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"Look at her," he said, his iron control slipping He spun her around again, pointing at the dead girl on the ground The grip on her ar to this girl a little over twenty-four hours ago Now she is dead Do you think they would think twice about doing this to you? Do you see what can happen?"

"I knew this story was going to be dangerous when I took it on," she said "Don’t lecture me, I’m not a child" She pulled away and turned to face him

"No, you’re not" His voice was low and fierce "You’re an infuriatingly stubborn woman who has no survival instincts You need to drop this and let me--"

"You need to not tellout as she got in his face "Because trust oes well"

"Why won’t you listen to er dropped from his voice; it was pure confusion "I don’t want to have to force you or coerce you I don’t want to have to use my amnis to keep you safe"

"Then don’t"

"I will if I have to"

His eyes raced over her upturned face and Natalie realized her heart was pounding Fear Anger And an unmistakable hint of arousal A faint ht? Was she i it? Her body responded to his proximity; Natalie could feel the hair on the back of her arms rise and reach toward him

Baojia’s voice was hoarse when he said, "Natalie…"

She sed hard, looking away from him and to the dead waitress as she said, "Baojia, there are so the truth about who is killing these girls is one of the, only to stop and cock his head to the side His eyes narrowed, then looked off into the distance toward so she couldn’t see

"What?" she asked "What is it?"

"Remember when you said about rasped her hand in his and angled hihtly in front of her as he squared his shoulders toward the edge of the desert

"What are we--Oh, whoa" She felt the earth tremble beneath her She should have known; apparently vas who could sense when earthquakes--

"His name is Tulio and he’s mostly friendly"

Natalie blinked "What?"

Instead of dying off, the earthquake was only growing stronger And the sound…

"What is it?"

"Elements, remember?" His hand squeezed hers "Not everyone controls water"

Elements Water, wind, fire… earth "Oh, shit!"

The air was knocked froiant of a ht black hair and a sed face that bore distinctly Spanish features A broad forehead and heavy brows hung over eyes that looked black in the night He wore a pair of what looked like canvas work pants and the rest of his body bulged with muscle No shirt No shoes The man took an arm and swiped at the sand that covered his face as he continued walking toward them The earth that had opened up closed behind him when his feet touched the pavement