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“I a

“Feeling any better?” he asked

“A little calmer, thank you”

“Great Why don’t you take a bath, have so”

I didn’t love the plan But the upheaval could wait until tos, anyway No need to disrupt his business, especially since he was helping Dane and the rest of us I didn’t want to hinder their progress The quicker ot to the botto wrapped up, the sooner Dane could coood

I took Kyle’s advice and felt a little less tense as, later on, I curled on the couch and flipped through azines I retired early and crawled under the covers—after I had Kyle double-check all the locks on the s and patio doors in my room Take a peek beneath the bed and inside the closet for critters of the reptilian variety

My nerves were still jangled, but I was exhausted, so it wasn’t too difficult to drift off

I woke soof the intimate cocoon, because Dane couldn’t possibly have returned so soon He’d just been here with the FBI when they were in hot pursuit of Vale

“Aainst me?” I whispered

“Nope” His soft lips grazed , dark-brown hair up in aasleep

“Who called you?”

“Kyle”

“You’re kidding?”

“He orried about you Said you had a ainst ed with concern “That’s not like you, baby At all And it’s not like Kyle to think he can’t handle on his own anything that spins you up”

My eyes squeezed shut for a moment “I suppose he mentioned the rattlesnakes?”