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The bed shifted, and panic shot through her He was leaving He was going to leave her all alone again No food No more water
And then he whispered, his voice softer, and much more hesitant, than hers had been "It’s C-Caine"
Violet’s eyes widened She didn’t knohat to say She wasn’t like Sara She wasn’t a trained profiler with years of experience behind her She was a seventeen-year-old girl being held hostage by a killer And she was terrified, afraid that anyherself she could do this "Th--" Her voice shook "Thank you, Caine"
His gaze flew to hers, searching, she knew, for the truth in her state, more likely, for the lie This was it This was her chance to show him
She inhaled and let the corner of her htly Just the barest hint of a smile
But she had to be careful
Too much and he’d see it; he’d knoasn’t real That none of it was real
She felt dizzy, and her lip quivereda tiny, hopefully i false about the uncertain expression in her eyes There was no part of her that wasn’t afraid
When the bed shifted again, this tiht, she knew she’d done it
He settled down once more Somehow Violet had convinced him to stay
Acceptance
CAINE HIS NAME WAS CAINE
And she knew that
It was a step he’d never taken before
A new beginning He didn’t fight his s floorboards, and then it faded fro herelike complaints He hated the outdated furniture and the , wide-open s that overlooked the lake Picturesque, his mother used to call the s on their su in a fishbowl Especially at night, when the darkness outside was so coht inside put hihbors or not
That hy there were sheets hanging over each and everySo that no one could see inside So that no one could look in and watch hiirl could be alone
The grin caown he carrieda gift It was pretty, the nightgown White cotton with just a hint of starched lace along the scooped collar Pristine, just like her
He stopped when he reached her door It wasn’t locked, another thing he hated about this househe hadn’t had tiood with his hands, and he’d s he had at his disposalsheets, wire, duct tape