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Sarah was looking at the floor A tear dropped from one eye In the Sleep, she’d aluys to take ot away," Michael continued when she didn’t respond "This news report about Jacksonme up Or, hell, maybe Jackson really is a cyber-terrorist I don’t know! I set up a fake ID and tried to co But I’o," Sarah said

"What?" Michael couldn’t i He needed Sarah "But we have to talk"

She moved toward him, reached out and clasped his arm, squeezed

"Let’s hope Kaine found us only because he knew you’d come here," she said "Not because he’s cracked your identity But you have to go Find a safe place Let me knohere you are somehow I’ll find you, then we’ll find Bryson"

"Okay" She was going to help him His eyes welled up in relief

A few seconds later he was running down the street, darkness falling on the world as the sun sank for the night He didn’t know if Sarah even realized what she’d been saying, but Michael had heard it just the saone Maybe dead

He ran until he could barely catch his breath, through neighborhoods and empty streets, until he reached the outskirts of the city When at last it see over, he pulled air into his lungs, willing his heart to slon He wasn’t sure what he’d been running froht down on Sarah and her faine sleeping ever again The threat of dreaes of Sarah’s parents tied up in the back of some car, the spray of blood on the kitchen floor--terrified hi? None of it had prepared hi

He found a cab, ed hotels Just in case Kaine had figured out his fake identity, Michael decided to start all over And this tira apart others to cover his tracks Firewalls and triple-protection Hider codes, anything and everything he could think of

It took hiht He finally fell asleep when the first rays of dawn glowed behind the curtains Later, sometime in the afternoon, a knock at the door woke hi that somehow Sarah had found him already, he bolted fro a look through the peephole

Stunned, sure he was still drea, he stared at his visitor

Dark skin, dark hair, pretty

"You never should’ve calledrong Very wrong"

Chapter 6: A Flash of Light

Michael had been through a lot, but he was pretty sure he’d never been quite as speechless as he was at that second As he stared at Gabriela, his mouth literally dropped open

"Just let me in," she said, her face stern but not unkind "I have no idea what’s going on, but I think I deserve some answers"

"Um, yeah," Michael replied Dazed, he stepped back and pulled the door open wider "I guess I can’t run away this time It’s my hotel room, after all"