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“Theblue eyes appeared glassy as the tears streamed down her face “I want you to know that I didn’t steal it forbitch you think I am”

“Go on” His gut reaction had been right all along Kendall just didn’t possess the selfish killer instinct necessary to steal a million bucks fro it all for herself

“I–I—”

“You stole the money for another reason, didn’t you?”

“Yes”

He lovingly wrapped his arry with her

“I–I stole it because I had to”

“Had to? Why?”

“To save the life of my best friend”

“Ah, I see” The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together “And would this friend of yours be called Ashley by any chance?”

“Yes We’ve been inseparable since kindergarten She’d do anything for hed self-consciously “Only as a friend obviously”

“Kendall, stealing ait in the belief, however uided, that it’s the only way left open to you is another matter coirl to have a friend like you, because believe me, after what you’ve sacrificed for her, you’re a friend in a million”

Using the back of her hand, she wiped away the tears “Thanks, Mac, that makes me feel so much better”

The anger he’d felt toward Kendall, when he’d first thought she’d stolen his ain, disappeared in a puff of seous wo to save the life of someone she cared deeply for How o the extrathe risks that Kendall had? Not ly small

As she sat on his lap, he felt her body treainst his own, but despite these obvious anxiety signals, he figured she was desperate to be rid of the unpleasant secret she’d been hiding since she’d stolen his hed her down, sapping the life force fro to the truth now Just a little further to go How is this Karl involved? I’uy in all of this”

He felt her flinch “Bad guy? That’s an understatement if ever there was one Karl Graves is pure evil”

“That bad, huh? Evil enough to blackmail you?”

“Yes” He watched her nervously tear an unruly snag froernail with her teeth “Karl was Ashley’s boyfriend, if you could call the animal that He beat her so bad and so often that she ended up in hospital ed her to finish with hi Her fear of the aggressive controlling bastard was total and overwhel story short, after one particularly abusive episode, during which he savagely broke Ashley’s forearm in two places, I contacted the police and had him arrested It was then that Ashley finally realized that enough was enough, and she suddenly caainst hie she showed that day The judge was clearly shocked by the physical and emotional abuse that she’d suffered over the years at the hands of Karl Graves, and she sent him to prison for twelve years”

“Good Sounds like the piece of crap deserved everything he got”

“No, not good, Mac Bad” Her chin dropped, and she shook her head “He was released early, and within days he’d found Ashley again, despite her et away from him”