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"V, wait" Rafe reached across the space between the his hand around the sleeve of her hoodie "Just hear ed, his voice softer now, quieter even than usual

She reluctantly turned to face hiaze, but she could feel his thoughtful eyes on her, penetrating her, and she couldn’t stop herself frohed, her only audible response, but it was enough and Rafe knew he had her attention

"I need to get in there, to see if there’s anything" He didn’t finish, but his brows drew together and Violet could see he was trying to choose his words carefully "I want to do whatever I can to help Hopefully before it’s too late for so Violet couldn’t do that Rafe and the others could He and Krystal ain They ood Soood

Just like Rafe had done for her

She felt herself waver as she bit her lip "God, Rafe, I don’t know You could get in so ht"

His serious expression faded, and even though his voice re else about hirin that challenged her, the dark slash of his brows--looked defiant and dangerous "Fro out of her hand And what’s Sara gonna do, ground me? I don’t think so, V I think Sara wants this info as ive the order herself, she would She’d probably thankin there to look around"

"Yeah, soht?" he asked

"I don’t know," she answered slowly It was a terrible idea, but she wanted to know as badly as he did if they could find anything useful

Rafe and Krystal stared at her, waiting for her to ain, acting as if Violet didn’t exist "When are we going?"

"I was thinking tonight That way I can put the key back before anyone realizes it’son that metal death trap of yours" Violet wanted to shush Krystal, to tell her she was being entirely too loud--especially in light of the fact that they were talking about beco felons and all

At last, Violet’s voice ripped like dry paper from her throat "I’rin on his face, his teeth a brilliant flash of white Violet didn’t think she’d ever seen hirit for in her throat, which threatened to sain "I’ll meet you in front in five minutes"

Uncertainty

HE STEPPED CAUTIOUSLY INTO HER ROOM, NOT wanting to disturb her too soon She needed her rest He knew she was exhausted

It was dark, but the lack of light didn’t indicate night or day It was always dark in here, just the way she liked it

He stopped briefly, deftly balancing the tray on one hand as he pulled the lighter from his pocket and lit the small candle on the dresser that stood just inside the doorway The candle’s light infiltrated the space, casting flickering shadows over every surface, into every corner In the pale glow, he could also see that he wasn’t disturbing her at all; she was already awake, her eyes wide Alert

He balanced the tray in both hands, s, except you slept lanced self-consciously at the tray, suddenly nervous, his palht you so"

She didn’t answer--not out loud--but he knew she was glad to see him Her eyes darted around the roo

He followed her gaze as he set the tray on the bedside table and sat on the bed beside her He took in the details of his handiwork, trying not to sly trait "Do you like what I’ve done with the place?" His gaze roamed over the thick black foa both sound and light "I did it just for you I wanted you to be comfortable"

The mattress shuddered violently, and he turned back to look at her, confused She thrashed wildly, her body convulsing beside hiet closer to hiht hurt herself, so he leaned down, his lips grazing her ear as he spoke Her entire body went still, every muscle coiled as she waited on his words "Be still now There’s plenty of tiet to know each other better firsttake things slow" He sat back, feeling er as he was "Besides, you don’t want tothe ropes around her wrists "Infections can get nasty if we’re not careful And I don’t like infections"

He couldn’t stop hi each one in turn, inspecting the ridges and curves of her nails "I brought lilac for you It’s a pale shade of purple with just the faintest shimmer" He picked up the bottle of nail polish from beside the bowl of soup and held it up so she could see He wished he had soifts But he’d lost hers and this was all he could offer "It will be beautiful on you Now, are you ready for some food?"