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He thought back to him and Axe and the others out on the streets the previous evening, working the blocks of abandoned buildings, instincts prickling, weapons up and ready to go, Brothers with them

It was a new phase

They were now not trainees, really More like soldiers in training If thata hint of eht as a piano wire around so He’d lost weight The bags under his eyes were so big you could have packed for overnight in ’eht with him into every room, every alley, every bus ride to and froenius to realize Elise was in no better straits Peyton had seen what she’d looked like when she’d co that

Shit, he thought as he rubbed his face Just … shit

His phone rang For like the fiftieth tiet him to come out

When he finally picked up his phone, he went into his contacts and dialed a number he’d only phoned once before

One ring Two rings Three--

"Hello?"

He cleared his throat "Novo? Look--don’t hang up, okay?" There was a pause "Hello?"

"What?"

"Listen, I need you to doyou so pan, I’ht?"

"Nothing with you"

He flexed his LV loafers "I need your help"

"If you’re looking for a personality replace but Serial Killer would be an improvement"

Peyton stared at the blank, dark screen of his TV

"Hello?" she said

"I need you to helpwith you, I really … I can’t do this alone"

Sootten through to her "Are you drunk?"

"No, and I’h his hair "Fuck me, maybe it’s part of my problem But I need to fix this first and then … yeah, whatever"

"Where are you?"

"My house"