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I pressed ht it hurt

“We have an understanding?”

I had to focus on what er I had to let go ofClaire rehabilitate after the shit she experienced I had to be grateful to have her in o “Yes”

The ride in the chopper took an hour

This place was truly in the wilderness, truly in the h the s, deep green because the rain had fallen hard this season The Alps becaer the farther we traveled, already covered in snow because winter was early this year

Bartholomew sat across from me, his headset on, his eyes out the-sleeved black shirt, the ink of his tattoos barely visible at the edge of his sleeve

My heart had never beat this hard in my life

We started to touch down, landing in a wide-open field There were three other Chasseurs with us, arh it was supposed to be a peaceful transfer

“What did you promise in return?”

He switched his gaze from theto me, the two of us on a private channel so the rest of the crew couldn’t hear “Contacts”

“For?”

“Their LSD operation”

All I could offer was money—and that wasn’t what they wanted Without Bartholoain with I was just a contractor in Paris—a nobody I’d left the Chasseurs to keep hter safe, but in the end, it was that connection that would get her back

Ironic

We touched down on the ground and waited until the propellers went idle We were in the e of a forest When I stepped out of the chopper and looked into the trees, I could distinguish the signs of civilization, of cabins and buildings, ofaround in cattle skulls