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The other woht of Sebastian and her coworker locked in an intimate embrace where no one else seemed to matter His hand slid off the woman’s cheek She sank back down to her chair, eyes wide, unseeing, lost in some fantasy of her own mind Sebastian turned to the other wo private and inti not for me But I was rooted to the spot I couldn’t h I wanted to

The younger woed to her feet as Sebastian came forward He was taller than her by a head and so caler down her jaw, shetouched like that her whole life He whispered to her as well, and soon she was sitting in la-la land just like her coworker

Sebastian faced me My lips parted Heat had spread in a slow, steady wave from the center ofI cleared my throat "Neat trick What are you, so?"

His eyes held an to rise again But then he rolled the younger woan typing

"Mother’s name?"

I went to the desk "Eleni Selkirk"

"Your date of birth?"

"June twenty-first, 2009"

"Any birthigantic defect, I wanted to say Instead I said, "None And I don’t know about the other"

He tapped the keyboard a few more times and then stood aside "There it is Selkirk baby Female Father unlisted"

I scanned the monitor, already in denial It couldn’t be He had to be listed But as I searched, there was nothing of use in the report, nothing I didn’t already know "Nothing"

Sebastian leaned down and selected the billing tab "Let’s see who paid the bill It’ll have insurance info and who else was on the card, if any"

Okay, I should’ve thought of that, and having been given a second, I probably would have The billing info loaded onto the screen Insurance info No one on the card except for Eleni But the co-pay: "Josephine Arnaud Who the hell is that?"

Sebastian straightened His jaw tightened and his expression went grih his hair and then fixed rand out of whatever trance Sebastian had put therabbed my arm, and propelled me out the door "Co to recover fro s "Wait, hold on, on the here?" We were through the door and out into the hallway I jerked oing on?"

I kneas being too loud, but at that point I didn’t give a crap who heard ue

I stepped back from the door "Well?"

"The Novem is oddaht? I know all about the nine families Everybody does"

Sebastian shook his head, annoyance flashing in his gray eyes "Outsiders think they know everything Josephine, randmother, is head of the Arnaud faht New Orleans thirteen years ago"

A short laugh burst throughHe was deadly serious "Your family Your fa another disbelieving laugh "And your granny knew my mother and paid her doctor bills This is unbelievable" I turned er coursed through my veins as my eyes slowly took in the sterile room--the exam table, the two carts with two bodies under blue cotton tarps set against a wall of small square doors that probably held more bodies …

Seriously unbelievable I spun back round, forcingyour back to two dead bodies was definitely not so

I shookany of it My uy The curse that now apparently extended tomy mother’s medical bills Did they know about me, then? Is that why they wanted to seefor me this whole time?

"So, what now? Go have a talk with dear old Grams? Ask her why she tried to have