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“Vannah, that’s no way to live” Gentler now that he understood, he softened his voice

“Well, if we crack this, h with the heart-to-heart Tell me what you know”

He tossed back his shot, breathed through the trail of fire left in the whiskey’s wake, and began “Notlike he never left I thought I was still drunk froht before, at first Then I sobered, and he re and I touched hier I kneas going to do what he said regardless, whether I was going stark-raving mad or not” She opened her mouth to speak and he shook his head “If the position was reversed and I needed help, would you come?”

“Yeah, I would You can’t be best friends with soet them in ten At least I can’t”

“Exactly” He grabbed a beer from the bucket, popped the top, and slid it across to her before he opened his own

“What did Clark say?” The anxiety in her tone wasn’t lost on him

“Not much He said the kidnappers were back and there was a lot we didn’t know I guess it’ll be coh the condensation on the bottle, he watched the water separate to avoid the inquiring gaze looking for answers he couldn’t provide

“Did he say hohen?” Impatience sharpened her words

He lifted the brown bottle, took a long draw, and shook his head “He said they’d come to us”

“Oh my God, they want to finish what they started” Her eyes widened He could see the wheels in her head spin

“How can you know that?” he asked, unable to follow the path she’d taken to get there

“I’uess It’s the only reason they’d have for co back now—to tie loose ends Perhaps this will allow them to complete their ritual”

“Ritual?” How could she get all of this from a letter and a tarot card?

“Serial killers have a variety of reasons why they kill So force but no real game plan Others havesome trauma that happened in their life , or an ideal they wish to leave by It may not make sense to us, because to theto their life ” Her tone was matter-of-fact as she spoke with an intensity that showed how much she enjoyed her job Their conversation see over the speakers and the trivial conversation taking place around the, chatting, and blowing off steam

His gaze scanned the room and it hit hi with a hard-hitting bass came on and the couple beside thenated as a dance floor The lithe woman with cocoa skin pressed her round ass into her partner as he wrapped his arms around her waist and they moved as one to the beat