes for an instant, then Ben grunted and faced Bruns "Just remember who told you to kill theloat that you’ve captured theht you should hear his information firsthand It should be very helpful"

"If we can trust hi about the amethyst, Bruns ordered me to show Ben the bottle I held it up Then the three of us trekked down to the jail to interrogate Valek Ben fussed about the stench until Bruns glared at him

Valek answered every question The information he provided, while true, o the battered state of his body and mind The session ended two hours later when Valek passed out I worried that Valek wouldn’t be physically able to escape later tonight, but I couldn’t wait for hiarrison cos, I had to risk it

Bruns keptI endured a long supper, an even longer discussion on how they would use Valek’s information and then was sent to bed like a child while the "adults" conversed about important matters

Glad to be released, I lay in bed and reviewed ic and other possible probles-that-could-go-wrong by the time Bruns and Ben finished their conversation and retired for the evening

I waited a couple ht, I slipped frorabbed the doorknob

"Bruns really is an idiot" Ben’s voice pierced the darkness

My breath locked as fear coiled around my body I turned "I was just--"

"Save it I don’t care what you were about to do The fact that you can do it, despite Loris’s ic, should be a surprise, but I’ve learned my lesson Do you want to knohat that lesson is?" Ben stepped fro to tell you anyway I’ve learned to never, ever underesti" He hthe Theobro? Let’s see"

The compulsion to sit in Bruns’s visitor’s chair pressed on ave the coht back All was ignored

"Goody My er froined stabbing this knife into you a million times" Ben crouched down to my eye level He poked ister over the sheer terror that grippedyou slice yourself to ribbons before you cut your own throat" Ben offered me the weapon "Take it"

Unable to resist, I reached for the hilt My fingers brushed Ben’s as I wrapped ht hand around the hilt In that instant, the corabbed his wrist withkicked in

I thrust forward, unbalancing Ben He fell back on his butt as I sprang fro the knife around, I didn’t hesitate to plunge the blade into his sto him

It was brutal and ruthless It was necessary to save myself and the baby It was just what Ben wished to do to me--erase a proble over my hands? By the final painful exhalation fro under his dead body?