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Tapping into the fury and worry filling her, she lowered her feet to the cold tile floor and shoved Clay back a few inches “Unless you pull a gun onme from Taz—and even if you had the brass balls to do that, I wouldn’t bet on you winning”

Vivi rolled a wheelchair over to the bedside “Get in We can’t have you shooting a federal agent, even if he is a total pain in the ass”

Muscles shaking in protest after all that had happened, Bianca got into the wheelchair Without any other comment, Vivi spun her around and wheeled her down the hall, turning into a room three doors down from where she’d been

Her heart stopped

Taz lay in a bed with about a dozenhim than were in her room His skin was a pale imitation of his normal tawny brown color and the circles under his closed eyes were so dark they were almost black A clear mask covered his mouth and was connected by a narrow tube to the nearby respirator

“Oh my God, Vivi” She covered her face with her hands “What have I done?”

Taz

A cold darkness surrounded Taz It was so coainst even if he could remember why he should This coal-black blanket was all he needed It was his soarta to be alone like this He’d always known it, which hy he’d always held back

Inside this cave of shadows though he was free No angry specter of his father stalked hi No sad spirit of hisas she pretended everything would be alright No quietly disappointed ghost of Freddie clung to hi when he would realize there wasthan Taz had believed There was no failure, no disillusion more he couldn’t define

Here, there was only perfect quiet and total aloneness

But it didn’t feel right So

Again, he tried to re

A line of war the pitch dark a few shades brighter It brought with it ed at him with silken webs A wo laughter The sweetness of her satisfied sighs All of it pulled hiht

Little sounds began to intrude into the gray darkness A soft beep and another at a higher pitch The whoosh of pumped air Voices in the distance

He turned away fro with them the s as enduring and illusive as hope The darkness faded ray of first dawn