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Holly headed up the steps in front of hier at her back She knew he could kill her as fast as a cobra strike—Venoht wear three-piece suits and look like he’d stepped out of a high-fashion azine shoot, but he was a predator under the skin

Rotting blood Old urine Other, more noxious body fluids

Holly pressed a hand against her stoly fetid odor “They’re up hereand they’re probably dead, right?” The idea made her stomach lurch, the response primal

“Not necessarily Our targets aren’t human”

Exhaling, Holly nodded Vanificantly more blood loss than humans They could even survive multiple-limb amputation in traurow back—but fortiels, after all

For va the timeline was shorter—a lot shorter “Have you ever lost a limb?” she asked in an effort to distract herself from the smell

“Once,” Venom answered easily as they took in the layout of this floor “It was in battle—my left arm”

“How long for it to regenerate?”

“Three quarters of a year I was a lot younger then”

Three quarters of a year was still nothing in comparison to the vast majority of vampires Holly knew a century-old vaht when another brawler bit it off A ed stump

“I’ll go first into these roo at her

Holly straightened her spine “I don’t need to be protected”

“I’ maddened, I’d rather put them down quickly than watch you flail about”

Holly gave hier Asshole

S handsome, the beautiful asshole turned and walked to the first doorway Holly watched his back instead of giving in to her bizarre co about the roo in the doorway

He then quickly checked the other rooms

“Let’s clear the third level,” he said after he was done “Then we can deal with the ht in the hallway, as if there was no longer any reason for stealth

The hairs rose on the back of Holly’s neck

12

Holly had to consciously will herself away from the room on the second floor

The third floor was heavily graffitied and littered with spent bottles of liquor and es, as well as—randoone off But it was devoid of life—or bodies “They lived like pigs,” Holly said, walking around a pair of underpants crumpled on the floor “Even my homeless friends live more tidily than this”

“So,” Venoels—having to ”

Holly was startled “You feel sorry for them?”

“No,” he said flatly “I have no syes than scrabbling toin freedom”

“There are so of Zeph and his pockmarked face “They’re too broken by as done to them”

Veno, those vae for near-immortality Choices have consequences”

Much as Holly pitied the broken vaue with the truth of Venom’s words That truth was the sauilt, do their jobs in retrieving va their Contracts Because every mortal in the world had witnessed over and over how cruel immortals could be Any choice made to enter into that world as an adult with full use of your faculties was made with eyes wide open

“At least with a proper Contract,” she muttered, “there’s an end date My sentence is open-ended”