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"No, ma’am," Eli said politely He looked at me and lifted a brow, then jammed a piece of bacon in his ht," Estelle said and looked at s, Riley Poe I always kept tellin’ your Preacher s, ’specially wit dat crazy blood inside ya, dat’s right" She walked over and hugged htly, and I nearly spilled tea in irl If dere’s any one body who can get your brodder back safe, it’s dis boy sittin’ beside you" She grabbed ether "You can trust hiettin’ bony"

"I can’t, Estelle Just not hungry" My gaze slid to Eli’s, then to Preacher’s, and back to rand Eli’s words "I’ll try"

She let ed a piece of toast with jam, and just as we finished, Preacher turned to both of us "Dos boys have gone underground, and Riley here knows dos places better dan anyone She’ll take you, but only after a day or two" He looked at me "I know you’re anxious to do soirl Your brodder won’t long recognize you as his sister anyht know soo too early, he will know you, and dat could s up You watch each odder’s back, you and dis boy here, and don’t go dere for long Just long enough to get noticed by odders and dey let you back in Dat’s where dos boys will be--de victiht?"

I nodded "Yes, sir, okay," I said, knowingback underground, slipping back into a crowd I’d long ago left behind, made me sick But I’d do it, and no one but o back to the place I’d worked so hard to escape And not just the clubs; it was rarely the clubs themselves It was just certain crowds, and I knew Preacher meant dos people And it was in those crowds that I becauy It’d ended orse than just a broken heart or an overnight trip in the tank I pushed the painful otta run Shop opens in a few" I kissed Preacher and Estelle good-bye, and we left

"We’ll spend the next day or so going over changes," Eli said as we crossed the cobbles to Inksos you’ll need to know and expect I don’t want you sucker punched"

"What about you?" I asked

"Don’t worry about ht struck asped I turned and looked Eli in the eye "A young guy was found o Nineteen years old, about to leave for Parris Island I’d inked him the day before" I knew in my heart the answer, but I asked anyway "Did Seth and his friends do that?"

"No," he said without hesitation "But they helped Valerian and Victorian find him, or they lured him There are more victims, Riley The bodies just haven’t been found yet"

My stoht All I could think about was Zac, and hoeet and respectful he’d been And so ready to join the aze off hi, thick, dark lashes, and I noticed the faint shadowy presence of scruff on his jaw and over his top lip Skin so bleirl would be envious of it He hardly looked like a killer, but I knew at one time he certainly was And now oing to be fixed," I said veheive me the answer I wanted to hear Needed to hear "Tell Me"

"We’ll fix it," he answered, and somehow, I believed him There was still so much I wanted to know about hiht I’d learnrooh a shower, dried s into s down my back Worn, distressed jeans with a brown leather vest that left my tattooed ar with a pair of brown, slouched, heeled leather boots I grabbed a wine red velvet choker from my dresser, tied it around my neck, and left the room, where I pulled up short and froze Phin, Luc, and Josie Dupré had joined their brother in the living rooarded rab a Yoo-hoo, and gasped the erator was lined with s what they were I wasn’t squearabbed my drink and quickly closed the door

I can’t express how it felt to know that four vaTV It was justfreaky And I’m not sure my brain would ever fully wrap around the entirety of it

"Morning," Luc and Phin said, almost at the sa at et one?"

"Later, Josie," said Eli, and gave ue theued theh ot a client in fifteen, so I have to go You guys can help yourself to whatever" I really didn’t have anything a vampire would want, I suppose--except my blood--but I didn’t knohat else to offer

"Thanks," Phin said with a grin "But we just stopped by to bring Eli hisbreakfast" He grinned "We’ll take you up on that later, though"

"Can’t I stay with you?" Josie asked Eli, and shot lance "I want to watch her"