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The elevator glided to a sant halt and deposited us back in theand closing, people alwaysThey say New York is the city that doesn’t sleep; Las Vegas doesn’t even nap I wondered when they got the basic cleaning done Even Disneyland closes long enough to empty the trash and polish the brass

We joined the flow out into the main concourse, turned left, and went past the cashier stand, into the wilderness of gently chiht were trendy restaurants-the kind that didn’t post prices- and somewhere at the back was a ay that led to Caesar’s Palace next door Next door, in Las Vegas tere that seeo on forever

I halted us near a bar at the back corner, chose a table, and got everyone to sit Everyone except Jonathan, as exa random ones spit coins Kevin watched hireedy flare in his eyes that he’d figured out what the Djinn was doing

"Don’t even," I said The security cameras wouldn’t see Jonathan at all,tokens but if Kevin started flouncing around , there’d be a fast, heavily muscled presence and a less office, followed by some harshly worded questions we couldn’t afford to avoid just now "Play later Just sit"

Kevin, still watching Jonathan, said, "I know they’re going to kill ht as well just take hily, that was probably true He and Siobhan could blend in, get out of town, find soers wandering ho Siobhan didn’t just blow him off once she realized he wasn’t the bankroll she’d thought But I couldn’t lose hiht a flicker out of the corner ofour way She looked, as always, cool and composed Her hands were in her coat pockets, and she didn’t hurry; she stopped to admire some items in a shop , checked out the menu at Le Cirque Shethe aetheric, I was sure

Then she pulled up a chair next to me and said, "Nice to know you made it"

"Yeah, likewise" I shot a look at Kevin and Siobhan "I guess you know Kevin"

She nodded politely to hiet him behind closed doors at her facility and strip him clean of power and potential just as soon as the opportunity presented itself Kevin didn’t lower

Marion dismissed him, and focused her dark eyes on me "You have it?"

I opened my fist to show her Jonathan’s bottle "I’d like to trade for so more valuable than your word Not that I don’t trust you, but well, I don’t trust you"

She removed a hand frolass bottle that Yvette Prentiss had used, not so very long ago, to trap a ive up his life for lass No stopper in the bottle It felt warm "David," I whispered, and closed my eyes for a second in relief as the connection between us huht here" I heard a chair scrape, and saw that he’d joined us at the table

He looked utterly unchanged-auburn-flecked hair worn a little untidily, brown eyes flashing behind round gold-rimmed spectacles An old-fashioned olive-drab coat over a faded blue plaid shirt Blue jeans

I sucked in a startled breath and feltwith tears; the vision of him turned into a colorful blur A blur that reached across empty space and cupped my cheek in its hand, and yes, that was his touch, war in the smell of old wool and cinnamon, leaves and woodsmoke "Oh, God," I whispered, and it sounded like the prayer it was

He was leaning close; I could feel the aura of hiainstyou" The shih hts that I shouldn’t be having in public, ht want to kill me

"Could’ve helped me out a little," I said

"You did fine" He kissed hts were refined into sheer, unadulterated longing I wanted hi ine it ending, but of course it did, a sloithdrawal of those soft, delicious lips froht into his, and saw the and power

This hat I’d been fighting for What I’d fight for with every breath, every re I can do for you, master?" he whispered to me "Or to you, anyway?"

I sucked in a superheated breath, treed to be practical "A purse to put this bottle in would be great, actually"

He reached under the table and pulled out a black leather bag, nothing designer-htfully included padding material I slid the bottle inside and zipped it shut, then looped it bandolier-fashion over ain I’d break his bottle ere out of this ht now having David’s power aht keep us alive

"Joanne?" Marion’s distant voice I blinked and pulledoff a lirow fonder; it created a kind of netic lock that didn’t seem humanly possible to break "Jonathan’s bottle, if you please"

Oh Right

Jonathan had given up on slotbehindaround I knew that he atching David I could feel the crackle of power in the air They weren’t speaking, but there was conversation going on Levels of power, eet rid of it," I said sincerely, and held it out for Marion to accept

Kevin had been waiting, and he took advantage of the chance He slappedout of control across the tabletop, skittering and bouncing, straight toward David-who, being Djinn, couldn’t physically or aetherically touch it He reached out for it, but his hand went right through it as if it didn’t exist, or he didn’t, or soh hi carpet

"Juain "Crap"

I felt the surge at almost exactly the same ti was co up in the aetheric, big as a dragon and twice as fiery-no idea what it was, but it was huge and very, very scary

"Get down!" Jonathan’s voice roared through the casino, supernaturally loud, like an enraged drill instructor on the world’s largest loudspeaker, and it wasn’t surprising that every single person in sight asn’t Jonathan dropped to the carpet like they’d been chopped off at the knees There was soly little I started wor my way across the floor tohere Jonathan’s bottle had fallen, but David was in the way, and Kevin was elboalking that way, too I lunged across David at the faint sparkle of glass in shadow, but I was too late; a hand was there before rabbed it and stuffed the bottle into the pocket of her jeans